Show Notes
There are some foundational values here at The High Route. Right at the top of the list is inspiring backcountry travelers to dream big adventures, and when the time is right, go out and have that adventure. Adventure has gradients, and this might seem like a tangent, but it's worthwhile—there was a 94-year-old at the climbing gym this afternoon. He's a regular. And it certainly looked like he was owning his adventure pulling plastic.
So, there is time to learn, get fit, and push the comfort zone just enough to make something happen. This is all in the spirit of today's podcast, where we speak with some fine folks about their experiences on the Redline Traverse in California's Sierras. IFMGA guide Jed Porter completed the Redline in 2017, primarily solo. Spencer Dillon, a law student at the University of Utah, and his partner Matt Skorina maximized the gift of a deep Sierra snowpack to complete their iteration of the Redline in the spring of 2023.
As far as high Sierra ski traverses go, the Redline is mythical. The route was first completed in the early 80s by Allan Bard, Tom Carter, and Chris Cox. Several others assisted the endeavor along the way, but Bard, Carter, and Cox had the vision and the moxy to see it through. Traversing south to north, the Redline begins near Whitney Portal outside Lone Pine, California, and terminates at Mammoth. The intent was to stay as high as possible and ski excellent lines. But all this was in the 80s—a time when even military use of GPS was a decade off.
In a trip report on his Redline experience, Porter wrote, "Carter and Bard, in the November 1983 issue of Powder magazine, map out the line with the poetry of vision rather than the prose of prescription." That is to say, a point by point, pass to pass, couloir to couloir rendering of the original route isn't, as far as we can tell, publically available. And we're sticking with an originalist interpretation, following Bard's and Carter's and Cox's lead; the route description in this podcast will remain vague.
As noted, the intent is to inspire others to go have an adventure. The high Sierra is a vast expanse—the perfect place, when the snow conditions, the fitness, the gear, and a partnership align, to make a go of it.
We chat all things Redline with Porter and Dillon from snow to gear to visioning and style. You can learn more about Jed Porter here, and find his Redline Traverse gear list here. You can read Spencer Dillon's story about his trip here, on the Skimo Co blog.
Thanks for listening. You can find us at the-high-route.com. Yeah, there are two hyphens for redundancy, which is a good policy in the mountains. For weight weenies, hyphens weigh next to nothing. We are a reader supported website with free podcasts. Our podcasts are not free to produce or store on a server. If you are enjoying the podcasts, please consider supporting The High Route, you can find subscription information here.
The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to start with.
More from The High Route Podcast
In this episode, we chat with mountain athlete—which, in this case, we’ll define as trail running and ski mo’er—Sarah Burke.
In this episode, we are excited to speak with Ryan Griffiths, an accomplished ski mountaineer and alpinist who, along with his partner Spencer Gray, was awarded a Piolet d’Or in 2025 for their climb of Kaqur Kangri’s Southwest Arête in Western Nepal.
In this episode we speak with journalist Mitch Tobin. Tobin co-directs the Water Desk at CU Boulder’s Center for Environmental Journalism, and he also publishes his own excellent newsletter, Snow.News. I first learned about Tobin’s work while seeking resources to better understand climate change and its impacts in the West. As skiers and riders, we like snow, and without it, well, life simply is not as good. After last season’s historically low snow totals, I thought it was time to get a grasp on the broader context of the 2025-2026 snow-water cycle. Also, just like everyone else, I wanted Tobin’s insights into the predicted Super El Nino. However, both Tobin and I are die-hards—we’d love an epic snow season, but Super El Nino or not, we are somewhat easy to please when it comes to snow conditions. And we should note, we read many resources covering the water and snow scenes when it comes to policy, climate, and weather—Tobin's work has set a very high bar. CU Water Desk Tobin's Snow.News If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader- and listener-supported enterprise focused on human-powered turn-making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real-deal calorie-burning to piece it all together. We’d like to thank Patagonia, ATK, Folkrm Poles, and Cripple Creek Bike and Backcountry for supporting us. We are also excited to announce that you can pre-order Issues 4 and 5 of our fine print journal (The High Route journal) on our site. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here. The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Bozeman-based band Jampoke. We are psyched to feature young creative folks. Jam and twirl and tour on.
While this is the first episode of the new season, it’s part two of an interview we did with Zahan Billimoria earlier in the summer. (That episode focused more on training, so if you are feeling out of sorts coming into the new season—give it a listen.) (While Zahan still occasionally guides, he runs Samsara Experience which features their Big Mountain Snow Safety Workshop. A class some of our readers and listeners might benefit from.) This episode stems from a talk I heard Zahan gave last winter in Tahoe—he spoke about learning how to become more of a naturalist as moves into and within the mountains. That concept resonated with me for a variety of reasons. One of the main reasons is that it remains a personal reminder to slow down: to do the listening and looking and hearing.
In this episode, we connect with Teton-based IFMGA guide and founder/coach at Samsara Experience, Zahan Billimoria. Samsara offers online and in-person training for aspiring and well-established mountain athletes. Over the years, whenever I’ve engaged with a story, film, or post about Zahan, I’ve been drawn in. There’s something about his message that is motivating. Having heard about Zahan for years, I found that the 2020 film Solving for Z: A Calculus of Risk provided a more complete backstory. (Definitely take the time to watch this film.) What we see in the film is a glimpse into a person’s complex relationship with the mountains. This is a two-part podcast, with this episode primarily focused on Samsara’s training principles. I stopped skiing on June 7th, and promptly began trail running. That, I know, is not a great idea. But maybe I'm stubborn. Anyhow, I needed some schooling about reengaging my body with a higher-impact endeavor and, believe it or not, getting prepped for the next touring season. Part two of my interview with Zahan will drop in early September. This second part explores Zahan's path to ski/ride touring like a naturalist. I saw Zahan speak last spring in Tahoe, and his talk centered on how he evolved as a ski/ride tourist and, many years into his career, ultimately embraced a naturalist's mindset while touring. That, assure you, is good stuff. While listening to Zahan speak about training for mountain sports, there is certainly an element of connectedness, too. It is not simply about a climb, ticking off a higher grade, or the next summit. Which, to be a bit self-serving, was what I needed to hear this offseason, as we begin the reboot.