About

Hey, I’m Justin!

I grew up in Michigan, which is about as flat as it gets. But mountains always fascinated me, and in March 2013 a friend and I road-tripped through New England to summit Mount Greylock with duct tape around our shoes to keep the snow out. I was hooked. My sister made me a blaze orange flag with a turtle on it to represent my slow approach to climbing highpoints. Highpointing went on to shape my twenties and early thirties, pulling me to live in eight states from South Carolina to Washington.

I’ve climbed Gannett Peak deep in Wyoming’s Wind River Range, scrambled Montana’s Granite Peak unroped via the Southwest Ramp, and needed two attempts on Oregon’s Mount Hood after a May snowstorm turned me around the first time. I’ve loved the low-elevation highpoints too, like Iowa’s proud mosaic amid cornfields. Today I’ve stood on 49 of the 50. Only Denali remains, which I’m procrastinating now that my first child is on the way.

I built Highpoint Guide in 2022 to share what I learned. Every guide on this site draws on my own time on the trails and covers the routes, logistics, and gear that I found helpful. If a flatlander like me can climb Rainier, Gannett, and Granite, so can you! Highpointing is one of the best ways to explore the less traveled corners of America and its beautiful, diverse landscapes.

Happy climbing!