The Perfect Beginning Jan 1-6, 2003

Text by Steve Ramras, captions by Tom Jones.

Found out the wife and kids planned a Florida, In-law trip, for post Christmas through the New Year's. I was invited, as always, but several managers were on vacation till the 30th (Whew! Close!). Umm. Sit at home in an empty house? Nah! Boy, for years, I stated that the problem with winter, is the short days, not the cold. Start a trip 10 days after the solstice? Break in the New Years in Utah? Well....Why not? Next, find partners. Send out word to the usual suspects. Lots of nibbles from Utah, but no commitments at first. Then our man of leisure, Mr. Tom Jones declares himself game. What to do? I suggest a New Year's Day Black Hole. Why mess around, after all? It is short, has a high degree of eloquence, commits us to water before common sense sinks in, and it has massive stunt value.

I, like several other folks, I imagine, wondered for a long time.....Does the Hole freeze solid in winter? Open water? The nightmare of thin, break through ice? Inquiring wackos want to know! Well, if it's break through ice, how to deal it? If its ice covered, but of unknown thickness, maybe a rope for the group and act as if we are on a glacier, worried about crevasses. Yank out, those who drop into the Hole? Nice theory. The 60m rope will go along, with the harnesses.

Throw the idea Dave Black's way. Seems he can't resist a stunt either. Signs on. We all agree to meet at 57 mile marker, at Noon, on the 1st, ready to go and don't forget the headlamp!

Ryan, Mitch, Ram in Secret Canyon, Tom in Leprechaun.

Back in Colorado, the seeds I have planted have borne fruit. 2 suckers, ah, I mean friends have jumped on board. Who your partners are and group chemistry are most important when conditions are most challenging . Allow me to introduce Mitch, who I met some 4 years ago on a canyon trip. He is diminutive in size, but huge of heart. Always steady, he has the feel of the type of fellow who you would want at your side, if things got rough. A skilled climber, with an unflappable calm, you can't help but feel safer just having him near. Ryan is a mountain of a man. At 6'5" and 250 LBS, he dwarfs normal human proportions. A big as his size, is the almost child like joy he takes, in everything around him. The smile is contagious. The cackle of a laughter, a lovely habit. The "fun" in everything, seems always to be found. The 3 of us leave from Colorado at 11AM on the 31st of December. We arrive and camp under a large overhang SE of Hanksville. We spend the 4 hours until midnight, chatting, sipping, slurping, laughing and storytelling. A toast to bring in 2003. A nice way to begin. Perfect in fact. To bed by 12:30AM. The next day saw a 7AM start in the chill. Temps were in the teens. They would be in the teens, each of the 6 nights we would spend out under the stars. Did I mention the stars? Wow! With our Black Hole appointment still 5 hours away, off to Shillelagh we went.

I had hiked up this canyon in the fall of 1980. Back then, with afternoon sunlight fading, I saw a slab of rock become completely occupied by hundreds of small, black spiders. All of them keeping the same 3 inches apart from each other, soaking the last warmth from the rock.(?) When we would take a step, they would scatter out of our way. Saw this one other time, in Canyonlands, in 1976, when Jane and I were far from our shoes, but that's another story. Up the Left Fork we went. Found a way up to the bench, between the 2 forks and found a way down, near the nose and to the bottom and back to the car. 11:30AM. Better drive fast.

We arrive at 11:56. Dave Black and his friend Sharon arrive at 11:58 and Tom makes it at exactly Noon. I like these folks! Then Tom jumps out of the car in a hot pink wet suit, adorned with various tacky sunglasses for designs. My friends look at him. At each other. At me. Who is this guy? Got a picture for extortion purposes. Gonna be an interesting week!

Dave informs us, that they are off to do Leprechaun. Thought you were Holing with us, I say. He looks at Sharon, looks at me. Sort of shrugs the shoulders. Mentions cold and cold water. Who am I to argue with someone who is making sense. That doesn't stop me from my somewhat subtle outline of how wonderful our day's plan is. The eloquence, the silliness, the mystery. Sharon perks up. Dave says he will do whatever she would like. Wait, they say, they lack the gear. Ah, but Ram reaches into his duffles and the wet gear for a small army appears. A sigh of resignation from Dave and we are a group of 6 sick puppies.

Aside from the patches of snow and the massive difference in temperature from sun to shadow, conditions felt a lot like the many March Black Holes I have done before. Cold, but not extreme. When we approached the area around the Hole proper, thin sheets of ice covered some pools. Umm, getting interesting. Finally, the hole. NO ice. Water level is normal, but more sand and gravel on the bottom of potholes, shortens the length of the swims. Some dry suits, some wet suits, some combos. Everyone is comfortable. Out the back end and more ice on the surface. Nice props for pictures, but no big deal. Proof of the pudding is that the feet don't ache in the neos. Out before dark and we say our good byes to Dave and Sharon. The nucleus of 4 for the trip is formed and off to Sandthrax campsite for the first of 4 nights.

The first evening, many of the patterns of the coming nights were formed. Arrive in the dark. Shed the days dry and wet clothes and hang them in the trees or in plastic bags. Put on layer upon layer of clothes. Lay out the bedding. Find wood, start the fire. Cook and eat the meals and consume very large amounts of spirits. Ahhhh, calories!

Betty Crocker. Mmmmmmm.

Tom introduced his theme for his coming best seller. "101 ways to cook and eat mashed potatoes". Beans, rice, tuna, parmesan cheese, amino soy sauce and different spices, in different proportions, gave the nightly meal an illusion of variety. Hunger helped.

After clean up, we would settle around the fire for another 3-4 hours until 10:30-Midnight and bed time. Tom erected the big tent, which served for some cooking, a wind break, a day time storage unit, and sleeping back up for the bad weather, and high wind which never came. Tom also had a table, which spent the whole week open, on its side as a wind break for the 5-10MPH breeze which did frequent. We had fun in each others company.

The morning found our suits, socks, and shoes so frozen solid, that some states would require us to register them as lethal weapons. Out came the stoves to warm water to pour on the shoes and socks before they could be put on. Sounds rough. Not too bad, really. Very, very silly. Cooked up soups and whatever else we could stuff in our mouths, then out and on our way to Shimrock.

Tom was the only one who had been before, and he rated it as "Worthy of an annual visit." High praise.

The sun was up and we experienced, for the first, but not the last time, that wonderful white winter light and the intense shadows that the low winter sun casts. Warm in the sun, very cold in the shade. Great stuff. Mitch and Tom scurried about in the canyon bottom. We tried to follow. How does a giant like Ryan handle a canyon so narrow? With smiles, squeezes, stems, laughter, and the biggest drops of sweat I have ever seen. I liked being behind him. For one thing, my fear of narrow places (The story titled "The Beast) is well known, so I cowered behind his massive frame, comforted by knowing, if he could, I could get through. He and I landed 20+ feet off the deck in 2 places for some lateral stemming. The hard grunt, to find your way up to a spot wide enough for your body. The shredded gear. The hard stemming. Once I found the lead and found the canyons narrowest spot. First a squeeze through then a second tighter....then panic and withdrawal. Yes, Ryan, that look on my face was the reflection of the beast! Up, over and down again. Normally a half day, but with the time of year, Shimrock filled most of the day and brought many a smile. Back to the site for night.

Umm, Black Hole was a stunt, Shimrock made it a trip, 3rd night out gave it length. An exploration on day 3 would give it substance. This was working. With systems down, it was becoming quite comfortable actually.