The Latest Rave is your resource for Utah Canyoneering know-how. From Utah canyon condition reports to narratives of mind-bending epics to wildflower sightings, you will find all the beta you need from Tom and his team on The Rave.
Fiddle Me This Canyon
I was looking for good stuff going into Echo Canyon, and this is the good one. I looked seriously at a couple others that were kinda lame. But this one… starts with a 200 foot rappel, has a bunch of raps, a bunch of interesting features and, me still my beating heart, can be done without leaving anything behind.
Read MoreAlbania is actually close by Switzerland and is often so far away for tourists. Beautiful beaches, wonderful mountain landscapes and remote regions to explore, as well as nice people who are mostly very helpful show the country from its sunny side. Also for canyonists this country is still rather new territory and there is still a lot of potential for new tours.
Read MoreSo it is a good idea to start early, and stay out of the sun. So we did, mostly, by doing a canyon on the East Side, possibly the third intentional descent. Part of the research for the Zion: Canyoneering 2nd Edition.
Read MoreFriends from ZAC, Robby and Hayley, had descended a way-backcountry newly found canyon near Zion, and said it was really cool...
Read MoreWe were in Ouray for Wayne and Laura's wedding, which went well. Ira invited me on an exploration - Wetterhorn Creek - presumably because he knew I enjoyed suffering -- certainly not for my uphill speed. Also on the team was Chris Hood from Salt Lake and Lori Shindel from Denver. We drove up the Cow Creek "road", which was an adventure in itself. Glad it was Ira's brand new well-insured Tacoma, rather than a lesser vehicle. Parked among the big trees at 8300 feet. From there, the trail went UP!
Read MorePart of the heat is to chose one's adventures carefully. In this case, we kinda did, kinda didn't. The idea was to check out an "easier" approach to a canyon Kip explored about 10 years ago, as the original approach we took was long and tedious. Would the new approach be short and easy enough? Would the canyon be good enough to make it worth the walk?
Read MoreHeaps - the Big Kahuna! What a great canyon. I got the opportunity to do it three times this year - and this is the one where a bunch of pictures got taken. A mellow trip put together by Deeps, with Brian Olliver, Louis Johnson, Everett Boutillet and myself. Two days in the middle of the summer - LOTS of daylight. With the canyon full from recent thunderstorms, and a strong team... SHOULD be no problem. (Pictures this Rave from the whole team!)
Read MoreWent off to do Dead Eye Dick with Amanda from Zion Adventures on Thursday. Since I had not done the one-car approach, and needed to for the website, WE (as in I) decided to do it that way, by starting down The Narrows, then climbing up a side-canyon to get to the top of the canyon. No problem.
Read MoreWent out canyoneering in Glen Canyon for a Zion Adventure Company staff training event. Ramoo and Jenny were running the trip, so I was just a ride-along, which is great fun. The purpose of the trip was for staff to practice non-Zion-type canyoneering techniques, show off their team-work skills and maybe, just maybe, have fun! We consider Glen Canyon an adventure-reserve, so no beta on where we were, just pictures. Enjoy.
Read MoreIt WAS hot out, but a north-running canyon, early start and projected cloud cover combined to make this reasonable. THIS being exploring a branch of Echo Canyon that comes off Cable Mountain. The team for this adventure was Kody Prisbrey from St G, Jonathan Zambella from Springdale, Felicia Bicknell from Phoenix and me.
Read MoreVictory in Midget Rattler the day before encouraged us. After the requisite post-party casual breakfast, a gang was rounded up to try the next one.
Read MoreAnother Memorial Day Weekend, another visit to the Saddle in Boulder Utah for a social weekend. But, we were SUPPOSED to actually go out and do canyons too, AND get back in time for Pim’s hour, which might strike as early as 4 pm…
Read MoreMike casually mentioned he had his eye on a certain canyon, a painfully obvious one, in the heart of Zion. "No way", I said. "I've been looking at that for 5 years!"
Read MoreCanyoneering first descents are always cherished - we found a nice one down in the Swell, near Hidden Splendor. At last year's SUWA Roundup, I hiked up and scouted this little canyon with Bill Wolverton, thinking it might make a nice, easy, technical canyon for beginners.
Read MoreGetting out with Kip is always a treat. Kip has an indomitable enthusiasm for exploring the obscure corners of the Zion area, and tends to invite me along when he thinks he has a good one lined up. "I'm IN!" I said.
Read MoreExciting new Canyon in Zion, First Descent? Nope! I was hoping. Hope springs eternal and looking for new canyons involves lots of hope. This one...
Read MoreIt was the project of others. Dan Ransom had been spying it for a few years. So had Rick Green. When I considered that they may be talking about the same canyon, I put them in touch with each other and proposed some dates.
Read MoreReid says: Today I headed out with a couple of friends to explore a slot behind the Watchman, which may or may not have proven itself. They'd heard about it from another canyoneer and it sounded worth checking out.
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