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.
Kris invited me out for a little canyon adventure in a system he had been exploring. Kris's neighbor, Keith, is a pilot and was flying back from Arizona when he spotted this interesting-looking canyon system in a fairly unlikely spot, took some photos and got Kris and a few neighbors interested.
Read MoreThe uncertainty called for caution, the late September overnight temps called for some real bivy gear.
Read MoreThe first try had been made in the spring, when there was much too much snow around, but the approach had been figured out. The second try in June had been more successful, but when they got to the head of the canyon, it was flowing with WAY too much water.
Read MoreWe've been chatting about getting the ACA Wasatch Chapter up and running again, so maybe a fun barbeque/social/training session would be a good way to stir up interest and see what people were interested in putting together.
Read MoreHead south again? Sure, why not. Escalante in the middle of July - uh, well.... Many people think because I am a "desert rat", that I do well in the heat. Not true!
Read MoreThat's why this Festival was called the Bakefest. So we did canyons that had water in them, that would be cool. Thankfully, The Narrows opened up the week before we got there, so we could do Imlay, Mystery and other, classic, pretty wet canyons.
Read MoreOnto one of my favorites... Imlay Canyon. With the lowering of the Narrows, Imlay had just opened, and Tom Talboys's trip the day before was probably the first of the season. An early rise and...
Read MoreWe had a little Tom's Canyon Festival down in Zions (ha ha), which, due to normal July temps, was known as the Bake Fest. It was somewhat hot
Read MoreLet's jump right in... The Escalante River was up, so Ram and Hank had rigged a rope the night before. Now, early in the morning, most stripped naked to hand traverse the rope across the river, body hanging downstream in the current. It was cold. Better than coffee.
Read MoreThe coolest, best, most dramatic and amazing canyon to do down there is Matacanes, which became known as "The Big M".
Read MoreAs expected, after a day of travelling, too little sleep and a night of modest partying, morning came much too soon, and we broke up into groups to go do canyons. Not being in the "ridiculously early" group, I chose to do Chipitin
Read MoreDown in Mexico, an international assemblage of canyoneers did some great canyons, downed a FEW cervezas, and had a great time. Wow, a really great time.
Read MoreIt got narrow… really, really narrow. I peered into the gloom and did not like what I saw, but my poor, tired brain had no idea what to make of it. Ram asked, “How’s it look?”
Read MoreOur plan was to do Waterholes Canyon the next day, but the weather did not cooperate, and so we chose the milder adventure of Badger Canyon. We went to Lee's Ferry to camp, and awoke to rain. So, what's a canyoneer to do...
Read MoreWe went off and camped. Next day, we actually had good weather! But, we needed to get the boat back, WAY down-lake by 5:00 pm. Thus we needed something short, like the Cathedral Apse.
Read MoreIn the morning, the plan was Tom G and Aaron would motor up to Dangling Rope Marina on the broken prop, and get it fixed. The rest of us would hang out. In the afternoon, we would motor up to the Cathedral in the Desert (CID) and shoot pictures, then figure out what else to do.
Read MoreWent down to visit Glen Canyon with the Arizona gang in March. One of the highlights of the trip was visiting Cathedral in the Desert at low water, with the waterfall hitting the sand for the first time in forty years. It is a remarkable little spot. We motored around the puddle, did some canyons, dodged the weather, broke a prop, had a good time. Here's the story.
Read MoreI've been trying to do a canyon with this guy Wade Christianson for a couple of years, and we finally got it together for this little, probably pretty mild project down in the Swell. Wade brought along his buddy Jayson Christensen. The weather was brilliant - and away we go...
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