Anchor Work in The Subway, Zion National Park

Zion's Subway is a wonderful, beautiful canyon, enjoyed by many people in several different ways. I made a run through on a recent weekend to re-locate the first anchor, bolted this spring but not in the best place (from my point of view).

Anchors, Canyoneering, The Subway, Tom Jones, Trip Report, ZionTom JonesSeptember 29, 2012Subway Canyon, subway, the subway, the subway zion

The Squeeze & Quandary Canyons, San Rafael Swell, Utah

Some good canyons can be found at the south end of the San Rafael Swell. They are especially good, especially fun when full of water - as we expected to find them, thanks to storms tracking across Utah these last two months.

Canyoneering, San Rafael Swell, Tom Jones, Trip ReportTom JonesSeptember 24, 2012the swell, Quandary Canyon, san rafael swell, Utah canyoneering, canyoneering, the squeeze, Quandary Direct, Quandary Direct Canyon

An Anchor Survey in The Squeeze Canyon, San Rafael Swell, Utah

The Squeeze is an excellent canyoneering adventure down in Utah's San Rafael Swell. I was down at Hidden Splendor for the SUWA Roundup. The frequent storms the last few weeks suggested the canyons on the south end of the Reef would be in Splasher mode

Anchors, Canyoneering, San Rafael Swell, Tom Jones, Trip ReportTom JonesSeptember 24, 2012anchors, the swell, san rafael swell, canyoneering, achors, the squeeze canyon, the squeeze

Eyedropper Canyon, a First Descent in the San Rafael Swell, Utah

Canyoneering 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.

Big rappel, Canyoneering, Exploration, San Rafael Swell, Tom Jones, Trip ReportTom JonesSeptember 23, 2012first descent, eyedropper canyon, san Rafael swell, the swell, canyoneering

Lake Powell Canyoneering with the Merry Men of Murray

The BEST trip, every year. Out on Lake Powell, in Glen Canyon.

Canyoneering, Lake Powell, Trip Report, Glen Canyon, Tom JonesTom JonesSeptember 12, 2012Drue Kehl, Jenny West, Mark Rosen, Ram, Steve Ramras

Full Imlay Canyon Descent, Zion National Park, with Anchor Work

Went through Full Imlay with Steve Brezovec and Kelly Birdwell - to enjoy the canyon, of course, and to work on the anchors. (All photos this rave by Steve Brezovec.)

Canyoneering, Imlay Canyon, Tom Jones, Trip Report, ZionTom JonesSeptember 3, 2012anchor maintenance, bolting, canyoneering, Steve Brezovec, imlay, Imlay Canyon, full imlay, full imlay canyon

Rappelling Incident in Cascade Creek, Ouray, CO

I have a tendency to make things more complex than they really need to be. Sometimes this gets people in trouble, like in this case. Fortunately, BIG trouble was avoided.

Accidents, Big rappel, Canyoneering, Mistakes, Ouray, Tom Jones, Trip ReportTom JonesAugust 20, 2012cascade, ouray, cascade creek, incident

Ouray Wet n Wild Canyoning in Bear, CO

Went down to Ouray for some wet stuff. Found it! Ouray has quite an amazing concentration of fun, wet canyons. There are only two problems with this: the season is short (typically "August"), and it is an 8 hour drive from my house. Spoiled I am, living IN canyon country, and I have gotten used to not having to drive all that far. Woe is me...

Canyoneering, Ouray, Tom Jones, Trip ReportTom JonesAugust 18, 2012Canyoning, Colorado, Mike Dallin, Steve Ramras, waterfall rappel, waterfalls

Zion Canyoneering: New East-Side Canyon with Kip Marshall

Getting 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.

Canyoneering, Exploration, Tom Jones, Trip Report, ZionTom JonesJuly 28, 2012Exploration, first descent, zion, zion canyoneering, canyoneering, kip marshall, eastern sun

Exciting New Canyon in Zion National Park, First Descent?

Exciting new Canyon in Zion, First Descent? Nope! I was hoping. Hope springs eternal and looking for new canyons involves lots of hope. This one...

Canyoneering, Exploration, Tom Jones, Trip Report, Zion, Zion Adventure CompanyTom JonesJuly 25, 2012first descent, zion, zion canyoneering, canyoneering

A Zion Backcountry Adventure Canyon - Choo Choo Canyon

My buddy and webmaster Nick Wilkes was in town from Wisconsin for a little Zion-happy time, and despite the thunderstorms we lined up to do a canyon. There's a canyon Kip found almost ten years ago now that I had sadly neglected for quite some time

Canyoneering, Tom Jones, Trip Report, ZionTom JonesJuly 18, 2012zion, zion canyoneering, canyoneering, backcountry

Elephant Cove Sand and Rock Canyon, Zion

Rock Canyon is a great little canyon that drops into The Barracks portion of the East Fork of the Virgin. The main obstacle is getting there - driving the perilous soft sand roads of Elephant Cove to get to the rim of the canyon.

Canyoneering, Tom Jones, Trip Report, ZionTom JonesJuly 8, 2012rock canyon, the barracks, zion, canyoneering, zion canyoneering

Pine Creek Canyon, Zion in the Summer

I try to stay away from the main canyons in Zion during the holidays, but sometimes I can't resist.

Canyoneering, Guest, Jonathan Zambella, Trip Report, Zion, Pine CreekJonathan ZambellaJuly 5, 2012Pine Creek, pine creek, pine creek canyon, zion, zion canyoneering, canyoneering

The Zion Northwoods Stroll - June 2012

One of the many charms of Zion National Park is the wide range of ecosystems within its boundaries. Cliffs, canyons, rivers, alcoves, hanging gardens, upland mesas, dry ponderosa forests, etc.

Flowerwalk, Tom Jones, Trip Report, Wildflowers, ZionTom JonesJune 24, 2012Zion Wildflowers

Zion Overnight Backcountry Adventure: Right Fork of North Creek Canyon

The route thus far has surrendered so much to us so freely. The warm glow of the morning light across the gentle floral sweeps of the West Rim. A pleasantly brush-free route to a dramatic drop-in at the Hammerhead Entry.

Arch Rappel, Canyoneering, Guest, Mark Duttweiler, Trip Report, ZionMark DuttweilerJune 4, 2012Arch rappel, canyoneering, Hammerhead Canyon, Right Fork, West Rim Trail, Zion National Park, right fork of north creek, right fork canyon, overnight

Neon Canyon and the Golden Cathedral. Braving the Escalante Summer

Went down to Escalante for a little Neon action. It being June and all, and a hot year to boot, and knowing Neon was dry dry dry; for this trip Mike Schasch and I convinced our guests that running daytrips out of a car-camp would be a much better plan than backpacking down

Canyoneering, Escalante, Tom Jones, Trip Report, Zion Adventure CompanyTom JonesJune 3, 2012golden cathedral, mazamas, neon, neon canyon, neon canyon escalante, the golden cathedral

Imlay Sneak Canyon Route on Memorial Day Weekend, Zion National Park

We entered via the "short-cut" route and suited up at the sand cave. Soon afterward we were chest deep in log soup. This was a great start to the trip.