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.
Frank from Colorado was paying his first canyoneering visit to Zion, and wanted to get in a "big boy" before escaping, so Amanda suggested Kolob. While it is kinda long day, it would be less tortuous than our last couple of days out - sounds good. I drove over to Lava Point and camped in the cool of the high altitude, while Frank and Amanda drove up early in the morning.
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 MoreIn this kind of heat, even in Zion it is hard to find reasonable objectives. We chose Checkerboard with an early start. Skipping along Dakota Ridge in the early morning light was the plan... and we got some of that.
Read MoreWhat is NOT-Hidden? Why, conspicuous of course. My friend Rick Thompson had attempted Hidden Canyon from the Top last fall, and due to navigational difficulties found him and his companions in a nearby canyon, thus the name... well actually, it already had a name, Grotto Canyon, and was listed in my book with the line "I did it, so you don't have to".
Read MoreMost (sane) people try to avoid the MIA Exit as much as possible. But, there is a pretty nice canyon that parallels it, and I wanted to check that out, so I recruited Diana from ZAC for a casual run through. Since she had not exited up the MIA, this would be a good chance for her to get her first go at it without carrying all that much weight.
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 MoreA couple year ago, maybe more than a couple, when walking out the Narrows after Imlay one July, we found some people rapping into the Narrows in an odd place. "What was it like?" I asked.
"A couple long rappels, kinda brushy, not so good" was the answer.
Read MoreAfter a great day in Keyhole (which sounds faintly ridiculous)... Luke came up from Las Vegas, and the question was, what canyons COULD we do. Given the blanket of snow across Zion, Deeps and I kinda thought the only canyon that would be non-epic would be Pine Creek.
Read MoreMr. Deanpaul Russell aka Deeps came down to enjoy our incredible non-winter weather in Zion... except, the day before and the night he drove down, it snowed about 6" in Zion. Winter again! As the weather report predicted clearing in the afternoon, we delayed our start, meeting Jenny down at Deep Creek at 10 am. We geared up and picked up a permit, then headed up to do Pine Creek Canyon. The storm had cleared and the sun was out, melting snow on the slickrock. The flow in Pine Creek was a little more than we were up for, so we drove up the highway a bit, and ventured into Keyhole Canyon.
Read MoreThe big day was upon us. Yes, the night was cold and we rang in the new year at the appropriate hour --- for New York. Off to Hite it was, fairly early.
Read MoreSitting in the comfort of my Mount Carmel palace, it is easy to come up with a list of "canyons I want to do at FreezeFest". Unfortunately for me, there are people at the Fest who have read my list and gotten psyched to do canyons that involve snow, ice, swimming in icewater plus lots of climbing up and over and through. Trail was at the top of my list because I don't get to do it often, it being somewhat harder than most things in the area; an area I often visit with less-experienced canyoneers.
Read MoreIt is hard to get psyched for FreezeFest, living in a heated house with a plush, warm bed each night. But --- certain traditions MUST be followed, and FreezeFest is one of them. After a visit from the Ramoo for a snowy canyon in Zion, all that was left was to avoid packing
Read MoreThis is a silly sport. The whole thing. Sliding down ropes in remote places, risking death and destruction on a regular basis, for what?
Read MoreAn excellent adventure. A second Zion Narrows? Hardly. Three stars on a scale of 5 - four stars if there were no cows. But the continuity and scale of the narrows of The Barracks do not compete with the North Fork Narrows. Just doesn't.
Read MoreMy niece Rylin was in town. After a brief stint as a PT Intern in South Africa, and before heading to Portland to finish up her edumacation as a Physical Therapist, she scheduled a week in the Utah desert with her MAN (Eric), and a friend from Portland, now doing Residency in Grand Junction, Anne.
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