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.
Ramoo was doing a prodigious (as usual) May trip, on which I was invited but, c'mon, this is my time to make hay, as in dough, so alas... But it was INSISTED I participate on one particular project, where certain chunks of metal were inserted in backcountry holes, rather unnecessarily, with our job to remove them and patch carefully with epoxy. Yes, dear friends, nothing like a little bolt removal to get ME motivated.
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 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 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 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 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 MoreWorthy of faint praise. After a couple years of not quite getting around to the mighty Jolley Gulch, finally did the canyon today with Felicia and it was not nearly as nondescript as I expected.
We rallied at 9 am at the East Rim Trail parking lot, which was packed. Felicia immediately gained massive points by handing me a scone from Deep Creek Coffee Haus, we loaded up ropes and stuff and hiked up the trail. I suggested a shortcut which while definitely short required some 4th class climbing and probably only cost us 15 minutes, and soon-ish or maybe soon enough we were at the head of Jolley Gulch.
Brian had done it. Kip had done it. Jonathan had done it. Ram had done it, but I hadn't done it. Looking forward to a second edition of the guidebook, I really ought to do it, even though they had made it sound not-so-appealing.
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 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.
Read MoreOnce a year, it is good to get out with the Bushwhacker, among the few individuals who has done more cayons in the Zion area than I have. These days tend to be EPIC, or, more exactly, Kipic! Several of my longest days out have been with Kip in the Zion backcountry.
Read MoreI've had my eye on the 'end of Refrigerator Canyon' thingee for a while. Even tried it once, but the rain gods had other plans that day.
Read Morea FEST! A Valley of Death Fest!
Read MoreI’ve had Pipe Spring Canyon on my curiousity list for a while, having stopped by and poked into the bottom almost every time I hiked the MIA..
Read MoreRich Rudow and Todd Martin have been spending a bit of time in the mighty canyon of the Colorado River, as it crosses from Lee's Ferry to Lake Mead. Exploring every little nook and cranny?
Read MoreWe were hoping and planning on re-engineering the BIG DROP to avoid the infamous Rope-Eating Crack, and to set it up so others could too.
Read MoreThe Young Turks of Arizona invited Ram out to explore a few canyons around the north end of the Grand Canyon (the Marble Canyon area). This became 'Ditch Fest' and I somehow wrangled an invite for me.
Read MoreA great time to be in the wild, but with the wetness and all, not a great time to do canyons. What else was around? How about Ryan's ramble out to the Yellow Brick Road and Tik Tok Bridge?
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