FreezeFest III: The Black Hole for New Years!

You get to sleep in on Hole day. After sipping scotch at midnight and a restful sleep, the call went out at 8 AM. The sun was up, offering one of the few sunrises of note, on the trip.

Canyoneering, Freeze Fest, North Wash, Steve Ramras, Trip ReportRamJanuary 1, 2005Black Hole, Black Hole of White Canyon, Dave Black, Ryan Cornia, Tom Jones, freezefest, freeze fest

FreezeFest III: Rainy Day in Arches National Park, UT

Then a few hours before dawn, the sounds of light rain woke us in our tents and tarps. No problem, it was pretty light.

Arches NP, Canyoneering, Steve Ramras, Trip ReportRamDecember 29, 2004Moab, Park Avenue, arches national park, arches, freezefest, freeze fest

FreezeFest III, Hemlock Canyon, UT

I know she was having a good time that evening, for the conversation lasted until 1 AM instead of the usual 11 PM, in which time we solved all the troubles of the world, except the tsunami, which we had not heard of yet.

Canyoneering, North Wash, Steve Ramras, Trip ReportRamDecember 27, 2004Matt Smith, Steve Ramras, freezefest, Freeze Fest, hemlock canyon, canyoneering

Canyoneering Deer Creek Falls, Grand Canyon National Park

Deer Creek is at the bottom. Of the Big Ditch. As in 5000 feet down, and 5000 feet up to get out. Aaaargh. This is why you wait for fall, so the weather is somewhat reasonable.

Canyoneering, Grand Canyon, Tom Jones, Trip Report, WaterfallsTom JonesOctober 2, 2004Bill Hall trail, Deer Creek, Esplanade, John Hart, Thunder River trail, Tom Gendron, grand canyon, canyoneering, canyoneering grand canyon, grand canyon national park

YoFest - North Wash and Lake Powell

The team for today is Tom and Tom, plus Randi from So Cal and her daughter Rachel

Canyoneering, Lake Powell, North Wash, Tom Jones, Trip ReportTom JonesOctober 2, 2004Alicia Scotter, Burning Monkey, Child's Play, Jane Arhart, John Hart, Naked Monkey, Roger Arhart, Tom Gendron, lake powell, Lake Powell canyoneering

Zion Canyoneering Summercamp:

Always one of my favorites, I have not done Mystery for a couple of years due to the hassles of getting a permit. Rumors were that the Death Gully approach had become horrendous...

Canyoneering, Eye of the Needle, Mystery, Telephone Canyon, Trip Report, ZionTom JonesSeptember 3, 2004Barb Grover, Hello Pitney, Judy Seybold, Larry Halford, Rob Heineman, Roylnn Serati

Canyoneering Photos, featuring Zion National Park and Spain

Here are some Canyoneering photos I recently had scanned.

CanyoneeringTom JonesJuly 19, 2004canyon photography, canyoneering photos, zion, boundary, Birch Hollow, kolob, heaps

Kolob Creek and Imlay Canyon, Zion National Park

This was a four-photographer gig, with Chris Avery shooting the most square inches of film, Lin Alder shooting the most images, and… Well, we all get what we get. My best shots are below.

Canyoneering, Imlay Canyon, Trip Report, ZionTom JonesJune 3, 2004Chris Avery, Lin Alder, Tom Wetherell

Escalante Canyons: Moes Slot, Neon, and an Exploration!

Went down Escalante-way for Memorail Day. Crew was Alicia, Tom and Sharon Talboys, Tom Wetherill up from Tucson for the occasion, and Tom Jones (me) (a 3-Tom trip!).

Pine Creek Canyon in Full Conditions, Zion National Park, UT

Next day seemed like a good one for the MIGHTY Pine Creek. 'Spossed to be full of water... it was!!

Canyoneering, Pine Creek, Tom Jones, Trip Report, ZionTom JonesApril 5, 2004ACA Rendezvous, Alicia Scotter, Hank Moon, zion, canyoneering, zion canyoneering, pine creek, pine creek canyon

Summit Mount Majestic and Canyoneering Hook Canyon, Zion National Park, UT

Selection of canyons "in-condition" was small, we decided to check out the purported route up Mount Majestic from the first raps in Behunin.

Behunin Canyon, Canyoneering, Exploration, Peak Bagging, Tom Jones, Tom's First Visit, Trip Report, ZionTom JonesApril 5, 2004Alicia Scotter, Hook Canyon, Mount Majestic, Patti Rambert, Sharon Talboys, Tom Talboys

First Trip Through Pandora's Box, Capital Reef, UT

Start with The Squeeze, end with Wiggun's. After a slideshow at REI, we blast down to the Factory Butte campsite, arriving at 4 am. Jeez. Never seen stars so bright...

Canyoneering, Capitol Reef, Tom Jones, Tom's First Visit, Trip ReportTom JonesApril 3, 2004canyoneering Pandoras Box, Pandoras Box, Pandoras Box Capitol Reef, capital reef, canyoneering

Alcatraz Canyon, Robbers Roost, UT

This fork of Twin Corral Box is called Alcatraz, in honor of some friends who got wigged out by the narrowness and engineered an escape.

Canyoneering, Robbers Roost, Tom Jones, Trip ReportTom JonesMarch 23, 2004Alcatraz Canyon, robbers roost

Mindbender Fork, Robbers Roost, UT

Rather confusing really. I thought I had found the famous "Mindbender" Fork, about which Steve Allen tells an interesting story, perhaps over-dramatized; but it was not to be - what I found was a really good fork I now call Not-Mindbender.

Canyoneering, Robbers Roost, Tom Jones, Trip ReportTom JonesMarch 22, 2004Mindbender Fork, Robbers Roost, Steve Allen

Arscenic Canyon & Slideanide Canyon, Robbers Roost, UT

Beautiful weather. Shane invited us down to the North Wash Area for a couple new "gems" he had beta on. Sure, why not? Always up for doing something new. Where? Can't tell ya - it's a secret.

Canyoneering, Robbers Roost, Tom Jones, Trip ReportTom JonesMarch 21, 2004Alicia Scotter, Dave Black, Shane Burrows, Tom Talboys, robbers roost, the roost

Hiking Coyote Gulch, Escalante National Monument

Here we are in the Escalante. Coyote Gulch is extremely popular, but actually, come to think of it, it never really felt crowded. Great thing about canyons, turn a couple of corners and you are there by yourself again.

Canyoneering, Escalante, Tom Jones, Trip ReportTom JonesMarch 18, 2004Backpack Gear Test, Coyote Wash, Stevens Arch

North Wash Canyons and the Black Hole for FreezeFest

A new tradition. The Black Hole for New Years. Ram rounded up a bunch of folks, most of whom backed out when they checked the weather forecast. So off with a small group of die-hards to the slots of North Wash for a little Mae-Westing before the Hole.