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.
What 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 MoreSundance - my annual opportunity for culture and intellectual inspiration. This year I will make one post for each day, the movies seen that day. Day One: Alicia's next door neighbor scored me some tickets, but the first movie for the day was a pickup, and we used the new eWaitlist system to get decent numbers for Lambert and Stamp - a movie recommended by Alicia.
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.
Read More"You Tom?" called out a voice.
"Who wants to know?"... I will spare you a fabricated conversation. The guy in the white SUV said, there's two guys stuck on a cliff down near Hog Springs, and he was driving up to Hanksville to get a SAR going. Hmmm, we said, we'll see what we can do in the meantime.
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 MoreIt is hot out, this year. WAY hotter than normal, so how can Fat Man’s be made reasonable?
Read MoreA rematch was called for, obviously! Our trip of May first had left part of the canyon undone. And a bunch of rope stuck.
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