Little Cottonwood

As I begin to let go of winter objectives I am beginning to remember what I love about longer days and warmer temperatures. Eric Montandon and I got out for our first Little Cottonwood route of the season. We decided to hop on Perhaps, a pretty mellow 5.7. I have done the route before, but I forgot that the entire second pitch requires almost constant underclinging. A move that is extremely difficult for me because of a motorcycle accident which broke both of my arms when I was 14. 

Regardless of my handicap it is a spectacular route. I even found myself enjoying the uncomfortable underclings. Eric lead both pitches and did really well. He unfortunately had to fight an excessive amount of rope drag as he finished the route, but he handled it like a champ. We rappelled down over the top of another LCC classic called the "Green Adjective". We each took a lap on that before calling it a night. 

Days Fork in a days work

 

I woke up to snow in the valley, tentative plans, and a bunch of "maybe's" from potential touring partners. Eric had the morning off and he was in for something as long as he made it back to work on time. After looking at snow totals we decided Little Cottonwood Canyon would make for the best destination. The only problem was that it was closed for avalanche control work and on a Saturday that means an hour or more wait if you get there at the wrong time. We decided to wait it out. Pancakes and a movie kept me busy until Eric showed up at my door. We missed all traffic and made it up there at the perfect time.

The entire canyon was reborn. Everything was refreshed by the storm and we were surprised to be driving up with the sun shining. We knew it was going to be deep. After hitting the skin track and making some estimations we talked about dropping back in to Days Fork. We hit the Flagstaff summit and couldn't resist.

I chopped a small cornice which fell on the slope creating a small slide. It only ran for about 30-40 feet and didn't step down into any deeper layers. The snow looked safe and Eric was the first to drop. One of the best things about riding in the backcountry is dropping in to an untouched slope. Knowing that you are the first offers some sort of mental satisfaction that I can't really explain. Eric made some big sweeping turns hootin' and hollerin' the whole way down. I dropped in and did the same.

We put in a skin track back up to the ridge and hurried back to the Flagstaff summit so Eric could get back to work. It was hard to leave. There was still plenty of untouched snow around and we had just put in a skin track which would have made the laps much shorter. Eric had to be to work so we headed back to the car. 

We dropped in from the Flagstaff summit and were practically swallowed by the deep snow. Once again we rode all the way down without crossing another track. It was my deepest day of the season so far and we hit it at just the right time. It was a good day.

I finished out the day on the river in freezing temperatures. The one fish I reeled in had me feeling content and I decided to head home, warm up, and rest. I have to say this one more time, it was a good day.

Mount Superior

Heading home

White room

Smiles and high fives

Trout

Tom

First Craggin' Trip of the Year

 Eric and I made plans to climb up Little Cottonwood after work the other day. As I was about to leave work, Eric called and changed the destination to American Fork Canyon. The weather was warm and it ended up being absolutely perfect up there. I always go through a little bit of an adjustment when I start climbing outside again. The gym makes your brain lazy. I realized that this type of evening needs to happen a lot more.

 

Ancient Art

Quick weekend trips are one of the things that make living in Utah amazing. You can go from a powder day to climbing and mountain biking in less than a 3 hour drive. When Eric called and threw Ancient Art on the table it didn't take much convincing.

We pulled in to Moab a little before midnight and crashed for the night outside of town. The night was a lot colder than we had anticipated but a Grand Slam at Denny's balanced it all out. We waited for it to warm up and then drove out to the massive pile of mud called Fisher Towers.

Eric and I took turns swinging leads. I lead the first and third pitch and he took the second and fourth. As I pulled my way up the third pitch to the walkway to the summit I was surprised. I have seen pictures of the climb, but nothing really does it justice. It was one of the most unique features I have ever seen. Eric made the awkward scurry across to the corkscrew and climbed it like a champ.

My mouth definitely was dry as I took my turn on the summit. The Fisher Towers make for interesting climbing. Climbing Ancient Art made me question my desire to do other climbs in that area. There are plenty of other routes made of solid rock to keep me busy for now.

We hit a climb on Wall Street called 30 Seconds Over Potash before heading home. We had a good time and the weather was perfect. Other than the two hour traffic jam we hit on our way home the trip went without a hitch.

Shooting from a distance

My idea to shoot the route "Outside Corner" didn't really come together. As I become more and more interested in shooting climbing, there is more I realize I need to learn. There are a lot of good shots that can just happen, but setting up a shot from a distance can take a lot of research. Some of these shots turned out to be okay, but there aren't any that I am particularly proud of. Regardless of how the shots turned out, I am glad we went for it.