Running Timpanogos

I stared up at the Timpanogos ridge line not too long ago and realized there is so much of it that I have not explored. I called up a couple friends that I knew would be down to help me remedy my situation. Parker had been up to the summit earlier in the week and Josh had been trapped at home with a heavy homework load, so I figured we would make a good team.

I had been itching to shoot some trail running photos so we met at the trail head fairly early to try for some good light. I had borrowed a lens from Parker that I wasn't used to and messed up a bunch of photos. We made good time and it wasn't long before we were in the alpine. I made them stop periodically and run back and forth until I captured something I was happy with.

These shots are the few that turned out. I shot over 300 photos so I would say it was a bust, but all it takes is one photo to make shooting worth it for me. Not to mention that photography is now pushing me to get out and do something different and new. We hit the ridge after about three hours and started our traverse toward Bomber Peak. After shooting a few photos we hit our turn around time. Josh took off so he could make it to work as Parker and I trotted our way back to the car. All in all it was a fun and successful outing. I hope to get up high again before we get too much snow.

Scout Falls

My plans to run up to the summit of Timpanogos where thwarted by my inability to pull myself out of bed. I finally forced myself up and out the door only to be met by dark rain clouds. I made the drive up to Timpanookee trail head and started my way slowly upward. 

As my turn around time drew near I hit the Scout Falls turn off. I decided to snap a few photos before going back down the mountain. As I finished up the rain started to come down hard. I threw the camera in a dry bag and started running back down the trail in a down pour. My feet found their way through the slick rocks and over mud puddles back to the car. I tossed my wet camera bag into the passenger seat and headed for home smiling. A morning in the mountains is always the best way to start a day.

Grunge Couloir

The Grunge Couloir is one of those lines that I seem to think about a lot and I am not sure why. It might be because every time I have tried to do it, things haven't worked out. Schedule conflicts, snow conditions, weather, and timing never seem to fall into place.

Josh and I ran into a few snags so our 3:45 a.m. start didn't quite happen. We started up the closed road on our bikes in the dark. We were both in a sleep deprived fog and it took a little bit for us to get into a rhythm. Arriving at the base of the ascent into Wooly Hole, I decided to follow the snow thinking it would save us some time. Turns out I was wrong. We ended up in some pretty fun terrain, but we lost a lot of time.

After climbing our way through a chute we named "Death Cookie Couloir" we popped out in Wooly Hole. The sun was already out and heating the cornices that hung over the Grunge. It was only 7:30 a.m. but I knew we weren't going to make it. It was getting hot fast and by 8:30 the snow was already starting to corn up. We hit the base of the couloir around 9:30 a.m. and watched as rocks began to tumble off of the face. We were too late.

The Grunge turned me away again. The entire month of April was filled with days that would have been perfect. The only problem was that they were weekdays. Someday soon I will tick this line off of my list. Just turns out that it wasn't this season.

Photo Credit: Josh Snow

 

Photo Credit: Josh Snow

This is right after I swallowed a bug... I wasn't happy. It was a big bug.

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.

 

Timpanogos

 

I was really craving a long day in the mountains. I had been hoping for the Grunge Couloir, but as I called around looking for a partner people let me know that it wasn't filled in. Brody Leven was looking to explore the Southern Wasatch and it came down to just the two of us.

We met and made the short drive up to the Aspen Grove trail head and then made our way up Primrose Cirque. The snow was surprisingly good and we made good time. After stopping for lunch we decided to go for the summit. We crossed the valley and headed up to the summit ridge. We started to make our way across to the summit. It was slow going. Having left my crampons at home I was taking extra time kicking in steps. I was pretty tired by this point, my endurance needs a little work. We eventually realized that we weren't going to make the summit. 

We decided to turn back. The trip back was a little faster, and we got back to our drop in point at just the right time. The sun was setting and we snapped some great shots. 

The ride down was probably the most exciting part of the day. We got cliffed out and had to hike up a ways. We lost the light and I was attacked by an invisible bump. Then we rode out blind on a bumpy trail only able to make out the faint outline of it. We had a good time.