Stories from the seasonal life and the road beyond

The snow season melted to an end and the long planned adventures for the upcoming Spring began to sprout.  For many of us who work for the Utah ski industry those plans often include a getaway to the dry desert just a few hours south. It's a chance to get the choco sandals dusty again for the first time in months, pump up the bike tires and tape up your hands for some desert crack climbing.  It was the perfect direction for Julie and me to start our four month road trip.  We hope it becomes more than just a trip but more of an example of the newest "American dream."  We had been making plans to move our gear into the car, follow our passion and set off to hike, climb, bike and draw in as many inspiring places as possible.

Ice soloing sixthwater

I have always thought that the hardest thing about winter climbing is finding someone to climb with.   There is special gear and a special attitude to sometimes embrace the occasional adverse weather.  As the season set on Stu and I set out to look for routes. We spent a day in the car on back roads and getting lost on approaches in central utah while following an old book of ice routes that we hoped had begun to form. After 10 hours we came back to Park City after that early day in November mostly empty handed.
One of the routes we had set off to find was called "sixthwater."   It was a hundred foot ice fall known to form just up stream of the popular "fifthwater" hot springs.   Stu and I never found it but a month later I wrangled some partners and tried again.
By this time the weather was colder and the road was closed low in Diamond Fork canyon because of snowfall, lengthening the hike in to the route. Nate, Kat and I parked the car where the road became snow and loaded our packs. We didn't know what to expect so we nearly brought everything.   We followed the canyon 5 miles up to he hot springs then continued on breaking trail in the fresh snow.   After 3 bends in the canyon we came around to find a pristine fall climbing up before us. We climbed one at a time, the difficulty never enough to require ropes or gear.  We rappelled off the route, dipped in the springs and made it back the 5 miles to the car after dark.

A new season begins

The skiing is not good.  Actually it is probably very bad.  Ten inches of new soft snow is not even close to enough to hide the rocks, branches and logs that are exposed during the warm months.  The best you can hope for is some wind to have pushed the soft new snow into protected areas along ridges where it can accumulate into drifts deep enough to ski.  Or, you ski it anyway.  The relatively soft P-Tex that is used to make modern ski bases is the most vulnerable.  The early season is the best time to turn a nice smooth base on your new skis into a scratched up mess that looks more like tree bark.  It wouldn't be called rock surfing without a few bumps on the way.  

The Castle

Julie joins me at the top of the Castle in Castle Rocks, Idaho.  It was her tallest route.  We shared the new rope she got me on the four pitch 5.7 called Big Time.  We were there in Southern Idaho for the Idaho Mountain Festival where she lead a yoga clinic each morning for climbers who had traveled from all over the region to climb, trail run, bike and socialize.

Touristing in the Tetons

The view from the Eastern front of the Tetons is more dramatic than anything else in the lower United States

Bike the Wasatch

The evening sun and the smooth singletrack fell right into place.

Class 5 Scramble

September is one of the best months all year.  The weather is cooler, afternoon showers less fierce and all is perfect for a class 5 scramble.  Kayleigh and I made our way up the summit of Mount Superior by way of the South Ridge.  As I flipped through the summit registry at the top I found the entry I had mad when I hike the East Ridge a September ago.

Jamcrack

On the far right side of the Mule Hollow wall in Big Cottonwood Canyon is the Jamcrack.  Last weekend my buddy Dan gave me a call and asked if I wanted to go Bouldering.  I said, "sure, ill bring a rope."  Seven hours later Dan, Hayden and I had finished the 4 pitch route with the 1 long hour approach.  It was a good outing and far from the original plan of staying only a few feet off the ground.

The West Slabs

A major classic that towers out of the Salt Lake Valley are the West Slabs of Mount Olympus. The climbing is of an easy grade but really long as in 10-12 pitches of roped climbing and 1660 feet of quartzite climbing.  I suggested the route to a new friend who had never done a multi-pitch climb.  There is no better introduction to long climbing than the longest route on the Wasatch Front.

Challenge Buttress

On a hot and sunny 100 degree day in the Salt Lake Valley we took a trip up Big Cottonwood Canyon to chase some shady climbs.  Just above the first roof on a fairly new route that was bolted in 2007 Nathan rests it out on "CTR"- 5.10a/b

Hatchet Crack 5.7

After a seemingly long stretch between outings, I finally made it back around the mountain to Little Cottonwood Canyon.  This time it was with Rose, who I have discussed climbing with often but not actually tied into very many routes with.  On the last day of May we shimmied, scootched and muscled our way up the deep right facing crack known as Hatchet Crack.  The nature of the crack makes it feel as if the most difficult parts of the route are climbed sideways.  In the photo, having finished the fist pitch, Rose casually steps up the last few feet to the belay ledge.  From here we continued up another but easier pitch to where we would find our descent route slightly to the north. The descent requires two rappels and and scramble down a gully to the bottom of the canyon.

Iron Hayden

Last week Andrew and I climbed and skied a couloir on the west face of Hayden Peak in the Uintas of Northern Utah.  It was a wide, and aesthetic line off the north ridge that Andrew had first seen 6 years ago.  We were both really excited to make the descent (and ascent) under perfect ski conditions.

Ski the Uintas: 5/24/13

Andrew Hennigh strolls through the High Uinta Wilderness above Bald Mountain Pass in Northeaster Utah.  This wilderness area holds snow long into the spring and is home to the highest peaks.  The west face of Hayden Peak, (cast in shadows in the distance) is one of the most prominent in the area.

Skiing in the Wasatch: May 21

Sierra, Andrew, and I hiked up Mt Baldy in Park City with a crew of 4 dogs for a May ski day.

Antalya, Turkey

By the time we hung our hammocks in the bramble like holly trees we it had been traveling for 30 hours without much sleep.  In the heat of the day but the cool of the shade we napped among the limestone cliffs of the Taurus mountains in southern Turkey.  I couldn't quite imagine how I had gotten there to that place, a small climbing camp in a little known part of the world surrounded by some of the best limestone cliffs ever climbed.  It seemed like so far away but at the same time quite easy to reach.  JoSiTo is a small climbers hostel set in the mountains in a quiet farming village.  The locals were unaware of what they had above them until some German and Turks began establishing routes on the cliffs.  The farmers, unfamiliar with the gear, yelled at them to come down or risk falling.  The camp includes a kitchen and commons area within a few minute walk to hundreds of sport routes where climbers mingle and piece together conversations in whatever common language they share.
By the first day we had established a solid routine that included coffee, breakfast and climbing as many routes as we could before dark.  It was an unreal glimpse at an amazing little piece of climbing culture.

Coffin Crack

A hard finger sized splitter crack in Little Cottonwood Canyon made even harder by cold hands and snow flurries.

12 Months Skiing in the Wasatch: April

It is April and the snow is still easy to reach.  Snowbird is one of the last ski mountains open late in the Wasatch after closing day at most of the other mountains.  If current global warming trends continue the the winter snowpack is not expected to exist below 9,000 feet in elevation in the Wasatch (our about halfway between the summit and base of the local ski mountains) in as few as 40 years.  A late season snowpack might more closely reflect the winter snowpack of the future.  This is relevant to anyone who lives in the West because the snows provide the crucial store of water for the dry summer months.  It is also relevant to skiers and a generation of the winter sports enthusiasts who will likely see significant changes in a single lifetime.  Right now it is possible (with a bit of hiking and searching) to ski a line in the Wasatch every month of the year.  Will our dependence on carbon burning fuels and slowness to move away from their excessive use make us the last generation who will be able to ski 12 months in the Wasatch?

More information concerning climate change and winter snowpack:
Protect Our Winters  http://protectourwinters.org/

Save Our Snow http://www.saveoursnow.com/

 

The journey in the approach

Most of the time, a day spent climbing consists of far less actual climbing than you would expect.  After meeting up with your partners, carpooling to the climbing area, hiking to the start of the climb and racking gear it is likely that you have already put in more time than you will spend actually on the route.  You could choose longer routes but then there wouldn't be as much time to hike back down, drive into town for tacos where you can then sit with your partners and talk about climbing.  In the photo we hike up one of the easier approaches among the Stansbury cliffs to climb a few routes before we decide to head back down for food.

Stansbury Climb

March brought some unseasonably warm weather to Utah which was no surprise because we just melted through what may soon go down as the warmest winter on record.  We made the most of it and made the short drive to the West Desert to clip some bolts in a relatively newly discovered climbing area.

Daly Ski hike

Matt hops into the deep snow just above the Daly chutes on Empire Pass, Utah.