49hr Deso

Last weekend we had a 48hr Deso reunion! Three years ago Karen, Ammon, Kerri and I did a 50 (not quite 48) hour Deso trip on the Green. Since then, Ammon and Karen got married (that trip started it all), I served a mission, and life went on.

So, we planned a reunion trip! The government opened up just in time to check our permits and let us on the water. Former guides Joe and Caity to joined us and we rowed all day, into the night, ate on the boat, slept on the boat.... and broke our record by an hour, making this the forty-nine hour Deso trip. It was a amazing to see the fall colors and different autumn sun on this river.

Banff Mountain Film Festival

Monday night I took Ivy to the Banff Film Fest here in Moab. After picking up the free posters and stickers from Petzl, we entered the auditorium and joined the crowds of adrenaline junkies waiting for the show. It started off with two sweaty-palm-inducing, on-the-edge films where you feared for the athelete's life. I got an rush just watching the incredible feats these people accomplish. Dean Potter was featured in the flim "Fly or Die," where he free BASED (climbing with no safety equipment besides a parachute) the north face of the Eiger, a 1,000 ft peak in Switzerland that more than 60 climbers have died on. After successfully topping-out, he leaped from a ledge and flew to safety.

Luckily for my adrenal glands not all the films were this intense. This was one of my favorite films they showed:

I hope someday I can grow a beard like that. After the show I felt like BASE jumping, or treking across a large desert, or something crazy like that. Sponsorships, anybody? Hmm, maybe I can get a camera crew and helicopter to document my float down the daily...

Highlining

Thanksgiving Highline Fest in Moab! There were six lines set up with two short practice lines nearby. Ryan Matson took me out there, and I leashed up to a short 35 ft "practice" line. Just to get myself used to the height I scooted across on my butt and kinda played around a bit. Safely on the other side, I tried to convince myself to start walking. I could step on the line, almost get two steps, and then freak myself out. It's hard to step off a cliff and hold balance! I practiced falling and catching the webbing a couple times, and was finally able to step out and balance for a while. My inability to do better was all in my head! If a slackline like that had been set up 3 ft off the ground, it would have been no problem. I need more practice and control of my fears, and next time, I will walk the line.

Challenges, stress, confidence, and success.

From the title of this post, you're probably thinking that I've had a rough spot in my life and I'm blogging about it, but this is about a less solemn subject: climbing. Climbing is like no other sport. It is physically demanding, mentally straining, and dangerous. It focuses your mind and sharpens your senses. It offers a challenge that if defeated, brings an incredible sensation of achievement.

"This one seems pretty doable." Kerri, Sterling, and I stood at the base of a route on Wall Street, a beautiful red slickrock wall with many climbs. It might've been the last good-weather day of the year, and we wanted to make the most of it. We looked up with our necks craned, assessing the rock and the difficulty of it. "The book says it's only a 5.8? Let's try it - I'll lead."

"Leading" is to climb a route first, place anchors as you go along, and clip your rope at the top. On most climbs there is a bolt in the rock every 5-10 feet, and if you are about to clip into one and you slip, you will fall twice the distance since your last anchor before your belayer can catch you. So if you climb 10 feet, almost reach the next bolt and slip!, then you're going to fall at least 20 feet. There's a lot of stress and motivation to not fall while you're lead climbing.

And leading was exactly what I was attempting to do. I tied a figure-eight to my harness, squeezed my feet into my shoes, and took off. A little scramble to the first bolt, and I felt sure I could top out. I kicked my brain into hyper speed, focusing on the rock so I could move smoothly and save energy. One... two... three bolts behind me... and then I stopped. I was on an exposed rock fin with the ground a mile away. There were no holds to my right, drop-off on my left, and a small hold above my head about 6 inches too high. I thought, "If I dyno (jump) to that hold, I'm probably going to fall. But I'll try it--it's all in my head, right?" I ran through my plan. Focus, energy to my legs, and... "doh-AH!" I made an involuntary sound with my throat as I fell and swung down on the rope. "I'm going to try again - be ready to catch me!" It took too many tries, and I got tired of gaining all that distance just to fall again. Kerri, my belayer, yelled up that she'd try it, so I came down.

On the ground and trading places, I described the tough spot to Kerri while I took off my shoes and pulled out my belay device. She climbed past the crux and finished, and seeing that it was possible, I tried again. After I had made the difficult move and finished, I realized why I couldn't do it before. I didn't have the confidence in myself to stick that move; I was sure I'd fall--and I did.

Climbing is not only about skill of movement on the rock; it requires concentration to solve difficult problems, determination, and confidence to overcome fear. The process is stressful, but the rewards are sweet: an incredible sense of accomplishment and a good dose of adrenaline. Climbing is something I can't quit, but I think it's a lot healthier than other addicting substances. Climbing is a passion.

Walking the line

I got the slackline from Emily! I've been practicing quite a bit, walking longer and longer lines. It's so much fun balancing and learning new tricks. Eventually I want to be able to highline.

Perfect weather... perfect weekend

It's been in the 70's all week! Perfectly beautiful fall weather. On Friday Ammon and I went sport climbing on Wall Street. After a couple disappointing attempts, we finally completed a route. Good practice, but I really need to work on forearm strength. In the afternoon Emily and Karen joined us to set up a slackline at the park. I hadn't slacklined since last year, but I worked and worked at it until I could walk it! It's amazing how much balance and technique it takes. Pretty soon I was jumping on the line and walking! I love it... and it's a cool social tool; so many people walking down the road came over and asked, "Hey, can I try your line?" It's great to learn from different people. I'm getting enough webbing to make my own line, and I'm planning on setting up some posts in my backyard so I can practice anytime.

Later that night, a few of us had a bonfire in rememberance of Guy Fawkes. We also blew up cans of gasoline and aerosol instead of fireworks. Enough said.

Ivy and the Whitewater Kayaking Club from BYU came Friday night, so Saturday morning we floated the daily. It was crazy to be on the river the beginning of November, so late in the year! It was really cool to be floating past yellow cottonwoods and see the fall wildlife. The water was so cold, but the outside air was great. I couldn't go in a whitewater kayak because I've never rolled, but I wanted to try something new besides a duckie. So I rented a sit-on-top kayak... dumb idea. It was huge and heavy, and basically the same as an inflatable duckie, which are easy to roll up and stow in a car. Oh well, I tried something new, and now I know I won't try it again.

After the daily the club ate at Fiesta Mexicana and left town (Ivy hitched a ride back to campus on Sunday with a visiting riverguide).We finished up the night with hot chocolate and "River Wild." Perfect weekend!

Logan to Moab... and everywhere in-between.

Last weekend my aunt Naomi picked me up to go to her place for a couple days! When we got to her place in Sugarhouse, Salt Lake, we dressed up for the Halloween party her roommates were having. It was fun, and I liked getting to know some of Naomi's friends. On Saturday morning Naomi and I met up with two other friends at the Olive Garden she used to work at and had an early lunch. Naomi brought the pictures she took in Italy (a trip that OG gives to outstanding employees) and we got to see all the stuff she did there. So cool. After that we saw "Red" at the Megaplex 12... wow, the theater in Moab is a joke! It was a great movie; perfect blend of action and comedy. Later we stopped at REI (picture right, like my stool?), In-n-Out, the climbing gym and then Naomi gave me a quick Haunted Salt Lake tour. It was really interesting to see the old buildings and hear the haunted stories. We drove to the cemetery above The Avenues and walked around some of the graves. Later in the evening we went to the haunted "Asylum 49" in Tooele. That was pretty intense--it was Naomi's fifth haunted house in two weeks, and she said it was the best yet.

Sunday morning we left early early and picked up my grandparents to go to my cousin's primary program in Logan. I love Logan, I can't wait to go to school there. And I haven't seen the Duerschs in so long! I got to sit next to Hannah and whisper with Austin in church, but that's all we could stay for. Back to Pleasant Grove! We had a quick lunch with Charlotte and Big Chris and then got on the road. On the way we stopped by Provo and talked with Ivy for a couple minutes! A big storm was rolling in, and the drive home was crazy; we got back pretty late.

It was a crazy-awesome weekend, and I loved everything we did. Thank you Nopey!

click to learn about the legend of  Emo's grave

Provo Round #2

This weekend I was lucky enough to be able to visit Ivy again! My Andrew aunts and uncles were celebrating my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary, so I asked to be just dropped off at BYU. I arrived just after Ivy had raced in the school's mini-triathlon, and had finished strong. We (she) recovered in her apartment in the Foreign Language Housing where she studies Spanish. 

Later in the afternoon we hiked up Rock Canyon, which is only a 15 min. walk from campus. The fall colors were pretty, and the cool air was perfect for a hike. There were several groups climbing and mountain biking, and we joined the many couples that were obviously hiking for a date. We explored the canyon, found a cool cave, and crossed the stream several times. Ivy told me about Squaw Peak that overlooks the canyon and times that she's climbed it. Pretty cool!

After we walked back into town, she showed me around campus and all the things that she does around there. We had dinner at the Ruby Thai restaurant and then watched a flick at the International Cinema. I invited her over to my grandparent's house for the night and the next day, and we stayed there with all my crazy wild cousins and family. Sunday we went to church and after lunch we dropped Ivy off and headed home to Moab (where my new climbing harness had arrived! Now I have all the gear I need to climb with my friends). What an awesome weekend.

Exploding colors in Rock Canyon

Klondike Bluffs

Sterling and I wanted an afternoon ride the other day, so we threw on the bikes and sped off to Klondike Bluffs. After saying goodbye to the trailhead, we began the 4.5 mile ascent to the lookout on the top, which views Arches Nat'l Park. Uphill wasn't too bad; just pop your bike into granny gear and cruise up. We stopped to check out the dinosaur tracks on the left of the trail and then helped out a couple who had bent a derailleur (helping others = good trail karma). After a nice hike at the overlook, we jumped back on and just bombed downhill. It made all that up really worth it! Klondike Bluffs is an awesome trail, and I'll definitely ride it again.

Deso #3

Last week Karen, Kerri, Ammon and I did a three day Desolation Canyon trip. We actually did the whole thing in about 50 hours (Karen had to be back for a Cat trip), without a motor. Cooking on the boat, naps on the boat, grooving on the... no, just kidding! We rowed into the dark every night, and even floated Range Creek Rapid in the dark. Camp was always late, but we enjoyed it and the weather was beautiful. No rain, hardly any wind, and it was pretty warm. We stopped at the iron-prowed skiff, Rock Creek Ranch, the Three Canyons Bridge, Last Chance Rapid (in the dark!), and climbed up the cliff at Rattlesnake. Most of these places we don't stop when we're on commercial trips. And the wildlife was amazing! There were bald eagles, two herds of bighorn sheep, and lots of beavers. It's the best in the fall - I love guide trips.