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.
Ramoo was doing a prodigious (as usual) May trip, on which I was invited but, c'mon, this is my time to make hay, as in dough, so alas... But it was INSISTED I participate on one particular project, where certain chunks of metal were inserted in backcountry holes, rather unnecessarily, with our job to remove them and patch carefully with epoxy. Yes, dear friends, nothing like a little bolt removal to get ME motivated.
Read MoreIt was the last day of a 10 day trip for me. The previous days had been fantastic and today's agenda was to drop into a canyon Ram had heard rumors of. The story was that a pair of bolts were sitting near a tree at the end of the canyon but as to what was between where we would drop in and the final drop was pretty unclear.
Read MoreOne concept I have been working on putting into words is the idea of Stewardship, both personal on my part, and moreover the stewardship the community and visitors take on, to keep the canyons clean, friendly and in as natural a state as possible. Keeping the canyons “natural” requires active management, as contradictory as that sounds, and producing a guidebook spurns the steward in me to take action, and deal with problems that have festered for a while.
Read MoreLess for the thrill and more for the fun, the Xcalante canyons have been calling me all winter. I watched the film “Gorging” and sweat through a portion of a man shuffling, scraping, and screaming through DDI. I don’t know what personality type looks at that and thinks “Huh.. I wanna do that..” but here I am.. With a particular weakness for trials of strength. And I love stemming. And a good downclimb or two. Silos and stretching? I wouldn’t use the word “love”..
Read MoreWith the Angels Landing trail closed due to collapse, thus starting Imlay from Lava Point, it makes sense to do the full Imlay, as much as I am not as fond of the top half as of the bottom half. With thunderstorms almost every day in the previous week, it would be full, and fairly warm. That huge flood on July 11th might have brought a few changes to the canyon, what would we find?
Read MoreAlbania is actually close by Switzerland and is often so far away for tourists. Beautiful beaches, wonderful mountain landscapes and remote regions to explore, as well as nice people who are mostly very helpful show the country from its sunny side. Also for canyonists this country is still rather new territory and there is still a lot of potential for new tours.
Read MoreSo it is a good idea to start early, and stay out of the sun. So we did, mostly, by doing a canyon on the East Side, possibly the third intentional descent. Part of the research for the Zion: Canyoneering 2nd Edition.
Read MoreJohan and Hans from Costa Rica were in town, and I wanted to show them canyons as dissimilar to Costa Rica as possible. Despite the high heat at the end of May, I figured we would go to North Wash and get a few narrow-type canyons in.
Read MoreWent to the DarkHorse Leadership Canyoneering Rendezvous down in North Wash, I arrived Thursday night and it was COLD, so having a large room inside was really helpful. I hung out and chatted with people and retired to a tent on the large lawn about 11pm.
Read MoreFirst up – the incredibly gorgeous La Vieja Canyon, entered by rappelling down a side stream to the main “Old” Canyon.
Read More“We all want to get through this safely.” Ram’s cinematic voice rang through my head as I stuffed my helmet into my pack. “Figure out your system: ask around.” I slipped on my second pair of neoprene socks...
Read MoreOn the final day of the year 2017, Rachel and I had the pleasure of playing through Euphrates canyon with Tom, Ram and Jenny. It’s always a treat to canyoneer with some of the sport’s beloved micro-celebrities.
Read MoreMy knees still hurt. But this is not unusual. I do one hiking trip each spring to the Grand Canyon, carrying the BIG PACK (camping, canyoneering, pool toying) and it wrecks me. Then it takes a year for me to forget. This year, the crew included two oldsters with more years than me...but they also seemed to be more durable. (Sigh)...
Read MoreSunday's adventure was to be my fourth canyon in the Princess Bride Range, the Pit of Despair. Fun little canyons over here, in a steep but not too high limestone mountain range. We drove out that way, parked the car on the berm, hiked up the fan. It is a bit of a walk over to the base of the mountain, a slow trudge up the alluvium. But the temps were nice so, trudge we did. Today's team included...
Read MoreMike set up a trip to DV, and invited me along. Given the 18" of snow up here in Mt. Carmel, escaping to the dry, warm Valley of Death seemed like a good idea. I suggested something fairly short without a car spot on Black Mountain, and Deimos it was. I was really thinking of Helios which I have also not done but...oh well! Abby offered me an actual bed at her house - BONUS!! Saturday's choice was Deimos-sneak route which did not require an early start. No one objected...
Read MoreGuest Canyoneering Rave by Nicolas Barth Presented with a three-day weekend at the end of a solid bout of rain in southern California I figured I could spare one day to be out and about. I had never been to Great Falls of the Fox, said to be one of the standout canyons in the San Gabriels for its narrow bedrock canyon and rapid-fire waterfalls, so thought this would be as good a time as any to check it out...
Read MoreIt's a small canyon. One rappel. Some nice narrows. I've done it twice now, and both times did not get much in the way of pictures. And stuck the rope, both times. My niece Rylin was in town, and we wanted to do something, something short. It was broiling hot. Shelf Canyon seemed like a good idea, though the scenic approach would be a bit on the toasty side, so we took the Upper Pine Creek approach...
Read MoreWe went to Heaps... Heaps would be my favorite canyon in Zion, except that it is physically demanding a bit past my usual fitness level. Meaning, before a Heaps I have to bear down for two weeks, drink a bit less beer, do a few more runs or training hikes. So when Kip messages me on Tuesday "doing a Heaps this Saturday, you coming?" I briefly hesitate...
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