It has been dumping all week and what and exciting week it has been. Faceshots, avalanches, closed roads, the Outdoor Retailer…wow what a week. Wednesday I went out with the PW crew to film for the first real pow day of the year. We were having a great day until the Noah was caught in a pretty big avalanche while skinning across a slope that I had crossed just moments earlier. Noah went for a 300-400 foot ride but was miraculously unharmed and on top. It was big time lesson and serious wake up call for us all. Here is a photo I took of the crown.
So the I spent the next two days shredding around Alta, first with Jay Beyer shooting some stills and then with my friends from Colorado, Will Cardamone, Chris Erickson and Jake Sakson. It was a insanely fun to shred around with the CO rippers on an epic day at Alta. They were just as psyched as I was to be getting some faceshots. Today we headed back in to the backcountry to shoot some amazing powder with Will, Chris, the PW crew and photographer Jeremiah Watt. I forgot my camera so I had to resort to the cell phone to shoot some photos so forgive me for the low quality…
Powder Paparazzi
Where’s Will? There is a skier in there somewhere.
Will with a face full of powder.
Chris getting a face full of powder while Jonah captures it.
Chris in the pretty colors pulling up to catch his breath after nearly choking himself on snow!
Looks like more snow is on the way!
I took a quick trip to Joshua Tree with Travis to check it out. Less then perfect ski conditions had left me less than inspired to ski. So climbing in the warm desert out of the smog sounded pretty nice. We only took a few photos since belaying tends to take precedent but here are a few photos.
Travis loving a little sun in the morning.
Me on Imaginary Voyage, one of the best pitches of 5.10 I have ever climbed. Photo: Travis Kemp
…continuing on my Imaginary Voyage. Photo: Travis Kemp
We drove back to Salt Lake in a storm. Looks like 3-4 feet of snow in the next few days. Psyched to ski!
Sorry classic rockers this is not another ode to your all time favorite Zeppelin song.
My friend Travis is in town and looking to get his ice climbing fix. The skiing conditions are less than ideal currently so I am psyched to do some ice climbing with Travis. The other day we headed down to Provo Canyon to get on the classic Stairway to Heaven.
Travis on the approach early in the morning. Currently there are five pitches of ice on Stairway. The first pitch is obscured by the trees in this photo. We hiked around the first pitch since both of us had climbed it multiple times and there were a couple of groups top-roping there.
The second pitch.
I tend to get sucked into skiing powder when it is there and last season it seemed to be there all the time. So I had not climbed ice in over a year. The second pitch looked nice and thick so I took the lead. I was definitely a bit rusty but made it through unscathed except for a mega pump. Travis quickly followed and took the lead up the third pitch.
Travis starts up the third pitch.
Travis wandering up the third pitch.
I led the short but steep fourth pitch, which led up to the base of the fifth and final pitch. The last pitch is a beautiful steep pillar.
Travis buckling up for the last pitch.
Travis in the thick of it.
A couple of rappels later we were down safely enjoying some salami and cheese.
mmm, salami!
All in all it was a super fun day in the mountains that definitely reignited my love of ice climbing, which is good because it does not look like it is going to snow anytime soon.
I am psyched to be back in Salt Lake to enjoy some skiing. It has not been a great winter as far as snowfall but it will come. Even with less than ideal conditions I have been able to get out and have some good days at Alta and in the the backcountry. I had one day with Noah and Darrell in Days Fork that was actually filled with more faceshots than coreshots. Hopefully there are a bunch more of those to come soon!
Noah, happy about some powder...finally!
I am back from North Carolina. We are done building this…
No this is not some kind of modern art. It is a free-standing boulder for a climbing gym in North Carolina.
Just slap some holds on there and climb it!
It wasn’t all work. I was lucky to fly out early and climb in Red River Gorge, Kentucky and Looking Glass, North Carolina with Travis. Didn’t take many pics because there was only two of us. It is a little difficult to give a good belay and take good pictures simultaneously. Here are a few pics that really do not tell the story of how awesome these two climbing areas are.
Travis on Banshee. Notice the water streaks in the upper left corner. One of the cool things about Red River is there is so much steep climbing that you can climb even in the pouring rain. Like this day.
Can you say no hands rest! Travis hanging out in a very large hueco.
Yours truly, getting psyched for the awesome granite dihedral above. Looking Glass, NC. Photo:Travis Kemp
Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina
It was cool to explore the east a bit but, I am really psyched to be back in Utah to ski…