mellivora capensis

Date: 10/14/2021
Came down for Redbull Rampage. My wife needed the truck so i rode my MTB the 17 miles in from the hotel in Virgin, UT. Stashed the bike at the exit trail and caught a ride from some fellow canyoneers wrapping up PC to the top. Canyon was very full and very cold. Much more so than last month. Wore a 4/3 full and a 3mm shorty over it. 10mm dive boots throughout and used my 5mm dive gloves during the long swims just to keep my hands safe especially since i was going solo. Wind was blasting during the final two raps making me feel like i had Parkinson's. 2 hours and 20 min from start to finish. 6.25 hours from hotel to hotel. SAR was out conducting practice ops at the final rap out of the tunnel window. Fun day.

Great White Icicle - Little Cottonwood Canyon

Date: 10/02/2021
Zack Alger

Grandeur Peak - Millcreek Canyon

Date: 09/04/2021
Elise Timothy. night hike date

Smiling Cricket Canyon (Poe Canyon) - Waterpocket Fold

Date: 03/28/2021
Ryan Wilcock, Zack Alger

Quandary Canyon - San Rafael Swell

Date: 03/20/2021
Canyon was pretty darn dry. The crux had chest deep water and the second to last rappel off the bolts had knee deep water in it but avoidable. We all questioned even donning them, but It was definitely worth suiting up even for just the crux. We had five in the group and between us we wore 4/3 and 3/2 suits. some had neoprene socks, others did not. we all felt it was worth wearing them and did so comfortably until the end of the canyon. Not too hot, not too cold. Great weather, but it is a much better time when that place is at least half full. With the water so low(chest deep,) it was nice to know that that pothole isn't a bottomless pit. We usually pencil jump in and have never touched bottom. it makes for a good time trying to escape. Probably a 16' rap in before the surface and a 10' climb out from the surface to the lip of the opposite edge. 5 in the group and it took us 8 hours.

Upper Three Fingers Canyon - San Rafael Swell

Date: 03/19/2021
We strolled through upper three fingers on the afternoon of Friday 19 Mar 2021. A favorite little canyon for our group that we decided to hit as a fun primer before hitting Quandary(Direct) the next morning. We found the canyon to be very dry compared to the fun splish-splash romp we had experienced last mid-June. We didn't suit up until the first rappel and that was the only place we got wet. Always a cold pool with such little sunlight. It was quite a shock to the system when we were dripping sweat at the top putting our suits on and then descending into the dark abyss. we usually don't hang out very long in that pool. There was some ice on the final pool but we were able to avoid getting wet altogether for the rest of the canyon. I had on a 4/3 suit and my companion wore his 3/2 and we both were quite comfortable after the initial plunge. To add to the previous report, we did find that there are wilderness signs posted a mile before the trail head asking for vehicles to stay out.

Buckeyes Canyon - Eastern Reef

Date: 12/29/2020
Solo trip. Sunny but quite cold. 29 degrees going in. 7 degrees coming out. I only had a two-wheel drive vehicle so i parked at the highway and hiked in and out. Took me twelve hours from car to car. Water had about an inch of ice on it and was ankle to knee deep in most places. I got a late start and with limited daylight, i finished the last four hours in the dark. The full moon was incredible in the solitary silence during the rappel through the last arch. After setting my fiddle-stick under the pine, i turned my headlamp off and just enjoyed the dancing soft shadows cast by silvery lunar glow glistening across the ice and snow. 17 rappels in all due to slick conditions and limited access to natural anchors. I learned so much on that trip. Much about the canyon, but i think even more about myself. I am still riding the high of what has been one of the best outdoor experiences of my life.

Great White Icicle - Little Cottonwood Canyon

Date: 10/31/2020
solo. Lots of loose ice breaking away and flying past my head. Laugh to not cry haha

Great White Icicle - Little Cottonwood Canyon

Date: 10/04/2020
Date night

The Squeeze - San Rafael Swell

Date: 09/26/2020
Ryan Wilcock

Buckeyes Canyon - Eastern Reef

Date: 06/14/2020
Beautiful and Sunny!

Upper Three Fingers Canyon - San Rafael Swell

Date: 06/13/2020
Fun wet romp and a stroll in the park. Great time!

Quandary Canyon - San Rafael Swell

Date: 06/13/2020
Direct route. Splish-splash