Went to Moab this weekend with my family and good friend Jessica and did U-turn canyon and a few hikes. We took a group of 12 people ranging in age from 1-63 years old. It was the first time my nieces were going rappelling as well. We lowered the little kids and the rest of us rappelled. It looks pretty funny to watch a little kid get lowered off a 100 foot cliff., but they all did awesome and had a lot of fun. They are super hardcore little girls. Then we hiked to sandstone arch and double arch in the park. Neither are far hikes and sandstone arch you can hike around and get on top of. Then we hiked up to corona arch in Moab the next day. That one is about a 3 mile round trip hike but it really easy and well worth it. Enjoy the pictures!
Moab/Arches
May 8
Piggyback rider
May 8
The piggyback rider is an awesome new child carrier! It comes with a bar for the child to stand on, a chest harness so they cannot fall, little handles for the kids to hold onto, and the chest harness for you. I took one out to try this weekend and it was awesome! My nieces all wanted to try it and when it was their turn they really enjoyed the ride. It was nice to be able to put the really little kids on there so the hiking pace was a little faster. The piggyback rider also comes in a carry case that is convenient for carry when you don’t have it out, and when you pull it out to use it the carry case can fold up three different ways and attach to it so you do not have to worry about loosing it. I think it may be better if the bar was a little bigger so the kids have a bigger bar to stand on but other than that it worked really well and everyone loved it!
Squaw peak March 2012
Apr 6
Bright and early Saturday morning we headed up to squaw peak for the first time this year. A little earlier than I have in the past, but with the warm weather we gave it a try. Pretty easy hike til we hit the upper meadow but from there on up is between 2 and 4 feet of snow. Due to the nice warm weather this meant that about every third step you would break through the crust and sink to your knees or more. Took awhile but the view is always worth it. Snow shoes would have made the last mile much easier. I would assume that within a few weeks snow levels will be down and the trip much easier. The top has a few new graffiti changes with the addition of at least 7 bolts drilled into the granite slabs giving the climbing community a bad rap. Really? 7 bolts? And your IQ is obvious by the expert placement and considerable thought given to concealing your handy work.
So winter did not treat me to well this year, i was going stir crazy LONG before i should have. So the moment that i had some options to get out, i did. We ventured to Saint George and climbed. Weather was gorgeous, well atleast in a climbers mind, it was about 60 degrees which is climb in short sleeve shirts and get down and wear a thin jacket weather. Perfect weather for my first outdoor climbing of the year, couldn’t have asked for anything better.
So we got down to Saint George and decided that the first day we would go to Black and Tan. Which is one of my favorite walls, most people who go down to St. George clime sandstone. I’m personally more of a limestone guy myself, and black and tan is some really cool limestone. My buddy Teancum and Jed were working a project called smoking drum, so i went down with them and just got one whatever they told me to get on. I ended up working two really interesting routes. Jumanjii and Da Riddler. Two polar opposite climbs, both having really interesting movement though.
All the photos are from day one, day two we went to Sunset Alley and it was AMAZING. Sadly, no camera batteries. Yup i know, then third day we went back to Black and Tan so i could send the two routes i had been working. T and Jed both are super close on Smoking Drum as well.
The Sundance Nordic Center
Mar 12
Sundance ski resort has a Nordic Center a little ways up the road from the resort. The Nordic Center is the perfect place for cross country skiing. They have the grooves in the trail if you want to use them or you can just travel miles of trails that are groomed. All of the trails are marked telling you what the name of the trail is and what level of difficulty it is. They also do rentals for classic cross country ski’s, and skate ski’s. We went up there on a beautiful Saturday morning and it was surprisingly not too crowded. The majority of us were beginners and took a fair amount of spills, especially on the corners. A few times during the season the Nordic Center also hosts a Women’s day. On the Women’s day they give you rentals for the day, lessons on how to ski depending on what level you are, and are there to answer questions and break bad habits. Below are some pictures of when we went! You can see how beautiful it was and a few pictures from wipe outs 
