#utahisrad

Utah is a rock climber’s dream land. The state has so much high quality climbing to offer, spanning almost every discipline. We were immediately drawn into the incredible limestone sport climbing in the south west corner of Utah around St George.

We met up with Yannick and Kirsten to spend the following four weeks climbing with them. Our good friend Cory was also down for a few weeks visiting family and was able to squeeze in a week of climbing with us, and we had the pleasure of seeing Yannick’s dad, Robert! We spent our first few days at The Grail in Lime Kiln Canyon, technically part of the Arizona strip. The Grail offered a slap-in-the-face intro with its dead vertical, long (sometimes as long as 55m) routes. It was great to feel a pump again. The middle of the main wall offers the best rock quality: blue/grey stone consisting of phenomenal edges and features with often slabby feet. The area is a technical climbers’ heaven.

Graham on his flash of "Vesper" (5.12b)

A rare shot of us climbing together...... thanks to Kirsten Hundza!

Kim on her onsight of "Greyhound" (5.12a). Photo credit: Kirsten Hundza

In addition to The Grail, we spent most of our time at two other crags about 45 minutes out of St George: Wailing Wall in the Welcome Springs area, and Black and Tan at the Woodbury Crags. The styles at these two walls complement each other beautifully – Wailing Wall offers mostly vertical or slightly overhanging routes 5.11+ and up, and the style ranges from sustained powerful routes, to lines with hard technical cruxes. Black and Tan on the other hand has mostly shorter routes, often with heinously difficult, steep boulder problems. A delightful combo! Some of our highlights from the month included Graham ticking the three 13c classics at Wailing Wall, “Treebeard”, “The Cross”, and “Pucker”, Kirsten sending her first 5.12a, “Jumanji” at Black and Tan, Kim finishing off her project “Resurrection” (5.13b) and climbing her 10^th 5.13, and Yannick sending “The Cross” (5.13c). Throughout March, we reunited with several other friends and met a lot of wonderful new people that we were lucky to spend our time with as well!

Kim warming up at Black and Tan. Photo credit: Bonar McCallum

Graham on his send of "Talking Smack" (5.13b) at Black and Tan. Photo credit: Bonar McCallum

Kim on "Minus Five" (5.13a) at Black and Tan, which she sent second go! Photo credit: Kirsten Hundza

Bonar cranking out the steep roof moves on "Smoking Drum" (5.13b) at Black and Tan

Kirsten sends "Jumanji", her first 5.12a!!!!!!!!

Yannick on his send of "The Cross" (5.13c) at Wailing Wall

Graham mid-crux on "Treebeard" (5.13c) at Wailing Wall

Graham on his send of "Pucker" (5.13c) at Wailing Wall

Our new friend Melissa, making use of her full reach on "Pucker" (5.13c)

Lea cranking out her send of "Dull Boy" (5.12a) at Black and Tan

Enjoying a campfire on our last night in St George

We wrapped up around St George in early April and headed north. We stopped for a day in Zion National Park, where we made use of our endurance on the long overhanging bolted routes at the Namaste Wall in Kolob Canyon. Wow! The juggy huecos on this wall were incredibly fun and pumpy to climb.

Kirsten staring down the Namaste Wall in Kolob Canyon

Graham on his send of "Namaste" (5.12a)

Kim working the crux on "Huecos Rancheros" (5.12c)

On the next day we arrived in Orangeville, home to Joe’s Valley. Knowing we would have only about a week, we got right to it, immediately climbing three days on. Heavy rain kept us inside on our rest day, and then we punched out another four days in a row before leaving. Bouldering that many days on is tough on the body, but it was worth it! Graham finished off “Worm Turns” (V10/11) and “Resident Evil” (V9/10), Yannick made quick work of the classic “Worst Case Scenario” (V9) among other goodies, Kim finished off some projects from last year like “Kill By Numbers” (V5) and “Double Delicious” (V6) and Kirsten sent her first two V5s, “Gatorade” and “Mono E Mono”! We had the pleasure of staying and visiting with our friend Nikki and her pup Stella while we were in Joes, which was super great as well. What a switch to have the comforts of a house to return to after a day on the rock.

Yannick warming up in Left Fork

Graham finishing up "Big Joe" (V7)

Kim working her project "Planet of the Apes" (V7)

Graham on his send of "Resident Evil" (V9/10)

Kirsten setting up for the throw on "Stand Up Comedian" (V5)

Yannick on his send of the super tough "Scary Monsters" (V6)

Kim on her send of the techy problem "Gatorade" (V5)

Graham warming up in the Boysize area

Kim eyeing up the final tough move on "Double Delicious" (V6)

Having spotters adds peace of mind on "Worst Case Scenario" (V9)

Graham working moves on "Battletoads" (V10)

Stella and Nikki! Stella a bit nervous in the FalcVan....

Typical weather in Joe's..... sunny and stormy simultaneously!

We had a good run in Utah, but even after six weeks we barely scratched the surface. Hopefully we’ll make it back next year to sample even more of what this state has to offer. For now though… off to Smith Rock, Oregon!

Black-throated Sparrow one morning at Black and Tan

Saying Good-bye

Parting ways is difficult. Farewells yank at heartstrings. Change can be exciting, sad, and scary…

Yesterday we left Orangeville, Utah and started the long drive home to Canada, where we’ll be for the next six months.  We said good-bye to Joe’s Valley. We had such a good time on the hard sandstone and funky features of Joe’s boulders and were quickly reminded of the powerful toll that bouldering takes on the body, especially after a long stretch of sport climbing.

Jared takes the send on Resident Evil (V10)

Tyler locking in the toe hook on Kinda Brawny (V8)

Ruth was SO CLOSE to the send on Stumble Bum Traverse (V5)

Mallory making quick work of her project Double Delicious (V6)

Working out the moves on Planet of the Apes (V7)

Topping out the classic problem Wills of Fire (V6)

Chris working out the beta on the Super Proj (unknown.... V17?)

Nikki pulling down on Stumble Bum (V2)

Sacrifices to Joe's Valley

Climbing is not just a hobby, it is a lifestyle. It directs our lives, fills our days, brings us joy. We meet so many climbers who feel the same way. Building connections and relationships is easy and natural, but the hard thing is saying good-bye to friends.

We feel especially lucky to have spent nearly every waking hour of the past two and a half months of our trip with Chris, Ruth, and Jared. 

Chris and Ruth are a beautiful, happy couple who live each day to the fullest and are always seeking adventure. They have such an incredible outlook on life and an inspiring ability to stay positive despite whatever challenges life throws their way (broken down RVs, collapsed tents, crazy weather, etc etc).  They are the type of people who don’t waste their time with regret, and are always jumping forward with both feet. They also know no boundaries in terms of giddy, silly, and goofy, and we love this about them.

Roscoe derp face!!!

Jared is a gem. He is the type of person who can make friends with anyone and always sees the good in people. He is the friend who goes out of his way no matter what to help friends. Jared is an incredibly strong yet modest climber, and he is always genuinely stoked for everyone else’s successes. He is also just as much a goof as Ruth and Chris, which makes every day with these three a total blast. Oh ya, and he has a perfect tan ;)

We miss you guys already. The countdown to August begins…

“And if we’re lost, we are lost together”

http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en/experience-story?cid=video-live-climb-repeat