Saturday Jan 26 |
 | Trekking 4:30:00 [2] | |
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| Up into Zion from the south. The West Rim Trail. Another amazing day and we were really lucky since a big storm came in the next day and made trekking in some of the canyons dangerous due to flash floods. We started heading up toward what they call Angels Landing. This is a spit of rock that has a trail on it that they told us they were advising people to use crampons on at this time of year. It could be icy. COULD BE!!! THIS WAS A DEATH TRAP! I haven't been there in the summer but from the views I got I can't really see wanting to go out there when there was no snow. Pete got a little further than I did before we decided that the National Park service was trying to do a little population control of their own. Holy crap. I will try to post a photo of here. We talked to a local who said it really wasn't bad in the summer - there are chains to hang on to but there is a 1500 foot drop on either side and it can't be wider than a sidewalk at some places. I just looked up some stats and a 53 yr old man fell off last summer to his death and amazingly that is only the 6th death since 1983. (I just checked another site that said that there have been 7 other deaths since 2006 so who knows but if you are looking for a thrill head to Angels Landing!!) Anyway we continued on along another ridge and down into another canyon before trying to make it to the top of the Colorado plateau.
Here is where things got interesting. We heading into a canyon that doesn't see any sun and so there was a lot of snow in the bottom - most of which had come off of the canyon walls above. We went from walking on rock to wading through waist deep snow. We lost the trail and tried to climb up the canyon wall which wasn't easy at such a steep angle. I started to get nervous about sliding snow and the fact that we had no idea where the trail was so I made us turn around. Maybe it was fine and maybe we would have found the trail but all I could see were canyon walls heading straight toward the sky so I was out of there. The trek back was quick since it was mostly down but we got back to Angels Landing in time to see about 5 teens heading out onto Angels Landing. We watched to see if the bravado would get them in trouble with Pete whispering in the background (turn around guys, turn around). They got to the spot where Pete got to and after a discussion turned around thankfully. There is a spot where there are no chains and one slip and you're gone. No thanks.
Great couple of days in Zion and the nice thing about this time of year is that there are not many people to be seen. And none except for us who want to go wading into waist deep snow! |
Friday Jan 25 |
| Trekking 5:35:00 [2] | |
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| Hiking the Zolob Canyon Trail in the northern part of Zion National Park. AMAZING. We had great weather and the road opened just as we got there. We had the trail to ourselves and trudged through the snow which was only a couple of inches high in to see Zolob Arch. The scenery was amazing and we had to trek back in the dark because of our late start. Luckily we remembered to bring our headlamps and once it got really dark we were treated to quite the star show. |
Thursday Jan 24 |
| Road Running 1:30:00 [4] | |
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| Decided to torture myself by running uphill toward the mountains outside of Salt Lake. I didn't hit the nordic centre again as it was a bit of an ordeal to get there and thought I would see the city of Salt Lake on foot instead. Not terribly exciting but I guess the real bonus is living near the mountains. Some nice houses up out of the city and you really have to get up there to breath any oxygen. The brown cloud in the city is really horrendous. |
Wednesday Jan 23 |
| Classic skiing 3:30:00 [4] | |
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| I will put this at a 4 since I was up at 8000ft and really feeling it. I was definitely hitting 5 though on the uphills. Got some really bad waxing advice from the young girl (25) working at the nordic centre so that added to the effort. What can I expect from someone who grew up in Vermont and asked me if I lived right in the city of Ontario!!! SHE GREW UP IN VERMONT FOR PETE'S SAKE!!!
A great day at Solitude outside Salt Lake City. The sun was beaming and there was no-one on the trails! I have to admit I was jealous of the skiers gliding down the slopes though when I was leaning over my poles trying to keep my heart from jumping out of my chest. |
Tuesday Jan 22 |
| Road Running 3:00 [5] | |
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| Running through the Denver aiport with a down jacket on trying to catch our connection. Of course we were at opposite sides of the airport and of course when we got there our second of two flights was delayed again.... |
Sunday Jan 20 |
| Classic skiing 2:15:00 [3] | |
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| With Slice and DogRunner on the trails north of Meech Lake. It was a bit colder today but the sun was out and we went a little faster today. Still having trouble gripping on the uphills so we rewaxed and it made a huge difference. I got a little cocky on one of the downhills and almost took out to other skiers on a bridge. They looked terrified but I managed to pull it together before I went down in a blaze of glory! Great day again and boy do I wish I lived back up there. That place is heaven! |