Tomorrow is Race Day!

The Wasatch Back Relay I am competing in starts tomorrow, bright and early. This is the race that I have been training for for the past few months. I am competing with a team of 12. My team, Backcountry.com, is running the entire race donned in outdoor gear, which will make the already difficult race even harder. After I have re-couped from the race I'll post the details on how it went.

Winter's Conclusion

Winter has officially ended here in the Wasatch Range. The clouds now bring rain in lieu of snow. this time of year is a highlight for me...a chance to look back on what I've experienced, learned, and could have done better. It is a time of both sadness and rejoicing. It is always hard when ski season ends, but paddling and canyoneering season is right around the corner.

This winter brought many "firsts" into my life. I did my first solo ascent/ski descent on a peak reaching over 11,000 ft. This leaves only King's Peak for next season (the highest peak in the state at 13,528 ft). I toured with Bruce Tremper, a legend in the backcountry skiing world and author of "Surviving in Avalanche Terrain". He literally wrote the book on staying alive while skiing the gnarliest lines in the world. This allowed me to take my backcountry safety skills and knowledge to a new level. 2 years in the making, I finally took my passion for climbing rock to a new realm. Ice climbing one of the hardest multi-pitch routes in the area was one of the most difficult and rewarding challenges I have ever undertaken. I pushed myself to new heights every week of the 07/08 season and never looked back. I pushed my limits every day and the results were unexplainable in words or text. I felt connections and feelings that will be hard to beat.

Overall, I am satisfied with my personal accomplishments this past winter. Even with all of the terrain I covered this year, it is satisfying to know that there will always be a higher peak to climb and a burlier line to ski. Until then, you can find me paddling on secluded rivers or exploring slot canyons rarely seen by human eyes, all the while waiting for that first snowflake of the new season to fall.