Utah Adventure Journal

Clouds had been building for a few hours, but we kept climbing. Rain and sun alternated for 24 hours, but the last six were bluebird. We’d finally begun belayed climbing, on the beautiful “Dog Ear Pitch.” I led steeply out of the Gunsight Notch between The Grandstand and Mt. Owen’s sawtoothed South Ridge. Protection was […]

  Photos by Matt Clevenger Cataract Canyon has the capability to be so many different beasts: at medium water levels it’s a rollicking romp through big water that’s welcome relief after days of flat stroking to get to the rapids, at high water it generates some of the most fearsome hydraulic features in the West, […]

“It’s magic hour!” I yelled to Sam cruising behind me. The western light bounced off the enormous sandstone walls as the road at the base snaked its way high above the San Juan River. On the horizon we spotted distant views of towers and spires of Monument Valley. Our group of desert wanderers spent eight […]

I’m hiking up a scree field in my ski boots. With each step, a mini rock-a-lanche cascades down, initiated beneath my worn soles. A few smaller rocks gain momentum and ping down toward Mason Diedrich, who is boulder hopping below. Like me, he has skis on his pack, poles in each hand, and stiff plastic […]

It wasn’t your typical November day. The sun was high overhead, my weather app read 70 degrees, and my friends and I were climbing in shorts and t-shirts. Typically, American Fork is colder than the valley, and the thought of climbing there in late November prompted me to pack my puffy, gloves, hand warmers, and […]

At 11:00 p.m. on Friday September 2nd, we pulled into my friend’s guide company’s boathouse in Jensen, Utah, just outside of Dinosaur National Monument. We were greeted with a big hug, a cold beer, and my friend Emmet laughing and shaking his head at us. He was pretty excited for the upcoming sufferfest and was […]

It was a typical fall day in Indian Creek Utah. Warm but not hot, slight breeze, and an endless supply of splitter Wingate cracks. The only deterrent was having to share with the crowds who flock there for their seasonal dirtbag migration. It’s not that I hate people, a few of my best friends happen […]

“So, where are we craggin’ today?” …silence. “Uh, so, where are we going?”…silence. It is a crisp clear late October morning. I can see my breath. It isn’t quite freezing but this time of year temps like these make me want to put a beanie on my head and wool socks on my feet. I […]

The Outdoor Retailer Show Prepares to Leave Utah On February 16th leaders from Outdoor Retailer, the Outdoor Industry Association, Patagonia, The North Face and REI met via teleconference with Utah Governor Herbert and later delivered a double blow to Utah, not only will the $45 million in direct spending Outdoor Retailer not include the state […]

Snow and avalanches are an enduring part of the mountain environment that affects the livelihood of many operations throughout the world.  In the western hemisphere, the scientific study and monitoring of these little understood phenomena began in the small town of Alta, Utah.  Situated nine miles up a glacially carved canyon in the heart of the Wasatch […]

  In my second winter season at Snowbird I became a tram operator working under the legendary tram and cable guru Bob Ficker. A year later having moved into lift maintenance, I recall a conversation about an upcoming cable replacement job on one of the lifts, and I asked Bob about the Tram track cables […]

“This is the nicest yurt I have ever seen.” It’s Saturday afternoon in the La Sal Mountains and I am taking off my ski boots at the door of the Geyser Pass Yurt to avoid tracking mud onto the gorgeous wood floor. My friends enter behind me with similar exclamations about our lodgings. The bunks […]

10 Tips to Creating a Location-Independent, Fully Funded Winter After a while, most skiers and snowboarders get tired of service industry jobs and other location-bound positions. You want the freedom to work and the freedom to chase a storm without the consequences of unemployment, bankruptcy, and homelessness. Unless you went to finishing school, you benefit […]

Story and Photos by Brett Carroll  I don’t consider myself to be an especially emotional person. I think that I tend to cry at appropriate times. I cried when my Grandpa died. I cried when my girlfriend and I broke up. I cried when my friend Joe died. And I cried my way up Pig […]

By Tom Diegel  Utah Adventure Journal readers are likely aware of Mountain Accord, the coalition of dozens of formal stakeholders across the Wasatch Front and Back that came together three years ago to attempt to hammer out a resolution that would address the many interests and pressures on the Central Wasatch (see the Winter 14-15 UAJ).  In […]