It's official. I think I have finally come to terms with the loss of winter. Here we are well-into the month of June -- yeah, it took that long. Even with several teases throughout the past few weeks, hearing of fresh ice on Mt. Mendel, and stellar snow conditions on the north couloir of Gilpin Peak in Colorado, I have decided to hang up the alpine boots for a few months. There's so much going on with wedding planning, and I promised to take a more "involved" role in the finer details -- what does that mean for the guy, exactly? Anyhow, not wanting to give up the adventurer within me, I have decided to embrace my home state offerings.
Don't get me wrong, Arizona has plenty to offer. There's thousands of established climbing routes littered throughout many unique ranges in the state. I love to climb. I wish it wasn't 110+ degrees here locally; I'd get out to the crags and dry-tool more (yeah, yeah, I still can't give up the winter spirit). However, one of the greatest offerings of this state are the canyons -- we've got the damn Grandest of them all up north, for crying out loud. Until now, I've kept my distance from the sport of canyoneering. Unfortunately, claiming ignorance, I just assumed canyoneering was just the sport of rappelling. You know, the "lazy-man's way of getting down the mountain", hehehe. However, with desperation setting in, knowing I can't get out to some of the prime summer alpine locations, I've resorted to delving into one of this state's greatest offerings. I picked up the Todd Martin guide to Technical Canyoneering in AZ last week and I haven't been able to put it down. There's something about jumping into unfamiliar territory and the surrounding intrigue that seems to creep in, ushering that lil' sense of curiosity further and further.
My friend Charlie and I have been chatting back in forth for several months about going for it, trying our climbers' hand at a canyon or two. We met this Saturday for breakfast and settled it. In two weeks, we're going for it. My lady has expressed interest in coming with and two other notable partners in crime have signed on. In two weeks, we're setting our sites on a technical descent of Horsetank Wash and ascent out of Sandrock Canyon. The looping route is rated at 3B R IV, meaning there are some inherent route-finding risks, some technical raps off natural anchors and at least one keeper pothole. I'm already working through my systems at home to prep for pothole escape. The route out of the canyon is also one of note, ascending out a system of weaknesses in the canyon, with some decent class 4/5 exposed climbing. I'm already comfortable with taking on the role to lead these climbs out and setting belay for anyone else in our group who needs it. From what I've read, it's mostly mental cruxes to overcome on the free-solo out of the canyon. I'm okay with that. Above all, I'm stoked to bring my beloved gal with us. I know she has been frustrated about not keeping up on some of the snow climbs that I already have quite a bit of experience with. I think this could be a great mutual activity for both of us, utilizing each of our different strengths and weaknesses to conquer a new experience in a uniting way. Beyond that, I'm stoked to apply my rope experience from other mediums to an entirely different playing field. Bring on the canyon.
No comments:
Post a Comment