What a Year.
First off, welcome to my website! Its been in the works for quite some time and I’m very excited to see it beginning to take off. This section is going to stick to a format of a trip report, with photos, beta, etc. Not all photos I post here will make it into the gallery. Rather, here is where I want to tell the story.
Now, there are two trips that I want to have their own trip reports, Thailand and Canada. I will mostly be brushing over them here.
I sat down on New Years Eve and realized how much has happened and where I have been this year. I wanted to post a picture from each month of the year. Sure January-March could be easy with my snowboarding away, but even then, I had so many places I had been.
Starting in January, I begin working at Whisper Ridge Backcountry Resort as a Yurt Host. This transitioned into being a photographer and a guide for them. No complaints though, I was able to cat and heli ski multiple times through the winter, truly a magical experience.
As March rolled in, me and Moose, my dog, set out to Death Hollow in Escalante. I had planned a 26 mile, 3 night trip.
Upon setting up for night one, I realized that I had forgotten fuel. And on top of that, it was colder then I had initially thought. Realizing the next day would involve me hiking/swimming in deep water against the current through the “slot” section of the hike, I decided to push forth and to do so fast. I ended up making it a 2 night, and getting back to the car on the third day earlier, hungry, and learning from a valuable lesson.
April 4th I left for Thailand. I was gone for a month. It was completely different from what I thought it would be based on my travels to Morocco and Eastern Europe. More on that here.
I returned on May 6th, flying standby from San Fransisco to Vegas, having some odd flight times, and conveniently having my dad in Vegas at the time to get me home. Not even 2 weeks after being home, my next big trip was planned, hiking the tombstone mountain range in Northern Yukon, Canada.
I traveled up to Logan for Memorial day to see friends and undertake a kayaking trip, down class 4 rapids, in 40 degree weather and colder water, with no experience ever kayaking. I think that was the limit of my adventuring. Insane amounts of fun, but absolutely crazy,
June, July. and August involved climbing, hiking, trail running, and SNOWBOARDING. I set out a goal to ski 12 months straight, having to make it to November. It was fun to push myself each month to find snow and get some sweet turns in. In June I was also able to spend a few days hiking Escalante. The sights this trip around included reflection canyon, coyote gulch, and zebra canyon.
The big month of adventure, September, started with the long drive north. 12 days exploring the vast Canadian wilderness. More on that here.
Upon returning, Moab trips happened multiple weekends of September and October. From canyoneering and climbing, to rope swings and hiking,
Near the end of October, the first amounting snow fell, which meant snowboarding on powder again! I was able to get out for multiple laps up at Alta before they opened for the season.
November led to a unique trip down to Capitol Reef, a place I had never been before. Some hiking, canyoneering, and exploring a wild place ensued.
Finishing out the year in December, I decided that I could not sit in an office for the winter. I decided to quit, and to transition into being a ski guide for the winter. This involved me taking a few courses, Wilderness First Responder, AIARE Rescue, and an AIARE Pro 1 avalanche class.
Overall its been a fantastic year. As I had mentioned in the instagram post listed at the top, I started the year in the darkest place of my life, barely able to move a step forward in any direction. Now I can say I am the happiest I have been. I look forward to what the new year brings. New trips, new friends, and new places to discover!