EpicIntentions

Goal 13 Again: Mystery Canyon

2011-09-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

Just the Pics

Early Morning Zion National Park

Mystery Canyon

Rapping in the slot.

Nice Waterfall


Last Rap from the Top. Finally getting wet as its 100 degrees now.

Virgin River Narrows

The last wet Rap!

Woah! Good Work Subie, A Palindrome!

Goal 2: A game with Em

2011-09-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

Or should I say A's Game with Em.
A game in a new stadium. Happened to be in Oakland. Thanks SCA for buying me tickets to the Bay Area to happen to see my family. Picture Time.

Goal 7: Something, Many Things with Brynn

2011-09-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

Here is a list:

1. French Toast for Jen.

2. Playing Store in Brynn's Room

3. Science Museum

4. Burgers and Floats at Snuffy's Malt Shop

5. Como Zoo

6. Made Sugar Cookie Dough Ice Cream

7. Watched Despicable Me

Later we went to the playground and I took some photos. Lindsay was there too. All in all a pretty fun weekend and successful goal. Thanks Brynn for being such a cool kid and being willing to jump off of stuff.

Goal 4: Devils Tower with Andy.

2011-09-01T09:37:00.000-07:00

I guess this goal originated maybe 3 or 4 years ago when Andy and I were climbing at a gym in Des Moines. The conversation went something like this.

Andy: You ever climbed Devils Tower?
Ryan: Yep.
Andy: Thats cool.
Ryan: Yeah, you want to climb it someday?
Andy: Sure. When.
Ryan: I don't know, June 2011?
Andy: Sounds good.
Ryan: Cool see you then.

Or something like that.

Then June 2011 rolls around and somehow the fates find us in Vedawoo, WY, Estes Park, CO, Fremont Canyon, WY, and Devil's Tower, WY.

It was a whirlwind of climbing instruction. From how do you belay again? to Hell yeah I climbed Devil's Tower! in a little more than a week. Andy was a different climber afterwards.

Here are some pics.

Lumpy Ridge, Estes Park, CO

RMNP, Estes Park, CO

Overflowing the dam!

Fremont Canyon, WY

Andy Climbing the Tower

Recording the Proof!

Oh my God! Is it September already?!

2011-09-01T08:52:00.000-07:00

What three months without a "blogpost." But I've been busy. Completed goals; made some money... so I can complete some more, had a good time doing some other stuff.

Lets see goals 2,4,7, 13 (again) and various work on others. More to come.

Goal 13: The Keyhole and Pine Creek

2011-05-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

Currently rained out in Zion. So thought I'd post about yesterdays adventure.

Started early in the Keyhole.

Here is the slot at the start.

The First Rappel...

was going to require some swimming.

An interesting rappel anchor.

And a final swim in the Keyhole.

Then we headed down the road for Pine Creek. Another classic that gets done alot. But, apparently not this year.

Pulling the rope and committing to the canyon.

Taken from on rappel in the great cathedral.


A happy finish.

I'm into lists and here is one from this trip.
10 rappels.
Many swims. (In these conditions it required staying vertical and running with the water)
2 dry suits.
5 bars.
2 liters of water.
A bunch of sand.
1 car it took to catch a ride because
2 tourists afraid for our safety.

Running: A good way to catch a ride.

Goal 18: Arizona to Nevada

2011-05-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

This one is pretty old, in fact I wasn't sure I should count it, but I've decided that it is important sometimes to take little successes with the big ones. So here are some pics of me hiking (really it was just a stroll) across the Hoover Dam Bridge, from Nevada to Arizona and back.

Not really epic, though it was thought provoking. Things I saw that made me think.

1. Yellow smoke from somewhere in the distance.
2. A big ass dam.
3. A huge bathtub ring.
4. A variety of different people.

Things I thought.

1. What the hell is that? Yellow smoke is scary.
2. The story of the Colorado River is pretty sad. If you get a chance read Cadillac Desert.
3. See Above I guess.
4. At least people are getting out and walking around. Though I can think of better places. But then again I'm here walking and I go to better places. Maybe I should cut these folks some slack. Sometimes I'm too judgmental, I should get over that.

There was more I'm sure, though its been a while. Here's the proof I did it.

The Dam

These flips were made for walking...

Arizona

Nevada

How often do you get to say you stood in two states at once!

Goal 12: Packrafting on the Owhyee River

2011-05-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to get better at the whole packrafting thing recently. Get this 5 pound beauty last fall and played around in some low water. It was great. It did not; however, prepare me for a river like this, luckily I was with experts. It is nice to work for NOLS and have the benefit of getting trained by experts for little to nothing.

Anyway, we were out in little boats, in a big river, three times the recommended flow for boating. Yep it was a flood, and we boated (slash swam) it. We had a plane looking for us. Trying to make sure that we were all still ok. They saw our camp and knew. Then we had a ranger hike into the river twice. Once futilely to find us, and once successfully. By this time we had portaged our way around some swollen rapids and ridden (hiked/swam?) out the peak and the water was going down.

We decided to keep going, and were successful in boating the majority of the remaining rapids, including Montgomery, a class IV rapid. I'd call this goal a success, though I'm not sure what the next step for my packrafting career is. I guess its a big trip sometime soon. Until then I'll just keep boating some smaller rivers.

Here is a movie. I'm the one in the red boat. (Thanks Evan)

Goal 15: Climbing Devil's Tower to Achieve Someone Else's Goal

2011-05-04T17:12:00.000-07:00

Hey-O
Its been a while, but I've been busy. With work, play, and...the list. But this one surprised me, in fact I didn't even recognize the achievement until later. I was hanging around Lander looking for adventures untold when Miles suggested Devil's Tower, and I thought, naturally, "Hell Yeah!"

I just thought it was another climbing trip, until we got to the summit and Miles says to me, "I've wanted to do this for a year now." Apparently he and some friends of his turned around about half way from the tower last year because it was a June, and the tower was closed to climbing.

We arrived to cold weather and an empty campground. Even woke up the first morning and couldn't see the tower. Imagine, Anyway it cleared and we climbed a bunch and summited twice. It was a pretty cool random time. Here are some pictures and a movie.

The vacant campground

Walt Bailey Memorial 5.9 Best 5.9 I've ever climbed.

Whatever!


Miles

Goal Three: A week with Jen.

2011-03-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

Found success with my oldest sister Jen. She travelled out west and met me in Las Vegas. It was a week of firsts for her. Here is the list.

1. First Outdoor Climb

2. First Hot Spring

3. First drinking from a keg perched on the car.

4. First In N Out

5. First time below Sea Level

6. First Caldera

7. First Slot Canyon

8. First Multi Pitch (The Great Red Book). Scared her to no end!

Thats more than one a day. Epic. Here are her Pics.

First Goal Success!!

2011-03-03T14:29:00.000-08:00

I did it! I climbed in my birthday suit. What a great day. Thanks Lindsay for bringing the suit. And the belay. Here are some pics.

You got it. A three piece courdoroy suit. Tan in color. Check out the buttons. The Twins cap was a present from my sister. Thanks Jen. It was all part of a NOLS rock climbers rendevous in Red Rock Canyon near Las Vegas. Great Times! There were more successful goals surrounding this thing too. More to come.

I made the big time.

2011-02-09T15:23:00.000-08:00

Not really, but my picture is on the internet. Kind of cool. In fact wicked cold. These are the nice picture from an earlier post.
R

The List

2011-02-05T18:31:00.000-08:00

30 goals in my 30ith year.
1. Climb on my birthday in a birthday suit.
2. Do something with my sister em. (She gets to decide when and where)
3. Do something with my sister jen. (ditto)
4. Do something with my bro andy.
5. Do something with my pa.
6. Do something with my MA.
7. Do something with my niece Brynn.
8. Give away 2% of my income.
9. Climb a peak with Drew.
10. Trail run with Pete.
11. Trail run with Brad.
12. Pack raft class 3 cleanly.
13. Drop a technical canyon.
14. Run a marathon.
15. Help someone else with a goal of theirs.
16. Visit a friend overseas.
17. Kill a chicken and eat it.
18. Hike from one state to another.
19. Spend two weeks alone in the Grand Canyon.
20. Attend a costume party.
21. Swim in a natural body of water every month.
22. Volunteer for 5 days.
23. Stop at ten roadside farms and buy some food.
24. Send out twenty-five birthday cards.
25. Hang out with a friend from college who I haven't seen since college.
26. Celebrate a holiday I've never celebrated before.
27. Read 12 great books.
28. Play 100 games of cards.
29. Attend a potluck.
30. Spend my 30ith birthday in Africa.

Thats it. Want to help. Want to give some suggestions. Spread the word.

R

Cold Cold Cold!

2011-02-04T16:13:00.000-08:00

Its cold here in Tucson right now. Just got back from leading a backpacking trip in the Santa Teresa Mountains. Our design was to go out with lightweight backpacks and spend some pleasant times hiking, camping, and drinking whiskey around camp fires. Turns out we had a sufferfest on our hands. Single digits and lightweight gear don't really mix. Hiking at night, thundersnow, and blizzards combined to make our lives difficult. That was my last three days.

What does this have to do with my 30 in 30 project? Not really anything, but at least I now know my limits. or something...

If you can push your limits you can really acheive some things. We'll see how it goes.

30 in my 30ith Project

2011-01-27T10:16:00.000-08:00

I'm turning 30 Feb 23 2012. Prior to that date I'm planning an epic year. I'm hoping to complete 30 goals between my birthday in 2011 and 2012. It all starts with a rock climb in my birthday suit. If all goes well, it ends in Africa Feb 23 2012. In between is the fun stuff. I haven't quite figured out the whole list, but many will need the help of friends, family and anyone else. Let me know if you can help. I'll post the list soon.