1st Tip of the Week (TOW) by the Utah Mountaineer

To start I would just like to say I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah, if you celebrate something else or nothing at all then bah humbug to you. Well as you can tell from the title I have decided to start doing a tip of the week on my blog. I figured I might as well share what little knowledge I have with others. From now on plan on seeing a new tip every week, probably on Saturday or Sunday unless I'm gone and then you may see it before I leave or as soon as I get back.

I was looking through some old posts on my blog and it gave me the idea for this first tip of the week. So what is the tip of the week you ask? Well here it is, STOP RELYING ON ELECTRONICS! OK so why is relying on electronics bad? Let me set one thing straight right now, I'm not saying don't use them or don't learn to use them, I'm saying don't rely on them.

Some people are so dependent on electronics it's ridiculous, take GPS's for instance. People have gone away from practicing basic map and compass skills. They have become dependant on their GPS to tell them where they are and where they need to go. What happens when it breaks when you are out in the middle of no where? What happens when you are lost and the trees are so thick or the cloud cover is so bad you can't get a good signal? Do you break the number one rule about getting lost and move to find better reception? Or do you know how to read a map well enough that you could pull it out and find out exactly where you are without moving?

Map and compass skills are perishable and if you don't practice them you will lose them. Practice with a map and compass every time you head out for a hike, no matter how small. If you have children, teaching them map and compass skills can be a good refresher for you. If you don't know how to use a map and compass, take a course or find someone who does to teach you, or email me and I may add it to another tip of the week. According to many friends I have, even the US Army has gone away from basic map and compass skills, many Army leaders feel that this is also a huge mistake.

This is the pic that made me think of this tip. No again I wasn't lost, just trying to mark a waypoint.

Although not nearly as big of a problem, avalanche transceivers are another piece of electronic equipment people have become to reliant on. Just because you have a transceiver doesn't mean you don't have to check the avalanche conditions before you go out. Carrying one doesn't mean that you shouldn't be doing your own analysis of the snow pack or that you don't have to be aware of your surroundings.

To summarize I would just like to say that while electronics have made life a lot easier and safer to explore the backcountry, don't let them replace basic skills. Keep practicing those basic skills and remember the electronics should be used to aid you, not to do all the work for you. Last but not least, explore safely. Enjoy your New Year's everyone!

Avalanche Danger

Be careful if you are headed into the mountains right now. Avalanche danger is HIGH for all of Utah. Provo area avalanche danger is EXTREME. They are recommending you stick to the resorts right now and avoid the backcountry. See http://utahavalanchecenter.org/ for more information and for the latest avalanche forecasts.

More Ice Cimbing Pics

Some more pics from ice climbing. Wish I had more but my camera died. I think all of these are from the shorter climb. It was a little tricky because part of it didn't have very thick ice and another part was kind of slushy. It made finding good placements a little tricky.

Looking for a good foot hold.

Supporting my weight on the crampons while I move my tools.


It really takes a lot of faith that you set your tools good to move your feet. If your tools aren't placed well you are going to fall when you move your feet.


At the top of the climb. Notice the rope is coming from the right. It was too slushy to climb over there so we had to move to the left a little.

Ice Climbing the Apron

I went ice climbing today for the first time courtesy of Hansen Mountaineering (a local Utah store),it was a lot of fun. I spent last night checking and rechecking all my gear to make sure I had everything I needed. I got to bed at around 10 pm but couldn't sleep for some reason, possibly excitement, so I just laid there until about 1130 pm when i finally fell asleep. I woke up this morning and it was still snowing and sticking, a good sign that it was cold enough for good ice. We met at the store at 6 am and after a quick safety briefing and gathering up our gear we were off.



We got to the Bridal Veil parking lot geared up and headed out. We hiked up the Provo River trail/Bridal Veil trail a ways until it was time to start hiking up. We put on our harnesses and helmets at this point as it was going to start being a little treacherous. We headed up the ravine carefully placing our feet and making sure they were solidly planted, I really wish I would have brought my trekking poles for this part. I don't know how long it took us to get up there, maybe twenty minutes or so, but my legs were already tired once we were done. We got up right as it was really getting light and I snapped the picture above of Provo Canyon road.



We were top roping (the only way you would ever talk me into going for the first time), and while the more experienced people headed up to place the rope into the anchors I started getting my crampons on. I've never put them on before and I swear it took me a half hour to do it. The first climb I did my arms were so pumped I only made it half way up before I couldn't go anymore from exhaustion. I ended up making two ascents one of the shorter climb which was about a 20-25 foot climb, and one on the longer climb, which was around 45-50 feet.

Overall it was a lot of fun and by the time I hiked back down when we were finished I was exhausted. My arms and legs are killing me now. We ended up finishing up and heading down from the ice around 1030 am because it was getting way to warm and the ice was beginning to get unstable. On a final note, on our way out we ran into some people who were headed up. We told them that the ice was deteriorating because it was too warm, they just shrugged and kept going.....Maybe they'll make the evening news, and not in a good way.

Getting ready to head up the ice.


On the ice, looking for the next good placement for my tool.