Gordon's Blog

Hidden Haven

2012-01-21T20:09:00.000-08:00

Today Marty & I decided to get up early and load up my truck with lots of gear. First we planned to ice climb up Hidden Haven, then we planned to finish off the afternoon snow boarding at Brian Head. The forecast was for stormy and windy weather. The first storm in over a month. This has made for some great rock climbing weather this winter and I have indeed been taking advantage of the blue skies and sunny rock faces each afternoon on my days off. We left St. George in the rain and drove up Parowan Canyon. About 5 miles before Brian Head we pulled off the road and hiked through soggy snow to begin our ice climbing up Hidden Haven. Basically we were doing a slot canyon in reverse and instead of rappelling down each drop in the canyon we were climbing the ice flows that form at each drop or waterfall. The first "drop" forms a 30 ft ice curtain. Marty asked to try his first lead on ice. He began climbing and placed several ice screws and clipped the rope through the draws. Lead climbing on ice is a serious endeavor and falling is not a happy option. Soon we were at the top of the first obstacle and hiking up canyon in our crampons over the ice that covered the small stream in the bottom. The next two "steps" were about 30 feet as well, but not as steep. In fact, we "soloed" the 3rd step. This brought us to the real climb. Ninety feet of near vertical ice in a narrow slot. I chose to lead this pitch and placed as many ice screws as I had on me which meant I was on lead for close to 45 minutes. Pump city! I have to admit I was scared for a few moments up high on the climb as the ice thinned underneath me and I could see and hear the water running through it. It was a very satisfying feeling to have lead that pitch and to have gotten down safely. We then rappelled out way out of the canyon by dropping down each step of ice that we had previously climbed. The wind picked up and it was snowing off and on during our climb. We then changed out gear from ice climbing to snow boarding and began to drive up the mountain to Brian Head. We arrived at the resort to find all the lifts closed except one, the bunny hill where about 50 people were mobbing it. The mountain was engulfed by a true blizzard, with near white-out conditions and very high winds. So we turned around and headed back home passing several timid motorists on the steep snow-covered road winding down the canyon. Even St. George had high winds and lots of rain. We finished off the day soaking in the jacuzzi and reminiscing about the climb. Sweet!

Toyota Family

2012-01-03T07:25:00.000-08:00

We just purchased a new Toyota Camry for Debbie. A chain of events that started with the destruction of Rebecca's car in Iowa by an incredible hail storm led to a Christmas Eve present like in the TV ads. A friend then made the comment that our garage and driveway looked like a Toyota car lot. So I thought a photo would be in order. I drive a Tacoma, Rebecca has inherited the Camry hybrid, Grandma Larsen drives a Camry, Deb has her brand new Camry, Sheri has a near new Prius hybrid and Marty has the old reliable Tundra.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T09:07:00.000-08:00

A lot has happen in the weeks since Marty has returned from his mission. It has been great to have him along on some of my adventures. We have rock climbed multiple times, ridden our mountain bikes, hiked, ice climbed and we have been up to Brian Head several times already. He has matured so well and is a great companion. I almost hate to see him get a job and start school as I have enjoyed having him around. During the Holidays we have also had Rebecca back home. She is still attending college in Iowa and plans to finish her Associate degree in the spring. She is also becoming more independent and grown up. Dad's wallet still keeps her close by. The basement bedrooms are full once again and Eric has had to share his "man cave" these past few weeks. Sheri and her girls visit us frequently thus our home is usually bustling with activity and commotion. That is mostly a good thing. Angie shows up randomly as her hospital schedule is more chaotic than mine. Deb is slowly getting back to her usual routine. Her Mom's funeral and Marty's return capped with the usual holiday demands had her scrambling to keep up with things. Her fitness instructor duties has also required her efforts. She seems to enjoy teaching, but I fear she will be joining me a lot less out climbing and snow boarding as she takes on more classes over at the "gym". Eric is in the middle of 9th grade basketball and an important part of the team. We will be watching several games in the coming months and hope that his team has success. The New Year celebration was fun. We brought in the new year in the Jacuzzi as we usually do. Several big games of "Pounce" left us laughing and cross-eyed. No storms through the entire holiday break. Bad for snow boarding, but great for climbing and mountain biking and shooting hoops out back.

Elder Larsen is Home!

2011-11-25T07:42:00.000-08:00

Marty got home Tuesday November 22nd just past noon at the new St. George airport. There were a lot of people waiting with us to greet Marty as he got off the plane. His sister Rebecca was also on the flight as they met at the hub in Salt Lake City as she was traveling home from college in Iowa. It was so good to see him!! In many ways he hasn't changed much at all. In other ways his maturity and personal growth is amazing. His Mom and I are so very proud of him and his service as a missionary. It has been fun to have him around the last few days. I'm sure he feels a little lost and out of place as he adjusts to not having the strictly regimented schedule of a full time missionary. We have already been out climbing, hiking and mountain biking. Imagine that!

Kolob to Mystery

2011-10-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

I have been able to complete trips down two canyons in Zion over the past week. First I canyoneered down Kolob Creek with two of my ranger buddies, Andrew and Brandon. The canyon was as challenging as ever with the water flow a little higher than in previous years. This made for some spectacular waterfall rappels. We were a fast party and finished the canyon and the grueling hike out in about 9 hours. The second canyon I descended was Mystery Canyon. This is a Zion classic that ends with the beautiful waterfall rappel into the Narrows. I led a party of 6 including my new partner Dr. Crosby. We had a sunny day, but with temperatures near freezing at the start of the day. Fortunately the time spent in the water was brief. The autumn leaves were at their peak and the water cold and clear. In between the two canyoneering days I managed to travel down to Red Rock Canyon west of Las Vegas and rock climb with Ranger Andrew. We tackled a mega classic route named "Epinephrine". This climb ascends Whiskey Peak on a 2,300 foot wall. The first part of the route involves climbing smooth chimneys. Exciting and strenuous climbing. At the top the climbing eases up but offers delicate moves with lots of exposure to huge drops into the canyon. That climb took us 11 hours and we finished hiking down to the truck in the dark using our headlamps. I think every muscle in my body was sore the following day. A satisfying type of sore.

Lake Powell 2011

2011-10-16T16:17:00.000-07:00

This year's trip to Lake Powell has set the bar way up there! We stayed two nights for once and we had great weather for 3 days. High temperatures in the low 80's and low temperatures around 50. Very little wind, lots of smooth water and few other boaters to compete with. The moon was nearly full and so the nights were bright and beautiful with the mesas and towers of sandstone casting a beautiful shadow and silhouette in the background and foreground. Our party consisted of me, Deb, Eric and his friend Sam. Good wake boarders and hikers, but not much for conversation. We found a good canyon to explore near Rainbow Bridge, called Forbidding Canyon. A little scare with a close call on running out of gas, but I was never seriously worried like the others in my party. Hopefully a few more of my children can find the time next year to join us like years in the past. It was sooooo good this year guys!

Two Tri's

2011-10-16T16:09:00.000-07:00

I just recently completed my second sprint distance triathlon by competing in my first World Senior Games. I took 5Th in my age division. Respectable, but not really competitive for a gold medal. I think I will have to out live most of them and then maybe when I'm in my 80's I might go for a gold medal. Still it was quite fun and I must admit that I'm fairly fit right now from the training. The first tri was the Kokopeli out at Sand Hollow Reservoir and had a much bigger field of participants I didn't feel as good for that one, but still enjoyed doing it, especially having my son-in-law Peter out there with me. Thanks for the support from Deb, Sheri and Angie out there cheering me on.

Call Me Old

2011-10-07T07:21:00.000-07:00

First there was a grand daughter, then my 50th birthday, a prostate procedure (I don't want to go there in this blog!), my first year competing in the Huntsman World Senior games (in the triathlon which I run in the morning) and now a new calling at Church. I had served in the Young Men's organization for the past 16 years, with the last 10 years as assistant scoutmaster and Deacons quorum advisor. A truly great job for me and one that I will sorely miss. I have been called to serve on the High Council in the Young Single Adult Stake which draws from 11 stakes in the Washington County area. Dad came down over Conference weekend and ordained me a High Priest. It was a special evening having him do that for me and then Eric and Peter joined us to attend the priesthood session of Conference. I will be called upon a lot to speak at the various single wards in our stake throughout the year and I am awaiting other more specific assignments that will surely come. I anticipate that a missionary soon to return home will be called upon to accompany me on some of these speaking assignments (Marty!!). No doubt, I have begun a new era in my life. One that I hope will be rewarding and full of adventure. Maybe I can talk one of the bishops into holding sacrament meeting on the slick rock somewhere one of these sunny Sundays?!

Costa Rica Adventure Trip

2011-09-13T16:36:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Costa Rica was great as always. It has been two years since my last visit there. I usually spend most of the time in Nosara hanging out and surfing every day. This time Deb and I joined my brother CJ and Lisa on an eight day adventure organized by our cousin Andrew Taylor. I had two other relatives along, Aunts Shirley and Carol. Our first day in the country had us rafting the Pacuare River. It was a beautiful day and the rains stayed away until we were off the river. Great rapids and beautiful waterfalls. We then hiked and rode horses up the Upper Savegre River and stayed with the Lopez family. They live a simple life up in the mountain jungles of the interior of Costa Rica. We ate beans, rice and corn tortillas for almost every meal. The fruit and vegetables were fresh and every thing else was grown right there except for the rice. We had fun rappelling in waterfalls, climbing trees, exploring caves and swimming in rivers and riding zip lines in the thick rain forest. It rained a lot every day and nothing dried out. It was incredibly beautiful and we fell asleep to the roar of the river nearby each night. Our last day in the mountains we rafted the Savegre River almost down to the coast before pulling out. The last 3 days of our trip we spent at a beachfront hotel in Manuel Antonio on the Southern coast of the Pacific side of the country. The beach was beautiful and near a national park with lots of animals and pristine jungle. I attempted to surf each day but found the conditions very difficult and the waves unorganized and I was trounced often in the waves and never did get a good ride on a wave this trip. Maybe next time. The ocean was warm and we had a few days of sunshine with no rain. It is awesome to stroll along a tropical beach with the sun on your back and warm water lapping at your feet and monkeys playing in the trees in the jungle. The one thing missing for me though is a good rock face to climb. Then Costa Rica would be a complete paradise for me. It was fun to do this trip with CJ and Lisa. Hopefully we can get more of the Larsen clan to join us for future trips.

Climbing The Grand Teton

2011-08-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a trip to the Tetons. My brother Nick had asked me to take him up the highest peak in Teton National Park, the Grand Teton Peak at 13,770 feet. I have climbed this peak on two other occasions with my son Marty. Once when he was 10 years old and again when he was in high school. I met Nick at a motel in Jackson, Wyoming and the next morning we obtained our permit from the Jenny Lake ranger station. I had a permit waiting for me as I had contacted the chief ranger previously through my National Park connections as I continue to be the medical advisor for Zion National Park. It is a volunteer position but they do help me out with permits whenever I request. This year the snow pack was huge and hung around way into the last part of summer. I could see a lot more snow on the mountain peaks as I drove into the valley. The conditions seemed more like late June than late August. I did bring my ice axes in case we needed them, but the rangers told me that the route we had chosen was now free of any substantial snow or ice and I left them in the truck. We began hiking just before noon and 6 hours later arrived at the Lower Saddle to make our camp for the next two nights. We had very good weather and for the first time in many trips to the Tetons I did not get rained on. The second night on the mountain, however, we did experience very high winds and the tent was slightly damaged and we got little sleep. I also forgot to put my climbing shoes in my pack so we had to choose the easier Upper Exum Ridge climb as I had to lead climb in my approach shoes. Nevertheless, we had a great climb and enjoyed the summit for a full hour on August 22, 2011! I think Nick learned the meaning of "exposure" on the Exum Ridge at 13,000 feet. The day we hike down out of the mountains, Nick and I launched his drift boat on the Snake River. I rowed and paddled as he fished for the famous Snake River cutthroat trout. We spent about 4 hours on the river in fine weather with the Teton Range in the back drop. There are still many other peaks and rock climbs that I want to do in the Tetons so I expect that I will return there for many years to come.

College Soccer

2011-08-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

Becca has begun her second year of college at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She is once again playing on the women's soccer team. They had a preseason road trip to Utah to play several other schools, including Dixie State College. Most of the games were held at the new Rio Tinto stadium in the Salt Lake valley. It was enjoyable to watch her games at that cool stadium. They didn't win any of the games, but were playing 4 year schools as opposed to their usual junior college competition. Becca plays defense and is a solid soccer player and has incredible ball control. Her Mom & Dad think she is the best defensive player on her team. We wish her luck as the season continues back in the midwest. While she was with her team on the road trip to Utah a powerful thunderstorm swept through Council Bluffs. Baseball size hail struck the campus. Becca's car was severely damaged. She will need to have the car repaired.

Parunuweap Canyon

2011-07-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

This week I completed the summer scout trip with our troop. We backpacked into the back country of Zion and rappelled through Fat Man's Misery. We are down to 2 scouts in the troop so we recruited the varsity scouts this year as Andy Powell (scoutmaster) and I (assistant scoutmaster) both have sons in the varsity troop. We had 6 boys and 2 leaders. The first day we canyoneered through Birch Hollow, a side canyon to Orderville Canyon, with 11 raps and a short hike out. We had a lot of fun through the canyon and the boys learned how to rappel from difficult stances. The next 3 days were spent exploring and hiking through the upper reaches of the East Fork of the Virgin River also known as Parunuweap Canyon. This route requires rappels, swims through pools, hiking upstream in a river and steep scrambles up sandy rocky chutes. Hot summer temperatures, bugs, poison ivy and searches for springs and water sources. We saw no other humans throughout our whole trip and we truly felt like we were in the wilderness. Just how I like it. Eric was a great help and partner and my years of taking the other scouts on back pack trips had paid off as they were prepared for this rugged trip. I took the boys to Oscars for a murder burger on the way home. They cleaned their plates, all of them!

Imlay Canyon

2011-07-15T08:24:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Eric and I picked a perfect day to canyoneer through Imlay Canyon in Zion National Park. I had wanted to take Eric down this Zion classic as he has matured into a great canyoneering partner and he had yet to experience this very technical slot canyon. The weather indeed was perfect with a cloudless sunny sky, cool morning breeze for the steep hike up and warm temperatures for the cold slot. Even the Virgin River in the Narrows was running clear so we could see the rocks as we stumbled out of the Narrows to finish off the day. Imlay has many rappells and we had the ropes out a lot negotiating the many drops in the canyon. No need to hook out of any pools this time through as the canyon was full of water. However, there was a lot of debris from trees this year left over from the record breaking snowfall and water flows through Zion this year. These logs proved to be our most difficult obstacle in several sections. Many of the slings and rappel anchors were in poor shape this year and Eric and I spent some time replacing and improving a few of them. The canyon took us 11 1/2 hours to complete and of course we stopped in at Oscars before driving back home. Eric was a strong partner and is beginning to remind me of his brother Marty. Another great day in Zion!

Vedauwoo

2011-07-15T07:52:00.000-07:00

I went on a climbing trip to Vedauwoo. It is a climbing area near Cheyenne, Wyoming. Nick has been telling me about it for over a year, so I found the time to drive up there and stay with him. My friend John Tully came with me and we also took our mountain bikes with us. Nick and Emily were great hosts and fed us well while we were there. The Wyoming weather was a bit fickle but in the end we were able to do everything we wanted to do. I will just have to remember to take long sleeve shirts and pants with me any time I go to Wyoming even if it is in the middle of July. The mountain biking at Curt Gowdy State Park was great! I did go down hard once which left me with some bruises. The climbing at Vedauwoo was stout! I had heard about the off-width cracks it is famous for, but experiencing them was another thing. When I go back there again I will take knee pads, thick climbing pants and the biggest cams I can find. By the third day I was beginning to figure out the climbing better, but by then I was bruised sore and quite tired. Tully and I stayed in Midway on the way home and did hit Little Cottonwood Canyon the final day to do a little climbing on a classic Fred Beckey route before driving the rest of the way home.

Das Boot

2011-06-25T07:33:00.000-07:00

Eric and I wanted to do a canyon in Zion. We hoped to do one that Eric had not yet done and had our sights on Imlay canyon but the Virgin River is still flowing too high this year (the Park won't issue any permits until the river flow is below 140 cfs). So we chose to do a variation of the Subway hike called "Das Boot". It involves dropping into the Left Fork of North Creek a few miles up from the normal entrance to the Subway route. I did this stretch with cousin Zach several years ago in autumn conditions and remembered that it was enjoyable. Eric and I got a bit of a late start but we were soon standing on the side of the road hitchhiking our way up to the trail head after dropping of my truck at the lower Left Fork Trail head (the site of Eric's eagle scout project). The second car to pass picked us up. Sweet! It was already hot and sunny as we scrambled across the slick rock. After a few hours and lots of up and down trying to find our way along the north side of Left Fork we found a way down into the slot. It seemed silly to be carrying our wet suits in our packs on such a hot sunny day but soon we were very glad we had them with us. The slot was flowing with clear and cold water. We had several long swims and continuous wading and hiking in water for the next 90 minutes. The slot was tight, dark and fun. A few short raps were required. We also encountered the scattered remains of an elk including a large rack on the skull throughout the slot of Das Boot. Even with the wet suits on we began to shiver and would stop and bask in the sunlight when we could. Eventually we arrived at the usual start of the Subway section of the Left Fork. This part of the canyon we both know well and we traveled quickly. We passed several parties of other hikers and even helped a group from SLC down the last rap. The canyon was also full of clean water and incredibly beautiful as usual. The final hike out seemed tedious this time but soon we were sitting at Oscars having another dinner at our favorite restaurant in Springdale. All in all another great day in Zion..............................A week later I was participating in SAR training with the rangers over in Zion and the Chief Ranger asked me to hike with him through the Subway with 5 guys from the Helitack crew in Southern Utah (they are the fire fighters that are dropped in by helicopter to fight forest fires and sometimes help with rescues in the national parks). So around noon we took off down the Left Fork. This time through it seemed a little easier for me and it was fun helping out and "guiding" some federal employees through the Subway.

Trek 2011

2011-06-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

We just got back from another stake Trek. This time around I was called as the "Trail Boss" with Deb helping me with my duties. Our stake had almost 150 youth and about 50 adults participate. We went out onto the Kaibab south of Fredonia, Arizona up in the ponderosas. Specifically we trekked out to Crazy Jug Point and stood on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I arranged for Clay Bundy to provide me with a horse and I rode up and down the route keeping the Companies spaced out. Eric was on this Trek and was in a fun "family". The weather was generally quite good but cooler by 10 degrees than we had planned on having due to this year's crazy spring weather that won't give way to summer yet. Deb and I were the key speakers for one of the morning sides and it went well. I had a lot of fun riding the horse and I wasn't too saddle sore. I had gone down to Bundy's place once weekly for the past month to ride the horse and get used to the saddle again. It sure brought back memories from when I would ride in my teenage years and the trail rides that my Grandpa Chugg took me on.

Aries Butte

2011-05-28T18:04:00.000-07:00

Deb and I drove over to Zion and climbed one of the white domes on the east side of Zion National Park. It was a 4 pitch climb and not terribly difficult, but the approach hike was strenuous. Deb was a good partner and we climbed quickly. She appreciated the warm temperatures as I usually climb in brisk conditions when the friction on the rock is best. Another great day in Zion!

Deb on a Kayak

2011-04-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I convinced Debbie to try kayaking the town section of the Virgin River during high spring runoff. I have been taking various friends and family down different sections of the Virgin River over the past few years using the sit-on-top creek kayaks that I purchased. Some sections are rocky and challenging and other sections are more relaxed and less technical. The section through St. George is considered the easiest section of the river and with the recent floods the channel has been scoured and cleared of a lot of tamarisk trees. We put in at the fish dam straight south of Pine View High School and floated to the Man-O-War bridge into Bloomington. It took us a little over an hour and we had a good time. The first few miles Deb struggled a little bit, spinning around and around out of control, until she got the hang of handling the kayak. The sand waves were particularly good this year and they were quite fun as the river is running very high for just a spring runoff.

Fifty Years

2011-04-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

The day has arrived! I am half a century old. So long to my forties and hello to my fifties. Actually I am content and looking forward to the next decade of my life. Thanks to all those around me such as my wife Debbie and my children and grandchildren. To my parents for giving me a great start in life and my brothers. The Lord has given me so much and I try to thank Him every day! I live in an awesome place and have a great job and get to enjoy the outdoors often in the canyons and mountains of the southwest. Sure, I would like to work less and play more, but I know I shouldn't complain too much. I'll continue to work hard in the ER and then play even harder on my days off! This past week I was off duty at the hospital so I decided to try and do something outdoors every day with as many friends and family that could join me. I started the week with a multiple pitch rock climb with my friend John Tully at Red Rock Canyon on the west side of Vegas. The next day had me carving down snow slopes with Deb at Brian Head Resort on my snow board. It was a sunny spring day on great snow requiring sun screen and sun glasses. That evening I joined Eric and the scouts on a service project around the neighborhood. Wednesday had me in Zion National Park again with Tully climbing Ashtar Command a classic two pitch climb on Ataxia Tower. We then put the ropes in the truck and jumped in our kayaks and floated the Virgin River just as it emerges from the Narrows. We had to don wet suits as the water temp was 44 degrees. Zion is heaven on earth for me. That evening Deb and I took the sister missionaries in our area out to dinner to Ahi's my favorite local place to eat. Thursday morning Angie and I went mountain biking west of Bloomington on the Desert Bear Poppy Trail (formerly the Green Valley Loop). We then grabbed the climbing gear and headed over to Chuckawalla for an afternoon of climbing. We were joined by Deb, Sheri (yes....Sheri!), Hailey and Tully. It was one of those nice sunny afternoons at Chuckawalla that combines camaraderie, warm sunshine, challenging climbing and a great physical work out. Friday morning my friend Chad Farr and I went crack climbing above down town St. George at the Bluff Street Cracks on the Red Hill. Beautiful morning! Sunny but cool and crisp temperatures and again challenging climbing. Home for lunch and then we took the Mastercraft boat out of storage and went out to Sand Hollow and took our first wake board run of the year. The water was smooth and understandably cold but again the wet suits let us comfortably enjoy the day. I only took two wake board runs as my endurance is not yet developed but each run was great. My grand daughters joined us on the boat and loved playing in the red sand on the beach. That evening we had a grand party at our home. Deb and my girls cooked up a delicious cafe rio style dinner for all those who came. We had fun playing basketball, visiting, jacuzzi ing , and playing Kinect on the X-Box and looking at photos on the I-Mac all evening. Today has me riding my mountain bike again and attending Eric's Border League basketball game. We then will be canyoneering down a canyon near St. George. More birthday presents and of course cake. Love you all!!! (The above photos were all taken during this past week)

Pinecreek & Waterfalls

2011-04-06T16:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Nick agreed to go canyoneering with me in Zion. We chose to do Pinecreek, a slot that I have done over 30 times over the years. April assures us that we would have the canyon to ourselves as the slot is usually full of cold clear water after the winter snows and rains. Few canyoneers venture into the slots this early in the year because they are so cold. I personally enjoy the canyons early because it is more of a challenge and the lack of other people. We made a stop in Springdale to rent Nick a dry suit as he is too big for any of my gear and then I visited with my ranger buddies at the EOC where they have their offices. It was there that I convinced one of the rangers (Craig) to give us a ride through the tunnel thus avoiding having to hitchhike a ride back through the tunnel after finishing the canyon. Peering down into the drainage as Craig dropped us off I quickly realized that the canyon was flowing with a considerable amount of snow runoff. In fact the flow looked like it rivaled the time I went through with Marty in 2005 when the big snows and floods hit last time. I was suddenly very excited and nervous at the same time. This was going to be a much bigger challenge than I had planned on! It was a good thing that we both had brought dry suits. Soon we were putting on our gear at stream side as we listened to the roar of the water as it dropped into the slot before us. The first rappel station was tricky to get to because of the high water and I had Nick belay me over to it. Then we began. The second drop we chose to jump instead of use the rope. That was exciting and very chilly! Our biggest challenge came at the "Cathedral Room" rappel. The 70 foot drop provided a big water fall and the pool was deep and churning. Swimming under the waterfall was crazy. Nothing like snow-melt cold water pounding you downward as you try to swim through it! The rest of the canyon went well. We essentially floated through the narrow sections as the rush of water pushed us along with the occasional toe touch on a sand bar or rock underneath. After the last rappel we took off our dry suits and began the hour long boulder hop out to the road. The sun came out and we warmed up. Another great trip through Pinecreek and the second most difficult experience for me. Purty crazy huh Nick!?

Scout Camp Outs

2011-03-26T13:46:00.000-07:00

What may be Eric's last official scout camp out came amid stormy spring weather. We backpacked up into a nice red rock area just north of St. George. I was looking for a spot somewhat close to town as Eric had a late Friday night basketball practice. The storm let up just long enough for us to hike in and set up camp and stay the night and then hike out. Then the soaker rain settled in. The scout troop is beginning to dwindle in size as the boys turn 14 and move on into the Varsity age scout group. Eric will join them in a few weeks. We had a nice evening around the camp fire and we got in some outdoor games and hikes before coming home to gather food from our neighborhood for the "scout food drive". I hope that Eric and I can continue to go on backpack trips even though his days in the scout troop have come to an end.

3 Bars Black

2011-03-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Deb's 48th birthday. For her it was probably not very remarkable as we have saved the celebration and gift giving until the 20th when we will combine the party with Rebecca's birthday. But for me it was a major milestone in my climbing achievements. I finally red pointed (climbed it on lead without falling or grabbing the gear) the climb named "Three Bars Black" at Chuckawalla! I have been trying to climb that line for the last 2 1/2 years. The climb is rated 5.13b and is a local test piece for the best climbers. Since coming home from Thailand and having a great trip over there climbing many days in a row I have maintained my climbing endurance and strength. I have recruited several people to spend time belaying me as I worked through the various sections of the climb that were difficult. Finally a tip by my friend Todd (a 5.14 climber) on how to do the final "dyno" (leap from hold to hold usually involving having your feet swing in the air) move at the crux helped me solve the sequence. All I needed to do was link all of the sections on one flawless push. That moment occurred yesterday with my daughter Angie on belay. My first attempt of the day had me falling at the dyno. So close! I then rested for about 20 minutes, basking in the sun and chatting with Angie before I set off again. The temperature was perfect (about 53 degrees) and the wall was still shaded and with little wind. Physically I felt great. This time as I climbed through the lower sections of the climb I felt strong and the holds seemed a bit bigger than usual and I hit every hold and foot smear just right. When I made the dyno move my heart was pounding from excitement as much as exertion. My hand stuck on the hold and I paused slightly as I gathered the rest of my body in to complete the move and get to a more secure stance. From there it was patience and fighting the pump in my forearms as I moved through the less difficult yet tricky climbing to the chains. It is hard to describe the feeling at that moment. I was happy, relieved, and amazed all at the same time. I was glad to be able to share the moment with Angie. It had been my goal to red point this climb before I turned 50 years old. I now I did it! (Photo was taken during a working session and not the final redpoint)

Coyotes & Joshua Trees

2011-03-17T19:46:00.000-07:00

Eric and I just got back from our spring break trip to Joshua Tree National Park. We camped out and climbed for 3 days. Except for some windy moments, we had good weather and did plenty of climbing. Eric was a good climbing partner and companion. We were disappointed to find our favorite JTree restaurant (Crossroads Cafe) to be closed for renovations. However, we did manage to find a little mexican dive that had delicious food in Twentynine Palms near the marine base. I became a bit tired on the drive home and wished Eric could drive a spell, but he still is only 13 years old, so I resisted the urge to let him drive on the lonely back roads across the southern California desert.

Home from Thailand

2011-02-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

It was good to get home. St. George is such a great place to live. We were glad to see Eric and find that he was doing well. His sisters kept him in line and saw that he was where he should be at all times. We especially enjoyed seeing Siena and Cara as they are the cutest! Deb and I have our sleep cycles all mixed up so it will be a few days before we feel back to normal. I'm glad the weather currently in St. George is sunny, albeit, cold. I wish Thailand was closer to our home but the distant travels is part of what makes it so special to go visit.

Hong Kong Airport

2011-02-05T06:58:00.000-08:00

This blog entry if from the Hong Kong airport. We are making another connection. We barely made our flight in Phuket, Thailand. It took us longer to get through immigration than we thought it would and our taxi driver kept taking bathroom breaks on the drive from Ao Nang to the Phuket airport. I think he had a medical problem. The upcoming flight is going to be long as Deb and I do not have seats together and it is a 13 hour flight. Now that our vacation in Thailand is over I just want to get home. This is the miserable part of going so far away. It is Saturday evening at 11 pm local time and back home I believe it is 8 am on the same day.

Coming Home

2011-02-04T21:51:00.001-08:00

Well the moment has arrived. We are packing and getting ready to check out from this fabulous resort. We both just had an hour long massage. I did the traditional Thai massage which pleasantly hurt. Debbie had a coconut massage and scrub. She smells terrific. The first part of our journey back home should be OK. With boat rides and drives through jungle and small towns, but the airplane journey is not anything to look forward to, only something to endure. It is Saturday Feb 5Th at 1 pm as I write this blog entry. We have 30 plus hours of traveling ahead of us. See you all soon. We do miss everybody and especially our little grand daughters of course!

Fish Heads & Plankton

2011-02-04T05:40:00.000-08:00

This day started out like many of the other days here on our trip. Early breakfast watching the sunrise then off to climb somewhere. Today Deb didn't rope up, instead she just watched me climb with the guys from Southern Utah (Ryan, Skyler, & Jesse). They had me trying some hard routes. Mid afternoon we joined several other backpacker tourists and went on a 7 island snorkeling tour. We went out on a long-tail boat and stopped at several small islands. Some had some good snorkeling others were just OK. I did get stung by jelly fish a couple of times. We then stopped on a small beach on Chicken Island and had dinner. The tour guy just served us Rice Wine (no thanks) and rice with fish curry. The seafood was a jumble of things one of which was a whole fish head with its eye looking at me. We watched the sun set in the west and then we all waded out into the surf and crawled into the overloaded boat and went to Pineapple Island where we snorkeled one more time. At first I was confused because they didn't give us any underwater flashlights but after dropping into the water and swimming around with my mask on did I understand what we were there to see. Bio fluorescent plankton! It was so cool! Every time you would move your hands or feet through the water the plankton would fluoresce and it was like hundreds of stars or fire flies swarming around you. Way cool! In the morning we have to start getting ready to travel home as this is our last night here. It went by way too fast!

Wee Glad

2011-02-03T05:37:00.000-08:00

We started out today climbing at the wall nearest our resort and one that has several easier lines. Earlier in the trip I had Deb try one of the climbs (which I consider one of the best routes I have done here in Thailand) called "Wee Sad". It has a difficult start but is easier after that and climbs a cool stalactite and at high tide is above the water. She couldn't get through the opening moves and became quite frustrated and we had a little tiff over it. So we started calling the climb "We Mad". So today I gave her the cheerleader boost and she climbed it successfully. Now we call it "We Glad". This afternoon I had a pet monkey lick the sweat off my forehead. I was climbing with some hot shot climbers from Southern Utah on some overhanging sick hard climbs when they introduced me to their Thai friend's pet monkey "Harry". He was friendly but I heard he has bit a few people at times. Deb and I finished off the day with a "couples massage" at one of the spas. It is going to be hard to go back to reality in a few days. Tomorrow we have plans to climb and then go on a snorkeling tour of some nearby islands.

Thaiwand Cave

2011-02-02T06:06:00.000-08:00

Today we got up earlier than most of the other climbers in Railay and got on some climbs before the gazillion "Euro" climbers showed up. We then decided to try and take a short cut through the cliff to another climbing area via the Thaiwand Cave. We started into the cave and found some bamboo ladders helping us up some steep slippery areas. Soon we had to put on our head lamps. Once inside I had a difficult time deciding which passageway to take. Soon I saw daylight and heard climbers talking. I figured that we had made it through to the other side, but Deb insisted that we had already been there before. It then occurred to me that we had gone in a complete circle. Laughing I took a different passageway and several minutes and more ladders later we came to the mouth of the cave on the opposite side of the massive cliff that towers above Tonsai Bay. We had to rappel out of the mouth of the cave on this new side which put us at the base of another wall with many climbing routes. A very interesting way to get to the crag for more climbing.

Monkeys & Towers

2011-02-01T06:37:00.000-08:00

This morning I hired a local climbing guide to take me out to a limestone tower just off the coast and near where we are staying to climb it. It is named Ao Nang Tower. The climb consisted of 3 pitches of climbing with each pitch becoming progressively more difficult. The guides name was Tee and we hired a long-tail boat to take us out there and wait below. The weather was great today with no storms. The climb was very enjoyable and I even lead the middle pitch. I would like to think that I was one of his more fun guiding jobs of the season for Tee. Yesterday afternoon Deb and I were walking from the beach over to our resort and we were walking through a jungle section with large trees. There we encountered several monkeys. One large male started climbing down and came directly toward us. Deb quickly realized that the monkey had spotted the banana that she was carrying in her hand. Recognizing the monkey was coming for her she decided to place the banana on top of my climbing pack (without my knowledge I might add). The monkey then came for me and in spite of my gestures and shouts kept coming right at me and was perhaps 7 feet away. I was ready for this thing to pounce on me and I thought I might have to fight it off. The whole time I was puzzled as to why this monkey was after me. Fortunately Deb again realized the seriousness of the situation and grabbed the banana and quickly tossed it into the jungle vegetation. This solved the monkey chase and it darted into the fauna and found the banana and was eating it within seconds as we quickly walked on. She then told me why the darn monkey kept coming after me. Like putting the banana on top of my pack would fool the little rascal!?

Diving in Thailand

2011-01-31T04:57:00.000-08:00

Today I took a rest day from rock climbing and went diving. Deb came along and snorkeled. We were in a small group of Europeans and went to two different small islands to dive. Because of the recent rains the water clarity was not that good but the reefs around these small islands are teaming with life. On the second dive I followed the Thai dive master through a "dive through" or a tunnel underneath rock. It was a bit spooky but also a neat dive. The sun came out today and the rain storms stayed in the distance. Now I have a good sunburn. Some people never learn (like me). We hope the rains stay away for the rest of the week. I hope to do another multiple pitch climb in the morning. Deb says she will watch from the beach.

Another Day in Paradise

2011-01-30T05:35:00.000-08:00

Today I got up early in order to do a multiple pitch climb with Tully on Tonsai Beach. This climb was touted as a "classic" for the area. It was steep and overhanging in places and required good rope management especially on the rappels. It has rained every day. One of the afternoon storms lasted several hours and really soaked the jungle. Fortunately the sun does come out in between storms and we have been able to rock climb and hang out on the beach and swim in the ocean. The food has been awesome and we had authentic traditional Thai dancing at the restaurant we ate at last evening. I have also managed to get a "Thai Massage" which helped my sore back muscles from the climbing. Debbie has been doing really well at climbing and she has made a lot of progress since our trip here 2 years ago. She still prefers the sunny beach though. I have plans to go diving in the morning as I need a rest day from hard sport climbing. We miss everybody back home, but we still are enjoying ourselves immensely. Vacations are really cool!

Thailand January 2011

2011-01-28T14:06:00.000-08:00

It is 5 a.m. local time. I can't sleep anymore. After an exhausting 34 hour travel from our home in St. George, Utah we arrived on Railay Beach in Southern Thailand. Our trip began with a shuttle ride from St. George to the Las Vegas airport. We then flew to San Francisco where we boarded a Cathway Pacific 747 plane and rode on it for 15 hours to Hong Kong. The layover in Hong Kong was 2 hours and the airport was like being in a big fancy mall. Quite nice. We then flew on Dragonair airline to Phuket, Thailand. The beautiful beaches of Phuket were visible from the air as we came in for the landing about mid day (2 calendar days after we left home). The next portion of our journey was a 2.5 hour taxi ride on winding roads through tropical forests and the occasional jungle-covered limestone tower. The air was humid and the temperatures very warm. I had already changed into my shorts and tevas at the airport. We drove through some tropical rain storms but nothing sustained and the sun was poking through the clouds often. The last link of our travels was a "long-tail" boat ride from the small pier at Ao Namow out to Railay Beach. This was through moderately rough seas and lasted about 30 minutes. We finally arrived at the Bhu Nga Thani Resort & Spa at 3 p.m. local time. This resort was under construction while we were here in Railay 2 years ago and is absolutely beautiful. I feel like we have our own personal resort because the occupancy rate seems very low. The Thai staff are always very eager to serve and help and their English language skills range from very good to extremely limited. Even though we were quite tired we quickly changed into our swim suits and walked over to the west side of Railay where we looked for John Tully and his wife Jacqueline. John works as a PA with me at the hospital. We found them at a beach side restaurant and we all went for a swm in the warm shallow waters of the Andaman Sea. It wasn't long before John and I decided to grab our climbing gear and find a few good routes to do before the sun went down. Deb and I skipped dinner as we were way too tired to keep going, therefore, we fell asleep early in the evening. That would be why I am now wide awake this early in the morning and ready to start another exciting day in Thailand. Sawatdee!

Southern Utah Ice

2011-01-24T04:58:00.000-08:00

This winter has been the season for ice in Southern Utah. First the deluge of rain and then came the cold temperatures. Every mesa top, cliff and wash in the area has snow and running water in it. Now with the sunny afternoons and crisp clear cold nights the water flows during the day and freezes during the night. This has produced some impressive ice flows where before there has been none or at least nothing visible or climbable. If I had had the right partner and the time and the boldness I could have gone around the Zion greater area and made first ascents on multiple ice falls, pillars and flows. The Kolob finger section of Zion had some particularly long ice falls. I can only imagine what the deep back country of Zion had in the slot canyons. I did do at least one ascent that my partner and I think is a first for the area. We called it "Checkshani Pillar" and I climbed it on two different days. I have climbed "Camp Creek" our reliable ice fall behind Kanarravile and a couple of days ago I climbed "Cedarcicle" for the first time as I have never timed it right to climb it before now. Across from that ice fall we climbed what we call the "Cedar Slabs". This section of ice flow was a little less difficult as the angle was less than vertical and made for some fun and moderate climbing that allowed use to test our skills at leading and placing ice screws. Also the sun touched down on this area early in the morning allowing us to climb in the sun briefly which is unusual for ice climbing. I hear that there is a big ice fall just north of Kanab that has been climbed this year. One of my dilemmas is whether to get up early and venture into the snowy cold canyons to ice climb or stay close to home and climb with short sleeve shirts on the rock in the desert. Sometimes it is hard to get motivated to get up early and freeze just to climb.

LifeFlight

2011-01-12T21:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday our hospital in St. George got it's first helicopter. LifeFlight has had a fixed wing plane (kind of like a leer jet) to do patient transfers in the air, but now we have a "rotar" stationed permanently here. In the past we had to summon helicopters from Las Vegas or Page, Arizona over by Lake Powell. To add to the event was the fact that my daughter Angie is one of the flight nurses. She recently completed her training on the helicopter and with the NICU to be a part of the team that can transfer critically ill premature infants in the air ambulances. She is really excited to be a part of the flight team and it is a credit to her competency as a nurse as she is one of the youngest flight nurses. We hung out with her while she took part in the activities and the official "landing" of the LifeFlight helicopter at our hospital (Dixie Regional Medical Center). Most people there also knew me because of my 17 years of working in the Emergency Department. I have now been working in Emergency Medicine for 20 years. I started my ER residency in Illinois in 1991. I guess you could say that I have seen a lot of stuff over the past 20 years.

Storms in the Desert

2010-12-31T16:55:00.000-08:00

It is Near Years Eve and I just came back from snow boarding up at Brian Head. They have 6 feet of new snow since I was last up there about 10 days ago. I enjoyed some serious powder on all of my favorite lines on the mountain. It was quite cold but with the sun shining and the winds at bay it was a fine day for boarding! I drove up there alone as I could not get anyone to join me. I broke away from the resort a few hours early to go scout out the ice climb in Parowan Canyon. Hidden Haven is an ice climb that basically forms up in a slot-type canyon with several short frozen waterfalls and one big one. I put on my snow shoes and broke a trail into the small side canyon. Apparently no one had yet hiked up and climbed Hidden Haven yet this year. It took me about 30 minutes to snow shoe up to the first fall. It was cold, clear and very beautiful up in there. I liked the work out as well as the quiet of the forest in contrast to the busy ski resort further up the mountain. I found the ice to be present but not yet thick enough to consider climbing it safely. It will have to wait another week I think to fatten up. All of this snow came in an incredible series of storms that first passed over California and then slammed Southern Utah. It rained 8 straight days in St. George and then after a brief respite, it rained some more. The city of St. George has registered almost 4 inches of rain in December!! That is almost our yearly rainfall! Nick and I were able to sneak out one day between storms and climb at Black Rocks. The wash was running with water as you can see in the photo. The Virgin River flooded big during the rains and a few of my friends kayaked the Virgin River Gorge during the high water. They invited me, but I didn't think I had the boating skills to try it at such scary levels. I do have my limits!

A New Season

2010-12-17T19:07:00.000-08:00

A new season of making trips up to Brian Head to snowboard. The first day up this year was very good with surprisingly good coverage and some fun powder to get my back leg burning. The second day was a lot different with overcast skies and iced conditions. Nevertheless even a bad day up on the mountain is better than a good day at work. Debbie and Angie joined me on the second trip up this year and we often shared the whole ski lift with maybe 2 or 3 other people at any given time. It was like having our own private ski lift. I know the terrain at Brian Head is not particularly challenging but lack of lift lines and proximity to the warm low desert makes for a good winter combination. And I'll go with that.

NJCAA Tournament Trip

2010-11-22T09:35:00.000-08:00

We traveled back to Topeka, Kansas to watch Rebecca's team compete in the NJCAA Division I womens soccer national tournament. Only the top 8 teams in the nation qualify for the tournament. It was held at a nice sports park built by the city of Topeka and we stayed in a motel. In our time off there was not much to do. So I went to the mall twice and a movie theatre once with Deb. I even went running with Deb one morning. The weather was relatively nice for the time of the year but still had us using our down jackets and blankets on the bleachers. Iowa Western Community College was the smallest school there and was seeded 6th. They played a tough team from Georgia (undefeated) in the first round that had a couple of Nigerian girls well over 6 feet tall. Becca had to defend against these tall athletic girls and did a great job. They did not score while she was in the game. Nevertheless, they lost by one goal and dropped into the conselation bracket. They then won two straight games to take 5th place at Nationals. Becca played in all three games and did a great job. She is easy to spot on the field with her long blond curly hair waving and her short quick steps running to meet the ball. Deb and I are very proud of her and it was really fun to be a part of college sports. She is becoming a really good soccer player! We are also glad to hear that she is doing well in her classes back on campus.

October 2010

2010-10-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

My granddaughters are so fun to have around. Deb got these outfits for them to wear. With Eric now too old to trick-or-treat any fun with Halloween will be with Siena and Cara this year.

Powell Trip 2010

2010-10-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

Another year and another Lake Powell Trip over the UEA weekend. This year Debbie and I had Angie join us along with Eric and his friend Sam Hicken. The weather was great and the water still warm (71 degrees). We camped below Gregory Butte near our campsite last year on a nice sandy beach. The winds were calm and the moonlit night was just right. The second day after a morning ski we boated up West Canyon until we could go no farther. Getting from the boat to the head of the canyon was difficult requiring us to swim and wade through nasty debris for about 50 yards. Our efforts were rewarded with a beautiful hike up the narrow canyon. It had running water in it from springs up canyon. We hiked for about an hour up into a beautiful slot section full of clear cold water. The swim in this section was really neat and cold! No photos of this because I didn't carry the camera up with me. We arrived home on Saturday quite late as we stayed on the lake until dark. We missed the other members of our family and hope they can join us in future trips.

Cheyenne

2010-10-04T17:14:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a trip to Cheyenne, Wyoming. We visited with Nick and his family. They were gracious hosts and fed us and let us stay with them. Nick and I were able to sneak a mountain bike ride in on Saturday at a state park near his home. The ride was on fun single track through the pines and aspens on a beautiful autumn day. We caught glimpses of the nearby climbing area called Veudawoo. It looks like a place I would like to go back and visit and do some climbing. Nick and Emily have a beautiful home and it was fun to visit with their kids. Eric and I were able to go with Nick to the priesthood session of general conference. We walked into the stake center and immediately found ourselves surrounded by other fathers and sons listening to conference in SLC. Everything was familiar to us. As usual the talks were great. The primary reason for our visit to Cheyenne was to see Rebecca's college soccer team play. They played two games during the weekend. The local college called Laramie County Community College and Northern Idaho College on the neutral field. Becca's team lost one game and tied the other. We could only briefly interact with Becca until the games were done, then we had some personal time with her. She looks great and seems to be having a good time at college in spite of the hard schedule of soccer and school and travel. The drive home was long but unremarkable. It was good to get home to St. George but when we left it was still summer and when we got home it was rainy and fall temps had arrived.

Anniversary Number Twenty Seven

2010-08-28T08:15:00.000-07:00

Debbie and I celebrated our 27Th anniversary this week. And we were married on the 27Th of August 1983. No exotic trip for us this year. However, we had a lot of fun. We started out with a trip to the Shakespearean Festival to attend two of the plays. The first play was "The 39 Steps" a spoof of Alfred Hitchcock's movies and quite funny. Then the evening play in the outdoor theatre of "Much Ado About Nothing". Fun and entertaining! The next morning we drove over to Zion and hiked the Subway. It was a hot sunny day before the afternoon thunderstorms flashed all around us. We had good luck on our side and avoided any storm. It was a blast to swim through the narrows and rappel the short drops with only the two of us to worry about. It made for a quick (6 hours), yet enjoyable trip through one of the most beautiful canyons in the world. Deb and I then stopped in at Oscars and had the famous "Murder Burger" with sweet potato fries to satisfy our hunger. We talked about our next 27 years and how I will be 76 years old then and how we hoped to be able to do the same hike and activities all over again.

Mount Moran

2010-08-11T10:22:00.001-07:00

Eric and I climbed Mt. Moran in the Tetons. I wanted to get in one more trip with Eric before he started school. He will be in the 8th grade this year. School starts incredibly early this year (August 11th)! Our trip began with a morning session of climbing in Cedar Canyon at the Graveside Matter crag. We met John Tully there and we had a good morning of climbing stout sport climbs. Eric and I then drove to Midway and spent the night at my parents home. It was a nice yet brief visit in Midway. We got up fairly early the next morning and traveled to southwestern Idaho. On the way we stopped in Farr West and North Ogden and I showed Eric where the Chugg farm and Larsen homesteads were located. We also filled up our water containers at the old Stump Spring in North Ogden. Soon we arrived at the City of Rocks National Reserve and camped for the next 2 nights. The climbing at the "City" is similar to climbing at Joshua Tree. Tully again joined us for a day of climbing before he traveled on to Jackson to meet his brother. Eric and I did climb the Lost Arrow Tower which is a particularly stunning 2 pitch climb at the City. We would have been satisfied to stay and climb for several more days at the City, but we had plans to continue on to Grand Teton National Park. One of the first things we did in Jackson was to raft down the Alpine section of the Snake River. We enjoyed some class III rapids on a sunny afternoon with Mad River Expeditions. That evening we stayed with a park ranger in his home on the outskirts of Grand Teton National Park with stunning views of the mountains and roaming buffalo. Once again we got an early start and obtained our back country permits and rented canoes for our attempt on Mt. Moran. We canoed across String Lake and then portaged to Leigh Lake and paddled across to the base of Mt. Moran. The view of our route up the mountain was visible during the trip across the lake. It looked intimidating and steep. We stashed the canoe in some bushes on the lake shore and shouldered our packs. They were very heavy with all of our gear and the hike up the steep mountainside was strenuous indeed. It took us 4 hours to reach our camp. A wooded knoll of pines near a small clear stream. The dramatic peaks of the Teton range were clearly visible to the south, including the Grand. There was more snow than usual this year on the upper flanks of the peaks giving them a more fearsome appearance. We went to bed early that night after scouting out the route above and prepared our packs for the climb. It was 3:30 a.m. when we began to stir and get out of our tents. The oatmeal seemed quite bland that morning, but the hot chocolate was warming to our bodies. At 4:30 a.m. we began our hike up the ever steeping mountain. It was tricky negotiating the ledges and rocky gullies as we approached the base of the CMC route on the east side of Mt. Moran. At first light we made it to the top of "Drizzlepuss" the formation named by the men who first climbed it over 50 years ago. It proved to be the crux of our climb. It was cold and windy just like usual high in the mountains of the Teton range early in the morning. Soon enough though we had negotiated the tricky down climb and rappel into the notch between Drizzlepuss and the main wall where the CMC route was found. As we climbed the moderately difficult face the sun warmed us up and the climbing was enjoyable. For the next several hours Tully and I swapped leads and did some simultaneous climbing to progress faster up the side of the mountain. Eric stayed between us being tied into both climbing ropes. We made the summit before noon just in time for a brief hail storm to brush by us. There were many clouds and the visibility was limited. We ate some lunch and made a phone call home but didn't spend much time on the summit as we were mindful of the potential for bad weather. The first part of the descent consisted of down climbing and we were making good progress. Soon we came to the first of several rappels. Upon pulling the rope we got it stuck and Tully had to re-climb the pitch and free the rope. This delayed us for about an hour and caused us some grief. While negotiating the next rappel a strong thunderstorm bore down on us. It dropped lots of hail on us and soon it was coating everything with about an inch of hail-snow and made the rock wet. This slowed us down and brought us to a chill. With wet ropes and gear we proceeded downward (as there was no other choice). It took us a few more hours to get back to the notch below Drizzlepuss. I lead the pitch of climbing out of Drizzlepuss on wet hail-covered ledges and vertical rock for about a 100 feet. This proved to be quite challenging for me and I was very relieved to have completed it safely! Another round of hail and rain came down on us as we scrambled back down to camp. We arrived there around 7 p.m. almost 15 hours after starting out that morning. A quick dinner and we jumped into our sleeping bags in our tent and slept for 11 straight hours waking up to sunny skies and a beautiful day in the mountains. Eric and I quickly packed up and hiked down to the canoes. The lake was glass and the winds calm as we paddled back to the trailhead where the truck awaited us. We took in one last look at the Tetons before we pointed the truck southward and began a long drive home in order to get Eric back home in time for the first day of school.

Rebecca & The Narrows

2010-07-28T16:25:00.000-07:00

Rebecca is leaving home to go to college. I am excited for her especially since she will be playing soccer. She will be living on her own for the first time like many college freshman. The college she has chosen is a long way from home (Iowa Western Community College) and therefore will limit the number of visits to her if any at all. This summer she and I made a list of things to do together before she left for school. We did a multiple pitch rock climb in Snow Canyon State Park (Leopard Skin a 5.7 Olevsky classic). Then we went canyoneering in Zion National Park (Pinecreek, a Zion classic). We did lunch together and I took her shopping (about 14 minutes worth) and got her a bracelet. The final thing on our list was an overnight backpacking trip. For various reasons including weather and proximity Rebecca agreed to hike the famous "Zion Narrows" with me overnight. I have done this trip many times with the scout troop and my sons Marty and Eric, but for some reason Rebecca had eluded this trip while growing up. She and I have had many adventures in the back country of Zion whilst canyoneering but not usually long enough to spend the night. We chose a hot July day with a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms to do it. To avoid driving two trucks over we caught a daily shuttle van (with a generous charge) at the Visitor Center in Zion National Park (ZNP) early in the morning. A few hours later we were hiking down the dirt road past Bulloch's cabin along the headwaters of the North Fork of the Virgin River the usual start of the Narrows hike. Soon we were wading in the cool waters as we began to cross the stream many times. The water is usually clear this time of the year but apparently an intense thunderstorm the evening before up near Cedar Breaks colored the water a pale reddish hue which stayed with us the whole trip. This made the hike more difficult as with each crossing of the river we could not see the rocky bottom. We did encounter a few other backpackers in the first couple of miles, but soon we hiked alone with our faster pace. I think the forecast chased off many would-be day hikers as just two days previous an intense thunderstorm in ZNP had nearly killed 3 men canyoneering in Spry Canyon. The day grew hot, but the stream kept us somewhat cool. Sure enough in the early afternoon just after we passed the junction of the North Fork and Deep Creek a thunderstorm bore down on us. Lots of thunder echoed through the canyon and it briefly rained hard. Enough to wet the sandstone walls and cause of few runnels of water to flow down but not enough to sprout any significant waterfalls. We ducked under an overhang along the river to stay out of the rain and avoid getting soaked. This cooled down the canyon and soon we were hiking in sunlight with rain drops still sprinkling down from above. It was very beautiful! Our assigned camp site was #11. There are twelve designated camp sites in the Narrows. All are in the upper reaches of the canyon above Big Springs before the real "narrows" begin. Finally we came to our site about 8 hours after beginning that morning. Rebecca was glad to get there and drop her pack although we had gone super light for this trip and it was not very heavy. We ate a very simple dinner. A bagel and gourmet cheese. It was tasty and surprisingly satisfying. Another thunderstorm pestered us but we ducked into our tent and watched a movie on my i-touch until darkness came. The rain caused the night to be rather humid but the sky cleared up and the near-full moon was bright. With first light in the morning we got up and quickly broke camp. We hoped to finish the canyon before noon as the weather forecast was for more intense thunderstorms the next couple of days. Not far down the canyon we came across Big Springs and filled up our Nalgene bottles. There I ran into a friend and we chatted for a few minutes. He had come down Coral Hollow the day before. I had previously descended that canyon a few years ago in the fall and we talked about the obstacles in that drainage. I usually savor the "narrow" section of the Narrows, but this trip it was more difficult than in times past because of a higher river flow and mostly because of the muddied water preventing the ability to see the drops, rocks and boulders underfoot. It was still awesome to pass there again, but I could tell that Rebecca wasn't enjoying the experience as much as I. It is such an incredible place! Rebecca thinks that once you see one section of the canyon that another 17 miles of it is not any better. I don't think she is going to make this trip an annual thing with me. Just saying. The weather was perfect for us and we soon encountered day hikers coming up from the lower end of the Narrows. A sure sign that our trip was coming to it's end. Orderville Canyon also had very muddied water and added to the already dirtied Virgin. While hiking the last mile on the paved trail it is difficult to keep your eyes on the canyon walls and the beautiful scenery because of the hordes of tourists strolling along. "People Watching" becomes impossible to avoid. It is always a shock and a great contrast in atmosphere to emerge from the Zion back country into that sea of humanity! The shuttle ride was tolerable but annoying as usual. A lunch stop at Oscars for the "Murder Burger" with sweet potato fries was completed as planned. Rebecca and I had finished our list and I had shared the Zion Narrows with her. Maybe in another year or two she can begin another stage in her life and we can make an excuse to make another list of things to do. Maybe she will climb a "big" mountain with me next time.

Isaac Canyon

2010-06-30T17:17:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday, June 29, 2010 Eric and I went canyoneering in Zion National Park. We teamed up with two park rangers who were off duty and also looking for an adventure. The canyon we chose to explore is nicknamed "Isaac" canyon and drains into the Court of the Patriarchs which is a side drainage off of the main Zion Canyon. This canyon has not seen many descents and in fact may have not been visited for several years judging the condition of the rappel anchors. Our day in St. George began at 4:30 a.m. as we crawled out of bed early in an effort to arrive in Zion and meet up with Andrew and Brandon and get on the trail. The morning was cool and the trail shaded for the first couple of hours as we trudged upward with heavy packs towards the West Rim. After three hours of steep trail we arrived at the drop in point above Phantom Valley. Two tricky raps into Phantom and then a beautiful scramble over slickrock following the water way past many pools of clear water. As the drainage "slots up" we donned our wet suits and neoprene gloves and proceeded into a beautiful slot full of water. A few of the pools proved challenging to get past but soon enough we arrived at the confluence of 4 canyons. In the past I had always continued down the main slot of Heaps canyon until the final series of raps into the Upper Emerald Pool. This time we chose to ascend the South Fork of Heaps up to it's saddle and then canyoneer down Isaac canyon. The ascent was strenuous and had a surprisingly large amount of snow in the base of the canyon. Many knee high bushes of wild raspberries jabbed our skin as we hiked and scrambled up to the saddle. The descent down Isaac was slow going and a bit difficult with lots of bush-wacking and assisted down climbs. We replaced or placed webbing on 4 different anchors (some being completely absent). The final rappel necessitated placing a bolt to make the anchor safe and acceptable. This rap was about 250 feet and required some skill and endurance. Eric did very well with this canyon, but he did mention that he never wanted to do it ever again. We finally arrived back to the road and my truck 14 hours after starting out in the morning. No need for our head lamps, but we did consume most of our food and water. We finished off the day with a delicious burger from Oscars in Springdale. This is often the favorite part of the day for Eric and I as we talk about or hike that day and quell our appetite. Once again a day well spent in the back country of Zion. It will take a few days for the soreness to pass in our muscles as we pushed quite hard all day long to do this canyon.

Great Basin with the Scouts

2010-06-22T21:08:00.000-07:00

For summer camp I took our scout troop to Great Basin National Park. We started with the hike up to the Bristlecone Forest and looked at and touched trees that are over 3,000 years old. The night was spent in the Wheeler Peak campground where we had some dutch oven cooking. Early the next morning we started our hike up Wheeler Peak. The trail had long stretches of snow drifts, but the real challenge of the day was gusty winds. A brief cold front swept across the range while we were hiking. Gusts up to 60 mph buffeted us. Only scouts with their dads along made it to the 13,000 foot summit. In the afternoon we toured the Lehman Cave. It was my 3rd visit to the cave, but it was still very worthwhile. Incredible formations in that cave! That evening we drove south to the Snake Creek drainage and traveled up the dirt road to the Shoshone trail head where we found a delightful spot to camp among the aspens with a tumbling creek nearby. With the cool night air, soft grassy place to pitch the tent and the sound of rushing water, I slept very well that night. The next morning I helped several scouts pack their backpacks for a few nights in the back country. It is still amazing what some scouts will attempt to bring into the back country making their packs unnecessarily heavy. I threw out several items for them to leave behind. Good thing too, because the trail to Johnson Lake was uphill the whole way. We found the lake to be mostly frozen and had to carefully search for spots to pitch our tents. The ridge above the lake was plastered with snow and a large steep cornice blocked the trail over the pass. I then scouted a route up a steep rocky area to the right of the trail. It seemed plausible, but several of the scouts expressed their doubts. Nevertheless, the next morning I led the scout troop up through the rocky ledges, scrubby pine trees and snow fields to the ridge. It took two hours with them what had taken me 30 minutes the evening before. We then finished the hike up to the summit of Pyramid Peak. Sunny and clear, but still fairly cold. The rest of the trip was downhill. We didn't camp at Baker Lake as it was even more socked in with ice and snow. It is a beautiful lake with spectacular cliffs surrounding it. We made our camp further down the trail out of the snow near some clear, cold springs. Another good night out under the stars and soon we were to the trailhead. The days were long and the nights short at this time of the year. The stars at night were fantastic as there are no large cities near Great Basin National Park. The troop did a good job and in the end we had done all that we had planned on doing. It was especially fun to have shared this with Eric. He is getting tall and strong and clearly handled the trip with no problem and helped the other scouts often. He particularly liked all of the "glissading" we did during the trip. Sure beats an organized scout camp!

Lake Powell May 2010

2010-06-02T17:42:00.000-07:00

Rebecca graduated from high school this past week. It was a fine day and many family members came and celebrated with her. Debbie joined her on the senior trip as a chaperone. They left immediately after graduation. I had no desire to join thousands of crazy graduates roaming Disneyland all night long. This left Eric and I home alone. Therefore the next morning we hooked up the Mastercraft and headed over to Powell. Usually our trips to Powell last only 1 night. This time we planned on spending at least 2 nights on the lake. We were joined by his friend Sam and his dad Alan. The marina was surprisingly quiet for this time of the year as we launched in the afternoon. We soon found out why this may have been the case. High winds, the bane of Lake Powell. With a small crew and 3 days of time we decided to boat way up lake and visit the San Juan arm of the lake. A stop at Dangling Rope Marina to top off my tanks and we were off again. Soon we were past the side canyon to Rainbow Bridge and seeing sections of the lake that we had seldom visited if ever. The winds were fairly steady, but with it at our backs it made the going quite reasonable. We started up the San Juan arm and initially saw a few other boaters and one or two houseboats. It wasn't long before it was obvious that there were few people venturing up this large branch of Lake Powell. Three hours into our travel we began to look for a good place to set up camp on a beach. We soon discovered that there were few good beaches up the San Juan and with the stiff wind there were even less protected spots. Finally we pulled into a slim beachfront and tied off the boat. I had to put 4 lines on the boat to secure it adequately in the wind and waves. No wake boarding the first evening. Fortunately the winds died down considerably during the night. The next day I got in a fine morning ski, but soon the darn winds started up again. The second day was spent mostly exploring by foot a couple of side canyons. Eric and I looked for some Anasazi ruins but were unsuccessful in locating any. We did get in some surfing behind the boat and enjoyed some time listening to the stereo on the boat and soaking up some sun. We saw only one other boat for 30 seconds on the second day. The third day did bring us better weather and we boarded and surfed our way down the lake eventually arriving back to Wauweap late afternoon for the take out. Once again I had thoughts of staying another night on the lake as it is so fun and relaxing boating and exploring Powell. One side canyon was particulary beautiful that we traveled up. It was called "Reflection Canyon" and I hope to visit it again some day.

Moonlight Buttress

2010-05-06T06:46:00.001-07:00

The past two days I climbed a route in Zion called "Moonlight Buttress" with Andrew Fitzgerald, a ranger at Zion National Park. This route is considered one of the classic climbs in Zion. We started early the first morning having to cross the Virgin River during spring runoff. It was cold and tricky to get across thus we had the whole route to ourselves during the climb. It was slow going as we brought a "haul bag" with extra water, food and sleeping gear. The climb is almost 1400 vertical feet. We had good weather except for some gusty winds during the night which made sleeping difficult. The upper pitches of the route were stunning. Mostly a finger wide splitter crack extending to the top of the cliff. This was a very steep line with few ledges. We finished a bit early in the middle of the afternoon on the second day. The hike down the Angels Landing Trail was surprisingly difficult considering it was all down hill, but all the gear was rather heavy and our muscles fatigued. This climb was another one of my great adventures in Zion. I have done many in this park and hope to do many others. As I looked across the valley towards the Great White Throne I realized I had not stood on top of the great monolith. In fact, I personally don't know anybody who has done so. Maybe some day I'll do that one!

Kayaking into the Gorge

2010-05-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

The Virgin River is running high this year. There is a lot of snow-pack up in the mountains and it has been a cold and windy spring. I have been watching the river flows closely and have been trying to find partners to kayak the Virgin River. There are not many people who feel comfortable in a kayak and have a high sense of adventure for floating certain sections of the Virgin River as it is rocky, fast flowing and often choked with debris. Several phone calls later and some shuttling of vehicles, my nephew Tyrone and I launched in the kayaks from under the Man-O-War bridge in Bloomington on a Friday afternoon. This stretch of the river is not visited much. It is not particularly challenging for the avid kayakers and it starts out rather boring and it has a difficult take out requiring lots of effort to carry the boats back up to the highway. It took Tyrone a little while to figure out the nuances of paddling in the "sit-on-top" kayaks that I have. The river flow was about right for us at around 400 cfs. There were a lot of tamarisks in the initial stretch of the river as it winds around in the desert before diving into the upper portions of the Virgin River Gorge (VRG). These same tamarisks proved to be troublesome as they formed "strainers" along the way and provided many opportunities for a boater to get caught. Tyrone found this out the hard way and almost lost his boat. We were very fortunate to get his boat back and get underway again after a 40 minute delay and some anxiety producing moments (just ask Ty if you want details). We then entered the VRG. It is a really neat canyon. The walls of rock are impressive and it is exciting to see what is around each bend. Eventually the rock changes from gray limestone to red and white sandstone and the canyon has a wilderness quality. I would like to go back to that stretch of the VRG in the autumn when the river is low and hike through it. We stopped for a few minutes and stretched our legs and admired the towering sandstone buttes while warming up on a sandbar. As we approached the freeway we began to hear the roar of the cars and trucks speeding by. We drug the boats up a very steep and rocky slope below a very tall bridge spanning the Virgin River. It had taken us only 3 hours, but we were physically worked and had experienced some adrenaline producing moments. All in all a great day on the river!

Joshua Tree Climbing Trip

2010-04-10T06:17:00.000-07:00

Deb and I just got back from a quick climbing trip to Joshua Tree National Park. I have been to JTree many times on climbing trips. Usually with my sons or climbing buddies. This time I convinced Deb to go. She says it is my birthday present from her this year. We had the good fortune of having very good weather, but even so Deb talked me into staying at a motel instead of camping out. This does have its benefits. I tried really hard to stay on the easier climbs so as not to push Deb too hard. She was a great sport and climbed all but the last route on the 3rd day (which I thought was the best route of the trip, the mega-classic "Sail Away"). It was fun to introduce her to my version of Disneyland. She said that she liked it, but I don't think she had nearly as much fun as I did. It did take me several visits to JTree before I really got into it. It is a combination of the style of climbing, the Mojave desert, the campgrounds and interaction with other climbers, the quirky restaurants in the town of Joshua Tree and also the drive between St. George and JTree that makes it a fun climbing destination for me. Maybe Deb would like a more "traditional" husband, but so far she hangs in there with me. And I really appreciate that!

Conference Weekend

2010-04-05T08:45:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a quick trip to SLC and Midway. Eric and I attended the Priesthood session of General Conference. Our whole deacons quorumn and their dads made it (16 of us). It was a great experience and it strengthened our faith. Listening to the prophet in person and singing a hymn with 22,000 other priesthood holders was awesome! After the session we walked over to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and had dinner on the top floor at the Garden Room overlooking the Salt Lake Temple. Downtown SLC was packed with Latter Day Saints and Temple Square was full of excitment. I was glad to share this experience with my son Eric and I hope that it helps him build his own confirmation of what he is being taught by us and the Church. We stayed with Mom & Dad up in Midway and woke up to 7 inches of snow on Easter Sunday. It was beautiful, but we were glad to get home to the warm desert of St. George.

Grand Cayman

2010-03-15T17:02:00.001-07:00

We just got back from our spring break trip to the Cayman Islands. We stayed on the Grand Cayman, more specifically, the East End. Debbie and I took along Rebecca and Eric. Angie and Christian also flew down and stayed part of the week. It was our first visit to this island and we weren't sure what to expect. We chose a nice place to stay on the more quiet east end and the scuba diving was superb. There were also many places to go snorkeling and this was a daily activity. Snorkeling above a ship wreck was particularly interesting and the fish were especially big at that site. We did encounter some very windy days that had us looking for refuge on the leeward side of the island. The local kite-boarders seemed to love those winds and if I were to have stayed longer I might have tried to learn how to do it. I golfed one afternoon with Christian on a challenging course called "Britania". Our motel did provide us with some kayaks for the ocean and some bicycles to run around on locally. We all got more than enough sun and I came home with a nice sunburn on the shoulders and forehead. I should know better by now, but with the wind it is hard to feel the sun bearing down on you. The day we flew home, we had just enough time to attend sacrament meeting at the Cayman Branch. It is nice to find something familiar so far from home and the meeting was really good. We met the local missionaries and wouldn't you know that one of them was named "Elder Larsen" (from Arizona).

Adventure Day

2010-02-16T07:18:00.000-08:00

I had President's day off this year after a busy weekend in the ED. The forecast was for a sunny warm February day in St. George. I tried to recruite everybody at home to do an "Adventure Day" with me. Meaning we would go from one activity to another all day long in order to get in as many "adventures" as possible. No takers. After much exhorting and prodding and pestering, they agreed to each join me in one activity. Debbie, having suffered a significant injury the previous week, offered to go on a hike. We hiked in a drainage on the east side of Snow Canyon State Park where there are some petroglyph panels. We took Roxie along with us and she ran around the whole time. Sheri joined me on a mountain bike ride up Paradise Canyon near Chuckawalla Crag. We had a wonderful ride and no wipe outs. Eric went with me to Snow Canyon and climbed a multiple pitch climb named "Leopard Skin". We had a great climb and the weather couldn't have been better. I think he enjoyed it more than he would admit. Rebecca graced me with her presence for dinner at my favorite local restaurant. Eric protested loudly about her so called "adventure". I finished off the evening soaking in the jacuzzi with Siena. She of course spends the whole time jumping around and swimming.

Ice Climbing

2010-01-27T14:36:00.000-08:00

I recently traveled to Ouray, Colorado to do some ice climbing. I timed the trip to coincide with the Ice Festival. The weather was good for climbing, cold and clear. I attended some slide shows given by some of the best mountaineers in the world in the evening at the old down town theatre in Ouray. Soaking in the hot springs is always welcome at night. While there I didn't feel special and I even felt like an amateur seeing some great climbing. But back here in St. George things are different. Not many ice climbers here or even mountaineers. Here I am a bit more unique, but not in Ouray that weekend. It is always good to get back down in the warm sun of the desert too. I would enjoy ice climbing even more if it wasn't so darn cold doing it! What I like about climbing ice is developing the skills I can use high on a mountain when the terrain is steep and covered in snow and ice. It is really cool to ascend a curtain of icicles or a pillar of ice. It is hard to explain but the more I do it, the more I seek it out. Having good gear really helps too.

2010-01-03T19:04:00.000-08:00

Marty and his companion, Elder Tanzie

Siena & Sheri

Grandpa & Cara

Christmas 2009

2010-01-03T18:46:00.000-08:00

December 2009 has come and gone. We had the usual activities and get-togethers. Christmas morning was a lot more subdued than in years past. Marty is on his mission and Eric is now essentially a teenager and the grandkids were in SLC, therefore, it was rather quiet. We did have evenings of livelihood when the Larsen party came to town and when Sheri and Pete arrived with Siena and Cara. Of course, the ED was it's usual chaos of the holiday season. My shifts at the hospital are long, difficult and stressful. I look forward to January and the passing of the Holiday season as far as the hospital goes. By choosing emergency medicine as my specialty, I have doomed myself to loathing the holiday season. Someday, when I retire I may again look forward to the end of the year and all of the celebrations. My days off spent climbing, biking, and snowboarding help to maintain my sanity. Sunny days in Southern Utah help as well. I am well blessed and should focus on the positives in my life. Having Siena and Cara with us again is a joy. As they grow I hope to be a big part in their lives and look forward to introducing all of the many outdoor activities that I love.

Marty's Farewell

2009-11-18T17:20:00.000-08:00

We took Marty to the MTC today. We left St. George early in the morning and drove up the state. Pizza Factory in Provo was our meeting place for lunch where we met up with Sheri and her girls and the Plumb family who was also taking Marty's friend Will up to the MTC. After a leisurely lunch we drove up to the Provo Temple where we got out and took a few photos and then drove the last remaining block to the entrance of the MTC. That place was buzzing with activity, missionaries and arriving cars. We were directed to a spot along the curb where 4 missionaries assisted Marty in unloading and then escorting him into the MTC. We took literally one minute to say good-bye and then hopped back in the car and drove off. It was really hard in some ways, but also very exciting in others. This is exactly what we wanted Marty to do, but at the same time we will miss him a lot! We are very proud of him and I'm sure he will make a great missionary. The weekend before he left many of our family gathered and spent some time with us. Marty had a lot of support on Sunday when he spoke in sacrament meeting. Our chapel was packed and the meeting was spiritual. Marty gave an awesome talk. His setting apart by our Stake President last night was so good. He received an awesome blessing. In the weeks before his departure, Marty and I did a lot of things together. We went climbing often. We canyoneered, golfed, hiked, wake-boarded, and watched football games, movies and did lunch at our favorite places, etc. Did I mention that I am going to miss him!?

Lake Powell in October

2009-10-18T16:37:00.000-07:00

We did our annual Lake Powell Trip this year over the UEA weekend. It was late in the year, but our lucky streak continued. We had fabulous weather! Since our group was small this year, we chose to camp further up the lake below Gregory Butte and not at Cookie Jar Canyon as in many previous years. We also didn't get in a cool hike at the end of a slot canyon, but we did make it to Rainbow Bridge which does require a 2/3 mile hike since the Lake is still low. Our attempt to find a neat slot in Cathedral Canyon was thwarted by very narrow waterways that I was not willing to take my new boat into. Still, we had smooth water, warm temps, and a great sandy beach and a star-filled sky at night. I really look forward to this annual trip each year and my only regret is having to leave so soon each time. We especially relished our time with Marty as he will not be able to join us for a couple of years.

Kolob

2009-10-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

Marty and I just got back from a 2 day adventure down Kolob Creek. We started Monday morning and drove up to Lava Point and bushwhacked over to the head of Kolob Creek. Canyoneering through Kolob is always a challenge and thick wet suits or dry suits are a necessity. We chose to don dry suits this time. We also had heavy packs as we planned to spend the night in Kolob before hiking out of the Narrows the second day. These heavy packs make rappelling and swimming more challenging. The first part of the canyon is quite technical and has several raps and some very deep and cold pools of water. Everything was going well until the last (and the longest at 165 feet) rappel. Marty got hung up on a knot about 100 feet up and while free hanging. It took him 30 minutes to solve this problem and continue rappelling down into the large pool below. Once down we began to hike down the deep and narrow canyon. A few more swims and short rappels we passed the MIA route (our usual exit from the canyon, albeit a steep and grueling hike out) and continued down Kolob. We finally made our camp somewhere above the confluence of Kolob and the North Fork of the Virgin. The next morning we began the fairly long journey down the Narrows. The fall leaves were beautiful and the river clear. Of course it was cold and it was nice to get home and be warm again. The hike down the Narrows is always spectacular, but it is challenging with a heavy pack. I did slip and fall down hard once and it left me with some bruises. Marty did well, but also admitted to some sore back muscles. It was fun to do a challenging canyon with Marty and spend the night in the backcountry of Zion. Choosing a difficult and seldom visited canyon added to the adventure.

Rattlesnake Creek

2009-10-14T08:55:00.000-07:00

I did take the scouts down Rattlesnake Creek into Ashdown Gorge this past weekend. We made it to our camp spot right at dark. The next day was fun as we hiked down the Gorge. This trip a few of us did hike up the bottom portion of Rattlesnake Creek to see the waterfalls there. I chose to jump the stream all day to keep my feet dry. It proved to be a challenge and was the cause of much soreness the next day. One of the scouts decided to count how many times we crossed the small stream that day. The final count............77 times. No wonder I was so sore! As usual, Eric did fine and carried the tent for us. I think his pack was actually a bit heavier than mine. Cool.

Zion Narrows

2009-09-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I guided the scout troop through the Zion Narrows. We had 5 boyscouts, including Eric, and 5 fathers for the overnight hike down the famous Narrows. This is the 3rd time I have guided our ward's scout troop down the North Fork of the Virgin River. The first group included Marty some 6 years ago. We had splendid weather and sleeping on a sand bar next to the flowing water in the narrow canyon is always eupherial. We did not come across any other hikers until we were at Big Springs, then the onslot of humanity crescendoed and climaxed with the crowded bus ride down the canyon. It is really fun and rewarding to introduce the "Narrows" to these young scouts as I believe it is one of the great classic hikes on our planet. Feasting on a "Murder Burger" at Oscar's Cafe at the end of the 2nd day is becoming tradition.

Return to Costa Rica

2009-09-06T17:53:00.000-07:00

Marty and I took a "Father & Son" trip to Costa Rica this past week. We went with Marty's friend, Jeff Hicken and his father Alan. We flew to San Jose, the capital, and spent a couple of nights there before renting an SUV and driving to the Pacific coast to stay in Nosara and surf. The first day there we went on a rafting trip down the Pacuare River in eastern Costa Rica. This river cuts through a jungle laden gorge and we negotiated 53 rapids over an 18 mile stretch. We went with Costa Rican river guides that were recommended by our cousin Andrew Taylor. This may have been the highlight of our trip, but we also had some great sessions of surfing at Playa Guiones. Our trip coincided with the rainy season and we did get rained on nearly every day, but the rain is so warm and the ocean warm also that it didn't seem to matter. We still were able to complete our activities. The jungle was especially lush and green with many exotic flowers in bloom. While there we attended church at a small branch in the city of Nocoya. We met the missionaries there and enjoyed the members friendly welcome that Sunday morning. Marty and I had lots of time to talk and discuss his upcoming mission and his plans for life. I am proud of his choices and his desire to do the right thing. No doubt I will miss him a lot when he goes!

Mission Call

2009-09-06T17:48:00.000-07:00

Marty received his mission call. He was called to the St. Louis Missouri mission and will report to the MTC on November 18th. Everyone in the family is very excited about his call and Marty is becoming prepared for the day. He was ordained an Elder a few weeks ago. Marty has a great attitude about his call and wants to serve the Lord the best he can. His good friend, Tyler Nash, is already serving in the same mission and was so excited to hear that Marty is joining him in the mission field.

Cara Arrives!

2009-08-03T14:57:00.000-07:00

My newest granddaughter has arrived. Cara May Romney was born on July 31st.

Tuolumne

2009-08-02T09:53:00.001-07:00

The upper elevations of Yosemite National Park is known as Tuolumne Meadows. The road from the Valley winds it's way up and over Tioga Pass passing several granite peaks and domes and beautiful green meadows and meandering streams. The winter snows give way to pleasant summer temperatures and sparkling mountain lakes. Rock climbers from all over come to Tuolumne in the summer to climb the exquisite granite faces of these domes and pinnacles. I had made plans many months in advance to visit Tuolumne with a climbing buddy, Chad Farr and test myself on some of the classic routes. For weeks prior to leaving on this climbing trip I had searched the internet for information about the different peaks and rock climbs of Tuolumne. I had made a list of classic route names and their difficulty grades and hoped to take advantage of every minute of daylight while I was there to climb. Chad had climbed there more than 5 years previously and had great things to say regarding the climbing in Tuolumne.

We arrived late one night after driving for 8 hours across the Nevada desert. All of the formal campgrounds were full, therefore, we ended up "boon-docking" along side of a spur road overlooking a beautiful mountain valley with a small but fast flowing stream running through it. Chad had fixed up the back of his pick-up truck with a shell and wooden platform which provided us with a fine place to sleep. The next morning the air was crisp and cool and the mountain peaks were still covered in some snow left over from the previous winter. We soon broke "camp" and headed into Yosemite to choose our first climb. We decided upon "Cathedral Peak", (it seems like every mountain range has at least one peaked named Cathedral Peak). This peak's southeast side was known to have a moderately easy climb of about 6 pitches up a beautiful sweeping granite face ending on a spectacular summit block. We got a relatively late start and the approach hike took us two hours and left us gasping in the thin air and sweating profusely in the summer sun. White puffy clouds began to appear on the horizon, but none that looked too concerning to us at that time.

Upon arriving at the base of the peak we put on our climbing harnesses and sorted our gear of cams, nuts, slings and carabiners. Chad tied into the rope and lead up the first pitch following easy terrain quickly up to a ledge with a small tree on it. Soon I was at his side getting ready for my lead of the second pitch. Our rope was 70 meters long (about 229 feet) and helped us progress faster up the face compared to the old standard 50 meter ropes of the past. My lead up the next couple of hundred feet of rock was fun and relatively easy except for one 15 foot section that required commitment and confidence in my gear placements. Chad then lead the crux pitch through a chimney section that proved to be quite fun. As we neared the summit the skies to the east began to darken as thunderstorms began to form. Rumbling from distant thunder began to makes us nervous. The final climb up to the summit was interesting. This peak truly had one block thrust up about 20 feet. I climbed up onto it and realized it was about the size of our kitchen table on top. I took some quick photos and then quickly scrambled back down to Chad belaying me in a notch between the summit and another lesser leaning block. I couldn't think of a better place to be to try and be struck with a bolt of lightning. We could see and hear an impressive storm bearing down on us from the east. Our scramble off the summit and down the flanks of the other side of the mountain was swift considering that we were still wearing our climbing shoes. A moment before reaching our packs the storm hit us. Hail the size of dimes with occasional nickels pelted us fiercely. Sometimes the hail would hit my ear or some other part of my head and it hurt! Then came the rain. We huddled under a tree further down the mountain and waited out the storm. The ground was covered in so much hail that it looked as if it had snowed. Forty five minutes later we began to hike out and the sun came out again and began to dry things off. The stream did rise and become muddy confirming the strength of the storm. The forest smelled wonderful and the leaves were all green and wet from the rain. We began to meet other hikers as we neared the road and the main trail. We both looked forward to making our pasta dinner that evening as we rested from the hike and climb and began to plan our adventure for the next day.

Marty Graduates!

2009-05-23T17:43:00.000-07:00

Marty graduated from High School this past week. We had many come from afar to celebrate with us. Marty graduated in the 1st graduating class of Desert Hills High School. Although he was not the valedictorian, he did have very good grades and also received an excellent scholarship from Dixie State College. We are all proud of him. With various grandparents we visited the lake on our boat and went climbing and attended little league baseball games. Debbie went on the senior trip with Marty as an adult chaperon. They left immediately after the ceremony to travel by bus down to Disneyland and the beach. I was offered a spot as a chaperon as well. However, since I loath both Disneyland and Southern California in general I graciously declined. Eric and I have been preparing for our 50 mile backpack trip with the scouts across Zion National Park. I am looking forward to spending a lot of "quality time" with Eric during that week. I just wish I could have thrown in a few technical canyons along the way to make it more interesting and challenging.

Spring Activities

2009-04-04T07:01:00.000-07:00

I was able to get out and backpack a couple of times this past month. One weekend Peter, Marty, Ty and I got out to Colorado City and hiked up to the confluence of Squirrel Canyon with Short Creek. The next morning we hiked up to the "amphitheatre" and even scrambled up on top to get a look around. This past weekend Eric and I took the scout troop over Red Mountain. The ten mile hike is great and covers some awesome slick rock. This year it was cool, breezy, but sunny and sleeping in our new tent on the sand was comfy. Eric and I also camped out for 3 nights and did some rock climbing at Joshua Tree National Park. We climbed several of the classics lines while there. On the home front, we have been celebrating birthdays. First it is Angie's then comes Deb and Becca. Now we will be celebrating Eric's, Gordon's and Sheri. Marty and Becca have been busy with high school and have been going to dances and other activities. Becca is very involved in the planning and organizing of Junior Prom. She has been nominated to be on "royalty". It seems like she brings home a different boyfriend every day. Marty has been splitting his time between High School and the EMT class at Dixie College. He really enjoys the EMT class and is the top student. We made our first run on the boat out at the lake the other day. Wake boarding was fun, even if the water was cold! I went to Red Rock Canyon just west of Las Vegas a few days ago and did a long multi-pitch route with a friend. The climbing was moderately challenging, (Ginger cracks on the Ginger Buttress in Juniper Canyon which is about a 1000 foot climb) but we got one of our ropes stuck while pulling it after rappelling. It took us a couple of hours to climb back up and retrieve the rope and get down. For a few moments I had thoughts of being stuck on a ledge overnight. We did make it down to my truck but not until after dark. No harm was done and all our gear was intact, but I was tired, cold and hungry. I can only imagine how tire, cold and hungry I would have been if I would have had to spend the night up there.

Thailand

2009-02-06T09:34:00.000-08:00

Deb and I just got back from our trip to Thailand. We wanted to take a "big trip" to celebrate our 25th anniversary, so I convinced Deb that a trip to the southern part of Thailand would be a great place to go. There is an area on the Phra Nang penninsula that has incredible rock climbing, warm clear waters, and beautiful beaches. I had read about this area in rock climbing magazines and had talked to a couple of local climbers who ventured there in the past and they had good things to report. We started out in St. George at the airport. We flew to LA, then got on a plane going to Seoul Korea then another plane to Phuket Thailand. We arrived in Phuket about midnight (30 hours later!) and bargained with some taxi drivers. We hired a young guy to drive us for 3 hours to the coast to a place called Ao Namow where we were to catch a boat out to our final destination. Arriving at Ao Namow at 3 am we found this small place quiet and shutdown. The taxi helped us find a hotel at which we payed for a room for a few hours until morning. This hotel turned out to be a nice place with a friendly family running it. After they fed us breakfast, they helped us carry our bags over to the beachfront where we did catch the "longtail boat" out to Rai Lay beach where we stayed for the next 7 days. Railay and Tonsai beaches are known for the limestone towers covered in jungle and the beautiful shallow seas surrounding them. Because of the mountainous terrain and jungle, there are no roads or airstrips there and arriving by small boat is the only option. In spite of this, this area is popular with many Europeans and of course rock climbers. Several beautiful and exotic resorts are being built there now and we stayed in one of them. We had a bungalow to ourselves and had top-of-the-line service the whole week. Deb and I indulged in several Thai messages and sampled exotic fruits and Thai dishes throughout the week. For the dirt bag climbers, there were very basic wooden huts in the jungle hills surrounding Tonsai beach. A couple (if they wanted to) could stay in those small bungalows and eat well for probably $25 dollars a day. You would have to share an outdoor shower and bathroom with several other euro climbers and brave the bugs typically found in tropical areas. But Deb and I stayed on Railay beach at the resorts instead. We still got out and rock climbed most every day. Our afternoons were spent on the beaches and exploring some jungle trails in the area. One rest day ( one can only climb so much) we hired a boat to take us out diving. While I dove with a Thai dive master, Deb snorkeled above us. It was a great day that was made adventurous by the breaking down of our boat on the open sea on the way back from our dive sites off of Chicken Island south of Railay. The boatman simply pulled out his cell phone and called a friend who came out with his boat and towed us in. It was a good thing the the seas were relatively calm that day. The rock climbing was excellent! Many of the climbs are on overhanging cave-like rock faces right off the beach. At first I found the climbing to be challenging and difficult, but as I became accustomed to the climbing style and ratings, I found some incredible routes that I will never forget. Routes with names like Monkey Love, Groove Tube and Don't Worry be Happy. My favorite route was on Happy Island which required a 100 yard wade through waste deep water during low tide to get to the base of the cliff. Deb was a great sport and did a lot of the climbs herself. I think she got into it a bit more than she would like to admit. It sure was fun and relaxing to wake up each morning and have a breakfast loaded with fruits, go climbing for a few hours, then retire to the beach for the afternoon followed by a leisurely dinner in an open air restaurant at beach side sampling new and tasty meals. As expected, we hated to see it end. The trip home was agonizing and took longer than the trip to over. We had plane changes in Seoul Korea, Tokyo Japan and Los Angeles. LA was the worse link in the travel itinerary and should be an embarrassment to Americans everywhere. It was very nice to get back home to our kids and Siena. St. George is a beautiful place to live and coming home is nice too! Now it is back to work and the daily grind, but Deb and I think this was our best vacation yet. So we did have a memorable 25th anniversary trip after all.

White Christmas

2008-12-28T23:07:00.000-08:00

We had a "White Christmas" in St. George this year. That is something unusual for us. I'm OK with it because it was so fitting for the Christmas Spirit, but I also hope the snow goes away quickly and I can get back to my usual activities in the beautiful desert terrain of Southern Utah such as climbing, mountain biking and hiking. It has been so fun to have my grandaughter, Siena, living with us this year. Having Santa visit and bring her gifts on Christmas morning was fun and brings back good memories of when my daughters were young. Now we have our teenagers and things are quite different (mostly in a good way). Even Eric seems like a teenager even though he is only 11 years old. Having Marty and Becca around influences him and it is hard to keep him young and innocent. Eric and I drove up to Brian Head the day after Christmas and braved the winter storm to get in some fabulous snow boarding in deep powder. It was cold and snowy, but it was worth it to ride the "powder" down the mountain. We got home in time to meet family members arriving for the Larsen Christmas Party. Even with 2 of the brothers not able to attend this year we had a full house. I think the Larsen clan will soon outgrow even our home in St. George. For those of us attending we had a great time. Dinner, a short program, gift opening and games were shared by all. All of Lowell and Marilyn's great grandchildren were present and made lots of noise. (Boden, Jet, and Siena) The newest addition, Elspeth, was adorable. She can be held by anybody and loves to smile and coo with you. I even got in some rock climbing with Ben, CJ and Ty and their boys. Snow Canyon was fun, but surprisingly cold even with the afternoon sun. Nick flew home with his family, Ben drove back home along with Grandma and Grandpa and CJ will soon have to make the long journey back home to Northern Idaho. I got to stay home through it all. I am working the graveyard shift this week in the emergency(which is always a very busy time for us in the emergency department). Well, enough of the rambling for now. Angie said I should post more.....so here it is.

A Day in Zion

2008-12-03T08:28:00.000-08:00

December has been mild in Southern Utah this year. Yesterday I did a multiple pitch climb with 2 park rangers on a buttress directly across from the Great White Throne in Zion. Andrew & Derek had climbed the first 4 pitches the previous day "fixing" the first 400 feet with ropes and then descending to rest for the night. I then joined them early the next morning arriving at the base of the cliff just as first light began to break. The name of the climb is "Touchstone" and was first climbed nearly 30 years ago. It is considered a Zion classic and stretches nearly a 1000 feet above the river. It is usually done as a 2 day climb requiring a "bivy" halfway up on one of the ledges. This climb is across the river from Prodigal Son that I climbed last year and slept on the portaledge. Since the rangers had fixed ropes on the first 4 pitches we planned to climb the whole route in a one day push. We took 3 liters of water and a couple of cliff bars between us. We had light jackets and all the standard "trad" climbing gear. Even with a relatively light load, I felt weighted down with gear as we started "jugging" the lines. I was the second to start up. Ascending a rope for 400 feet is a lot of work! I was soon sweating with exertion as I inched higher and higher. Eventually we all congregated on a small ledge and sorted gear and began to ready ourselves to climb the next 5 pitches to the top. The lower 4 pitches required "aid climbing", but now the crack system began to open up and "free climbing" was now possible although still very difficult. The next 6 1/2 hours was incredible. Free climbing the crack systems proved challenging, exposed and quite strenuous. The higher we climbed the more incredible the view of the Great White Throne. Zion Canyon is also very quiet this time of the year, with very few cars passing below. The sound of the Virgin River dominated the air. We saw some California Condors soaring above and the last fall leaves were still clinging to the cottonwood trees lining the river below. The day was cool but not cold and the sun came out just long enough to warm us up nicely. The last pitch of the day was dicey and exposed. Very exciting! We sat on top of the tower for only a few minutes as the sun began to set behind Angels Landing as we still had to descend back down to the canyon floor. It took us nearly 2 hours and a dozen rappels later to get back down. We coiled up the ropes by headlamp and then hiked back to the truck. What a great way to spend the day! I still made it back to St. George in time to see Rebecca perform in a dance review at the high school. Dinner tasted so good and I fell asleep quickly that night as satisfying exhaustion set in.

Desert Hills

2008-09-22T06:40:00.000-07:00

We are spending a lot of time at the new high school in St. George these days. Marty is a senior and Rebecca is a junior. Marty is playing on the football team and they have had some wins already this year. Rebecca is a team captain on the soccer team and they too have had some success. Just this week she scored an important goal for her team! (and she is a defender) Debbie is the PTA president-elect and she also spends a lot of time helping out the booster club. I think she is over at the high school every day. Eric is playing in a junior tackle football league and already wears his "Thunder" shirts everywhere. (Desert Hills Thunder is the mascot) The new high school is really nice. It has a 3 building campus with sprawling courtyards and state-of-the-art athletic fields. It is quickly becoming the new and best school in town. Rebecca also was elected Junior Class Vice President and has many friends, including boys who come to the house all the time. Marty is well liked by all crowds and gets high praises from his teachers. He has a steady girlfriend named Hailey. He can be spotted easily driving around town in my old Toyota Tundra (sunfire red) with his custom sticker on the windshield "McFly".

Wind River Trip

2008-08-16T15:57:00.000-07:00

Man O Man, what a great trip we had into the Wind River Range of Wyoming! Nick had invited many, but only 3 of us showed up. Myself (Gordon), Dave Harris, Brad Chatlin and of course Nick himself. We all met up at the Diamond 4 Ranch near the Dickinson Park Trailhead just west of Lander, Wyoming. This ranch is run by the Allen family and was straight out of the movies. Rustic log buildings and beautiful horses and hard working wranglers all decked out in chaps, long coats and cowboy hats. They put us up for the night in a small cabin (complete with the crisp walk out to the outhouse) and fed us in the kitchen with the hired help. The next morning they loaded up our gear onto the pack horses. We needed 3 pack horses in addition to the "wrangler" leading them on his horse. We got a head start hiking with our small day packs and fishing poles. We soon crossed into the Popo Agie Wilderness Area on the trail and headed for the Smith Lake Basin. Four hours and 8 miles later we arrived at Middle Lake and made camp. We were just ahead of the horses. Because of the horses, we were able to take much more with us than our typical backpacking trips. Each of us had our own tent. The horses carried in our food, dutch oven and large stove and even Nick's "float tube" for fishing the large lakes. Lets just say that we ate well! I was first to string up my fishing pole. On my first cast I caught a colorful brook trout. It set a precedent that lasted all week. The fly fishing was hot.......no..............sizzling! Brad and I preferred the streams flowing between the lakes. Nick was very successful out in his float-tube catching some large lake trout in addition to many brook trout and soon had the frying pan filled with fresh fish. Losing flies wasn't the problem, but wearing them out from catching so many fish was. I also had brought in my climbing gear and Dave and I spent one morning climbing the cliffs behind our camp. I put up a 2 pitch trad climb that I am sure has never been climbed before. Dave and I also decided to climb the most prominent peak in the area, Cathedral Peak. It took us 8 hours and a couple of thousand feet of ascent, but the view from the top was spectacular! I was even able to get in some roped-up rock climbing near the top of the peak. During our stay in the Smith Lake Basin, we so no other persons. The weather was perfect.....no clouds and therefore no rain. The one hassle we ran into.....literally......was a pesky black bear. He kept prowling around our camp and one morning quite early he got into some of our food and I had to chase him off. I didn't sleep as soundly as other trips because of the thought of that bear near our camp. He wasn't particularly big, but he did seem bold around humans. Brad was the first to encounter our bear-friend (ask him about it, as it is quite funny). When it came time to go, Nick and I felt like we could stay another couple of days and enjoy this spectacular area. The wrangler showed up on time on the appointed day and he loaded up our gear again and set out for the ranch. I got in some last minute stream fishing below Smith Lake and it was unbelievable! I was reeling them in as fast as I could dry off my fly and cast again. Sometimes, 3 fish would strike for my fly at the same time. If only all fishing outings were this successful, then I would pursue it more often. Once we made it back into Lander the reality of the long drive home sunk in. We all departed in different directions and said goodbye. We all talked about coming back and I'm sure we will, but it may be a few years. Good friends, fantastic fly-fishing, great food, light packs, awesome weather, solitude and the most scenic and wild mountains in the west! What more can I say?

Rocky Mountains

2008-07-13T14:07:00.000-07:00

It sure was nice to visit Midway in July and see nearly all of my brothers. Our Uinta trip into Ruth Lake was fun as usual, however, with 14 people it was hard to keep track of everybody. The rock climbing was superb and we got into some fun fly fishing in the upper meadow beyond Jewel Lake. After all those events, Marty and I broke away and drove my truck over into Colorado. There we met up with a friend and spent the night in Steamboat, CO before driving on to Rocky Mountain National Park. It was our first visit to this area. We obtained a permit at the visitor center and then made our way to the Glacier Point trail head. We were greeted by fierce thunderstorms and rumors of a group of people struck by lightning 2 miles up the trail. Marty set a fast pace up the steep trail carrying a generous pack laden with climbing gear and 2 days of food. We were in typical alpine country with pine trees, rushing streams and scattered lakes and towering mountain peaks. The fresh smell of rain and pine forest was invigorating and a welcomed break from the high heat of the desert back home in St. George. Just a year prior I was high in the Cordellera Blanca mountain range of Peru. Now Marty and I were looking to climb one of the classic alpine climbs of North America. The Petit Grepon. This is a granite spire above the lake named, Sky Pond, in the heart of Rocky Mountain National Park. It required a 5 mile hike up a very good trail to the lake where, according to our permit, we could only bivy on rock or snow near the base of the climb. We arrived in a windy thunderstorm and huddled under a rock shivering while we pondered why we wanted to do the climb. Marty asked me several times during this trip "Is this fun"? Soon we found a bivy cave where previous climbers had stacked rocks flat under two large boulders. There we made our home for the night. To our relief the storm soon abated and the evening sun came out and we had a calm beautiful night. The stars filled the sky and we noticed that we had the basin to ourselves that night. Morning came very early and we gathered our gear and left the cave and started scrambling up to the spire at 5:30 a.m. At 6 am we were roped up and climbing. Marty led the first couple of pitches as it was relatively easy terrain. I then took over lead and proceeded to negotiate a couple of moderately easy pitches. The crux pitch came at number 5 and was an exciting pitch to lead I must say. As we neared the top the wall become more vertical and the feeling of exposure more intense. Soon Marty and I were rappelling down the rock face and enjoying the sunny day and satisfied with the experience of climbing such a fine route in a stunning setting. We had dodged any severe weather, stuck ropes or physical injury on this beautiful day in July. Our hike out was swift and we were soon on the road again back into Utah. We stayed another night in Midway before driving back down the state back into the desert and the summer heat.

Fat Man's Misery

2008-06-22T08:34:00.000-07:00

I am the assistant Varsity Coach in the ward. Apparently they want to keep me in the young men's organization to add some high adventure to some of their activities. So........I suggested that we take the varsity scouts (age 14-15) through the Right Fork of North Creek in Zion for their summer high adventure activity. This would require traversing 18 miles of rugged terrain and a couple of rappels. However, when I went to get the backcountry permit from the rangers, I was informed, that you can now no longer have groups bigger than 6 in the backcountry of Zion. We were 9 counting the two other Dads in the group. I quickly came up with an alternative trip. We would canyoneer down Fat Man's Misery into Paranuep Canyon or the East Fork of the Virgin River. The trip started Thursday morning and we spent two nights in the East Fork drainage. After negotiating Fat Man's we then headed up stream until we came to Mineral Gulch. From there we preceeded up stream again in what turned out to be a beautiful slot canyon that lasted for 6 miles. Our exit was up another stunningly beautiful and remote canyon with a steep and rugged ramp to the rim. Our high adventure activity lasted 3 days and covered 20 miles of slot canyons, rivers, springs, slickrock, pinyon- juniper & ponderosa forests. We did not encounter any other persons the whole time and the weather was clear, hot and the night was brightly lit by a full moon. We all slept out under the stars with no tents. My buddy Eric came along and did remarkably well for an 11 year old "New scout".

Summer is Here

2008-05-25T08:19:00.000-07:00

Our family has had a busy time the past couple of months. School is out for the summer, but everyone seems to have lots of things planned. We enjoyed traveling over to Monterey California to visit Sheri, Peter and Siena. Peter's graduation with his Master's degree was reason for celebration. Even with the cold weather we visited the beach twice, but wades into the water only lasted seconds. They will be staying in Monterey for the time being as Peter is working for a translation company out of San Francisco and most of his work is done via the Internet on computers. Sheri continues to work for a local Pediatrician in his office. She is planning to continue her education sometime soon. My granddaughter Siena is the cutest thing ever! I really wish I could see her everyday. Debbie and I check their blog everyday to look for new pictures and video clips. Eric has finished Little League baseball for the year. His team did better than expected and won a lot of games. Eric contributed often and did well for being the youngest on the team. He is a good athlete and is obviously very interested in sports. All of our kids did well in school this year. We are now done with Dixie High School and everyone is shifting their attention and allegiances over to the new high school, Desert Hills. Debbie and I (well mostly Debbie) have been involved in much of the planning with the booster club and PTA. Deb is the president-elect for the PTA at the new high school. The new school is a 60 million dollar facility with state-of-the-art equipment and sports fields. Marty will be one of about 90 seniors in the first graduating class. He is headed for the school's first football camp and hopes to continue playing wide receiver. Mart is working part time at Sunbrook Golf course cleaning and parking golf carts and other various chores. Rebecca will be a junior and is excited to be a part of the soccer and basketball teams. I hope she gets a part time job soon for this summer. Eric has three basketball camps to attend and is now starting scouts. It is safe to say that his first merit badge is going to be Rock Climbing.

Belize

2008-03-15T06:51:00.000-07:00

For spring break this year I had two suggestions for the family. The first suggestion (which I might add was very quickly shot down and ridiculed) was a week of driving the "Grand Circle" and hiking and camping the several national parks of Southern Utah and visiting Monument Valley and the Four Corners region. Although I have visited those areas several times in my life, my children have not. We know Zion very well and will continue to frequent the back country of Zion for many years to come. However, we seldom venture past Zion and visit Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde and of course the Grand Canyon (other than Toroweep). I tried to explain to the family that millions of people come from all over the world to visit these National Parks, that they are considered "world-class sites" and we live right here and haven't put forth the effort to visit them. Instead, we spend lots of time and money to visit other world class sites in other areas of the world. It doesn't make sense! It is not unlike the St. George native (a Gubler or Hafen or McArthur) who hasn't ever hiked the Narrows or the West Rim Trail in Zion. And let me tell you that most of the descendants of those sturdy pioneers have hardly ventured into Zion or it's canyons. Perhaps it is just as well that the hordes stay away from the canyons. Let them stew in their narrow comfortable pitiful lives in the cities and leave the back country to those who are not afraid to get up early, hike and put forth an effort to reach those awesome places on our planet. Just not my kids too if I can help it! Now for suggestion number two, which I might add was quickly accepted and embraced with enthusiasm. A week on a small island off the coast of Belize in Central America. In all fairness I must confess that it was a choice that I also applauded, as my first visit to Belize four years ago was unforgettable. We caught the "red-eye" out of Vegas as soon as the kids were out of school and by the next afternoon we were riding a "water taxi" speed boat across the warm blue waters of the Carribean from Belize City to the island named "Caye Caulker". The islands off the coast of Belize are known as "cayes" (pronounced keys) and range in size from several miles in length to small patches of sand and a few trees. Caye Caulker is about 2 miles long and a 1/4 mile wide. It is known among backpackers as a great kicked-back place to stay and for its layed back and slow pace. Most people walk everywhere, but others drive golf carts or ride bicycles. There are no paved roads and there are about a dozen open air restaurants and dive shops along the beachfront where everybody gathers each day. We rented a villa on the beach that was quite nice and ate fresh fruit and fish every day. The only glitch we had was that it rained for first 3 days and that made for some cold boat rides out to the reef where we snorkeled or dove. When the sun finally did come out we all quickly got sunburned. We snorkeled, learned to dive, swam among turtles and sting rays and sharks, went cave tubing and even did a night snorkeling session under the star lit sky of the warm Caribbean . Even Eric did very well diving down to 40 feet for 45 minutes with a dive master. Rebecca especially loved diving and I suspect she will go onto become certified. Marty was nearly attacked by a large green moray eel and Rebecca tried to ride some large sting rays. I liked swimming along side a giant sea turtle 60 feet below the surface one afternoon when I went out on a dive at St. George's Caye while everyone else spent some down time sunning on the beach and visiting some of the open-air shops and artists. Deb was along for all of it and soaked up the warmth as much as she could and enjoyed sharing our previous experiences in Belize with our younger kids. (Sorry Sheri and Angie but it is your husbands duty to provide you with such experiences now). It is nice to be back home and in our own beds and no doubt Southern Utah is beautiful as well, however, I could have spent more time exploring Belize and soaking up the Caribbean sun and sipping on fresh made lime juice below a palm tree on a white beach.

Eric Fractures Mandible

2008-02-01T03:34:00.000-08:00

Eric broke his jaw ("mandible") on the playground at school. He was pushing another kid in the swing while others tossed a basketball at them (some sort of variation of playground basketball) and he got distracted and the kid swung back into him and "clocked" him and sent him flying backwards. X-rays determined that he fractured his mandible in two places. Normal they wire your jaw shut for 6 weeks for these kind of injuries. Eric is young, so his bones are still plyable and he suffered a "green stick" type of fracture and the bone is still lined up. Also, Eric has braces on and this probably help stabilize the fracture at the time of impact. Therefore, for now we are just letting it heal. He cannot chew or open his mouth wide for 4-6 weeks. He will be rechecked in a week and if the fracture has moved, then he may still get his jaw wired shut. Poor kid. He didn't cry much until we informed him that he couldn't play basketball or snowboard for the next 6 weeks, then he was tearful. We are finding ways to feed him only liquids. One has to be creative. He will probably lose some weight.

Washington D.C.

2008-01-24T13:50:00.000-08:00

The Holidays were great this year. We had Peter, Sheri and Siena join us for most of the break. Then Sheri and Siena stayed on until late January (while Peter did job training in San Francisco). It was a lot of fun to have Siena around. We became even more attached to her and were sad to see her go back to California. In the first part of January I had a meeting in Shepherdstown, West Virginia with other medical directors of national parks regarding EMS issues, training and protocols. It was held at a unique facility run by the Fish and Wildlife division of our government and it was very nice, in wooded country setting about 80 miles from Washington D.C. along the Potomac River. Deb joined me for the trip and after my meetings we broke away and did some sight seeing in D.C. for several days. We stayed in a hotel one block from the National Mall and we toured the war memorials and visited many museums. Although I don't particularly enjoy large cities, it was cool to see many of the famous buildings and memorials in our Nation's Capital. We were particularly impressed with the Holocaust museum and of course the Smithsonian Aerospace museum. At home we are back in the school routine and basketball games (Marty- churchball, Rebecca - sophomore team, Eric- 5th grade league). Angie and Christian continue to establish their home and adapt to married life. We get to see them often and it is nice to have them so close to us.

Post Wedding News

2007-11-27T05:20:00.000-08:00

Things have settled down since the wedding. Angie & Christian are living a couple of miles from us in a condo. They are attending a college married ward. They seem to be doing well. Angie is enjoying working in the NICU at the hospital (even if it is night shifts for now). Debbie has been moving things around back home. Eric is now downstairs in Angie's old room and she has purchased a few new items of furniture for the bedrooms. I am hopefull that we can make room for an indoor climbing wall somewhere in the house. The climbing wall on the east side of the house isn't steep enough for a difficult work-out and isn't conducive to climbing alone and is limited by the daylight and weather. It has gotten more difficult to find climbing partners to get out climbing regularly since Marty started High School and Eric isn't as excited about climbing, although he does join me for climbing here and there. In fact, he just got back from a 3 day trip with me down to Joshua Tree National Park. We had a marvelous time and the weather was perfect. We camped out and enjoyed beautiful star-filled nights. Eric seems to have a knack for crack climbing and also slab climbing. Marty is more of a "sport" climber with talent for steep overhanging face climbing. I continue to enjoy rock climbing of all types. The combination of mountain biking and rock climbing most everyday keeps me in top physical condition and mentally helps me deal with the stress of working in the emergency department. I also enjoy getting outside. In fact, I've always enjoyed being outside ever since I was a little kid. Maybe I should have been a farmer or rancher. I'm hoping that by having a better climbing wall at home on which to "train" I will be able to get stronger and finally "redpoint" a 5.13 climb. Debbie asks me why I feel the need to do so. That is a good question. I do know that I'm not getting any younger and that if I am going to redpoint something that hard, the sooner I get to it, the more likely I will succeed. Rebecca is now playing basketball and is still playing point guard for the Sophomore team. Marty is working at Sunbrook Golf Course and hits the gym daily for work-outs on the weights. He is having a good Junior year at Dixie High School. Eric is in the 5th grade and plays all sports. He is doing well in school (just like his siblings) Eric and Rebecca continue to study piano, but Marty dropped it this year. Debbie is busy at times with her Stake Young Womens President calling and she is still involved with PTA etc. She goes to the Summitt Gym every morning and stays in great shape with her work-out regimens. I have been put back into the Young Men's Organization with the Teachers. I have taken them rappelling, caving, racquetballing and tonight we are going mountain biking. My main problem these days is that I don't live near Sheri and can't see and play with Siena on a daily basis. Maybe Peter can change that in the future when he is done with his education.

Halloween 2007

2007-10-31T20:56:00.000-07:00

Some Halloween fun with the Larsen Clan in St. George.

Mookie

2007-10-28T08:20:00.000-07:00

Our friend and family dog, Mookie died last week. Eric found him lying down in the backyard. No marks or signs of distress could be seen. It appears that he had sudden cardiac death. In some large breed dogs there are reports of sudden cardiac arrhythmia's and heart defects that show no other symptoms other than sudden death. Needless to say everybody was sad and there were many tears shed as we buried him with his favorite toys in our backyard. Mookie wasn't your typical pet or dog. He was special. As a puppy he caught the attention of every person he came in contact with with his super-friendly disposition and stunning good looks and black and white pattern. As an adult dog he was the best. I took him climbing with me many times and he accompanied me on many backpacking trips. The scout troop and even the stake youth all knew him from the numerous trips and the trek this past summer. I never knew him to bite anybody, in fact he gave kisses and was, as Grandpa Larsen put it, the lickenest dog he ever met. He always came running when I whistled or called for him. Many climbers would comment on what a great dog I had and would ask where I got him. I doubt I will have another dog a great as Mookie.

Grandpa Larsen?!

2007-09-30T20:53:00.000-07:00

As most of you already know, Sheri had her baby on Thursday September 27th. Siena Ann Romney was born in the afternoon and weighed 7 pounds and 1 ounce and was 18 1/4 inches long. She has black hair and is doing very well. Debbie drove over to Monterey and is spending a week with Sheri and Peter. I will be flying down later this week to join them and then will drive home with Deb on Sunday. There is now another "Grandpa Larsen" in the family and that seems weird. I'm sure some photos will be forthcoming soon. The rest of the Larsen children in St. George will be fending for themselves whilst their parents are gone to California.

Play Ball !

2007-09-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

A lot of our time this fall is being spent at the ball fields. Marty is playing football as a junior at Dixie High School and Rebecca is playing soccer for the high school team as a sophomore. Eric is playing for a 5th grade city league team called Dixie White. Everynight someone has a practice or game. Eric plays his games on Saturday. It is fun to go and watch them and be involved with the school and the programs. We sure have a lot of shirts, jerseys and shorts that are blue and covered with Dixie logos. Even our cars are splattered with emblems. Rebecca is playing particularly well and has earned a starting spot on the varsity team. They are hoping to defend their state title from last year, but Dixie is now a 4A team and are finding things a bit harder.

Peruvian Adventures

2007-07-21T02:09:00.000-07:00

This is my 3rd attempt to write and tell you all about my trip to Peru. So, I may do it in series (like Ben's China reports). I went to Peru to climb some very high mountains. I went with Dr. Mike Anderson and local climbing friend, Michael Nad. We joined up with 2 other guys in Peru. Deno Dawson from New York City and David Abell from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Our trip was guided and supported by a company out of Ridgeview, Colorado run by Brad Johnson. This company arranged and provided for transportation, room and board and meals while we were in Peru and in the mountains. They hired Peruvian cooks, guides and porters. This let us concentrate on enjoying the country and the climbs without worrying about the details in a foreign land. We had a long flight to Lima, Peru where we met up with everybody. We then flew to the city of Huaraz on a small plane. This was a thrilling and bumpy ride and gave us our first views of the Cordillera Blanca mountain range. Huaraz was a smaller city located in a valley at the base of the mountain range. It was a good starting point for us to begin our acclimation to higher elevations. We spent several nights at a hostel and did hikes into the hills above town and to some lakes and pre-Inca ruins each day. I was able to do some mountain biking and bouldering. Walking through the streets was interesting and the open markets of the town were incredible and reminded me of things I saw and experienced in Colombia 25 years go. Many of the Peruvians still wear the traditional clothes of the Quechua tribe, especially the further out in the country and higher up in the mountains you go. The day finally came when we drove up to the Llaganuco Valley and began our foray into the mountains. At the drop off point on the road we met up with the "wranglers" who loaded up our heavy gear onto their burrows and ponies. The snow-covered peaks above us were spectacular! I have never seen mountain peaks like the peaks in the Blanca! The valleys started at 13,000 feet and the peaks towered above at 18-22,000 feet. Many of the peaks are jagged, steep and covered with deep snow and glaciers with names like; Churup, Pisco, Huandoy, Chacraraju, Tocliraju, Alpamayo and Artensuraju and of course, Chopicalqui our main objective. Our first base camp was in the valley below the peaks of Pisco and Huandoy. We spent 5 nights at this 15,000 feet camp in a green grassy meadow with a stream running through it. Each day we ventured higher onto the mountain. Our first significant day up on the glacier in the saddle between two peaks (at 17,000 ft) brought on trouble for one of the members of our party. David began to have trouble breathing and developed HAPE (high altitude pulmonary edema). I was called upon to help evaluate and treat him through most of that night and the next morning he was sent back down to town with a porter. He never did rejoin our group and eventually flew back to New Mexico. I did experience some illness during that time with some stomach trouble which I attributed to contaminated water. Fortunately, I quickly got better after taking some medication I had brought with me. Our first peak that we climbed was Pisco (18,876 ft). It was a gorgeous day with no wind, clear skies and excellent snow conditions on the glacier. The views from the summit were awesome! I felt strong and knew that climbing higher on the next peak was looking quite possible. After climbing Pisco we moved our base camp across the valley to the base of Chopicalqui.We took a rest day and then readied for the 2 day climb up this incredible mountain. Again the porters helped bring up gear which made for light packs. We started climbing on the morning of July 4th. We made a high camp at 18,000 feet on a narrow ridge on the glacier on the southwest ridge of the mountain. When the sun went down that night, it got very cold. We climbed into our tents at 7 p.m. and tried to get some sleep. At 1:30 a.m. we started to get ready. After a quick breakfast of yogurt and granola we climbed out into the darkness with our headlamps and put on our harnesses and crampons. We divided into rope teams and began our climb to the summit (20,853 ft). We estimated it would take us 5 hours to reach the top from our perch of a camp on the ridge. For the first time we all carried and used 2 ice axes as some sections of the mountain were very steep. The skies were clear but the stars were not that great because we had a full moon and the moonlight was bright especially with the reflection off of the snow. We almost didn't need our headlamps. The climb became difficult because of wind. The windchill was brutal! It made the climbing seem a lot harder. Every step was taken with the feeling of fatigue and I was breathing very fast and deep. However, climbing steep ice and snow on narrow ridges was very exciting and I looked forward to reaching the summit. As we neared the summit, the sun came up and the warmth was very much welcomed. We only stood on the summit for a few minutes because of the high winds and cold. It required several rappels off snow anchors to get down the top 800 feet of the mountain. The lower we climbed down, the warmer it got and soon we were back to our high camp sipping on hot chocolate and eating. We finished climbing back to base camp the same day and arrived at 6 p.m. quite exhausted to say the least.

Back Home

2007-07-12T09:18:00.000-07:00

I have been having trouble posting.

Message from Huaras

2007-07-07T07:19:00.000-07:00

Howdy,

I am getting ready to start my travels home. The trek into the mountains of the Cordillero Blanco was successful. I was able to climb two peaks. The highest peak, Chopicalqui, was quite a challenge and I will tell more about that climb later. It will be nice to get home to warm weather again. I have been camped out below glaciers or on them for the past 10 days. Today is July 7th. I am in the city of Huaras in Peru.

Greetings from Peru

2007-06-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

Hello,

I am writing from Huaras, Peru. Today I rode a mountain bike up to 13,000 feet and then hiked through the hills visting Pre-Inca ruins with an archeologist. Then Michael Nad and I rode extra to a bouldering spot on a stream. The white-capped peaks are in the backdrop and are the most spectacular mountains I have ever seen! We bouldered for a couple of hours. I have walked among many Peruvians wearing there traditional clothes and herding their sheep along. The food is different than Mexico or Colombia. I am staying at a hostel that caters to climbers and trekkers. It has this internet computer. I am getting to use my spanish skills again and it is fun. Tomorrow we are hiking up to a lake below a peak named "Churup". This is part of the acclimation process. In two more days I should be at 15,000 feet and then upward from there. We do a lot of walking to get around this mountain town, which I like. Hopefully the climbs will go well. We hope to climb Pisco (18,500 ft) and then Chopicalqui (20, 850 ft) before the end of the trip. This is a 17 days trip.

Pioneer Trek

2007-06-04T06:18:00.000-07:00

This past week we went on a Trek. Marty and Rebecca went along. Deb, being the stake young women's president, had a major role in planning and carrying it out. I was asked to be the medical support for the 3 days. This is the 3rd time our stake has done this. The last one was done 4 years ago and Angie participated in that one. It took place in the hills above Enterprise Reservoir. Marty and Rebecca were each assigned to a new family and we all dressed up as pioneers. They pushed and pulled their handcarts up and down rough dirt roads for about 18 miles. My truck followed behind as the medical vehicle. I let Deb drive it most of the time as I walked up and down the handcart company. I took Mookie along and he had a blast. He became the company mascot. The weather was good. Hot and dry. Probably the hardest thing for me was wearing "pioneer clothes" the whole time. The youth slept on the ground. Deb and I slept in the bed of my truck. There were over 160 youth on this trek. They had several good speakers and activities. One of the highlights was the tug-o-war with a rope I had purchased last year. I finally got to put it to good use. The testimony meeting afterwards was very good. Both Marty and Rebecca were strong members of their "families" and did more than their share at pulling the handcarts. It was a great activity, but nothing I would want to do every month.

Pinewood Derbies & Baseball

2007-05-03T17:56:00.000-07:00

Eric and I made a fast car for this year's Derby. I was in charge of getting the track and setting it up. Eric likes winning. Little league baseball is in full swing. Eric is on a major league team and is learning fast. Some of those 12 year olds can really pitch. Two nights a week are spent at the ball diamonds in Bloomington. Tomorrow is the Father & Son Outing. The ward is going to Oak Grove campground on the front of Pine Valley Mountain. I plan on hiking to the peak in the morning with Eric. I will invite others but will be surprised to have any takers. Angie is graduating from Nursing School tomorrow at Dixie State College. We are proud of her. It will be a small celebration. We are thinking about kicking her out of the house soon. The dry weather pattern this spring has made for a great climbing season. I have done some awesome climbs in Zion this year. Today I finished bolting a new climb in Snow Canyon State Park. I am still thinking about a name for the route. I have been down two canyons in Zion this year. Next week I have plans to canyoneer through the "Big One". Heaps Canyon is always a challenge and I can expect a long, strenuous, and cold day. Why? Because it is there! Marty wants me to take the boat out to the lake tomorrow with his friends. Every spring the first trip out is potential for problems, especially since our boat is 12 years old now.

150 Mile Canyon

2007-04-16T07:35:00.000-07:00

We went on a spring backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon. I could only recruit Eric along with his friend Sam Hicken and his Dad, Allen. Marty and Rebecca had visited this canyon 5 years ago and for some reason wouldn't miss school for a repeat visit. 150 Mile Canyon is a side canyon of the Grand Canyon just west of the Kanab Creek drainage. It is accessed by driving out on the Arizona Strip south of Pipe Springs National Monument. Three hours after leaving home and lots of scratches on my new truck we arrived at the trail head. The trail going down was faint and there were no recent signs of anyone having hike it. We had a late start from home, therefore, the last hour of hiking was with our headlamps in the dark. It was challenging finding a good spot to pitch our tents as this canyon is rugged and full of rocks and boulders. We did find a good spot eventually and with spring water nearby. The weather was unseasonably warm and I laid on top of my sleeping bag for much of the night. The next day was spent in exploring the side canyons and rims of this neat section of the canyon. We did not hike and rappel to the river this trip as we did with the last trip into this canyon. I found some arrowheads and pottery in the upper reaches of one of the side canyons. The hike out on the 3rd day was long. Getting back up the several thousand feet of vertical gain needed to get to the rim was strenuous, but tolerable. Eric did great! He can already carry a respectable pack and is sturdy and sure footed on rugged and steep terrain. One of the best parts of going on these backpack trips is coming home to a nice hot shower and a soft bed. It helps one appreciate the simple, but good things of life.

Back to Costa Rica

2007-03-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

A year after traveling to Costa Rica for the first time we went back and this time we took the whole family. Just like the first trip we spent most of our time in the beach town of Nosara on the Pacific coast. We did add in a side trip to the interior of the country to visit the Arenal Volcano and the hot springs that flow through the jungle on the lower flanks of the mountain. I would like to stay in that area for a week or two to do more exploring and adventuring. Apparently the river rafting is great and there are hikes through the cloud forests to mountain tops. The area around Nosara was hot and dry and the beach was warm. We all got a little too much sun the first few days. The surfing was great and everyone gave it a go, even Eric got up a few times. The surf was particularly big while we were there and Gordon and Marty had some adventures out in the "impact zone". (the waves were between 8 and 13 feet). It was fun to have the whole family together, including our son-in-law, Peter. He really helped out with the driving and it was reassuring to know that he was also proficient at speaking Spanish. One of the highlights of the trip was the new Canopy Tour in Nosara. It had the world's longest zip lines. Marty also talked us into going to a disco one night in the small town of Nosara. We sure had an interesting time dancing the Salsa. Rebecca and Angie had a lot of Costa Rican guys looking them over and asking them to dance. The night was hot and the dancing fast and we sure drew a lot of attention until we decided to duck out well before the party ended. Our week in Costa Rica sure flew by fast. We had a great trip and best of all was the fact that we got to do it together as a family.

Jamaica

2007-02-05T20:35:00.000-08:00

I just got back from a week in Jamaica. Yesterday morning I was swimming in the warm waters of the Caribbean and strolling down Negril Beach on the island of Jamaica. Debbie and I had airline vouchers left over from our trip to Costa Rica last year and we had to use them before they expired so we chose what we thought would be an exotic and tropical place to visit. Jamaica reminded me of other areas of the tropical zone in south and central America that we have visited in the past. There were a few notable differences, however. English is the primary language and very few speak Spanish. The Jamaicans do speak "Patua" a form of English that was really hard for me to understand. It shortens words and phrases, uses words from French and Spanish and the pronunciation of regular English words are morphed as well. The people are very black and tall. They are very kicked back and friendly, but also are eager for you to spend those American dollars on any kind of service that they might provide. (I was offered "weed" many times ) We flew into Montego Bay on the northern coast of Jamaica. From there were were driven by van along a narrow and winding road along the coast to Negril Beach where the resort we were staying at was located. We stayed at the Sandals Resort which is an all inclusive resort (food, drinks and most activities are included). Our room opened up onto the beach and we spent most of our time just hanging out at this beach and eating at the several restaurants at the resort. We did participate in several water sport activities such as sailing, kayaking, water skiing, snorkeling, swimming, and scuba diving. I became certified for scuba diving while I was there. Deb did dive twice, but did not yet obtain certification (ask her about it). The water is warm and clear, but not quite as good as the waters off the coast of Belize. One day we did leave the resort and paid a local Jamaican to drive us up into the mountains to a river where they let you hike and play in the stream. The mountains were beautiful and covered in the classical jungle of tropical regions. It rained twice during out stay, but we got plenty of sun and the sunsets were spectacular. Overall the trip was a little tame for me and I would have liked some adventures that were more physically challenging, but it was so relaxing to feel the warm sun and swim in the clear waters of the Caribbean. It was also good for Deb and I to be with each other without interruptions of daily family life for several days. It was hard to have to come home so soon, but we are glad to be back nevertheless and be with our kids.

December 2006

2006-12-17T17:51:00.000-08:00

I suppose I should give everyone an update on the activities of our family this past couple of months. Rebecca is playing 9th grade basketball and is the captain of the team and the point guard. Marty wrecked the Tundra on a rainy day on the way home from school. It has already been repaired. I don't know the status of the Mercedes Benz that he struck. Hopefully he has learned a valuable lesson without harming anyone. Eric is having a great year in 4th grade. Angie's missionary boyfriend came home from Fiji yesterday. The other boyfriend is still around. Something has got to give. Stay tuned. I have ice climbed once this year. A couple of days I have been on some great rock climbs in the area. Oh, yeah....I had my first kidney stone. My definition of pain has changed. I was reduced to a crawling, writhing idiot. I would recommend avoiding any kidney stones if I were you. Not much snow in the mountains and I haven't been up to Brian Head yet. Still with the Deacons. We are going on a camp-out this weekend. Eric will be joining me. Once again I invited Marty to come along and once again I was flat out rejected. Looking forward to seeing Sheri and Peter at Christmas. Often my days off during the week ,inbetween shifts at the hospital, are filled with mountain bike rides and climbing sessions. This always keeps me sane and physically fit.

State Champions

2006-10-29T23:58:00.000-08:00

Last week Rebecca's soccer team won the 3A state championship. She is a Freshman and started for the JV team most of the year and was invited to dress for the Varsity games, including the championship game. Dixie had a good year and beat Juan Diego in an exciting "shoot out" after playing to a tie in overtime at Hansen Stadium at Dixie College. Yesterday during halftime of the football game Becca and her team mates rode into the stadium on a firetruck with their trophy. Of course Becca was right up front! It has been a great experience for her and hopefully there will be some more great games to come. Between Becca's soccer games and Marty's football games at Dixie High School, we have been more and more involved with sports at Dixie High School. We are at the high school several times a week. Eric also plays for a tackle football team on the 4th grade level that is also "Dixie" with blue jerseys. He plays linebacker and fullback and is an important part of his team. He seems to have a "knack" for football. Dixie High School is doing quite well these days and with it's new campus, stadium and seminary building and success in sports it is once again a desirable school to attend. They will be moving up to 4A this coming year. Deb is the PTA president for Dixie Middle School this year and we joined the booster club at the high school. We plan on being involved for the next several years while Marty and Becca are there. I graduated from Dixie High School back in 1979 and Marty will be in the graduating class of 2009 (30 years later) !

Yosemite

2006-09-25T15:31:00.000-07:00

I finally made my pilgrimage to Yosemite National Park. John Tully and I had a few days off at the same time during the 3rd week of September so we loaded up my truck and drove across the deserted highways of mid-state Nevada. John had a friend of a friend (Gary) who lived in an old cabin inside the park (inherited from his parents). He turned out to be a very experienced climber and one of the original pioneer climbers of Yosemite. He joined us and took us climbing for the next 2 days. We climbed on some obscure granite domes in Southern Yosemite and not in the "Valley". This was a fun experience and we saw no other climbers and very little people during those two days in the Sierra mountains of California. The final day before driving home we ventured into the main Yosemite Valley where the famous formations are found such as; Half Dome and El Capitan. Impressive walls of granite indeed. We hiked up to a rock wall near Lower Yosemite Falls and climbed a route called "Commitment". It was a 450 foot route with a crux on the 3rd pitch. The climb went under a large roof and required a committing move to negotiate out and from under the roof to continue up the wall. It was exhilarating to say the least! Climbing the solid granite cracks of Yosemite is sure different than the soft sandstone of Southern Utah. I just might have to make another trek back to the "Valley" soon.

Zion Narrows 2006

2006-09-25T14:58:00.000-07:00

During September I took the scout troop through the Zion Narrows. We had seven boys and three adult leaders. I was hoping that Marty or Eric would also join me, but because of football games and social reasons I couldn't get any of my boys to come along this time. The first storm of the season had passed through the previous day and temperatures were below normal and the river muddy from runoff, but there was no threat of rain or flash flood, so we went as planned. I had the boys go "ultra-light" with their packs. No extra clothes, no cook stoves and no tents. My pack was lighter than half of the troop with my "Wicked Lite" sleeping bag and slim Thermarest. As usual there were a couple of boys who struggled a little with the river crossings and length of the hike (16 miles). We got out late Saturday afternoon, but with several hours of sunlight to spare. I can honestly say that I wasn't the least bit sore the next day. The canyon was beautiful as ever and it was fun to challenge the boys once again.

Disney World

2006-08-16T06:27:00.000-07:00

We flew to Orlando, Florida and spent 3 days at Disney World. Everybody knows how much I loathe theme parks, but I was not in a position to skip this trip. Originally I was supposed to be climbing Peru's highest mountain during the first 2 weeks of August, but plans for that trip fell apart. Debbie's father wanted to get all of his children and grandchildren together, so he offered to finance the trip for everyone (this included airfare, motel, food and park passes). Only Sheri and Pete missed out because of their need to get established in Monterey California before he began his studies there.
We had a good time at the park, but our traveling woes were significant. It all started when we got stuck on the freeway in Las Vegas at 4:40 in the morning and missed our 6 am flight. We found out how difficult it is to have 6 people fly stand-by across the nation on a busy airport day (23 hours later we all finally arrived to our hotel in Orlando). The waterparks were my salvation and I spent more than half of my time sliding and swimming at them. As expected it was hot and humid in Florida that time of the year. It would take over a week to see every thing at Disney World. Much bigger and better than Disneyland in smog ridden LA. Our flight home was canceled because of a ripple effect from the Terrorist problems in London the day before. We ended up flying to North Carolina to catch a flight to Las Vegas on a different airline.
We are now back home and finally into our routine. School has started and Marty, Rebecca and Eric are all invloved in various activities. Marty is now at Dixie High School as a sophomore and on the football team and is always hanging out with friends and is very social. Rebecca has made the high school soccer team as a freshman and is also very involved with friends and school. Eric has started the 4th grade and is signed up for tackle football again. He has been climbing more often with his Dad and is starting to lead some of the climbs by himself. It is easy to forget that he is only 9 years old still because he acts and looks older than that. Angie is still living at home and will be starting her second year of nursing school. She works at a medical clinic here in town.

Grand Teton

2006-07-16T15:49:00.000-07:00

My mountain climbing trip to Peru fell through this year, so I planned another trip back to the Tetons of Wyoming. This was my 5th trip to the Tetons and Marty's 4th trip in a 6 year span. We hooked up with Greg and Braden (Peter's friends) [sorry Pete, but you were in Spain] and we had our sites set on climbing the Grand Teton via the Petzoldt Ridge. Monday July 10th we left Midway after spending the night with my parents and drove to the Jackson Hole Valley. We made a stop in Star Valley in Wyoming to fuel the truck and get a snack. Someone in Star Valley can make a very good cinnamon roll! The hike from the Lupine Meadows trailhead up into Garnet Canyon was grueling and hot, but with each step upwards the temperature dropped and the air thinned. The Tetons still had a fair amount of snow on the peaks, but the lower forests were green and full of wildflowers. As we approached the Lower Saddle (a misnomer if ever there was one....The Lower Saddle is at 11,700 feet) the skies began to darken and the afternoon thunderstorms arrived. Marty and I scrambled up the last 500 feet in strong winds and a drenching rain. It was with some joy that we came up on the Ranger's Hut and found our friend Dave Bywater waiting for us. He quickly took us in to the hut and provided us with warm down jackets and hot chocolate. His partner (and fellow "Climbing Ranger") Helen let us wait out the storm and cook our dinner in the comfort of this shelter at the Lower Saddle. Somewhere out in the storm was Greg and Braden. We were concerned about them, but not enough to go looking for them. It turns out that they had hunkered down under a big rock and cooked dinner and waited out the storm. They arrived to the Lower Saddle dry and refreshed. We erected our tents. Dave provided us with the "Himalayan Hotel" a expedition-style tent that I could nearly stand up in. He also gave us large full thickness therma-rests and down sleeping bags to use during our 2 night stay at the Lower Saddle. This lightened our packs considerably and made the trip up the Grand a little more enjoyable. We turned into "bed" early, but did not get much sleep because the wind really howled all night long.
Our goal was to get up a 5 am and be on the trail 30 minutes later, but with the high winds and sleepless night, we got started an hour late. The skies were clear, but the wind chill made it seem near the freezing point and we were on the shady side of the mountain. Within another hour we were at the base of the Petzoldt ridge trying to figure out which crack system was the correct line for the climb. The first part of the ridge was vertical and looked much more difficult that the description in the guide book. I soon chose a "line" and began to scramble up the rock. Two hundred feet later we found ourselves on a sloping ledge and at the base of a difficult looking chimney. Here we encountered an old rusty piton with some weathered webbing. Did this mean we were on the right route or was it a "bail anchor"? We studied the rock above for some time, but we couldn't come to a consensus and it looked very committing and difficult. It was at this point in time that we decided to bail. If we went any higher it would be very difficult if not impossible to abandon the climb. Thirty minutes later we were all back to the base of the ridge. It was still cold and windy, but the sun was starting to make it's way around the mountain. I then suggested that we change our plans and attempt to climb the Grand via another route. Marty and I had previously climbed the Exum Ridge and I had much more confidence in finding this route to the summit. The Upper Exum Ridge also had a more reasonable rating (5.4) and was well within our ability.
A couple of hours later we were roped up again and climbing the Exum Ridge starting at "Wall Street" and famous ledge that gave us access to the exciting Upper Exum Ridge on the top 1500 feet of this mountain peak. As I lead across the exposed upper Wall Street ledge and onto the Exum Ridge the sun came out and the wind began to dye down. Life was good!
Over the next couple of hours we climbed the ridge to the peak. I lead some of the pitches and Greg lead some, but for the most part Marty and I climbed simultaneously while being tied in together on the same rope. We enjoyed several minutes on the summit and took some photos and looked around at the rest of the Teton Range and valleys below. The descent, as expected, only took a couple of hours and did involve 2 rappells. The afternoon nap in our tents was refreshing. However, the afternoon thunderstorm this day was particularly fierce and lasted well into the evening. We just hunkered down in the tent and cooked our dinners and rested. Marty brought his ipod and we enjoyed watching a few films and music videos while we passed the time during the storm.
The next morning we packed up and hiked out. I was considering climbing another ridge in Garnet Canyon...but no one else in the group wanted to join me. I must admit that it would have been physically demanding to attempt another climb, especially one that was considerably more difficult. It was just as well that we finished our climb on a good note and arrived back to the Teton Valley in good time with some physical reserve. We had dinner at a restaurant in Jackson Hole that evening with several of the climbing rangers. Dave put us up in his cabin for the night. Except for the mice waking me up a couple of times during the night we had a good night's rest. Marty and I then departed for Southern Idaho early the next morning. We were headed for City of Rocks, another great climbing destination.
City of Rocks was fun and we got in some great climbing on the granite walls and domes. Most of the climbs were 120 feet in height or less. We camped out again, but had only clear skies and perfect temperatures. Before leaving the area, Mart and I showered up and ate at the local Merc in the very small town of Almo. We stopped in at Uncle Dale's house in Farr West on the way home, but didn't find anyone there. Now that Marty can drive, it is much more tolerable to drive long distances. He is getting more experience with each trip that we take. I was glad to have Mart along once again, but he has given me notice that he may not agree to join me on every climbing trip in the future. I had a great time and I think Marty did too.

Memorial Day in Zion

2006-06-01T05:25:00.000-07:00

On Monday, Memorial Day, I talked the family into canyoneering in Zion. We started out fairly early on a sunny but cool morning. It was myself, Deb, Mart, Rebecca and Eric. The canyon is known as "Lodge Canyon" because it drops into the drainage just above the old Zion Lodge. We had to spot a second vehicle in the lower canyon and then drive the truck through the tunnel and start in upper Pine Creek. The hiking was steep at first on beautiful slickrock. While heading up over a saddle we spotted 3 desert bighorn sheep above us. Eric kept asking about every 10 minutes if we were at the top yet. Although we did make it to the top of the pass, I led them down the wrong side drainage and we ended up pioneering a new route variation. It was sort of fun to place new anchors and problem solve while we dropped back into the main drainage, however, it did cost us 2 hours of time to negotiate the "Larsen Variation". We did take a ten minute side trip up to a short but deep dark slot at the base of Mountain of the Sun. It seemed as if we had stepped into a cave and it took several minutes for our eyes to adjust. It was about a half mile of walking down a sandy wash before we came to the first rap in the Lodge Canyon drainage. The next 1/4 mile of the canyon took us about 4 hours to negotiate as there were several raps stacked into the last part of the canyon. The second to the last rap started from a small ledge and required setting up on an "extended anchor". Marty used a smaller rope and belayed all of us at the start of this rap. Even so, Deb found this situation to be out of her comfort zone and shook with anticipation. The last rap is about 185 feet and mostly overhanging and drops your into a beautiful grotto with springs and waterfalls and hanging gardens. We then scrambled down a boulder and tree choked drainage to the Zion summer employee houses and barracks. The shuttle bus then picked us up at the Zion Lodge where we looked a little out of place with our dusty and sweaty clothes as well as our packs full of ropes and other gear. Once again we had experienced Zion a little differently than the other "tourists" riding the shuttle.

University of Utah Grad

2006-05-07T08:51:00.000-07:00

On May 5th 2006 we drove up to SLC to attend Sheri's graduation from the University of Utah. She graduated with a bachelors degree in Behavioral Sciences. Her husband Peter was proud of her and bought her some flowers. Grandma Larsen was also there to share in the excitement. We all went to the Olive Garden afterwards to have a feast and celebrate. Sheri and Peter will be moving to Monterey California this summer were Peter will be attending the Monterey Institute of International Studies. He will be studying Spanish and in fact is required to go to Spain for 6 weeks this summer to begin his studies. Sheri will be staying at our home in St. George during that time. Sheri is always welcome.....but her dog Ash......maybe only a little.

We made it a quick trip up north (and just as well because it was still winter up there) so that I could get back and join Marty and Eric at the Father and Son's outing. Our ward went to the Red Cliffs campground near Leeds. We have been there several times before. It was OK. We did have some fun swimming in the slickrock pools up the canyon the next morning. Eric has a lot of fun camping out and swimming in streams and pools. He now goes with me on all of the scout campouts (mostly backpack trips) and keeps up with the 12 year old scouts just fine. I really enjoy his company. Marty is always invited but just doesn't want to come along anymore. I just can't understand it. (I guess 15 year olds think it is way too uncool to be seen associating with 12 year old scouts). Marty is still a great kid and to his credit he is a great 15 year old.