Almost three years to the day (with a subsequent trip in the interim) Evan Roberts and I hopped into his truck for another adventure in Moab, Utah. We were extremely fortunate to also have the company of Dan Carreiro and Jordan Kochan along for the ride and the fun. 

DAY 1 below    DAY 2    DAY 3   DAY 4     DAY 5    DAY 6
 
Day 1
The four of us arrived earlier Saturday morning and drove immediately to Looking Glass Rock - an easy but very interesting climb that Evan and I had completed in July of 2014. 
 
The summit was easily reached by all (mostly a scramble, with a couple of low 5th class moves) and then it was onto one of the coolest rappels I’ve ever done. Everyone agreed the 37 m free-hanging rappel through a narrow gap the rock into a beautiful amphitheatre was heaps of fun and quite unique. 
 
Adding to our repertoire we decided to try the “King’s Swing” this time around. For the King’s Swing one person is tied to one end of the rope, climbs up onto a ledge in the amphitheatre and then jumps, while another person holds the other end of the rope down below, resulting in a huge pendulum swing. The laws of physics dictate that unless you push off when you jump (thereby adding energy into the system) you cannot swing back far enough to hit the rock you jumped off. And for a static rope (one that does not stretch) that law would be obeyed perfectly. However, we neglected to account for how dynamic our ropes were and brave Dan, who went first, almost suffered a severe case of rock rash. Luckily he was quick enough to lift his legs and butt up on the return swing and got away with a brief scrape! 
 
Learning from the error, the rest of us started the jump from a higher ledge, covered in bird feces. Evan crudely but appropriately dubbed it, “Bird-s#@t Ledge!” The swing was a riot and we all left the area happy as four birds on Bird-s#@t Ledge.    

 
 
  At the base of the climb. Evan is about to start up with Jordan belaying. Dan is getting tied into our rope.



Looking down as Dan prepares to come up the next pitch. Another party is waiting below to start the ascent.



Evan and Jordan are already near the top



  Dan at the summit



Dan checks out the hole we will all rappel through
 


"Sun's out, Gun's out", I guess! {the photographer stayed fully clothed throughout (long sleeves too!)} 



Dan drops through the hole



Dan


Dan again



Jordan



Evan making his way up to Bird-s#@t Ledge to perform the King's Swing



I found the best way to belay the King's Swig was to lie back, almost to the point where I was prone on the ground

Me in the King's Swing (photo by Dan). Click here to see how I attacked the swing with fearless and reckless abandon.


Wilson Arch
Nearby Wilson Arch prompted us to give that trip a go after ending the fun on Looking Glass. The Wilson Arch is the only arch around Moab that can be legally climbed. 
 
The 5.5 route (led by Evan) was definitely more challenging than Looking Glass and the rappel was fun, but generally the climb lacked the pizazz of Looking Glass Rock. Still, a worthy objective.   

  Gearing up, with the arch in the background



Happy to be here



On the ridge and assessing the oncoming climb



The ridge in the other direction looks pretty interesting too



Evan belays Jordan up pitch 1



  Same as above



Evan leading the next pitch



Sections of easy and scenic walking between the climbing sections
 


Evan rappels




add Dan to the scene






All smiles on return


Owl Rock
Dinner and then onto another repeat ascent – Owl Rock. Having improved considerably as a climber since our 2015 ascent, Evan powered up the 5.8 route with facility and finesse. Jordan followed, also looking like a pro. Same story with Dan. He was up and down in no time. Well done boys! I was very impressed with the trio’s climbing abilities.
 
My turn. Had I improved as a climber in three years and would I ascend the route with facility and finesse? Well, I’m not one to follow the crowd and so I chose two different “f” words to characterize my ascent: “floundering” and “flailing”! If there ever was an opposite to “a thing of beauty” my ascent of Owl Rock defined it perfectly. At one point, it must have looked as though a giant grey slug with an orange head was stuck in that crack, as I couldn’t make a millimetre of progress for about ten minutes! 
 
A very generous belay from both Jordan and Evan thankfully ended the “struggle of the century” and I joined Evan at the top (who was by now almost hypothermic, thanks to the increasing cold wind and the anonymous slug who had taken 45 minutes to ascend a 10 minute route). Evan rappelled and I followed in near dark conditions. 
 
Certainly not a thing of beauty for me on Owl Rock, but we all thoroughly enjoyed the climb and all of Day 1 in awesome Moab!



Gearing up again



Evan is almost halfway up here



Placing some gear







The journey continues



A different view of Owl Rock. Evan is about two-thirds the way up



Close-up



Success! Evan reaches the top of the pitch. The summit is a short scramble away
but with darkness approaching we decided to skip the summit.



One of the La Sal  Mountains through a gap in the stunning red rock of Moab



Jordan heads up



Almost there



Jordan rappels

(sorry, no photos of Dan or the slug)

continue to DAY 2
LOG