Sunday, September 29, 2013

307 Magazine

My good friend BJ Tilden always used to offer up the quote "there are only two kinds of people who try to predict the weather in Wyoming, fools and newcomers".  The recent shift in the seasons has been felt by more than just the cowboy state and I think it's safe to say that nobody really has any idea what the fall will bring. We took a 12 day trip to Rifle a little over two weeks ago and when we packed the camper, it was tank top and shorts weather.  Upon our return I've legitimately worn my light jacket at least three times.  I guess it's fall now.

Our Rifle trip was both fun and frustrating all in the same breath.  We took the same trip last year one week earlier and the temps were cold and crisp, naturally we thought it would be similar this year.  When we got to our campsite it was just as warm as SLC, thankfully we didn't have internet access in the canyon otherwise I would have ranted and bitched much earlier than now.  We prayed for cooler weather and our prayers were answered, with rain and rocky mountain humidity.  It literally rained every day (and every night) for about 8 days.  We made the best of it by climbing in the steeper caves of the canyon, areas we had previously shied away from.  Despite the the in-climate weather we climbed every day we wanted and were able to actually send a couple of routes.  In true road trip fashion we found plenty of great ways to spend our time in between storms.







Just before Rifle we took at trip to the Fins in Idaho and I can honestly say that the Discovery wall is one of the most impressive walls I've ever seen.  The Fins in general can't really be compared to any other wall I've ever seen.  They're completely unique in all their aspects, needless to say we had an absolute blast.  The temps were perfect, the camping is paradisiacal, and the climbing is nothing short of superb.  We'll definitely go back -



Courtesy of J-☆
Courtesy of J-☆

Courtesy of J-☆
In conjunction with the video (soon to be released) a wonderfully compiled tribute to Todd Skinner and his "project legacy" was featured in the latest edition of 307 Magazine.  Myself, Kris Hampton, Micah Rush, Colby Frontiero, and Steve Bechtel all contributed to this piece.  Not necessarily a standard editorial narrative, this piece is viewed from multiple perspectives which helped make it so much fun to work on.  I'm excited to have played a small part in this and hope you all enjoy it as well.