My buddy Greg Joyner, whom I know from PCMR, and his lovely wife run the Salt Lake Surf Co. retail shop in Sugarhouse. For a few years they’ve been specializing in aquatic recreation and have been a premier dealer for kayaks and stand-up paddleboards, servicing our landlocked state and mostly little rivers with premium and specialty products. Last winter, after dealing a lot with Forrest Shearer, who is super tapped into the local SUP scene, decided that if they’re a surf company, they might as well break into surfing the white wave too.

Now, Salt Lake City has no shortage of snowboard retailers, so Greg opted to take a unique approach to the sport, and only stock splitboarding products and supporting brands. They’re currently carrying Voile, Jones, Spark R&D, Karakorum, BCA, Dakine, and Pieps in the realm of white wave shredding. Greg threw an Avy awareness night on Thursday 11/3/11, and the above video is a quick edit I put together for the party featuring some of my favorite shots from 2010/2011 season, and all except for the opening GoPro shot were shot off piste. Mad props to Andy, Tony, Tanner, and Benny for coming away with some super cool shots last season. Oh yeah, I have a couple mixed in there too. Enjoy.

Many of you know that in May I started working for an incredible content marketing agency called WELD out of West Virginia. I’ve been privileged enough to be a part of the  team that’s building a Western US presence for WELD, and I work as a project manager and content producer with several different clients, including the BSA and Yakima.

This summer I’ve been traveling around the USA quite a bit helping to support The Summit Bechtel National Scout Reserve (one of the main projects we’re spearheading), but back in August I was able to be on the sharp-end of a video production for Yakima that really stoked me out, and enabled my friends and I to have one of the best adventures I’ve had in recent years. We were able to climb the Grand Teton and document the trip in order to get video content for the Brand Essence video the client had asked of us, as well as shoot a bunch of climbing and kayaking in the great state of Utah. For a detailed description of the climb, check out the new Climberpost.com pages, and also for more info about the video, check out the WELD Blog Post. My “Rack Envy” has been fully satiated because one of the perks of shooting this project is one of the top-of-the-line Yakima Skybox’s featured in the video which now lives atop Smokey McSmokerson, my Subaru. All-in-all, it was a very rewarding project.

Montage of key screen shots from the Utah/Wyoming Production

by Parker Alec Cross

*See the video from the weekend!*

My friend Jeff Larson is moving to Arkansas this Wednesday, and Blake Nyman and I found it fitting that we should have one-last-hurrah in Zion National Park before he departs on his lonesome door-to-door sales mission in the heartland of America.

We left Provo at about 7:15PM on Friday evening, because we knew that if we wanted to get permits for Mystery Canyon on Sunday, that we would need to be in the permit line pretty early. Mystery is one of the two most popular slot canyon experiences inside the Park (the other being the Subway), and the resulting demand is superseded by the fact that they only give out a total of 12 permits per day, 6 of which are pre-ordered months in advance through the Park’s online registration system, leaving 6 permits for the regular-old-Joe vacationer who isn’t able to plan three months in advance. 

When we arrived just after midnight (we took several long stops on the way down), there were already four people in the line, two of which were aiming for Mystery Canyon permits for their whole group, which left the remaining permit tally at a big fat zero for Jeff, Blake, and myself. After some made-up extremely real and compelling sob stories, we convinced one of the groups ahead of us to let us take three of the Mystery Canyon permits because our group was so small, and theirs so large. Everything was looking up. We still had six hours before the office opened, but we were in good shape. Blake and Jeff went into the bushes to catch some zzz’s and I held down the fort until the office opened. About 4:30AM, the masses started to arrive, and by the time the permit office opened at 7, there were over 30 people in line for Sunday permits. Such a zoo.

We ran down the road to the Spotted Dog Cafe for some all-you-can-eat breakfast then hit the trail to Behunin Canyon shortly thereafter. Anecdotally, we were terribly unprepared for the heat and the approach, and I was out of water by the time we reached the apex of the canyon and started our descent. Heat exhaustion started to set in over the next several hours, but we managed to score some really excellent video footage despite our dilapidated condition, and over-all, we had a very excellent time in the canyon (conditions notwithstanding).

We grabbed some dinner at Oscar’s and crashed on one living room floor of one of Blake’s buddies that lives down in Springdale, then saddled up the next morning for Mystery Canyon. The approach for this one was equally brutal, but we were far more prepared for Sunday’s mission due to proper amounts of sleep and sufficient hydration, and although the slog was long, it was manageable. I, for one, had more trouble with the steep scree slopes nicknamed “The Death Gully” leading down into the canyon than I did with the approach. My legs were a little wobbly by the time we clipped into the first rope.

The trip was one of the more fun weekend trips I’ve had in my life, and we shot a ton of video while we were descending both canyons, and now check out the video that we threw together really quickly documenting a typical Zion Vacation.

Tell Everyone!

]]> http://www.crossroadstudios.com/2011/07/03/weekend-at-zion/feed/ 0 http://www.crossroadstudios.com/2011/06/26/angels-landing/ http://www.crossroadstudios.com/2011/06/26/angels-landing/#comments Sun, 26 Jun 2011 05:00:47 +0000 parker.cross http://www.crossroadstudios.com/?p=1428  

The trailhead to Angel's Landing begins with a spectacular view of the buttress from the ground-level.

by Parker Alec Cross

It has been a very long time since my family got together to do any adventures. Growing children and complex schedules, combine with a split-family home and parents living in different cities all complicate the process of merging time and energies in order to successfully plan and carry-out a vacation.

I recently had spent a little bit of time exploring Zion National Park, but despite having been there a few times, I’ve never had the opportunity to hike to the top of Angel’s Landing, one of the most iconic vistas in the entire park.

I decided it was high time to modify my situation, and while I was planning a weekend canyoneering trip to Zion with my family, I decided that it was mandatory that we all do Angel’s Landing. The views didn’t disappoint. I was wondering if the whole situation was going to be worth it, because as we were ascending, there was a gnarly traffic jam resulting from people who didn’t have a lot of experience dealing with heights and potentially fatal surroundings.

After about 1.5 miles of paved-trail hiking, the route transitions to wide, chain protected semi steep ascent somewhat near the edge of massive cliffs. I fall (combined with a roll and some really bad luck) would definitely result in your demise, but the trail was extremely flat and easy, and wouldn’t even fall in the category of Class III scrambling, because my brother and I both did it without ever using our hands for support.

The traditional vantage point of Zion Canyon from the summit of Angel's Landing

I certainly was not unimpressed with how amazing the down-canyon view was. I’ve seen numerous landscape photos over the years from the summit of Angel’s Landing, and I’ve always wanted to try my hand at getting my own version of the panorama. My plan was to get a super early morning shot, and beat the crowds, but the line to get our permits for the slot canyon ended up taking a lot longer than I anticipated, so we didn’t get started on the hike until nearly 10am, and I didn’t snap the above photo until after 11am, but that being said, I’m glad I had to opportunity to climb it. I can’t decide if it’s something I’ll do again. Certainly I shan’t be doing it in the near future, but all-in-all, the trip was successful, and a dream I’ve had for a long time was accomplished.

My passion for splitboarding, and my increased desire for proficiency in mountaineering in order to ride bigger and better terrain, has caused a couple of recreational collisions over the past year or so. I never thought of myself as someone who could get super into rock climbing, and although I admit that I’ve wanted to do it for years, I never had a core group of friends that was passionate enough about the sport for me to get any actual access to real climbing.

Sure, I’ve spent a few days in the climbing gym here and there, but it wasn’t until late last summer that I ever actually was able to climb on natural rock. Now I’m addicted. One of the rad things about rock climbing is how actively the skills you develop translate into mountaineering and climbing in the winter. The techniques you master in rock climbing are absolutely essential for effective mountaineers to understand and have practice doing. The lines of my sports have been progressively blending, and although I never even considered that rock climbing and snowboarding could be, in any remote sense, related, I’m beginning to discover that they are more blended together than I realize, and it’s a realization that next year’s videos will visually identify for you, the humble viewer.

In the meantime, check some photos I snapped at Beer Can Alley in American Fork Canyon while I was climbing with my buddies Jeff Larson and Blake Nyman.

May 13th marked the day that we reached the summit of Lone Peak. Such an epic experience. 3AM start time, 1PM finish. 2500 Vertical Feet of climbing before we even hit snow. This is a tour I’ll keep with me forever. Tony Pavlantos, Blake Nyman, Chris Coulter and myself in an elevated hustle to one of the Wasatch range’s most remote summits.

Tony Hiking the Summit Cone 11,326'

Often, while riding at Snowbird, I have looked to the west to see the intimidating summit cone of Little Matterhorn Peak (aka the Pfeifferhorn). It rises majestically above the canyon floor, straddling Hogum Fork and Maybird Gulch on the LCC side, and Dry Creek Canyon on the Utah County side. I have frequently ogled the summit while driving north on I-15 through American Fork and Lehi, and when we decided to do the Summit Project, this is one of the lines that I’ve been most excited to ride, particularly the northwest couloir, which, during normal snow years, requires a 40-50′ rappel mid-slope.

We started at 5:45 AM and headed up the White Pine trail and crossed over Pink Pine into Red Pine toward the lake. Light snow was falling, keeping the balmy temperatures at a manageable level, but leaving us questioning how the visibility would be on the summit. We had checked the forecast the day before, and white-out conditions definitely were something we knew to be a possibility, but we always try to be optimistic during the approach.

Tony on the Skin Track

Parker Crossing Red Pine Lake

After crossing Red Pine Lake, the sun started to make a brief appearance, and for about 45 minutes, I thought maybe we were going to score perfect summit conditions like we did on Monte Cristo. This was not the case. After a brief tease, Mr. Sun decided to pull the plug for the rest of the day and slip behind the clouds. Additional storm clouds pushed into the gulch and by the time we gained the saddle below the final push, we were in whiteout conditions.

The Sun's Brief Tease looking Eastward

Parker Gaining the Headwall

Parker and Matt on the Saddle

Tony and Parker on the Summit Push

We transitioned to vertical mode and put on the crampons and ice axe for the final push up the summit cone. For me, this was the part of the ascent that was the most fun. I’m looking forward to doing more technical approach routes in the months to come. About 25 minutes from when we started from saddle, we arrived on the top of the summit. The view was……murky. Fully socked in from every direction, and our preferred exit, the northwest couloir, looked sketchy at best (mostly due to the fact that we couldn’t see anything). While we were debating which route to descend, SLCSHERPA showed up with his crew and gave us some beta that made us feel super confident with riding the northwest couloir. Some lunch and some chit-chat and we dropped into the abyss of full invisibility to ride what we thought was a mandatory rappel mid-slope.

We couldn’t see anything, and I dropped first past the staging point to go clip into the anchors in order to shoot the rest of the crew. Once I was hooked into the anchors I realized that the couloir was completely filled in, making a rappel totally unnecessary. This stoked us out, so we were able to shred one of the ultra-classic lines in the Wasatch, with minimal exposure, and blower pow turns. It was winter-like snow all the way until about 8,500′, where the conditions started to become quite manky, but I’ve honestly ridden worse snow in February. I’m amazed with how good the conditions are right now. We rode down Red Pine and exited across the Little Cottonwood Creek. It was a long day by the time we were done, but the sense of accomplishment was building with each moment and when I finally took my boots off it hit me that we’d checked another summit off the list. High fives and good vibes all the way home. Mission accomplished.

Andy Descending the Apron

Full Winter in Red Pine

The Exit: Somewhat Treacherous

It’s sublime, to me, to see the power of nature. The bulk of my year is spent seeing what water and ice can do when it is super-cooled and wrapped around an aerosol, but for the first time in several years, I was able to witness what water can do when it is erodes sandstone.

Southern Utah is home to some of the most impressive rock formation in the entire world, and the principal eastern hub city of Moab has grown in recent years into one of the premier tourist attractions in the world, but still only housing around 5,000 full-time residents. A principle crossing of the Colorado River during the 1800′s, the city is a mecca for rock climbing, canyoneering, off-road exploration, hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, and river rafting (among other recreational activities). Part of this large recreational push is the fact that the city is located just a few miles from two National Parks and one State Park, including Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, and Dead Horse Point.

My girlfriend and her family took me on my first canyoneering trip this past weekend, and I think I’m hooked. Our first day was spent in Undercover Canyon north of Arches National Park, and the second day was just outside the city limits in Rock of Ages Canyon, adjacent to Pritchett Canyon just east of King’s Bottom. Here’s a selection of a few of the images I took while I was down there. Enjoy!

This one was about a month ago in the Brighton backcountry.