FreezeFest and Conditions
Jonas and I got back late last night from FreezeFest. It was a
wonderful time, albeit a little chilly at times. It was great to
meet so many folks, and even better to do some canyons with them!
Thanks again to everyone for making it such a fun trip!
A special thanks to the Dutch oven crew. Fabulous food.
We ended up doing 12 canyons in the time we were there:
Friday 12/28 was Upper Stair and Fooling Around; complete with an
ice breaking swim at the end.
Saturday 12/29 Jonas and I did Shillelagh East and West forks, along
with a few side slot explorations, Lucky Charms, and checked out all
the other stuff out to 276 (nothing good.) All canyons were dry.
Sunday 12/30 was all of the hogs, and yes, the Hog Wild crew made
all of them in the day. Enjoyed lunch with everyone. Got out
around 4 or 4:30pm I think. (Will give times with my trip report to
follow later.) All canyons were dry (or easily stemmed over) and the river on the exit hike was frozen; so didn't get wet.
Monday 12/31 was Shenanigans and East Fork of Lep; followed by a
great time around the camp fire celebrating New Years as it hit the
different time zones. Only the last rap in Shenanigans was necessary to get wet. You could walk the side ledge though and only get wet up to mid calf.
Tuesday 1/1 went through the Black Hole for the first time.
Wonderful canyon. There were 12 folks. 7 were returning New Year's
Black Hole veterans and 5 had never been through the Black Hole. Lots of water in this one of course. Some was ice that could be walked on, some could be crawled on to spread the weight out, and some broke through for a wade or swim.
Finished off a great year with 73 canyons (or more, depending on
what counts as a canyon...) and got a good start on 2008 canyons.
Looking forward to seeing everyone again soon!
Take care,
A.J.
