Eye of Zeus Cave is another newly discovered Nevada cave. The passage is short, but there is a lead in the back that if someone can get through, it will keep going. Pushing this cave one day will be worthy as more passage will be made available. There is a small number of formations along the walls and a lot of rat scat to crawl over to get to the lead. Below Eye of Zeus are two more holes that ended, but a fourth hole we named Zeus's Dusty Asshole Cave is in itself another 1

Hiking into a remote and isolated desert carrying all your life support can get quite interesting, especially when you run out of supplies quicker than anticipated. Crossing a mountain range where the terrain changes dramatically requires constant change and adaptation — just having one plan is a plan to fail. We set up an outpost high on a ridge with high winds and cooler temps, brought lightweight gear and 2 gallons of water each. We still ran out of water. Lord Dakkar is a

The name says it all. A big entrance into corridors that can leave you feeling you are not getting out. Even some early explorers backed out of the tightest sections due to feeling too stuck. Alcatraz starts with a beautiful rap anchored from your car down into the canyon — leave your rope hard fixed to the car as you continue your descent. There is one more rap to negotiate after some downclimbing. From the last rap, the canyon gets tighter as the walls close in. We broke ou

The day before we knocked out Sundance Canyon, then grabbed Wilbur Canyon on the way back to Vegas. The road to Wilbur is quite bumpy and riddled with lava which can puncture tires — be careful. We found the canyon to be quite straightforward, less water than Sundance, and the sneak route to be quite sneaky. We replaced one of the anchors and noticed another brand-new anchor with knots tied in a configuration creating interesting vector forces. The lower section was the best

Typically I find short canyons to be a tease or not worth the effort — but Sundance Canyon was quite nice. There are not too many raps but as you work lower you get some fascinating views and a jungle-esque canyon in otherwise arid Arizona. The water gets cold quick — even with a wetsuit you can get chilled as it drops into the low 50s/upper 40s. As you start to shiver, warm air blows up the keyhole as you bend around the corner — a luminarium of color and depth takes over. Y

West Clear Creek is a beautiful multi-day hike in Arizona. Beautiful green colors saturate the canyon floor as a stream meanders through — there was even trout in the stream. We came down two canyons on two separate days that dropped us right into the heart of the creek. Early June was a beautiful time to be here! There were a number of people who came down a trail from the top but once you leave that area, you have the place to yourself. This is quite the place to visit and

Hot desert cavers chill out hundreds of feet underground in a premier and quietly kept alpine cave. A few hundred feet underground and at the last re-anchor, the cave opened up into a large chamber with a solid ice floor with sections over 8 feet deep. Within the ice, rocks and other artifacts lay suspended and frozen in time. There is a 350 ft drop to gain access to the bottom of the cave. You need 400 ft of rope for the re-anchors and re-directs. There are passages at the b

Pico Aneto is the highest peak in the Spanish Pyrenees. At 11,183 ft with snow fields of consolidated snow and a straightforward non-technical traverse, this peak is a must-do if you are in Spain. Staying in Benasque gives easy access to the trailhead. There is a shuttle bus leaving at 5am and 6am — a great time to start. You can also stay at the refuge and trim 1,000 ft of gain with a prior reservation. We had crampons and ice axes — microspikes would have worked and the cra

Sheep Creek Cave is a Utah classic cave found in the northeastern portion of Utah. It is quite remote but rather easy to get to once you are in the region. The cave is not very decorated but rather featureless — instead you find almost a mile of passage that you walk, crawl, stoop walk, and climb through. It gets sporty in a few sections and there is a vertical component as well. The Big Room requires rappelling 40 ft and ascending 60 ft back up to continue. There is a sump a

There are just some places in Nevada that combine everything amazing about the state into a relatively small and concentrated location. The Ruby Range is one of those places — above the treeline alpine, beautiful lakes, blooming flower fields, pretty dense forest patches, and beautiful all around high desert country. I would not just show up to this trail; come prepared. This is quite the serious hike, especially if you walk the crest trail to completion. We parked a shuttle

Sorrasal Canyon is a more aquatic canyon for the Broto region. The canyon is relatively short with some fun slides and jumps along the striated cliffs. The last section gets fun with a 3-drop sequence of 30 ft, 160 ft, and another 160 ft. There is a traverse line at the bottom of the first rap with fixed line and many places to clip into. From a small ledge fitting 2–3 people, you get a 165 ft drop into a beautiful pool with a beautiful waterfall, then the last rap takes you

Glones Canyon is another easy and short half-day canyon near Broto. Combine this canyon with Furco and you will have a fun day of canyoneering. There are 3–4 raps up to 70 ft in length — make sure you bring the right rope lengths. We encountered a rescue in progress — someone short-roped themselves and jumped the remaining way, breaking their back and ankle in shallow water. We provided primary assessment until the helicopter arrived. There is a steep 800 ft hike out but this

Every once in a while, you come across amazing people that share your most passionate desires within the world outside of our houses. What more than to experience that in Yosemite with one of the classic canyoneering routes in the region. This canyon has it all — big waterfalls, moving water, big views, and excellent jumps into water. We got a decent start and the conditions were perfect. It was quite hot outside but that helped mitigate the cold water elements. The water was

After some incredible aquatic waterfalls, playful jumps in plunge pools, and water park quality boggans into crystal clear water, the sentiment that dragons do fly and the shire should be just around the corner feels as real as the witch trials that the community of Iragna went through in the 17th century. We floated under a stone bridge made of granite from hundreds of years back — the earliest known documentation of the village is 1210. A few more jumps later and one last b

Oberrothorn, 11,150 ft, is one of the peaks in the Swiss Alps that overlooks the village of Zermatt thousands of feet below — a Matterhorn warm-up peak. At times I am in a complete whiteout within the clouds, and other times the clouds pass and I am surrounded by mountain landscapes where clouds turn ranges into islands and hide the features below. The views of the Matterhorn are vague and quite interesting as the pyramid in the sky disappears and reappears with each passing

Monte Breithorn, 13,661 ft, is a glaciated peak overlooking the village of Zermatt in Switzerland. This was another peak that found to be quite straightforward to summit but the cloud cover made this trek quite interesting. There was not a lot to see throughout the day but the elevation and effort was a good effort to prepare for the neighboring Matterhorn. Navigation was a whiteout for the duration as a front moved into the area with snow throughout the region.

In the heart of the Ticino Riviera, the village of Lodrino has got something wicked tucked away on the granite hillside. In 1193 the hamlets on the granite mountainside formed the community of Monte Parli and renamed this village, Lodrino. Where else on the planet can you find villages over 1000 years old, stone walkways, grapes hanging from wine gardens, and wicked canyons? Ticino! Lodrino is known to be one of the most scenic canyons in all of Ticino. It started with a punc

Serenello Canyon was my first Switzerland canyon. We came here right after the Matterhorn, and we were quite tired from the day — but we were still able to get this short 2-hour canyon complete. This canyon had some great flow, 7–8 raps directly in the water, and a lot of fun swims. Towards the end of the canyon you will go under a beautiful bridge, and you get some larger drops that take you back into the valley. We found this canyon to be straightforward and easy to travers

Cultivate a continuous ripening effect. All of our interactions end in death or breakup. It sounds negative... well this cycle of ending brings forth a transformation and speaks to the dogma of the universal law of impermanence. What is certain is that change will occur. Uncertainty is certainly going to happen. It has been this way since time began and humans have always lived in some type of jeopardizing situation. Grow yourself and the world around you. Love and give. Do n

Giumaglio Canyon is just an awesome canyon — I absolutely loved this short canyon. We started off with a beautiful day and called the dam station to ensure there was no release. This was a 20-minute hike up to the top and we spent 3 hours in this canyon. We found excellent raps and a couple large jumps that were all amazing. This was a straightforward canyon to get through with easy pulls. There is one section where you swim through a narrow corridor with a long waterfall and