If you’ve read some of my older posts
you may know that I appreciate choss. Much of this attitude can be attributed to the fact that, until recently, I’ve never actually traveled for the sole purpose of climbing.
The trip came about rather suddenly, and (to my surprise) without much forcing on my part. After missing out on a family reunion due to work, my mom came home with news from my cousin that he would love to show me around the climbing in Utah. Though she probably expected little to come of this comment, I quickly organized dates to climb in Send-tember, happily skipping some days of school.
I ended up in Salt Lake City weeks later, after flying by myself for the first time. A scraggily kid on the airport curb with a huge backpacking pack. Much of my extended family lives in Utah, so I went to my uncle’s house that night, enjoyed some tacos, and then went to bed to prepare for an early start.
My cousin picked me up at 5:30, and we immediately headed for our first destination: Maple Canyon. After several navigation errors (the beginning of a pattern on our trip) we pulled in as I gawked at the potential adventure around me. We began with some easy routes so I could learn the style, and get used to a kind of climbing I had only encountered buildering on a Burger King. The rock was composed of cobbles, cemented together in a haphazard fashion, yet solid beyond expectation.
My cousin knew that this trip was not a common occurrence. His awareness that I may not get to sample this rock again for a long time manifested in his selfless patience. He belayed me for a combined several hours over the whole trip, and I thank him greatly!
After learning the style (and searching for change in the car to pay for parking) I decided to challenge myself. One hope I had for this trip was to climb my hardest flash. A nearby climber suggested a route, one of my style (vertical, thin holds, and balancey). My cousin was on belay for half an hour as I chugged up Taking The Bullet, a classic route. Some confidence installed, I asked my cousin to show me something harder. He took me to the short, steep Frontera wall, one he knew well, the home of his hardest send. I picked a route, unsure of exactly how hard it was. I gave it some working burns, learning the moves, flailing on the steep sections (a style I’m unaccustomed to). I found the beta but lacked the power to give it an attempt at that point.
We decided to walk up the canyon and choose an easy route to cooldown. Never before had I planned so little… an efficient outing includes an agenda, but we had time to waste! After an easy lap we settled near the Pipeline, gawking at what people could hang onto, and breaking my abstention from PB & Js that had lasted since I was little, “Guess I’m not allergic… these are good!”
We ended with some Mountain House and my introduction to westerns (via True Grit)... the perfect first day to an epic trip. Never before had I just gone somewhere and climbed because “Hey, that looks good!”. I often don’t have the time… thanks to my cousin for giving me some!
Day 2
The second day would be the last in Maple Canyon, so some anxiety to send the previous day’s project and make the most of my time bore down on me. Thankfully I’ve learned that high expectations are the thief of sends. Taking advantage of the cool morning temps/shade I warmed up (by that I mean got scared/gripped) on Gunsmoke, one of my personal favorite routes that I did on the trip (see list below). I hung the draws on the route I’d been projecting previously and ran through the moves in my head nervously.
I chalked up, pulled on, and… fell at the second move. Ok… just relax! You’re too tense… Just breath in and out… ok, now you’re ready. I chalked up, pulled on, and…
...fell at the second move. A pattern developed over the first few tries of the day. But after letting my expectations go, being ok with the idea that I may not send this trip, and focusing on what I needed to do, I found myself giddy as a fifth grader who’d found a rare Pokémon card at the shake-out jug. I actually said to my belayer, “Ok, I’m ready to calm down now…” I went for the last hard moves, barely sticking the final stab over the steep bulge that led to the easy headwall. This time I reigned in my nerves saying “It’s not over yet…” though I knew it was. I anxiously bumbled up the last fews moves, finally relaxing from the “DON’T MESS UP!” mindset as I clipped the second chain.
With the project done, I felt like I could relax my expectations for the day. Being in Maple Canyon, and having put a hard send under my belt, my cousin decided to show me the improbable Pipe Dream Cave, because why not? We had the time and nothing on the agenda (thankfully, because we got lost again and took the long way to the cave). After climbing the fantastic Buddha Belly, a route outside the cave, I thought: What the heck… it’s permadrawed! Let’s try something! It must’ve been quite the sight to see me flail all over Toxic Turkey, the only person in the cave with a helmet (because his mom wouldn’t let him climb without one). But the idea of trying something that pros would travel to… and I rarely get to travel… who even cares?!
Finally, we finished the day with Tachycardia, an amazing 3 pitch route up Heart Rock. Or 4.5 pitches if you do it like we did… after running back down to the car to grab a forgotten harness, lots of backcleaning (we only had 10 draws), and some easy climbing to the first anchor, I went right when I should’ve gone left. We landed at another belay, and I started up the steep right side of the “Heart” before I said, “Yeah, this isn’t 5.7!” Thankfully I wasn’t the only navigationally challenged climber in Maple. Some bail draws conveniently placed already aided my retreat. We finished the route, quickly signing the register, and began the rappels. After missing the first anchor and my cousin getting whipped in the head by the rope, I walked to our gear in my climbing shoes (because I forgot my real ones). We charged back to Grandma’s house for a home cooked dinner, the perfect end to the day, and my time in Maple Canyon.
With some sends under my belt, and the humility brought by Tachycardia, we rested up the next day for our next destination: American Fork Canyon!
My personal favorite routes in Maple Canyon:
Tachycardia 5.7, Heart Rock
Buddha Belly 5.10a, Pipedream
Gunsmoke 5.10a, Frontera
Taking The Bullet 5.11a, Bridge Area
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