TRIP~ Kolob & North Guardian RAMFEST

> RAMfest 2002 > We rallied on Smith Mesa Friday evening. RAM had already been out for a > few days with the Usual Suspects. Players in attendance Saturday Morning > were Shane Burrows, Buck Chow, RAM, Charly Oliver, Phil, Ray Ford, Steve > Brezovec, Hank Moon, Roy S., and Tom C. The approach hike was uneventful > but joyful, pleasant conversations & camraderie with a colorful bunch. > Shane took GPS readings; Charly told dirty jokes; RAM held court, and > Phil told me about his adventures on the Appalachian Trail and his first > ACA course. Buck & Steve rigged the first drop and we were off – BOOM it > was cold. Hank & Phil wore full drysuits, while Tom C. wore a worthless > drysuit scrap over a wetsuit. The rest of us were drysuited up. Although > there was much snow on the ground and we expected high flow from the > sunny day melting runoff, Kolob was but a trickle.
But cold as HELL. Buck, RAM and I were here in May, and swam through > cocktail pools (pools full of ice chunks) and it wasn’t this cold. > Perhaps it was because all I had on under my drysuit was Midweights, but > it was a little rough. Several of us were shivering in spite of our > drysuits. Air temp was not warm. Tom C. and I must have done 60 pushups > at one of the drops, just trying to stay warm.
One highlight was when I tossed Charly’s (alleged) floating rope off a > 100′ drop into a pool and straight to the bottom of said pool. Attempts > to dive in my drysuit, even fully burped, were futile. Tom’s drysuit was > so useless and leaky, however, that it didn’t hold enough air to keep him > buoyant and he had less trouble submerging, and retreived the 200′ Canyon > Pro (again, these ropes DO NOT FLOAT in spite of the Spectra core). > I am a huge fan of the floating rope bag.
Our attempts at rigging multiple drops got a little fusterclucked but > probably sped us through a bit faster. Communication is frequently a > problem on the long drops in this canyon. Have I mentioned I’m a big fan > of Motorolas and whistles?
Our group of ten got a little spread out in the lower section, where RAM, > Hank, Shane, Roy, and myself headed on to the Oak/Kolob crossroads after > the final rap due to incapacitating cold, rather than stand around > waiting for the group in the shade. Very little sun reaches the canyon > floor this time of year, so few patches were found. We waited at the > crossroads for over an hour and a half before the rest of the group > caught up – we spent this time exchanging dirty jokes and planning the > rescue of the group members who must surely have cut their rope or broke > a leg to be this far behind us. Turns out they were just stacking rope, > taking pictures, and had removed and then reapplied their drysuits when > they reached more pools. Ah good times.
The dreaded MIA is actually approaching a state of being an actual trail > now. The last 500′ scramble still sucks bad, but I’d have to say it’s > improved. But then again, it’s not just the MIA that kills you; it’s the > 3+ miles on the road back to the car. We were benighted but at least we > were on the road.
Hank & Phil seemed to be fine in thick full wetsuits as long as they kept > moving. I wished I had worn fleece pants instead of midweight Cap’s, and > 5mm booties instead of 3mm, an extra layer of midweight on top, and > gloves. But it wasn’t to bad; hell we were light enough, I reckon’.
Sunday we rallied a group of twelve and Headed for North Guardian. I > think all, especially Shane, would agree that you’re gonna want to have > some sticky rubber shoes for this route. Some wore climbing shoes, some > wore sticky rubber approach shoes, Shane wore running shoes, but seemed > to have no problems, though I’ll bet he puckered a few times. The summit > bid went smooth enough, up exposed 3rd and 4th class scrambling, > approaching 5th but never quite making it. Beautiful summit view, and an > entertaining game of Frisbee on the descent. Soon we’re back at camp > eating victory chips and drinking beverages, sub-six hour round trip. A > pleasant walk and good views of Left Fork, Right Fork, and Phantom > Valley. Highly recommended. A RAMOO classic, as they say.
Next weekend: YoBound…
-stveeB