October was spent in the US with the last part of the month in Moab. It was fun to get back to a town I had spent so much time in years ago. One reflection was that there are sure a lot more motels and mountain bikes now then when I first worked here. I spent some time guiding for Colorado Outward Bound School in and around Moab in the late 80’s. My favorite trip was a “Multi-E” (Enviroment) course where we backbackpacked and hiked up the La Sals to the summit of the biggest peaks in the range, Peale and Tukuhnikivatz, then headed down across the desert (crossing the highway to Indian Creek by a broken down gas station) rappelling into a canyon and arriving a week later at the Colorado River where a timely group of rafts were waiting as we paddled down to Lake Powell. It was the vastness of the landscape, the still beauty of the sandstone massives and the native american artifacts from a different time that captured my interest and brought a serenity to my return trip this October.
This trip was busy but still serene, with evening runs and rockclimbs. It was great to catch up with old friends–I ran into Paul Duba still working for Outward Bound and hung and climbed with many old friends from AMGA. Pezl also had a few folks come down and we worked together during the event giving two clinics (Short Roping and Crevasse Rescue/Hauling Systems), lending out equipment and offering great deals to the guides.