Moab - The quest for red rocks and my first "E"
It's been a long time coming Moab. It only took a year, 3 trips, 2 courses and finally being ready to make my first cliff jumps.
- Jacob and I on top of Geronimo
If you've ever been to Moab you'd know it's the outdoor capital of America. Rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, offroading and BASE jumping, there really is no shortage of fun to be had. Myself, I was there for the latter. Ultimately I was on a mission to do my first E jump (Earth - E in BASE). Moab has cliffs beyond cliffs awaiting to be jumped, the majority of it lays on BLM land which allows freedom for all of the above activities. That said, jumping in Moab is not to be taken lightly. I had traveled there 2 times prior to take in the sights and assess potential jumping exits. Due to the fairly low red rock cliffs there is potential for object strike when jumping them, extra diligence and training needs to be done to minimize the chance of injury in such circumstances.
I made a vow to myself I would do everything I could to elongate my BASE career and er on the conservative side of jumping. I enrolled in the Snake River BASE Object Avoidance course in Twin Falls Idaho. The 4 day course focuses solely on preparing it's students to react during circumstances in which you have to avoid hitting the object you jumped off of. (usually due to your parachute opening 180 from the object you jumped from). Such drills consist of tuning your deep brakes; minimizing your forward speed upon the parachute opening, practice running exits and packed 180 jumps to emulate the actual scenario on a safer object. (The Perrine bridge in Twin Falls).
- Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls Idaho
Day 1
Following the course Jacob and I (one of the instructors) packed our things and headed down to Moab with one intention: to steal some altitude. Upon arriving we setup camp on top of Mineral Bottom Canyon - literally an hour from civilization along Horse Thief Trail, appropriately named as the dirt road cuts into the canyon walls switch backing down the vertical cliffs to the bottom.
- Horse Thief Trail headed to the bottom of Mineral Bottom Canyon
Probably the most awesome place I've ever camped, we were a 2 minute walk from the first exit point we planned on jumping upon sunrise. *Sidenote we apparently witnessed a Chinese rocket ship explode above us, the strangest thing I've ever seen in the sky to this date... You can see more about it here .
The morning came quickly, we aimed to be up at 6 am for optimal weather conditions *ideally no wind for best parachute heading performance*. We awoke, weather being on our side, we hiked to the exit and started to assess the conditions closer. I'd be a liar if I were to say I wasn't nervous at all. That said, I was current, had practiced and was prepared for the jump. We did our last gear checks and I opted to go off first. I took 3 breaths, counted down... 3....2...1 and off I went. I pitched the pilot chute (the mini parachute which extracts the main parachute). Time slows down when you're jumping, a seemingly 2 seconds of freefall can seem like an eternity until you feel the weightlessness on your back. Hearing the crackle of the parachute above you, the firm snatch of the immediate stopping in time as the canopy catches you from plummeting to the talus below. Letting out a big sigh of relief I could now focus on the 1700 foot canopy ride through the canyon. Amazing, there's no better feeling than flying around the buttress' and landing in the bottom of the canyon. All the build up and training and nerves racing I'll never forget my first cliff: Marys Gash..... After safely landing, we headed back up packed and moved on to the next exit!
Each exit brings a new element in the equation to consider; height, is it over/under hung, can you run on exit, is it uphill/flat/downhill, where to land etc etc.
Complacency is what will get you hurt so every new exit you jump you have to analyze and come up with a plan to complete the jump some-what safely.
- Preparing to jump Geronimo in Mineral Bottom
We made 3 jumps the first day, the weather in Moab in July is windy and hot.. Like hot hot, burn my brittle Canadian skin hot. So we took to the park in downtown for a little RnR before heading out for another jump.
- Relaxing in the park with my man Gunner
The winds were still going lightly in town, we decided to drive deep into the canyons up Kane Creek in hopes for some exits shielded from the winds. Fortunately Jacob knew just the exits to hit. After a long successful day of jumping we set up camp just off the road and caught some much needed sleep with plans on jumping the following day.
Day 2
- Day 2: Packing for a jump off the infamous Tombstone
- Tombstone, the cliff face centered in the photo; one of the more famous jumps in Moab
We got to Tombstone midday as the winds were fairly calm in the canyon. The down side was it was 107 degrees and we had a good 35 minute hike ahead of us to get to the top of the cliff. Needless to say, it sucked. Luckily the scenery is nothing short from amazing, it made the grueling hike slightly bearable. The view from the top was awesome! I had wanted to jump Tombstone since i started BASE jumping....We geared up and got down to business. I had a slight off heading to the left but nothing unmanageable.
- Jacob following close behind under the orange and white
We both landed safely and packed up our gear. Winds started picking up so once again so we headed to the Moab park for some slacklining and planning our next assault on the cliffs. We had decided we wanted to hit an exit very close to town, appropriately named G-Spot, and we planned on finding it ;). We set off around 5pm and hit the trail, we didn't know the exact trail once we ascended the talus so it took a bit of navigating to eventually find it. As we approached the top of the buttress to assess the conditions the winds had really started to pick up and a storm had started rolling in. Jacob and I decided to cut our loses, which unfortunately means hike back down and regroup... Which also means eat dinner and wallow in our failed attempt. Following us walking down we headed out to the Castleton area to setup camp with hopes of an extremely promising jump in the morning - Parriott Mesa. All Jacob would tell me was the approach was an exciting one and left it at that. This ultimately meant it would be technical with some possible exposure and left me to stew in it over night.
Day 3
- Parriott Mesa
We woke up at 6am with plans to be at the exit between 7-8 as that was the best foretasted window for wind conditions. We hit the trail and knew immediately it was going to be a strenuous one. The hike up the talus alone looked like quite the feat in itself let alone the climb up the actual cliff face to the top. During the approach my stomach started grumbling, it was too late to turn back and even if I had there wasn't an outhouse for miles. Only one thing to do when faced in such a predicament, I told Jacob to continue on while I got down to business. I must say I've never had such a beautiful view while squatting in the wilderness. As I was enjoying the sights of Castleton tower and Adobe Mesa it had occured to me I had no toilet paper....... Insert self reflection time... Ever seen those pants that the legs zip off and turn into shorts? 22$ at Mountain Warehouse... Boy was I glad I had those on that day! Needless to say I now only have shorts... Anyways!, Jacob had gained quite the jump on me after my little side adventure plus the fact he hikes like a mountain goat I had my work cut out for me to catch up... I met up with him at the top of the talus just before the technical section started. I had been worried about it initially but as each part of the climb came I realized it wasn't anything too technical. I have a firm belief that if I don't think I can down climb the pitch or section I won't climb up it. Keeps me from getting stranded on the mountains ;)
Right: Jacob ascending the chimney Bottom Left/Right: Climbing the fixed ropes
The approach was nothing short of exciting, multiple technical sections with rope and cabled aids to help you summit the Mesa. The climb took longer than expected (we can blame me and my earlier escapade for that one). We eventually made it to the summit and immediately started checking wind conditions at the exits.
- Jacob on top the mesa checking winds
After half an hour of assessing the conditions on different exit points the wind was itermittently gusting in uncomfortably amounts. This is the tough part of BASE jumping. risk management, practicing good judgement and knowing when to call it quits. After the 3km hike gaining 2000ft of elevation we had tp make the tough decision of turning around.... You win some, you lose some. Two hikes in a row we had to hike back down. At the time it really disappointed me, a feeling of all that build up for nothing. Somewhat a sense of failure but it comes with the territory. The rest of the day was a write off, once we got back to camp we headed to the nearest RV campgrounds to catch a shower where Jacob then took off and made his way back to Twin....All in all it was a successful first BASE trip to Moab...
- My thoughts on Parriott Mesa at the time
Here's some bonus footage from the trip if you've made it this far...
I'll leave this post off with this. "Everybody seeks happiness! Not me, though! That’s the difference between me and the rest of the world. Happiness isn’t good enough for me! I demand euphoria!" - Bill Watterson
