A Grey Day In Utah

10/3/23

Draper, UT

I went for a hike today. Well, Hannah went for a hike and dropped me off at a different hike along the way. I got up to a place called Potato Hill, overlooking Draper. I’d driven there before a long time ago. It’s nothing special. Good to experience the smells of nature after a rain.

I passed by a climbing area called Red Rock Climbing Area. It’s funny to me how many things are called Red Rock. You can find red rocks in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, if not more places. When you say Red Rocks, you’re probably either talking about Nevada or Colorado, but it’s still not always clear. So to see a small crag with maybe 6 routes in Draper, UT called Red Rock made me smile, imagining people would get it confused with the other ones.

But this Red Rock was the cutest one I’ve seen so far. It had great signage, benches built at the base of the wall, and some routes had plaques nailed into the rock stating the route’s name and grade. There was a way to walk up the side to set top rope anchors, and every anchor had a third bolt above the ledge to use as an instructor tether to more safely set an anchor. There was also a line spray-painted above the ledge to indicate where the route was from above. All very useful features for a little crag.

I soloed a 5.6, or at least half of one, in my Blundstones, but when I went back to do it again the mud on my boots made for less traction and a very different experience. Regardless, it’s always fun to play on some rocks.

I walked home from the Potato Hill peak, just a couple miles down the hill. I went from foot path, to golf cart path, to service road, to golf cart path, to foot path, to road, to bigger road. It reminded me of a book my friend Jon got me before I left LA, called “The Hidden Art of Reading Nature’s Signs.” I remember it saying that as you approach civilization from the wild, you experience incrementally more developed roads. It was fun, cutting across a golf course and through suburban back yards and side yards.

That afternoon, after Hannah returned, I took Beeby to a gear exchange close to Salt Lake City called The Gear Room, in search of a new climbing helmet. As usual, I find myself buying a spare piece of gear under the false pretenses that I want a replacement, when in reality it’s because the people I climb with don’t have the motivation to supply themselves with gear. Because if I have one helmet, and the climbing style requires two, and my partner has zero helmets, then I can’t do that route. That’s why I have two helmets, two harnesses, and extra of basically everything else.

The trouble is, if someone has not sought out their own helmet, or anything regarded as safety equipment beyond a helmet, they are probably not aware of the risks associated. Or they are not interested enough to justify the expense. So, you have be very careful, and the amount of gear someone has usually speaks to how much they understand, or are interested in, the activity.

But the helmet I found is actually really cool, in my opinion. And the helmet I had wasn’t all that cool. So I increased my “swag bucks.”

The only other thing I’ll say about this gear store, is that it added to my feeling of annoyance with the typical rock climber. I love rock climbing, but I think rock climbers are so annoying that I often don’t want to be associated with them. They love to talk about their last big trip, their next big trip, why a piece of gear rocks, why a piece of gear sucks, what was hard about the route, what was easy about the route, and who they know who’s in Patagonia right now. I heard all of that, from two different people, who I honestly thought were the same person because they looked so similar. Shorts, huge puffy jacket, flat bill cap.

The second guy even stood looking at the wall of climbing gear, put his hands on his hips, and said out loud “hmmm, what do I need?”

Meanwhile, I’m always overwhelmed when I see used climbing gear, because I love a deal. Especially the ice tools. (I imagined I might go into a long explanation of why I hate rock climbers, and what the difference is between an ice axe, and an ice tool. But I don’t think I will now. Perhaps the next time this happens). So I’m looking at ice tools, which if you don’t know, you want a matching set, they are often very expensive, and, as with anything outdoor related, you want it to be light.

I have an old Black Diamond Cobra ice tool, single, that I got for $20 used, to play around with. His name is Goose. Goose loves the ice and he works great. But I learned that it’s important to have a stopper on the handle so your hand doesn’t slide off when it gets wet. Also, because Goose is old (or retro as they call it), he’s kind of heavy. So when I look for new ice tools, all I care about it if it’s lighter than Goose, and has a stopper on the handle.

I see one on the wall that is exactly that. Nothing fancy in the shaft design, but in good condition, with a stopper on the handle, and it’s lighter than Goose. And it’s $50. This model, I forget the name, retails for likely $100-150. So it’s a great deal. There’s only one, but it’s tempting. I put it back, thinking I really don’t need another tool right now.

I see a hand reach for it, check the price tag, and then pull it off the wall. Under their breath, standing right next to me, the person says to themselves “ugh, so heavy.” I turn to look at them, almost laughing, and see a woman about my age. I can only imagine that they said that out loud to tell me that they know something about how weight is an important factor to an ice tool. Which was really funny to me because I had just noticed how light it was. Then, she proceeded to carry it around and eventually buy it! So did she really think it was heavy?

Walking out of the store, I had a new working theory. If you are a rock climber, it is your responsibility to keep it to yourself.