Where: Zion National Park, Utah
When: November 2008
Partners: DB, Andy Archibald & Tom Jones
After a 5-year hiatus, it was time for another scramble up Angels Landing. Initially just an afterthought on what was supposed to be a day of canyoneering in Telephone Canyon, poor weather made Angels Landing the primary objective of the day...well, that and "Twin Peak", a minor peak on my ever-growing Zion to-do list.
After Angels Landing, we continued awhile up the West Rim Trail before deciding that slots weren't in the cards this date. With no takers on my offer of another quick mountain adventure, I set off alone for Twin Peak while the othes headed down toward the mouth of Refrigerator Canyon to wait for me.
The southwest face of Little Sneak proved steep and loose, but the views once on top were awesome.
Scrambling down the northwest face, I jogged back to the trail and then raced down to meet the others. An hour and thirty minutes after leaving my group, I returned to the mouth of Refrigerator to find Tom in helmet and harness, ready to go! Why walk the pesky trail back when you can slide down a rope?!?
But it was not to be. As we prepared to set up the first rappel, the winds picked up, a couple drops of rain fell, and Tom issued the executive order - a no-go on Refrigerator.