Hi everyone,

I am writing to you straight from my awful duplex in the heart of Sugarhouse here in SLC, Utah. It's cold, snowing, my heater is broken, and my landlord isn't calling me back to get it fixed.

I am on fall break right now, and just got home from a really fun weekend.

First, this was three weekends  ago:  

photo: Brady Perron 

photo: Brady Perron

My friend Tim and I left for Maple Canyon, UT after school and stayed there for 2 days, camping under the biggest, coolest overhang ever.

 

Right next to it, and a 15-foot climb up, was a HUGE cave...about 150 meters long by 50 feet tall (I made this 1/2 friendly to non-U.S.A'ers).  It was SO big. We went in by headlamp at night, and walked in for a bit, but both of us thought we saw something scary at the end and ran out. 

He ran first though.

Really.

We did a lot of rock climbing down there, including some of our hardest rated routes ever: great climbing.  It was snowing around us while we were climbing and camping. It was sick.

 

There were a lot of sheep in the road on the way up the canyon.

Earlier in the year a bunch of my friends and I went to Moab, UT for some climbing.  Climbing in Utah is so fun and it's something great to do in the off-season.

 

photo: Abe Greenspan

It's good for both your body and your mind, since it's real scary and a rush that lasts for a drawn-out amount of time.

That white dot is me.

However, the off-season is no longer really a problem.

At Guardsman’s Pass last weekend, a couple of us made this set up after the bulk of the people left. That is, until another bulk came.

 

Starting 3 weeks ago, we've shredded.  The weekends have presented pretty awful weather for many things, but not awful for those of us hanging out in the upper parts of the mountains.

 

Skiing has officially began, kind of, here in Utah.  If you head to the mountains on a day with snow, you're bound to meet all the cool kids you see hyped all over Newschoolers.

Anyway, we've been hitting rails up in the mountains, and people are even able to hike up and ski lines to get face shots. 

That's right, face shots in early October.

School is cool and everything, but the view out of my bedroom window is cooler.

My birthday was 2 weeks ago and we went to this place called Homestead in Midway, UT.  There was a huge enclosed crater with a natural hot springs in it. It was hot, even on a cold day.

I go to Westminster College along with a lot of other skiers. 

SLC is a great place to be for all outdoor recreation: skiing, climbing, hiking, backpacking, and even ICE CLIMBING.  No, I haven't done it, but I hear that if you do, you have to wear your sunglasses on the OUTside of your (tight fitting) beanie.

I went skiing this past weekend, October 20th weekend, along with the rest of snow shredders in SLC, up at Guardsman's Pass, which connects PC and Brighton.  Rails were set up in every meadow, people skitched for rides from the top, sleds everywhere, and people throwing down.  It was real fun.  Winter is around the corner.

 

photo: Luke Ocho

You should make your way out here to ski with lots of cool kids this winter. Or, better yet, to ski now.

Most photos: Tim Jones

See you on the snow,

Brody Leven