After a bout of getting fat and being lazy, and a minor injury, (and lamenting foiled spring ski trips) I’ve been slowly getting back into the mountains. Gathering vertical, volume, and dropping some lbs is easy to do with so many great hikes and scrambles to mix in with this heat. Jason Dorais consented to a slow evening on the Pfeiff’s North Ridge earlier this week.

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Once I get back in form I’d like to give a fast go of it. This was a good familiarity run through.

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Seems like folks steer clear of this route due to horror stories of loose rock and the dreaded CHOSS! It’s a little sandy and loose in places, but I think it’s a classic scramble by Wasatch standards. As a non-climber I guess I just don’t know any better.

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You get a bit of everything on this route, from buff trail, to boulder hoping, to easy exposed climbing.

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No rope or rock shoes required.

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Some of the best views in the neighborhood and much more engaging than the standard route.

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Jason brought his camera and we played around getting some shots for Scarpa with the nice late light.

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So good to feel healthy and to move freely into the heavens.

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The following is not a paid advertisement, just the desire to share a cool new toy! Jason turned me onto the LIFE STRAW on this run and I went to REI and bought one the next day. I’d seen them before at the OR show, but never looked closely, or understood just how cool these things are. We didn’t carry any water on our 4hr round tripper! Knowing that we would encounter streams on the up and the down we just brought his Life Straw and sucked up more than we ever would have wanted to carry with us. The thing weights only two ounces and tiny enough to stuff in your shorts. Don’t pass up on those cool bubbling streams, or cold mountain lakes any longer! Really cool tool if you know you’ll run across any form of water on your run. You’re welcome.

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