So, you saw that Kim and I went to St. George a while ago. Reading Kims post, I feel it is important to let you all know that she did not ruin our trip. It was very enjoyable. Not only did I get to spend some quality time alone with my wife, we escaped the cold weather for a few days, we got to go camping, and we got to climb some real rock! pulling plastic in the gym can be fun, and is a great way to stay in shape for climbing real rock. ( In my opinion anyway). We tried climbing trad for the second time sense we have been married. On top of climbing trad, we were multi-pitching, which Kim is still relatively new to. On top of both of those, a stopper failed as Kim was cleaning the first pitch, after which a wrong turn was taken turning a 5.7 into a 5.10. Anyone who has climbed themselves into a trap, knows the panic that ensues when your rope is pulling you in the wrong direction, you cant go up left or right, and you cant down-climb. The feeling is terrifying. Who can blame her for not wanting to continue.

We climbed first at the Black Rocks in St. George. I cant tell you what we climbed there, because for the life of me I cannot find them in my guide book. This area is great, because the sun is on the black stone all morning, and makes it warm enough to climb when it is still 32 degrees F. Good place for winter climbing. The routes are short, about 35 feet, and range anywhere from 5.7 to 5.11b on the sunny side, and from 5.9 to 5.13b on the shady side. The approach is short, and mildly technical. Definitely worth the walk.

The next area we climbed was in Snow Canyon. The route we tried was Leopard Skin, rated 5.7. it is four pitches of mixed sport and trad. the first pitch was fun, and I'll tell you about the last three when I finish them. The approach is relatively short, moderately technical and based on the first pitch absolutely worth it.