Here’s something that I have recently stumbled upon, the Dirt Bag Diaries. Check it out. Fitz Cahall podcasts stories of life, travel and climbing. Quiet, genuine stories that rise above the deafening roar of all that this hyper connected world is.
This american life for anyone who has ever gotten first chair, earned thier turns, tied in or stood at the top of a rapid they’ve never run.
That was a quick month and a half. It’s amazing how fast time goes by when it snows almost every day and the ice climbing is as good as it has been in a decade. It’s been snowing like the old days. 14′ of glorious, river swelling snow fell in the Wasatch range between December 20th and January 10th. Some locations in Colorado have already recieved more snow this year than all of last.
Most of the Riverpeople have been out in the white stuff taking advantage of the water in the mountians before it melts and makes our rapids.
Just got back from our trip to Red Rocks. The plan was this, climb three of classic long routes in the reserve back to back to back. 5 days, 1000 miles to drive, 30+ pitches up to 11c, 15+ rappels and more miles of hiking than a Marathon would certainly test my training regiment, of not training, to the limit.
Day 1:
Levitation 29, 7 pitches 11c, one of the longest approaches in RR
Due to a lack of proper planning we don’t leave SLC until 8 PM. Thanks to the time change we arrive RR by 1 AM. Snag the last camping spot and toss out the pad and the bag. The alarm gets set for 5:30 AM, I’m really looking forward to my 4 hours of sleep.
The alarm sounds and we’re off. Coffee and oatmeal both about the same consistency get us going. We drive “the Loop” park, rack and start walking 6:30 on schedule.
There’s always that point, I guess you call it the beginning, in the trip were everything is great. The sunrise is beautiful, the hiking pretty easy we’re going climbing, yeah. Than the pain starts. Slowly at first. Rocks you were able to scramble over become larger requiring the use of hand holds and climbing skills. Route finding plays a roll because even this early on I realize I want to MINIMIZE the amount of wrong turns I make. Cairns sprout like cat us confusing us even more.
Then it happens the “short cut” rears it’s ugly head. Cairns point the way to what looks like the route that Shaw saw on the web and copied, by hand, onto the back of some scrap paper. It’s suppose to save 15 min. Up we go! Easy at first, then right about the time you reach the point of having covered to much ground to go back the scrambling begins to slowly morph into climbing. We stop in a flat spot with about 300′ of slab below us. It’s only 20′ of 5.easy to what I hope with every cell in my body is the upper “easy” slabs. I can see the way clearly and I hope it’s as easy as it looks and I go. Not too bad and now we’re on the right track. After another 30 min. on what Shaw calls the evil StairMaster we top out next to the bottom of the route. 2 hours, not bad.
I’m relived to be roping up after soloing the approach slabs. The climbing begins right off the bat with the newly replaced bolt being just out of reach from the ledge that taller folks stand on to clip. The chopped stud mocks me as I can easily reach it. I make the first moves in the series that the bolt is there to protect, stop and clip and head up. The climbing is fun and the protection though small is good. My foot cuts out unexpectedly and I almost go for a ride. Resoles aren’t working quite right yet but they come on strong as I go higher.
It’s hot, 80, calm and not a cloud in the sky which would be great except that the climb faces directly south and we are cooking.
The next pitches go well. We swap leads and Shaw ends up leading the crux 5.11 pitches which is fine with me. The route gets steeper as we go up. We eat bars that go down like nails, suck some Gu and finish the water on about pitch 5. The 6th pitch seems hard. The topo says 10b but it’s not going well for me. I can’t grip to the only hold that I can find to clip off of and after whipping 3 times I am positive that what I’ve been gripping aint a 10b offering. I finally figure it out but by the time I make the belay there’s no question about it, I’m tired.
Shaw leads pitch 7 and that’s it Levitation 29 complete.
Except for the raps, reversing the slabs, the river bed and the hike across the desert all of which it turns out only takes 3 hours. This 3 hours included a very important stop at a pool of cold water that we treated and drank.
All and all it was a good day for the riverpeople though upon further reflection a little hot.
Oh yeah the new book rates pitch 6, 10d.
I hope the video isn’t so annoyingly slow that it stops you from watching it.
For each of the last 4 summers there has been what has become a traditional end of the Moab Rafting season Cataract Canyon Trip. The Red River crew, friends and family come from far and wide to participate in more than a few days of behavior that is reserved for private river trips with close friends. As aways there are tons of pictures and more than a bit of video taken.
Here is a classic in the making.
Truly a wonderful clip of what happens when things don’t go right on the water. I love to see video like this. Too often the scene gets cut just as things get interesting. Watching scene after scene of guys making impossible whitewater lines, dropping huge waterfalls and popping up with smiles on their faces, stomping huge air and landing switch and skiing away gets boring.
Lets see some carnage. I want to know what Johny superstar does when sh$% hits the fan.
Well Red River Adventures guide, Landon is our Johny Superstar in this clip and just as I hoped things don’t go as planned and he get his head handed to him. I’ve got to give him credit he does a great job of staying cool and making the run look smooth.
“Chundered” is what we call what happens to Landon and if you look it up in the dictionary you’ll see this video.
River Rafting Reviews and Red River Adventure Testimonials!
Carly Anderson
January 20, 2025
I took the all women’s class with Vic and it was incredible. I felt very supported through the entire class with a bunch of other incredible women! Would highly recommend doing a course with Vic if you’re feeling nervous at all. She is incredibly patient and knowledgeable about all things backcountry!
Matthias Ruckle
January 20, 2025
Awesome experience. Garth and Ben were great guides and we learned so much!
David Staggs
January 19, 2025
I had such a great day ice climbing with Red River, couldn’t recommend this company enough. Booking and scheduling were simple and easy, and there were plenty of locations to climb near where we were staying. The price for two people + gear was completely reasonable. Our guide, Nate, was absolutely fantastic and totally made the whole experience for us. He let us choose how much and how difficult climbing we wanted to do, while being kind, interesting, and easy to talk to. He gave us great advice for how to climb more effectively and celebrated with us when we did something well. Nate even surprised me with a cupcake (it was my birthday). I had such a fantastic experience and wouldn’t hesitate whatsoever to book with this company again.
Ryan Russo
January 18, 2025
Excellent guiding, climbing, and ice. Overall a great experience!
samuel creenaune
January 18, 2025
We went touring with John and it was awesome. Great experience, tips and tricks and great knowledge of the area which was much appreciated. Thank you
Robert “Rob” Kowalsky
January 14, 2025
I had an excellent experience taking a low ratio AIARE level 1 with Red River. Our guides Garth and Ben were experienced, knowledgeable, and provoked good discussion among my group. Plus they were also pretty nice folks! I wish that the classroom portion was a bit more organized and built upon content we learned in the pre-course instead of rehashing it, but the field portion more than made up for it. I would recommend this outfit to anyone trying to learn about the essentials of safely navigating avalanche terrain.
wilson Kriegel
January 14, 2025
Great experience. Easy process. Good gear. Great communication. Super safe!
Kyla Marie
January 12, 2025
Great information and hands on experience learning how to use life saving tools and skills. Thank you red river!
TED BOTS
January 10, 2025
Great day backcountry with Carl!
Evan Landau
January 10, 2025
Always such a dope time with these guys. I’ve toured the past two years with Landon. Super knowledgeable both in safety and where the good spots are while teaching you a bit about the sport. Gonna do some mountain biking with him and his summer!! So stoked 11/10 guide book asap
Rodney Malcolm
January 8, 2025
Awesome day and Carl was fantastic as a guide. Super helpful tips when needed and fun to chat and ski with.
Sam Flessner
January 6, 2025
Avy 1 course was very well run. Instructors were professional and knowledgeable. I would definitely recommend.
Alexa Budzynski
January 3, 2025
We wanted to try Splitboarding in the backcountry on our last trip to Park City, UT. We found Red River through a simple Google search and we couldn’t have been happier with the entire experience. Our guide, John, was kind, patient, congenial and super safety focused - which we really appreciated. We went from knowing zero to having a challenging and fulfilling couple of days in an absolutely gorgeous part of the country (Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons). We also super appreciated that all the gear was provided in the Intro lesson price. These people know their stuff. If you’re thinking you want to try backcountry riding, the time is now and these are your peeps.
Karson Eilers
January 2, 2025
I took an AIRE 2 course with Red River Adventures. Instructors were professional, safe, and fun.
Daniel Grobman
January 1, 2025
Awesome experience!! My tour guide Landon was amazing and hand vast avalanche knowledge! Can’t wait to book with red river again!!!
Heber Valley Music Together
December 30, 2024
It was a great class. Ben had a good knowledge base and made everyone feel comfortable. I loved the amount of repetition given to take out and put back the equipment- this got me so much more comfortable with all my equipment.
Diego Canavati
December 28, 2024
Super profesional and expirienced guides!
Kalen Griffin
December 22, 2024
Vic put on an awesome course! Extremely informative and fun and we learned a lot about avalanche rescues. 10/10 would recommend! Thank you 😊
Roni Peled
December 22, 2024
Great learnings with great people
Kyle Almeida
December 19, 2024
Had a fantastic two days in the Wasatch for AIARE 1! John and Vic are awesome guides and very knowledgeable about avalanche education and their tour routes. Highly recommend.
Matthew McHugh
December 19, 2024
The guides/instructors at Red River are best in class. John and Victoria went above and beyond to answer our questions, share in between the lines knowledge, and encourage lifelong learning.
Emma Braun
December 18, 2024
Took an all-women AIARE 1 course and it was fantastic!! Highly recommend. Victoria was an awesome instructor and had a lot of great experience and advice to share for women who are interested in getting more involved in this male-dominated sport. Thank you Vic and Red River for advocating for women in the backcountry!!
David Smith
December 16, 2024
I highly recommend using Red River Adventures for all your AIARE course. Extremely professional instructors that take the time to focus on everyone.
Ashley Jenson
December 7, 2024
I’ve taken my Aiare 1 and a rescue course with red river adventures and both classes were amazing. The instructors do a fantastic job. I felt heard and every question I had was answered. I highly recommend taking a course with these guys, you’ll really walk away with a lot.
Gracee Dalton
December 6, 2024
Amazing guides who are very well educated and informative. Great learning experience.
Mike Schirf
November 26, 2024
My wife and I had the pleasure of joining Carl and his amazing team of guides last year in Japan. On top of being extremely knowledgeable of the area and where to find the best snow they are all amazing humans which made the trip that much more special. It was a dream trip and we would do it again in a heartbeat.
Megan Caravello
November 11, 2024
We did rock climbing just outside salt lake City, at big cottonwood canyon. Carl was a super guide. We had never rock climbed, and Carl have us great intro instructions then we climbed up two rocks, that were challenging and fun. Would highly recommend
Cynthia Svendsen
October 20, 2024
We had an amazing trip to Greece for rock climbing with these folks. Carl, Tonya, Mary, and Sam did a wonderful job being well organized, providing thoughtfully executed guiding, and good vibes all around. Couldn't have asked for a better week with this crew.
Timour Kamran
October 14, 2024
Fantastic day out with Jon!
Andy Ballard
October 3, 2024
John was a consummate professional. He got my boys up their first multi-pitch climb in Big Cottonwood Canyon on an ultra classic line. I really appreciated his ability to make this memorable experience happen. Super friendly and I would not hesitate to use him again and recommend to my friends.
Clinton Woods
September 7, 2024
Did the full day fisher towers trip. It was very well ran and enjoyable. Took some younger kids and overall was a great experience thanks to red river.
Amber Striegel
August 29, 2024
The trip was beautiful. The scenery is breathtaking. But if you are looking for rapids, this may not be the tour for you, at least not this time of year. The water was quiet and at times it felt like we weren’t moving. Definitely more of a float than rafting. It’s perfect for those who want to relax and not have a workout.
Jan Moore
August 29, 2024
We enjoyed our rafting trip down the Colorado River. Our guide, Jake was very personable and informative. We would recommend Red River Adventures for anyone seeking a fun and enjoyable time.
Taylor Davis
August 28, 2024
Incredible experience with an even better canyoneering guide, Cage! This excursion had some of everything, the hiking, petroglyphs, 4 separate rappels. Cage made the trip very memorable for each of us and made us feel safe and comfortable during the challenging rappels. We highly recommend this tour guide and company!
Maile Christensen
August 25, 2024
Great trip down the river. Fun guides and beautiful scenery!
Keith Grim Sleeper
August 25, 2024
Jordan was awesome
Elodie ROSENCHER
August 21, 2024
Superbe expérience de rafting.
Toute l équipe a été très réactive et a fait de son mieux pour que notre excursion soit la plus réussie et confortable possible (modification de réservation, bateau personnel pour notre famille)!
Notre guide était à l a fois très professionnel et sympathique. Toute la famille a passé un très bon moment. Merci!
jonathan otis
August 20, 2024
Such a wonderful experience for my family. John was very friendly and professional. Would recommend 100%. We can’t wait for another opportunity to climb with John again.
Amber Thompson
August 19, 2024
Our guides were friendly, knowledgeable and so patient. We had a 12 year old and 73 year old in our group and our guides were awesome with them. We had a great time!!
Sal Sapien
August 18, 2024
I was unsure about rafting down the colorado river. Jake was our guide and I could not have asked for a nicer guide. Jake told us some history of the area, and told us about the rapids before we came to them. We had so much fun that my wife and I are talking about doing another rafting trip down the Colorado River. Thank You Jake.
Evan Stuart
August 18, 2024
Knowledgeable and kind guide, Cage, made it a really fun experience
Laura Greenwald DDS
August 15, 2024
This was a great half day trip on the Colorado river. Communication was awesome and our guide, Liz, was great! She was full of info about the river, the area and rafting! Thanks for the awesome experience.
Andre Reas
August 14, 2024
What we liked:
Well organised, entertaining guides (especially during the bus drive) and friendly atmosphere.
Not much white water during our 1/2 day tour (class 1/2) in July 2024. Still fun for beginners though, we got to jump in the water two times :-)
Roy Blair
August 14, 2024
First off 5 ⭐'s for Maggie, our river tour guide. She was very sweet and knowledgeable at her job. Red River Adventures made our rafting experience easy and very memorable.
I would definitely recommend them for your rafting while in Moab Utah!
Jaimee Kennedy
August 13, 2024
Went rafting on the Colorado river and it was incredible. The guides were very knowledgeable and personable. Shoutout to Keira and Will for being the best guides ever.
Maria Velasquez
August 13, 2024
We had Maggie as our raft guide, she made our experiences one to remember. She was kind and genuine. She made the tour very interesting, she had a lot of knowledge. You can tell she loves her job. Red River made it very easy to book and had very clear and easy instructions.
Thier staff was friendly and made out experience fun.
Hayley Daye
August 13, 2024
My father and I booked a last-minute half-day rafting excursion as we were passing through Moab this past weekend, and were so happy with our decision! Even though we were not in season for optimal rapids (only Class I-II in early August), we had an amazing time out on the river. The calmer water even allowed us to take a swim in the Colorado during our excursion. Our guide, Charbo, was extremely knowledgeable about the area and kept our group entertained the entire ride. All the guides were professional and fun, and we loved the entertainment provided by them on the bus ride to and from the boat launch. We could have easily done the full-day trip if our schedules had permitted!
Highly recommend going with them for all rafting or otherwise outdoorsy excursions in Moab. We will definitely book again next time we are in town.
G B (Dionysos)
August 13, 2024
Very nice experience with three amazing guys (Jack, Grace and.. sorry I forget her name). Smooth rafting and swimming in the Colorado ended the day 🫶🏻
Melissa Oppenheim
August 12, 2024
What a great way to spend a hot morning in Moab! Red River made everything seamless without a lot of wait time to get setup. The location of rafting was magnificent and the guides were awesome, keeping things lively and interesting, from the bus ride to safety. Emily was a lot of fun guiding our particular raft. Can’t wait to ski some pow in Japan with Red River in January !!!
Tracy Field
August 11, 2024
August river rafting is fun and chill with the class 1 & 2 rapids. Our guide, Jake, was awesome. We want to come back in June for class 3 rapids. The guides are knowledgeable and funny. Super fun.
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