Grand Canyon

The moon was full and the sky was clear driving across Nevada to Salt Lake City. This made it very easy to see the mountains in the middle of the night. It was actually pretty bright. We were headed to SLC to ski\snowboard at Brighton. We did laundry at a laundromat and tried to burn time in the city. We drove around the city and found a place to rent ski equipment and then slept. We spent the next 2 days at Brighton. Justin spent half a day getting beat up learning to snowboard on the big hills before realizing there was a bunny hill. He learned a lot faster that way and was out with Matt and I on the big hills by the second day. Matt Shroyer managed to take on a double black diamond run. The most I attempted was a black diamond. I lost a ski the first time and then did fine the rest of the way. The second time, however, I wrecked about every few feet and lost a boot and ski when the boot broke open. It was real nice rental equipment. We were nearly the first ones on the hill in the mornings so the powder was great. We drove down the next day to the Grand Canyon stopping at Zion N.P. and every little good view or attraction off the road. We got to the G.C. right before dark and set up a camp right outside the park. The next morning we took a flight around the canyon. After the flight, we took a hike down about a quarter of the way to the river. There were signs warning you not to attempt a hike to the river and back in one day. It said many people die annually from exhaustion. We didn't really believe it until we did our hike. The hike back was pretty difficult, especially with the violent wind gusts, but the view was worth it.