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Meeting Chris Burkard | Photographer & Story Teller

Some people dream about meeting their heroes like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, or Alex Honnold. And while sure, I’d also like to meet those guys because of all the things they’ve achieved over their careers, I really wanted to meet Chris Burkard. Even though you may never have heard of him, you’ve definitely seen his work. And that work has had, arguably, the greatest impact on this path of photography and storytelling that I am on today.  Chris Burkhard is an award winning explorer and photographer who’s traveled around the world capturing some of the most incredible images of this …

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Dogwood Crag | Great Beginner Spot to Climb in Salt Lake City

I’ll be the first one to admit, the amount of climbing areas near, and in, Salt Lake City can be overwhelming. The first time I pulled up Mountain Project when I moved here, I had no idea where to begin. In the Wasatch Range alone, there are 1,595 Trad routes, 2,230 Sport routes, 318 Top-Rope Routes, and 679 Boulder problems. So as you can imagine, when I looked at the map below for the first time, I had no idea where to begin. Sure, with the introduction of Mountain Project, finding rock climbing areas and routes have never been easier. …

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Walmart B&B | Camping in Walmart Parking Lot

Some of you may not know what I’m talking about, while others have lived by this code for decades. It’s luxury to some, while others would never even entertain such an idea. What exactly am I talking about? Camping in a Walmart parking lot of course! Yup, did you know, most Walmarts allow you to sleep in their parking lots overnight?! That’s right, those RVs you see parked in the far corner of the parking lot aren’t there to buy groceries or a new TV. They are there to catch some shut-eye before they drive off on the next leg …

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Climbing Purblind Pillar | Campfire Stories

In this new series, Campfire Stories, I wanted to capture some of my favorite funny and crazy moments from trips I’ve been on.

“900 feet above the ground from where I stepped off the deck and onto the first holds of the route. That’s when it finally hit me. The wave of accomplishment, stoke, and relief. We’d spent nearly the entire day on this wall, 7 hours to be exact, and our ascent was finally over. Even though it’s only rated a 5.8, the 6 pitches of the climb were one adventure after next. And for my first time on the Red Rocks of Vegas, it was one helluva trip.”

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Wasatch Crest Trail | IMBA Epic Ride

When it comes to Park City, there’s not shortage of trails to ride. From PCMR to Canyons, Round Valley to Deer Valley, UOP to Glenwild, and everything in between. But there’s one ride that everyone knows, and if they haven’t ridden it, it’s on their bucket list. Whether you shuttle to the top of Guardsman Pass or earn it from Park City or the Big Cottonwood side, it doesn’t matter. The ride I’m talking about is the Wasatch Crest Trail, or the Crest as we mostly call it. I’ve ridden this trail 3 times now, once shuttled and twice ridden …

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The Grand Teton via Owen Spalding Route: Full Trip Report

11:30 PM After grabbing a late burrito dinner in town at Abuelitos, we finally entered Grand Teton National Park. The plan was to catch a couple hours of sleep next to the truck before heading out. I can remember getting into my sleeping bag with a cool breeze rolling down from the mountainside across my face. I fell asleep immediately. That is, until the moon rose up and lit up the entire sky.

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Everything Went Wrong in Iceland | Campfire Stories

In this new series, Campfire Stories, I wanted to capture some of my favorite, funny, and crazy moments from trips I’ve been on. For my first one, I wanted to tell you about how everything went from epic, to horrendous, for my buddy Yuta in a matter of minutes on my trip to Iceland. Check it out, and let me know what you think!

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Ragnar Trail Tetons

This past weekend, the Tetons were a base camp (again). But this time, I was on the other side of them at Grand Targhee Resort for the Ragnar Trail Tetons. Fortunately for me, I wasn’t running this one and was only there as a support team (and on dog duty). And having the full weekend to witness all the event’s energy and participants, it was definitely something I wanted to share.

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Scrambling to Upper Saddle | The Grand Teton

This photo captures a moment. A moment on this climb, when things were just about to get real. We just made the lower saddle at sunrise, took a quick break, and were moving up the ridge towards the Black Dike picture in the middle of the frame. In all the research and beta I could find, most notably on Wyoming Whiskey’s page which outlines, in detail, all the route options up the Grand, there was no mention of how difficult this section would be. A 1,544′ scramble separates the upper saddle from the lower saddle, in just over a half-mile. …

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The Ultimate Truck Camping Setup

This post is for those people who bought a pick-up truck with the intention of making it the perfect base camp for all their adventures for years to come. I’m talking climbing, biking, hiking, and of course, camping. Here’s the setup that will work for just about anyone. For the longest time, I was envious of all those dirt-bags at the trailheads with their trucks loaded out in the bed of the truck with a sleeping platform and everything. To me, they had it all. A vehicle that could get them anywhere, a place to lay their head wherever they stopped, …

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