Afternoon Run

Morning Backcountry Ski - Ski Roundtop

Afternoon Run - CAGB

Evening Alpine Ski

When Beth Barlup and I climbed out of the Grand Canyon on Monday we immediately entered the geofenced daily lottery to try to get a permit for both Coyote Buttes North (The Wave) and Coyote Buttes South. Both of these permits are extremely hard to get into (between 5-15% chance with only 20 people let in daily). This remote area is a section of the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It spans extreme south-central Utah and north-central Arizona and is absolutely surreal and incredibly remote. 

We were not successful with North but we did get a permit for the South (even more remote). The next day we drove to Page, AZ to pick up the permit and take a safety briefing. There are no trails, it’s all desert and only accessible in a high clearance 4wd vehicle (which luckily we had). The roads leading in are about 15 miles of rock and deep sand, you can’t get stuck cause no one is coming for you. We only saw one other group out there. It was white knuckle 30mph sand driving for 15 miles. 

Once we got into the Buttes we hiked using only GPS and landmarks. This fragile wind-stripped environment is one of the craziest landscapes I’ve ever seen. No photo or video cans describe this untouched remote wilderness.  While we were out there we saw great horned owls, big horned sheep, dinosaur tracks and countless lizards. Truly an unmatched experience.  We were out of there around noon to beat the desert heat.

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Wild Weasel

Morning Hike - Vermillion Cliffs, AZ - Coyote Buttes (South)

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Afternoon Run

Morning Backcountry Ski - Ski Roundtop

Afternoon Run - CAGB

Evening Alpine Ski

Afternoon Run - CAGB

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