By mid-March, spring has arrived on Antelope Island, the large State Park and oasis in the middle of the Great Salt Lake. This island is home to bison, pronghorn antelopes, coyotes, and plenty of birds. And this springtime, it was home to a group of artists, environmentalists, Shoshone leaders, and everyday people gathered for poetry. “Songs from Along the Water-Shed” was an art presentation and poetry reading full of heartfelt words, songs, and dances, all directed at the Great Salt Lake. As the group listened to the poetry, we were asked to put away our cell phones so we could live in the mo ..read more

The brutal fragility of the ecosystem. A wilderness of life and death, continuing in a state of homeostasis through these exact cycles, over and over again. A world of self-regulation, where the existence of even the smallest organism is placed on the slightest edge with no margin for error. Each living creature, entirely dependent on even the one that eats it, in a race for survival. Balance.  The Yellowstone Region, a rugged and vast landscape of raw wilderness shaped by a massive super volcano hidden miles beneath the surface of an ecosystem teeming with life. One, which for most of it ..read more

Makena Klinge Utah’s got some nice rocks, I think most locals or visitors would agree. Here in the great state of Utah, our rocks offer a plethora of recreational opportunities, from skiing in the winter on the elevated peaks, rock climbing the Wasatch front, mountain biking down south, hiking through the national parks, or taking a Jeep offroading on the red dirt of Moab. Our rocks rock!    We also have some pretty stellar rocks if you want to follow your friends off a cliff, you can tell your mom not to worry, everyone’s doing it.    Here are five cliff jumping locations ..read more

Utah is host to one of the most beautiful natural environments in the world, as well as top-notch recreation opportunities: the Wasatch mountains, the southern deserts, and our five natural parks give us Utahns unparalleled access to the outdoors. When we think of Salt Lake City, we envision stunning mountain vistas and epic outdoor adventures. But behind that picturesque backdrop lies a story of environmental injustice that’s impacting our communities, especially those that are often overlooked.  PM2.5, or fine particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less, poses signific ..read more

Gallery 8 Photos Sophie Felici The post Siurana Climbing appeared first on Wasatch Magazine ..read more

First the rain comes down. Lightly at first, and then as the sky opens up, a full deluge. The sandy earth, reaching a point of saturation that it can no longer contain, starts to sweat out excess water. Puddles collect on impermeable sandstone, before they too begin to overflow. Water flows down to collect at low points in the landscape. Overhanging rocks spill water down onto the levels below, and to levels below that. Drips form trickles. Trickles become rivulets, and rivulets form into small streams. At each coalescence, the flow gains energy and volume, rushing towards the eventual end of ..read more

I want to write about cool stuff: climbing, hiking, and enjoying the pleasantries of the outdoors. But when I see headlines like, “As of February 2024, a developer plans to build a business park on the Colorado River floodplain less than two miles downstream of Moab,” the opportunities to explore the topics of the land diminish. Sadly enough, the above bit is true. As of February 2024, plans are underway to build 580 luxury houses, and 70,000 feet of commercially zoned land on Kane Creek in Moab, UT. If you’ve ever camped or even been to Moab, you have likely been up Kane Creek on the Colorado ..read more

Dear Granite State,             Not a day goes by where I don’t feel a tinge of nostalgia and miss your comforting forests of lush green and rivers of blue hues. Yet moving over 2,000 miles away from you to the Beehive State has taught me lessons about myself, others, and the environment, that leave me feeling pulled between two places in my heart and mind.             To make a list of pros and cons would be moot. I feel deeply connected to my upbringing in New England in ways which h ..read more

Fingers, chalked and clenched, cling to the rock so fiercely they scream for relief. Wind whips behind me as my right leg shakes uncontrollably, small pebbles falling each time I re-adjust my foot. I’m exhausted from holding myself here, weary from imagining every possible way to fall. In my nervousness, I forget my assured safety at the anchors, not trusting the strength of the fixed gear I’m attached to. Instead, my mind spins irrationally in a whirl of panic.    The screw gates on my carabiners are locked. I checked twice. Didn’t I? Am I sure I attached my PAS to my harness c ..read more

Steep narrow canyons draw in elite skiers the way that porch lights beacon moths. The danger and adrenaline rush combine to create a magnetic attraction. The possibility that such geology could be conquered has been the impetus for skiers’ migration to the Wasatch Mountain Range for nearly a century. Alta team athlete and former ski racer, Megan Dingman, told me in a recent interview, the thing that makes the Wasatch special is that, “everything you see can be skied, if the conditions are right. The Wasatch is the Hollywood of skiing.” These mountains are notorious for the grandeur, the snow t ..read more