Mt. Olympus

This summer Rachel and I made it a goal to hike to the top of Mt. Olympus and Mt. Timpanogos. I have said it before and I’ll say it again, you can't call ourselves outdoorsmen if you haven’t hiked two of the most popular peaks in Utah. So today @7:00 AM Rachel and I busted a move out the door to cross Mt. Olympus off the list. We went into the hike knowing it was going to be hard, and that it was going to be steep (4,200 vertical feet in only 3.2 miles each way to be exact) but up the trail we went. We wanted to start early so it wasn’t so hot, but that really didn't keep the heat off us. It started out not that bad with a few switchbacks to warm up the old sparrows kneecaps, but that didn't last long. Once you were out of sight of the parking lot it began to go straight up, climbing over boulders and fallen trees! We walked and walked and walked until we finally saw someone coming down so we asked him “Hey man are we close?” and he laughed like we were kidding and said “No, but you are almost half way”. HALF WAY?!? I could feel my knees beginning to shake every time we stopped for a break. I really didn't know if we would make it but off we went. We finally got to the saddle (think of a settle on a horse, it's just a flat spot close to the peak where it levels out a bit) 

We could see the peak but most of the people out there didn’t look interested in going to the top because to get there  you literally had to rock climb. I looked at Rachel and said that when we get back home her dad was going to ask me if I made it to the peak and if my answer was no he would look down on me for the rest of my life. 
So up the rock wall we went, scrambling up these rocks until we finally made it to the tip top of the world. (or so it felt) the views were unbelievable. They even had a little mailbox up there with tons of things that others had left, and little notes of everyone’s names who have made it to the peak. I wrote Rachel and my name on a little paper and slipped it into the box so that we have proof we both made it. 

Our hike down was actually the hardest part. Our knees were hurting so bad and my feet had blisters all over em, not to mention we drank all our water on the hike up, so we had nothing for the whole hike down. It took about 3 hours to do the whole thing which is exactly what our map said. We finished off the hike by going to chevron for our well deserved sodas.

RAMP

Why my wife is the best
As many of you know, lately Rachel as been bouncing around a bit when it comes to her employment. Well today at approximately 12:03 she received a phone call from a new ski company called RAMP. Ramp started their business in Park City last year, so it is an up and coming ski brand with what seems like a lot of potential. Rachel was offered a job to be in charge of their shipping, customer service, she will be doing trade shows, ski competitions, and also ski demos. We are so excited for her to start and she has been jumping off the walls since she found out. Rachel has a real passion for skiing, but it lives so much deeper then just the recreation. She is so interested in how the market works and being around all the people that make it possible. Once she left Rossignol we could tell she just didn’t love any of her jobs until now. It’s a big gamble starting with a new company but high risk can equal high reward. Everyone go take a look at their website and start picking out your 2011/2012 season gear. 

The 4th day of July!

On the day the United States gained its independence, Rachel and I took our talents to Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort for a light day of skiing under the hot July sun. Let me start by saying this was one of the coolest things I’ve ever been a part of. We got up to Snowbird and it was so packed with people that we actually had to park out on the canyon road. We have never had to park this far away, and would never have thought that July 4th would have been the day. It's a fun tradition to dress up and fill your bellys with adult beverages so we did exactly that; minus the adult beverages. Here are some pictures of our day.

Camping

A couple weekends ago we took a camping trip with some of our friends.  It was a great time of late nights, blowing up bug spray, and a bunch of fun games.  Overall we didn't stop laughing the whole night.  And we found out Alta hates the sound of guns....which in turn back fired because now she hates the sound of fireworks. We jinxed ourselves with having a normal dog for once.  We actually took some pictures, which is shocking.  So here they are!