We made it to the top of the iconic Angel’s Landing Rock Formation in Zion National Park, Climbing for Grant Mauldin, Terry Bowen and Andrew Miller with my colleague Brian Lane who climbed with us before in Yosemite. On the summit day he wore a shirt that says, “Kidney Cancer, I treat it and I BEAT IT!”
Chris Weight on top of a knob at the summit of Angel’s Landing holding a photo of Terry and his wife at Venice Beach-To read more about Terry’s story click here 
Hudson Weight holding a photo of Grant as a jockey. Grant still works with horses today and is a Doctor himself 
Hudson Weight holding a photo of Andrew Miller on a Cruise in Alaska 
We found a couple on top who were wearing orange and black and had climbed for a friend with cancer as well so we took a group photo looking north
Grand Canyon
Our trip began at the Grand Canyon. We were on the South Rim. We watched the sunset from Yavapai Point, caused an eclipse and then next day hiked down the South Kaibab Trail to Skeleton Point.
Its like 5000 feet down! 
Man-made eclipse on the South Rim 
Brian and Hudson at Cedar Ridge 
Raven looking out from Yavapai Point 
It was hot, but fortunately we never ended up like this guy
Cedar Ridge 
Pretty grim at Skeleton Point 
Ooo Ah Point Sunrise 
South Rim Sunset 
Obligatory Picture with the sign
Zions National Park
Then we drove to Zions National Park about 4 hours away. We had two main objectives, climbing Angel’s Landing for Andrew, Grant and Terry, but we decided we were going to try Canyoneering for Kidney Cancer this year as well. Our goal was Mystery Canyon.
Angels Landing
Sunset from the east 
Don’t worry, they’re not lethal 
Yes that is the trail 
Natural Stairmaster 
Hudson looking up the last exposed climbing 
Keep your eyes up 
Dr. Lane did great 
Hudson is nearing the top 
The main risk here is others may stumble 
Coming up the last exposed part 
A few man-made steps for stability 
Looking back at the fin we crossed 
Chris and Hudson on the Summit
Mystery Canyon
Mystery Canyon starts about 12 miles away from the Zions Narrows. We descended about 3000 feet over 12 miles by hiking, down climbing, and ~15 rappels. Then we came to the grand finale: rapelling into the Zion Narrows to a clapping crowd of about 40-50 people.
Mystery Canyon from the top 
We noticed this blood then noted the dry air caused a nosebleed 
With no tissue, we used some wilderness medicine (Oak leaves) 
The approach was tricky through thick brush 
Brian showing his scratches 
The cool slot canyon gets real 
Brain prepares to descend 
Hudson going where very few 13 year olds have gone 
These narrow slots are notoriously dangerous places for flash floods 
Hudson with a little trouble getting off the rope 
The hanging garden nearing the end with the 110 ft rappel 
At the end we were walking in the river 
Here’s the final rappel down the Mystery Canyon Waterfall-What a spectacular day 
The Zions Narrows, We were safely down
Bryce Canyon National Park
Finally we drove over to Bryce Canyon. This terrain was very different from both Grand Canyon and Zions National Park.
Hudson at Inspiration Point 
Upper Inspiration Point 
Wall Street – How does that tree grow there 
Navajo Loop 
Hudson with Thor’s Hammer 
Windows on the Navajo Loop