Climbing in the Uinta Mountains

This last weekend I was invited to go camping with some great people out in the High Uinta Mountains in Utah, about an hour and a half's drive from where I live. It is SO BEAUTIFUL up there; it reminds me a lot of the Sierra Nevadas, just a little more lush (but not Oregon lush). We camped at a lake called Ruth Lake, about a mile's hike from the road. First thing we did was hit the mountain to climb! I had only ever climbed outside once, and only made it 15 feet up before I decided "that's high enough", as I'm someone pretty dang afraid of heights (although things like rappelling and skydiving have helped a bit). This time I climbed 40 feet my first climb! It was a class 5. 9, which in rock climbing jargon means a moderately difficult climb.
By the time all of us climbed one wall the sun was setting so it was time to hit up camp. By now the storms started rolling in! We had a night full of thunder and lightning and rain and sleet. Nothing like sleeping in a tent with a pitter-patter over your head all night. Some people weren't so happy with this, like the guy that DIDN'T bring a tent, or the guy who brought a tent, but turned out it wasn't completely waterproof so he got a liiittle wet...

The next day was sunny so we hit up the mountain again for more climbs. This time I worked on 5. 6's, more of a beginner's level climb, and reached about 50 feet on these, one of which I was able to climb up over the edge and sit up on top and admire the view of the valley. So spectacular.
(Can you find me in these pics?)




That afternoon a few of us decided to jump in the lake, and I'm always someone who enjoys swimming in mountain lakes and potentially swimming all the way ACROSS them... but this time I didn't. Probably cuz the others got out after about a minute and I didn't want to be left out there, ha! Then we had some lunch, and I felt it was time to take some pictures of the area while the others went back up to climb or nap.



That night was another night full of thunderstorms! We awoke to rain the next morning, only to have about a 20-minute window to pack up camp and walk out before it started raining again! The trip was a blast, and I am so proud of myself that I was able to climb so well! I can't wait to get out and do it again. My whole body is sore, what a work-out! Good times with good people.