Red Breaks Slot Canyon, Utah

Red Breaks Slot Canyon, Utah

May 2024

The remote desert of Utah holds many hidden gems. On my way to the mysterious 'Cosmic Ashtray', a unique geologic feature in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, I passed an unassuming entrance to a narrow canyon. The Red Breaks slot canyon is a semi-technical slot canyon, and I planned to go as far down as I could without ropes or gear.
As I descended into the depths of the earth, the walls pinching down around me, this canyon turned out to be pure fun, and pure beauty. Shimmying through tight squeezes, stemming across the span with my body, and performing contorted maneuvers to make progress, this was a playground. The streaked sandstone walls dramatically caught the light as it ricocheted down the steep canyon walls, the lines pointing the way, and inviting me to keep going.

In Sand