Bo Beck climbing up Aries Butte on a Cold and WINDY Spring Day in Zion National Park.


Aries Butte by Dow Williams

Aries Buttes by Bo Beck


Bo and I have never not been dressed right for the weather and we hike/climb/canyoneer year round just about every weekend, but this time we messed up big time!!! We wore light clothing thinking it would be nice out like it had been the days previous. The scramble up the saddle between South Ariel Peak and Aires Butte was just right for the clothing, but when we got on the buttress and exposed climb the wind and cold just floored us.

We hardly got any photos because it was hard to just keep ourselves at the belay stances. To pull out a camera would have required hands of steel. Our hands were cold and the wind blew sand that made it difficult to even look at times. It's the day after now and I am still trying to get the sand out of my eyes! Bo would always pull the drag rope up and flake it at his feet and stand on it to prevent it from blowing away and around the corner. On the rappels, Bo would flake 2 piles and I would manage the feed from the anchor stance to insure no tangles or twists. Really took some creative rope management unless we wanted to have our ropes flying as a kite!