TWO years ago, Jeff Lowe, 56, a former world-class mountaineer who sits on a mayoral sports advisory committee, established Ogden Climbing Parks, a nonprofit organization to "make Ogden attractive to climbers," he said.
The rock climbing classes, which are offered by Paragon Climbing Guides, take place in the Snow Canyon State Park or Crawdad Rock Climbing Park, the only private climbing park in the U.S. No experience is necessary, and guests can sign up for a two-day program of scaling the mountains.
So began a childhood of summertime tree climbing – in parks, woods, forests, the back gardens of friends' houses, if there was a tree I was up it.
Traffic is clogged, rents are climbing and parking spaces are as scarce as a desert orchid.
At one point a shirtless man climbed a park basketball hoop and refused to come down – eventually entangling himself in the hoop as he resisted police.
"You can drive to just about all the best climbs and park your car nearby.
The crowds converged in the early afternoon, and many revellers climbed onto parked police cars, as the massive street party drew to a close.
The next few minutes were a mixture of drumming on large metal flowers and climbing the park's trees.
The second part of our mission, however – enshrining our innate right to swim in our rivers and lakes, just as we are free to walk in our national parks, climb the mountains, swim in the sea – is going to be harder.
We took rambles along the Methow River in north central Washington, and hillside climbs in local parks.
