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News in Moab, UT

Deseret News · Moab, UT

Utah mountain biker conquers Kilimanjaro on a broken leg

Hannah Otto pedaled her mountain bike 18 grueling miles at an average 12% gradient that kicks up to more than 40% in the last two miles where she scrambled over rocks with her bike strapped to her back to reach the top of Mount Kilimanjaro on Nov. 3. But that was only half the battle for the Utah professional mountain biker. She still had to ride down to become the first known woman climb and descend the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world at 19,341 feet in a single day. Two miles from the bottom, she slid out in some mud. She felt a bone snap in her left leg. She saw her femur and her lower leg moving in opposite directions. She tried to stand several times, but fell to the ground, screaming in pain. There was no one else around. “I said out loud, ‘I can’t believe I just broke my leg,’” Otto recounted to the Deseret News. For the next 10 minutes, she lay on her back in 2 to 4 inches of water, staring at the sky. She had a decision to make.

The Catalyst · Moab, UT

The Art of Rest on the Block Plan

When the clock strikes noon on the fourth Wednesday of the Block, a collective sigh echoes across Colorado College. Textbooks snap shut, final papers are submitted and the mass exodus begins. At CC, the Block Plan’s relentless pace of cramming a semester’s worth of organic chemistry, literature or sociology into three and a half weeks demands a clear boundary between work and rest. For many, Block Break means packing up a car and heading into the wilderness. You’ll see classmates loading up paddleboards, stowing skis or setting out for road trips to Moab, Utah, Crested Butte, Colo. or even the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Alamosa, Colo. Some of my friends are even driving to Mexico this Block Break. I think this is a crazy choice, but it showcases the range of travel possibilities. Not having your own vehicle to travel in complicates the situation and certainly limits your options.