Model
Donna Stia on a beauty shoot for Bazaar. Donna had
never rappelled before. Our guides took her through it
without props, and sans the appropriate garments. On her
2nd try Donna descended a bit too quickly for me to get
all the shots that I wanted. Donna didn't want to do it a
3rd time, but finally she did. This is one of the shots
that we got. A similar photo was used as a two page
opener in Bazaar.
Not
seen in this photo is a "shelf" about 30 feet below
Donna; still walking backwards off the top of the mesa is
just a bit unnerving unless you regularly do that sort of
thing. I got to try rappelling when we finished this shot
(if you'd like to see me rappelling
click
here).
It is
my understanding that Dead Horse Canyon got its name when
wild horses were corralled in a relatively small area at
the top of this mesa which was entered by a narrow
approach. The approach was then secured with a fence, and
the horses had no means of egress. As the horses grew
thirsty they made their way to the Colorado River which
was just 3000 feet away...straight down.
The
story may well be apocryphal but it does give the area
some color, and its name.
