Searching for Tao Canyon

Book Synopsis: A stunning book of retro, mind-bending photography that unlocks a hidden world of natural wonder, personal reflection and outdoor adventure.

More than 40 years ago, British Columbia photographer Art Twomey stumbled across a narrow crack in the desert floor in northern Arizona. It was a slot canyon, a stone crevasse – narrow, carved by water, its interior lost in shadow when seen by a curious person peering in from the rim.

Twomey’s photos from that day were unlike anything he had ever put on emulsion. They pictured a dream world, an intricate underground fantasy where lines bent, topsy met turvy, upside was down, inside was out. The images made as much sense backwards as forwards, which is to say they made no sense at all.

For over a decade, Twomey, Morrow and Schmidt spent spring and fall seasons hauling their cameras through the wildest, most intricately carved slot canyons they could find. At the time, slots were virtually unknown, their exquisite beauties not yet appreciated. There were no guidebooks, no guided tours, no high-resolution satellite images to work from. A big part of the pleasure was a sense of discovery, of finding places no one knew.

Jeremy Schmidt is a writer and photographer specializing in natural science, conservation and adventure travel. He is the author or co-author of more than fifteen books and hundreds of articles for magazines, including Audubon, Equinox, International Wildlife, National Geographic, National Geographic Traveler, Outside, GEOand others. His collaboration with Pat Morrow covers several decades of global adventuring, resulting in articles for numerous magazines and the book Himalayan Passage, winner of the first Barbara Savage Award for adventure writing. Jeremy is a founding faculty member of the Jackson Hole Writers Conference, a Fulbright Scholar in the Council for International Exchange of Scholars and a popular expert for National Geographic Expeditions trips worldwide. He lives with his wife in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Art Twomey was the conduit for both Pat Morrow and Jeremy Schmidt into the hidden world of slot canyons. Twomey was a glacier geologist, an accomplished mountaineer, a professional photographer and a leading conservationist in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia. His photography and films appeared regularly on television, inspiring countless viewers. Art Twomey died in a helicopter crash in his beloved Purcell Mountains in 1997.