Canyoneering TR and photos (Dinosaur National Monument)

[Scott P]

Dinosaur National Monument canyons, Labor Day weekend:

http://www.summitpost.org/images/medium/225760.JPG

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[Sombeech]

Cool! :cool2:

[stefan]

really nice photos scott. :2thumbs:

so does every point where you're walking in the river represent the end/beginning of a different canyon? how many did you do.

are these canyons capable of holding much water? were there ANY pools?

i take it the red arrowed line is demarking the span of the large arch that you found. pretty big arch!

the deep canyon shots are wonderful, as well as the the perspective from heights. it really IS a beautiful area up there. definitely need to spend more time. how far of a drive is it for you, depending on what part of dinosaur you go?

are we gonna get a TR too?

[Iceaxe]

How about a short TR or at least caption the pictures so we know what we are looking at?

Nice pics :2thumbs:

[Scott P]

so does every point where you're walking in the river represent the end/beginning of a different canyon?

Yes.


how many did you do.

Two plus climbed two peaks or points.


are these canyons capable of holding much water? were there ANY pools?

There are potholes, but all were avoidable.


i take it the red arrowed line is demarking the span of the large arch that you found. pretty big arch!


This first photo "arch from the top" was actually shot from the summit of Peak 6489 before we even knew the arch was there. I found it while scanning through the photos. Anyway, this was actually taken from 1100 feet above the arch and looking down and is zoomed way in. Since this is a 2D photo, and zoomed in from 1100 feet higher, there is one thing that is somewhat decieving by looking at the photo. The arch actually isn't reachable from the river, but there were two rappels in the canyon between the arch and river. It's harder than it looks to get there!

Click below for a bigger version:

http://www.summitpost.org/images/original/225396.JPG


how far of a drive is it for you, depending on what part of dinosaur you go?

1 to 1.5 hours on the highway, depending on which part, and then various lengths of time of dirt roads, depending on the canyon.


are we gonna get a TR too?

Yes, I'm still writing it. Gotta go. I'm headed out for the weekend again.

[goofball]

niiiiiice. so how difficult was the approach ?

[rockgremlin]

Dinosaur National Monument = most under-rated slot canyon area in the State!!

Fantastic photos! Crazy how much that place looks so much like the Swell!

[Iceaxe]

Dinosaur National Monument = most under-rated slot canyon area in the State!!

There are some slots in Dinosaur, but I have still not seen or heard of anything that I would call "classic". You need at least one classic to get the attention of the masses.

I'm guessing a real classic exists, but I don't think its been uncovered as of yet.

:popcorn:

[Scott P]

niiiiiice. so how difficult was the approach ?

It took a long time and several trips to figure out the route, but now we know how. I promised to hold off a bit before fully publishing the canyons themselves, but the info on climbing the peaks and getting into the canyons is below:

http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/225744/-Outlaw-Peak-.html


There are some slots in Dinosaur, but I have still not seen or heard of anything that I would call "classic". You need at least one classic to get the attention of the masses.

You need one easy to get to classic to get attention it seems. Even if the canyons we did were the #1 and #2 slots on the entire plateau, they still wouldn't become overly popular because they are harder to get to than other areas.


I'm guessing a real classic exists, but I don't think its been uncovered as of yet.

I think I know of some, but figuring out the logistics is hard. The canyons above took several trips to figure out. Some of the slots between Starvation Valley and Mantle Ranch on the north side of the river look really good, but I haven't figured them out yet.

One Mae West slot in the southern part of this area might have been a classic if it weren't for the bushwhacking required in the upper end. The bushwhacking was too distacting and takes away from the enjoyment that otherwise would be better.

I've heard Thanksgiving Gorge is good, but haven't been.

Anyway, a couple more pics of canyons in the area. Nice slots, but too short to be classics.

http://www.summitpost.org/images/original/59390.JPG

http://www.summitpost.org/images/original/59386.JPG

[Scott P]

Dinosaur National Monument = most under-rated slot canyon area in the State!!

Oh, one more thing. All those pictures are actually in CO instead of UT. :oops: I guess it's close enough for this forum though, right?

[rockgremlin]

Dinosaur National Monument = most under-rated slot canyon area in the State!!

Oh, one more thing. All those pictures are actually in CO instead of UT. :oops: I guess it's close enough for this forum though, right?

Interesting. Well, that is actually an answer to a burning question I have had for a long time -- if Colorado and Utah are neighbors, and Utah has an over-abundance of slot canyons, why is it that you never hear beta about Colorado slot canyons? (Aside from the wetter class C canyons further south). It can't be because they don't exist - the slot-forming geologic formations in Utah run into Colorado.

[stefan]

Interesting. Well, that is actually an answer to a burning question I have had for a long time -- if Colorado and Utah are neighbors, and Utah has an over-abundance of slot canyons, why is it that you never hear beta about Colorado slot canyons? (Aside from the wetter class C canyons further south). It can't be because they don't exist - the slot-forming geologic formations in Utah run into Colorado.

scott has already written an article on precisely that

http://www.canyoneering.com/forum/Colorado_canyons.html

[Iceaxe]

I'm guessing if you guys keep at it you will get some excellent routes worked out :2thumbs: