Needed - Canyoneering Partner(s) April 28 - May 6

[AlaskaDoug]

I am novice to canyoneering. Well, I have taken the Zion Mountaineering one day course. But, I have heaps of rock climbing experience and all the gear.

I am really looking for someone(s) who will either
1. let me drag them through some of the easy to moderate test piece canyons in and near Zion, or ....
2. let me come along with them on moderate say Subway or Pine Creek sort of stuff. I know those 2 are completely different but I also know my rock climbing experience will put me in good stead with the challenges or difficulties of either.

By the way, will a 10.5 mm x 150 m everdry rope (about 15 years old and hardly used) everdry climbing rope suit the conditions for the kinds of canyons I mentioned? Or is it way too heavy? Need a 9 mm? Or a dynamic rope?

[shaggy125]

Dynamic ropes suck for Canyoneering... ok someone will pipe in and talk about how you just need to have good technique or something about how they've used Dynamic ropes for years and they work just fine, but my personal experience is that on long rappels (like the 190 footer at the end of Kolob) a dynamic rope feels more like rappelling on a bungee cord by the time you get toward the bottom. Weather a rope is too heavy or not is up to you, I think we Canyoneers get spoiled with 8mm ropes to the point that some think a 9mm 200 foot rope is too heavy. I'd take what you are comfortable with. For Pine Creek a fat rope really isn't a big deal because the canyon is short and straightforward. You can use dynamic ropes if that's all you have, but after you've done some canyons and decide you want to really get into the sport then you'll want to invest in static rope like the Bluewater Canyon rope or Imlay's Canyon Rope.

[price1869]

Not to mention that canyoneering will fill your dynamic rope full of sand rendering it horrible for climbing. I'd just plan on either finding a partner who has a rope, or pony up and buy some nice bluewater or tom's rope.

Price