Pandora's Box (now with pictures)

[shaggy125]

Did Pandora's with Reedus and Josh yesterday. The canyon was literally bone dry. I've done it twice before and it has always had one waist deep pool but that pool didn't even have mud in it let alone water. Great canyon, so pretty, but you do pay for it in all the hiking. Josh made it through the second slot section along the ground (usually everyone stems high). He was laying on his side most of it, slithering all the way out. Reed tried following but ended up going high. The weather was perfect, low 70's for a high and lots of sunshine, it was a great one day quickie. I didn't take pics but Reed will probably post some eventually.

Eric.

[Reedus]

yup and here they are:

[rockgremlin]

WOW. Thanks for this awesome TR! Pandora's is one of my all-time fav's.


I'm assuming you guys exited going upcanyon, not downcanyon?

[Reedus]

Up canyon exit. The sketchy hike out of Chimney Rock was a beast, but once on top, it was all down hill to the car.

[shaggy125]

Awesome pics Reed, thanks for throwing them on. Yea rock, we did basically the same route as when I did it with you guys, except the hike out wasn't as hot, weather was just about perfect.

Eric.

[Scott Card]

That canyon keeps moving up the to-do list. Thanks for TR and photos! :2thumbs:

[Iceaxe]

That canyon keeps moving up the to-do list.

As well it should.... it's going to be to hot here real soon, better get crackin'

:crackit:

[french_de]

Great Pictures!!. How small do you have to be to make it thru the grim crawl?

[Reedus]

It is the size of your chest that will determine whether you make it through. I am a fairly big guy at 215, and I honestly think I could have gone through had I removed my fleece sweater. Fleece puts a lot of friction on the sandstone. I got to a point that I was struggling to move forward and felt the panic start to rise. I backed out and decided to just stem high

[accadacca]

Thanks for the canyon eye candy. :naughty: :popcorn:

[skianddive]

Thanks for the canyon eye candy. :naughty: :popcorn:
Who needs to do the canyon when you have a great sequence of pictures like that? Made me feel like I was there. Thanks for posting. :2thumbs:

[tanya]

Very nice report and photos :2thumbs:

[shaggy125]

Great Pictures!!. How small do you have to be to make it thru the grim crawl?

A warning though, if the sand on the bottom was a few inches higher, even Josh wouldn't be fitting through. It bells out at the very bottom just enough to slither through on your side right now, but just above was too tight to fit so after the next storm it may not be doable, it all depends. Everyone SHOULD be prepared to go high, because you might have to. Another thing was the last two times I've been, there was a lot more debris filling that section, much had been cleaned out. Less debris made it MUCH easier to fit down low. Canyons change, go at your own risk, blah blah blah.

[Iceaxe]

A warning though, if the sand on the bottom was a few inches higher, even Josh wouldn't be fitting through. It bells out at the very bottom just enough to slither through on your side right now

The big problem with going down to your belly is if you don't make it you usually can't get back up.... once you are crawling you lose a lot of your safety margin. I only go down as a last resort, I always go high when I can, since that seems to increase your safety margins and provide a lot of other options. YMMV.

Nice TR, thanks. :2thumbs:

:cool2:

[Reedus]

I hear ya on the loss of safety margin. Once your stuck it is extremely hard to get back out the way you came. Shaggy's description of the crawl was spot on. With the sand any higher, only an anorexic 6 year old would squeeze through. If you are uncomfortable with high stemming, best to avoid this canyon as the grim crawl has a ton of factors that play into whether you can slither through.

[Cirrus2000]

Excellent photos, great TR! Looks like a fantastic spot. Curious: how long is the high stem / grim crawl? Kind of hard to tell.

[shaggy125]

Excellent photos, great TR! Looks like a fantastic spot. Curious: how long is the high stem / grim crawl? Kind of hard to tell.

Really short actually, 50 - 60 feet? Or in canadian, 15 to 20 meters, so not far, and the stemming is straightforward as stemming goes. Not a newbie canyon by any means, but most experienced guys who have done some stemming shouldn't have problems with it.

[shaggy125]

Finally got pictures from Josh, so yea these are REALLY late. You can see them over on my blog, I'm feeling too lazy to resize and attach them here:

http://utoutdoors.blogspot.com/

[UtahAdventureGuide]

Great pictures, this one if definitely on my to do list. Anybody who's done it interested in making another trip this year season? I'll carry the rope.

[Scott Card]

Wonderful photos. And just how tight is this thing again? Looks like a great canyon. I must pull the beta on this one. :2thumbs:

[shaggy125]

Wonderful photos. And just how tight is this thing again? Looks like a great canyon. I must pull the beta on this one. :2thumbs:

It's tight but big guys just stem higher, and the stemming is usually pretty straightforward. Kelsey's new book has beta for the alternate, shorter, and non-car shuttle/hitchhike requiring exit.

[trackrunner]

Wonderful photos. And just how tight is this thing again? Looks like a great canyon. I must pull the beta on this one. :2thumbs:

It's tight but big guys just stem higher, and the stemming is usually pretty straightforward. Kelsey's new book has beta for the alternate, shorter, and non-car shuttle/hitchhike requiring exit.

I'm some what of a skinny guy and I don't think I would like to do that slither like a nake move. I'd rather just stem it. YMMV

If the stemming is strainghtforward for stemming, then I too must put this on my list.

Nice pics by the way

[tanya]

Very Nice Shaggy! :2thumbs: