ratagonia
06-09-2008, 06:37 PM
Heavy snow and slow melt-out conditions have resulted in unusual, dangerous conditions in several Zion National Park canyons.
As of June 9th, known problems include:
- Echo Canyon (Middle Echo) is in very dangerous condition. Large chunks of snow block the canyon below the rappels. Unsafe, hollow snow bridges and extreme conditions have so far prevented passage even by experienced parties. It is suggested that the canyon will be impassable to July 1st, at least, and even then, wise canyoneers would explore from the bottom up all the way to the last rappel, before entering from above.
- Kolob Canyon: the section from the bottom of the raps to Oak Creek is very full of snow, including thin snow bridges and swimming under snow sculptures. Allow an EXTRA 3-4 hours to pass this section. It is likely to become extremely dangerous in the next week, and will likely remain so until July 15th at the least.
- Engelstead - filled with snow below the rappels. With melting, E'stead will enter a VERY DANGEROUS phase and remain dangerous for several weeks.
Kolob and Engelstead are especially dangerous because there is no way to assess the snow hazard before committing to the descent.
Tom
As of June 9th, known problems include:
- Echo Canyon (Middle Echo) is in very dangerous condition. Large chunks of snow block the canyon below the rappels. Unsafe, hollow snow bridges and extreme conditions have so far prevented passage even by experienced parties. It is suggested that the canyon will be impassable to July 1st, at least, and even then, wise canyoneers would explore from the bottom up all the way to the last rappel, before entering from above.
- Kolob Canyon: the section from the bottom of the raps to Oak Creek is very full of snow, including thin snow bridges and swimming under snow sculptures. Allow an EXTRA 3-4 hours to pass this section. It is likely to become extremely dangerous in the next week, and will likely remain so until July 15th at the least.
- Engelstead - filled with snow below the rappels. With melting, E'stead will enter a VERY DANGEROUS phase and remain dangerous for several weeks.
Kolob and Engelstead are especially dangerous because there is no way to assess the snow hazard before committing to the descent.
Tom