Any advice for Chambers Canyon in Robbers Roost?

[reubencousin]

I would really appreciate anyones oppinion about equipment to use or things to consider for the Chambers canyons. I've never hiked this slot canyon and from the official report on it, it says there are no required rapels but their are some 5.9ish chimney climbs, are these climbable without ropes? Anything else that I should know about it? I'm about intermediate to advanced when it comes to slot canyons.
Thanks!

[stefan]

thanks for your post. you'll receive more accurate responses in the canyoneering section. so i am moving it there.

[CarpeyBiggs]

equipment: one water bottle, a granola bar, and a small camera?

it has at least one stout off-width upclimb of about 12 feet. the first hour of the slot is super skinny, think 8 inches wide skinny. there is a minor silo in the second half.

ropes are not required, and will probably be a nuisance carrying them through. that said, be sure you are comfortable in super tight slots and some exposure before you go. at least one team has had to bivy in the canyon.

really though, it depends on your comfort level. what types of canyons have you done? you say intermediate to advanced, but it's hard to know what that really means. some people will love chambers, some people will absolutely hate it.

[stefan]

the canyon has a bit of stemming/chimneying in it, certainly much more so for bigger folks. a bunny strap to hang your small pack from your body while stemming is also invaluable.


as dan says ropes aren't necessary, but the difficulty of the canyon depends on your ability and comfort level with stemming/chimneying in tight slot canyons.

[Iceaxe]

This beta includes a paint by numbers of all the obstacles and how to defeat the problems for those who desire the knowledge before committing.....

Chambers
http://climb-utah.com/Roost/chambers.htm

Warning:
Large frame canyoneers will not fit through Chambers. The canyon is not as tight as some slots but there is certainly an upper limit. What that upper limit is exactly has never been established, but here are a few guidelines. If you can not squeeze through a 12" wide opening you will not fit through this canyon. You can not climb up and over the constrictions in this slot as you can in some other tight slots. If you can squeeze through a 10" wide opening you will be forced off the ground several times, you will be forced up even more if you fit into the 12" wide opening category. The canyon pinches tight down low and widens slightly above. The ability to visualize where your hips, shoulders and midsection will fit is key as you slither through sideways dragging your pack behind. Becoming wedged inside this canyon could be a life threatening situation. You have been warned!

[CarpeyBiggs]

more here:

http://canyoneeringusa.com/utah/roost/cham.php

[reubencousin]

Thanks so much for the advice, I guess after hiking only a few slot canyons, one with an 80 foot rapel, its still hard to know how well I can hike them. Any advice on any other nonrapelling or light rapelling slot canyons in the area of the roost or surrounding area?

[Iceaxe]

Chambers is not a canyon for advanced hikers.... even though it contains no rappels it's still considered and advance technical route.

[Scott P]

Any advice on any other nonrapelling or light rapelling slot canyons in the area of the roost or surrounding area?

Main Fork Bluejohn might work. It can be downclimbed with a little difficulty, but you can do short raps too. Same with the West Fork Bluejohn.

Also, East Fork Buck Canyon.

West Fork Buck has only one short rap, but to be safe you should have someone along that knows how to rappel.

[ratagonia]

Any advice on any other nonrapelling or light rapelling slot canyons in the area of the roost or surrounding area?

Main Fork Bluejohn might work. It can be downclimbed with a little difficulty, but you can do short raps too. Same with the West Fork Bluejohn.

Also, East Fork Buck Canyon.

West Fork Buck has only one short rap, but to be safe you should have someone along that knows how to rappel.

Other good canyons in the Roost area include Larry, Alcatraz, Not-Mindbender and Bluejohn. There are many ways to do Bluejohn. The trouble is, The Roost is a relatively wild and clean area, and you might need to build anchors in somewhat difficult circumstances. If you are unfamiliar with anchor building, then you should not lead a trip there. Hook up with someone else, who has better canyoneering chops.

Generally, people first learn to rappel and get comfortable with ropework and rappelling in Zion, where most of the canyons are travelled alot and most of the anchors are fixed (ie, already in place, and mostly bolts). THEN, people can go out to the wilder places and learn how to get anchors without using bolts from more experienced canyoneers - which opens up a lot of terrain, including the Roost, North Wash and Escalante.

Tom :moses:

[ratagonia]

This beta includes a paint by numbers of all the obstacles and how to defeat the problems for those who desire the knowledge before committing.....

Chambers
http://climb-utah.com/Roost/chambers.htm

Warning:
Large frame canyoneers will not fit through Chambers. The canyon is not as tight as some slots but there is certainly an upper limit. What that upper limit is exactly has never been established, but here are a few guidelines. If you can not squeeze through a 12" wide opening you will not fit through this canyon. You can not climb up and over the constrictions in this slot as you can in some other tight slots. If you can squeeze through a 10" wide opening you will be forced off the ground several times, you will be forced up even more if you fit into the 12" wide opening category. The canyon pinches tight down low and widens slightly above. The ability to visualize where your hips, shoulders and midsection will fit is key as you slither through sideways dragging your pack behind. Becoming wedged inside this canyon could be a life threatening situation. You have been warned!

Yeah, kinda. Just back from my 3rd or 4th trip through. The really narrowest parts can be shimmeyed over if you do not fit, but would require substantial skill to get up on. There is considerable hard slot-climbing that taxes the skills of people who have not done a lot of that kind of stuff before. There are no conditions in there that a rope would be helpful, although sometimes a 15' chain of slings can be helpful for assisting people up some of the hard up-climbs, or for helping someone ascend who tried to fit through too low. Not a good place for the inexperienced.

Tom :moses:

[AJ]

We were just out there this weekend, and both groups of people we ran across were planning on doing chambers. Boy, the word sure got around quick on that canyon.

Were you with one of the groups we met?

If you ended up doing chambers, hopefully you had a good time...

We went through on Sunday, and did see that someone left some blood on the upclimbs near the end of the canyon... It's a wonderful canyon, but as others have pointed out, it has some tricky spots that take some skill or lots of exertion.


Take care,
A.J.