TR: Freeze Fest Part 2 AKA. Freezin to death!

[forum8fox]

Day 3: CANYONEERING: THE BLACK HOLE CANYON

Nate ate my serving of breakfast as I wasn

[tanya]

Dang!

Those Freezefests sound like so much fun!

[ratagonia]

[quote=forum8fox] (sorry RAM I

[jman]

It is a 10,000 calorie day. :

Wow, so at 3000 calories (exertion) = 1 lb of fat lost. That's over 3lbs lost in one day. No wonder I look so good after I go through there!

:lol8:

[ratagonia]

It is a 10,000 calorie day. :

Wow, so at 3000 calories (exertion) = 1 lb of fat lost. That's over 3lbs lost in one day. No wonder I look so good after I go through there!

:lol8:

Haven't seen you down there on NEW YEARS DAY, Jman. Perhaps you flashed through before us???

:moses:

[denaliguide]

whack jobbies, sounds like an understatement.

not sure i have a pack big enough for all the medication i would need on a day like that.

sorry i missed it. not.

[Brian in SLC]

Ram and I were amazed that we let things get so out of control that you and Nate did not have packs. MAJOR ERROR. Non-negotiable. etc.

In your best Ace Ventura, pet detective voice...

"Well, alrighty then."

Hmmm....maybe compare this near miss with the Larry Canyon accident?

Perhaps what's needed is an in depth near miss after action analysis...

Har har.

Fun readin' trip report! Man, better you guys than me.

Maybe less medication and more experience?

Just too bad there weren't any decent mentors around...

Zzzzzing!

Cheers,

-Brian in SLC

[Iceaxe]

In your best Ace Ventura, pet detective voice...

"Well, alrighty then."

Hmmm....maybe compare this near miss with the Larry Canyon accident?

Perhaps what's needed is an in depth near miss after action analysis...

Har har.

Fun readin' trip report! Man, better you guys than me.

Maybe less medication and more experience?

Just too bad there weren't any decent mentors around...

Zzzzzing!

Cheers,

-Brian in SLC

:roflol: :roflol: :roflol:

Larry the Cable Guy: "Lord, I apologize, but I don't care who ya are, that's funny right there"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Larry_the_Cable_Guy.jpg/200px-Larry_the_Cable_Guy.jpg

[oldno7]

Somehow strikes me as odd----

you remember your "medication" but bring no packs,food, water,inadequate wetsuits,no gloves,cheeto's,etc. :ne_nau: How did you keep your "medication" dry?

[Iceaxe]

The Black Hole is one of my all time favorite canyons.... but what I enjoy most about it is casually floating on my back, on a 100+ degree day, and leisurely paddling my way down the slot while looking up at the intricately sculpted sandstone overhead as the reflected light dances off the walls..... :kickit:

I'm guessing you miss this part of the experience while paddling for your hypothermic life? :cold: :roll_lol:

As a side note.... anyone know of anther US slot canyon that has a longer sustained swim? :ne_nau:

:popcorn:

[Randi]

The Black Hole is one of my all time favorite canyons....

As a side note.... anyone know of anther US slot canyon that has a longer sustained swim? :ne_nau:

:popcorn:

AZ's clear creek is the longest sustained swim I've done, followed by one in North Fork of the Kings river.

[Scott P]

I don't think there would be that many.

The Little Colorado River has longer swims, but it isn't really a slot canyon.

I assume if you count Chasm in Zion as a slot canyon, the swim across Chasm Lake would be longer than anything in the Black Hole by quite a long shot. I heard you can't do the canyon any more due to private land though.

As mentioned above, I've heard the swims in West Clear Creek are long, but that canyon's still on my to do list. Is it really a slot canyon though?

I remember that we had one really long swim in lower Kolob years ago, but I can't say how long it was and it apparently isn't always there.

The Black Hole might have the longest swims of any "real slot canyon", but I guess some fairly narrow canyons might have longer swims.

[jman]

I assume if you count Chasm in Zion as a slot canyon, the swim across Chasm Lake would be longer than anything in the Black Hole by quite a long shot. I heard you can't do the canyon any more due to private land though.


Now we got three canyons on the no official access list: Oak Creek, Chasm, and Goose Creek....

man, I hope this changes very soon. Oak was very short and awesome!

[ratagonia]

Now we got three canyons on the no official access list: Oak Creek, Chasm, and Goose Creek....

man, I hope this changes very soon. Oak was very short and awesome!

Jeesh. The shortest access is blocked by private land. A more circuitous route still gets you there... or so I hear.

Tom :moses:

[nat]

I don't think there would be that many.

The Little Colorado River has longer swims, but it isn't really a slot canyon.

.

Hmm..., I hiked the length of the Little Colorado a few years ago (from shortly below Cameron to the Colorado, then up the Tanner trail) and I didn't have any swims. A lot of waiding to waist deep, and one quick wade to neck deep. Though not a slot, it is a spectacular canyon.

On at least one occasion I had a longer swim in both Choprock and Neon (upper) than I had in a lower water year in the Black Hole.

Nat

[bruce from bryce]

flotation is great, but over-flotation can make you tired very fast. with a large dry bag and my extra cloths my bag was pulling me out of the water making it very difficult to paddle. used a new technique foot on one wall opposite hand on the other wall, then repeat the process with other foot and hand.
surprisingly enough I did not get cold hands except when paddeling. once out of the water I squeezed out the gloves and my hands regained a lot of warmth. Hmmmm
Reeses Cups. I ate three Payday bars and they were great. Also Cliff Shot Blocks to replace those electrolites I lost as I did not drink like in a normal canyon where you can take breaks. Go, go, go is the order of the day. Never saw the leaders again til back at the campfire later that evening.
Great time and I extended my record of the oldest person to go through the Black Hole on New Year's Day by 2 years to 63!

[Iceaxe]

With regards to Chasm Canyon/Lake and access.... I noticed the private property, including the lake which is also on private property, were up for sale two years ago. I have no clue if it sold or what the current access issues are.

With regards to swimming slot: I've done Buckskin when it required a long swim, and Pine Creek with a descent flow require's a bunch of
swimming, but I was considering in "normal" conditions.

The AZ cqanyons are on my hit-list. :2thumbs:

:popcorn:

[ratagonia]

With regards to Chasm Canyon/Lake and access.... I noticed the private property, including the lake which is also on private property, were up for sale two years ago. I have no clue if it sold or what the current access issues are.



Interesting. Yes, only the last 1/8th of the lake is inside the Park.

Very cryptic photo. Interestin...

T :moses:

[Iceaxe]

Very cryptic photo. Interestin...

You like that bad boy don't ya... :wink:

[ratagonia]

Very cryptic photo. Interestin...

You like that bad boy don't ya... :wink:

Leeches 'n' all. T :moses:

[Felicia]

Day 3: CANYONEERING: THE BLACK HOLE CANYON


I also remember mentioning a pack might be nice to Nate, because they might give floatation, but dismissed the idea myself as the simplicity of having less to carry seemed nice. So we went with out.

Did anyone else in the group go with out packs?

Did anyone ask you why you were not carrying a pack?


Questions for the rest of the group:

Did anyone notice that they had no packs? If so, did this concern you?

:ne_nau:

[forum8fox]

I think the awnser to both questions is no prior to entering the canyon, after the black hole the awnser would be yes.

Like I said I mentioned the pack thing, I wasn't sure about it that much as I had never done long swims in a canyon. Nate left his frozen pack at camp but I had mine. It seems I didn't have too much to put in it and since he didn't have one I decided oh well. Deffinately a mistake.

[CarpeyBiggs]

Questions for the rest of the group:

Did anyone notice that they had no packs? If so, did this concern you?

:ne_nau:

I did, but not until we were down into the entrance crack. With all the car shuttles and what not, pack inspection wasn't obvious. However, once we started down the entrance crack, I noticed it.

It concerned me, but not knowing the guys all that well, but knowing their history of doing ballsy stuff with little to no experience, I just figured they were going for it. I didn't want to be the jackass to tell them that they were gonna be in trouble... If that makes sense? Stupid, probably.

But, neither of them were planning on doing the black hole. They were last minute rallies, and they borrowed neoprene to do it. I guess no one else really thought about what else they would need to borrow. Which is an oversight, considering we had extra everything at camp.