Mountaineer
11-10-2012, 09:23 AM
I wanted to briefly share some of the "classics" many have done before us, but ones we experienced for the first time. Got back just a couple of days ago. The weather was perfect.
N. Fork of Iron Wash
We followed some guides, and did the last climb over the semi-keeper pothole obstacle (this is sketchy). Escaped! But we also wanted to explore what we just defeated...
That last section is dark, slanted, and drops you mercilessly into its mouth. With no light, it is even more difficult to judge what you are up against without dropping in. So we dropped in. The pothole ended up about waist deep, with the lip only ~4' above my head. A simple partner assist would have defeated it. :facepalm1:
61088
High Spur
Incredibly beautiful. Not very technical, but just amazing in there. I highly recommend this canyon. I drove our truck on the old Deadman's trail road (there are a couple of steep/boulder spots you have to overcome - yikes). Then took a small ATV back to the trail head. It saved us ~2 miles of road walking.
61089
NotMindbender
There is one tricky spot at the end of the Moki climb! I would rate it as a 5.7. With a heavy pack and clunky/muddy 5.10 shoes, it was a full breath and commitment! Loved the ruins and panel just after that. Great canyon.
61090
Alcatraz
My favorite in the roost so far! Woohoo! Tight, challenging, and crazy fun. The boulder field at the end I suspect has changed, as some betas say you may need to rap it. Easy to downclimb, even for beginners.
61091
NoMans
The last rap is easily done as two stages, where the last stage is 100'. Anchor station here is much better now...ugh (see my previous post). Exit can be tricky, especially in the dark! We finished our last rap around 4 pm, with dusk approaching. We somehow ended up on the other side of a cliff band, looking down into the north fork we just completed. Climbing up to the cap stone was our last desperate move before twilight escaped us..., and that ended us on top of a desolate island in the sky.
Now that it was dark, and we had plenty of time...:haha: ...more careful map reading, head lamps, a gps, "bread crumb" tracking, trail up and down error (oops, that is a cliff, oops, this ledge ends here) ... all got us safely back to the truck. We avoided a bivy.
Be sure to continue south after the man made steps, and down into another canyon before going straight east to get out. (Sorry, you have to go down and up a few times). There are cairns to help.
61092
N. Fork of Iron Wash
We followed some guides, and did the last climb over the semi-keeper pothole obstacle (this is sketchy). Escaped! But we also wanted to explore what we just defeated...
That last section is dark, slanted, and drops you mercilessly into its mouth. With no light, it is even more difficult to judge what you are up against without dropping in. So we dropped in. The pothole ended up about waist deep, with the lip only ~4' above my head. A simple partner assist would have defeated it. :facepalm1:
61088
High Spur
Incredibly beautiful. Not very technical, but just amazing in there. I highly recommend this canyon. I drove our truck on the old Deadman's trail road (there are a couple of steep/boulder spots you have to overcome - yikes). Then took a small ATV back to the trail head. It saved us ~2 miles of road walking.
61089
NotMindbender
There is one tricky spot at the end of the Moki climb! I would rate it as a 5.7. With a heavy pack and clunky/muddy 5.10 shoes, it was a full breath and commitment! Loved the ruins and panel just after that. Great canyon.
61090
Alcatraz
My favorite in the roost so far! Woohoo! Tight, challenging, and crazy fun. The boulder field at the end I suspect has changed, as some betas say you may need to rap it. Easy to downclimb, even for beginners.
61091
NoMans
The last rap is easily done as two stages, where the last stage is 100'. Anchor station here is much better now...ugh (see my previous post). Exit can be tricky, especially in the dark! We finished our last rap around 4 pm, with dusk approaching. We somehow ended up on the other side of a cliff band, looking down into the north fork we just completed. Climbing up to the cap stone was our last desperate move before twilight escaped us..., and that ended us on top of a desolate island in the sky.
Now that it was dark, and we had plenty of time...:haha: ...more careful map reading, head lamps, a gps, "bread crumb" tracking, trail up and down error (oops, that is a cliff, oops, this ledge ends here) ... all got us safely back to the truck. We avoided a bivy.
Be sure to continue south after the man made steps, and down into another canyon before going straight east to get out. (Sorry, you have to go down and up a few times). There are cairns to help.
61092