Capital Reef/Moab Betas

[mikevball]

My wife and I will be in Capital Reef and Moab areas at the end of Oct, and we are looking for a couple of beginner canyons to do in both locations. I've done several canyons (never leading) and have taken 3 courses in canyoneering, a basic, 3 day technical and anchors, and a Rigging and Rescuing course. We will be doing Spry and Echo, with groups before. Can someone point us in the right direction. Thanks

[peakbaggers]

If you want to stay close to town, the best bang for the buck would be Rock of Ages and Dragonfly. With some extra driving, you could try Undercover in the far reaches of Arches NP.

[Taylor]

Agree with Peakbaggers. We also like Tier Drop in Moab and Burro Wash in Capitol Reef. Both are beginner friendly in my opinion.

[mikevball]

Thanks for the info.

[peakbaggers]

Haven't done this route yet myself, but the Cassidy Arch route in Capitol Reef sounds really nice. You may want to check that one out. There's an excellent description on www.bluugnome.com (http://www.bluugnome.com).

[hesse15]

Agree with Peakbaggers. We also like Tier Drop in Moab and Burro Wash in Capitol Reef. Both are beginner friendly in my opinion.

from what i remember burro was a very long hike with a single car
all the moab ones are pretty friendly also the elephant butte was nice and has cell reception on top!!!!
the tier drop if they cleaned the anchor probably will not be nice.
dragonfly wetsuit for sure with those temp same for cluster ( i remember some water there):cold:

[hesse15]

Haven't done this route yet myself, but the Cassidy Arch route in Capitol Reef sounds really nice. You may want to check that one out. There's an excellent description on www.bluugnome.com (http://www.bluugnome.com).

yeah but is suppose to be done with retrievable anchors the first rappel,so unless familiar with that preferably not nice to learn on the spot!

[SRG]

If you do Rock of Ages, make sure to get some info on the anchor situation for the last rappel before you head down the canyon. It requires some figuring out and I don't think it is straightforward or safe for the average beginner(without prior knowledge and a plan).

The method that I find safest and most respectful to the canyon is to do the final rappel as a two pitch rappel. I rap off the single bolt about 15ft, then clip the two Rap Hangers and rig off of them for the big drop.

[mferl]

Try Entrajo just outside of Moab. It is friendly for beginners. The only thing to remember is the last drop is a two stager...when you get to the very bottom move left before you hit the water or you will be swimming.

[Iceaxe]

U-Turn is a much better canyon for noobs than Tierdrop, in fact it's just a better option period.
http://climb-utah.com/Moab/uturn.htm


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt-4cYzaAfU


Elephant Butte just might be the best route in Moab
http://climb-utah.com/Moab/elephant.htm


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snhdZvVnvd4

Big Horn
Dragonfly
Medieval Chamber
Cameltoe

Are all noob friendly.... beta here... http://climb-utah.com/Moab/index.htm

:popcorn:

[ilipichicuma]

Medieval Chamber is one of my favorites in Moab. So is Elephant Butte. In Capitol Reef I'd recommend Cassidy Arch or one of the Wives. If you're cool with a 200 foot rappel, Wife 3 is very noob friendly. Luke has really good beta for it on Bluugnome.com.

[Scott P]

We also like Tier Drop in Moab and Burro Wash in Capitol Reef. Both are beginner friendly in my opinion.

In late October use caution with Burro Wash since the days are short and it will likely have swimming. It can certainly be done, but get an early start and be prepared for very cold water.

[mikevball]

Wow! Thanks for all the great information. I didn't expect such a great response. What a great site. Thanks again

[moab mark]

I'm with Shane, Elephant Butte and U turn. Best bang for your buck. Stay away from Tierdrop.

[mikevball]

We did U-turn in Moab and had a great time, and we were going to do Cassidy Arch in Capital Reef but we got snowed on. We weren't really prepared for the cold and being a newbie I wasn't sure what to do at that point. But we'll be back next year to get some more canyoneering in. Thanks again!