Ding & Dang Canyons

[Slot Machine]

On Tuesday, April 15th, 2014, Steph, John, our unborn son and I did a lap through Ding & Dang. My son's 3rd birthday was a week away. Our next son was due in 10 days. These facts made this adventure a VERY tall order.

Heading up Ding was easy and fun. The flat sandy floor made me wonder what lurks beneath. The walls allude to something serious. Has anyone ever seen this canyon clean?

Then a quick and scenic walk behind The Swell, and down into Dang. A bolt at the first drop?? Easily walked around by all. We soon arrived at the 40 foot drop. There are at least 4 ways to get down:

1. Traverse around the drop on the RDC side, across a VERY exposed 50 foot ledge. Not an option with a kid on your back. Not an option for a pregnant lady. You fall, you die.

2. Use a handline tied to a crappy ancient bolt. Hold on tight, then step off a smooth ledge, blind, to a larger ledge below. Slip and survive. Probably.

3. Belay from above. Last person assumes all risk.

4. Rappel. Minimal risk, minimal stress.

Needless to say, getting down this drop was a pain in the ass. I belayed Steph down with webbing. I lowered John to Steph. Scary for all. Next time we will all have rope, helmets and harnesses.

That being said, they were a great pair of canyons. Scenic and engaging the whole way. However, helping a small child through those canyons is physically and physiologically taxing. It felt like we had done The Squeeze by the end of the day even though it only took us 5 hours car-to-car.

Totally worth the effort. A fun and memorable day, for sure.

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A very scenic walk behind The Swell.
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[Iceaxe]

Nice TR.

When you want to spice this loop up do it in reverse.

Tap'n on my Galaxy G3

[Slot Machine]

Nice TR.

When you want to spice this loop up do it in reverse.

Thanks. The reverse option would be very fun. The 40 footer looks easier going up than down, because you can see what the heck you are doing.

BTW, we used your beta exclusively over the past 3 days. Excellent stuff.

Ding & Dang

http://climb-utah.com/SRS/dingdang.htm

[Sun Dance]

When did the 40' drop get there? I did it a number of years ago with nary a rope. Seems like there was a part we had to stem down and it seemed about 40'...

[Iceaxe]

When did the 40' drop get there?

It's been there for at least 20 years, I never gave the ledge system much thought, I've done it with my kids when they were 7 and 9 and they had no issues with getting down.

From Climb-Utah.com
[I]"After the rise you begin dropping into Dang Canyon (N38

[deagol]

talk about getting 'em started young !!!

[Slot Machine]

It's been there for at least 20 years, I never gave the ledge system much thought, I've done it with my kids when they were 7 and 9 and they had no issues with getting down.

When we were there, we watched a fella escort three kids across that ledge. They were about 7-10 years old and did just fine.

It did make me nervous to watch, but I am VERY adverse to unprotected exposure. If one of those kids had slipped while holding his hand...

Perhaps I have too vivid of an imagination. My opinion is likely in the minority.

For those reading this report, I just wanted to plant a seed in the mind. I could see people freezing up at this drop. A rope and harness could make the day considerably more pleasant for some.

Of course, YMMV.