04/02/16 (Neon / Egypt 1) 04/03/16 (Egypt 2)

[dakotabelliston]

I wrote a long & extensive trip report. Then the internet crashed & I lost it all. In response I will put down a short trip report.

Group size 5.
Neon took us 10 hours to complete. We were glad to have full wetsuits, gloves, & socks. Someone left a 70 meter dynamic rope hanging from the 2nd hole in the cathedral. The rope had 3 core shots & looks like someone just left it. We climb around & pull it down. The rope was thrashed & we packed it out. Poor manner in leaving your rope for someone to haul out. The canyon was dry until the 1st keeper pothole. We were able to use a shoulder stand to exit the pothole.

Later that night after resting for 1 hour we decided to head down Egypt 1. BRING YOUR ROPE. I would not recommend down climbing anything in this canyon. The down climbs are difficulty & breaking your ankle isn't worth ruining your trip or your day. Canyon took us 2 hours from start to finish. Canyon was completely dry.

The next day we backed my Ford escape 30 feet from the mouth of Egypt 2. Tied my rope off my car & tossed down my 300 ft rope. We used a car mat over the edge to protect from rope wear & tear. The highlight of the canyon was the big wall rappel at the start. The rest of the canyon was narrow & required side scrambling. We cut out of the canyon up a slickrock hill about 1/4 mile before the recommended exit. We didn't want to hike the sand hill. The entire canyon took us 3 hours from first person down the big wall to returning to the car. Canyon was completely dry.

Have fun & stay safe.

[WorkBad]

Thanks for the TR dakotabelliston, got any pics? Bonus points for doing another canyon after a 10hr Neon descent, very nice. Also, carrying someone else's garbage (rope) out is a great service to nature and for the image of the canyoneering community, thank you.

I haven't done Neon yet but I understand there's two possible keeper potholes to contend with. Would you mind describing in greater detail the conditions of these two potholes?

[dakotabelliston]

My gopro got water on the lense and resulted in most of my pics being blury. They are on my home computer & when I get time I can try and add some.

The first keeper pothole can be easily bypassed. Standing at the pothole you will see bolts & webbing up on the left where you can rappel past the pothole. If you want to go through the pothole (which I would do) you will need an assisted down climb into the pothole. I took a slide & splash technique landing in about waste deep water. The bottom is full or rocks & not so soft. The pot hole escape technique we used was a shoulder stand with 2 of us. Both of us are 6 feet tall & still required a jump. The exit side is about 12 feet tall & requires complete respect. After getting one of us out we used 2 etriers (rope ladders) to pull each member out. The wall is steep and is hard to escape with just a hand line. You could also use a pack toss on this. The opposite side is a drop so it works great. Just remember to keep 1 person out of the pothole until at least 1 person has escaped. Use your head & you can make it out just fine. The pothole is not bolted and does not have any grooves for bat hooking.

The second pothole I would use a hand line to lower into the pool. It was only waste deep in the pool. You could easily walk to the exit and crawl out with ease. The bottom is sandy and with rain it will always change.

As safety I carried a bolt kit, 2 etriers & hooks, & always have my ascenders. Go prepared & have fun !!! Any more questions let me know. I'm glad to help as much as possible.

[WorkBad]

The in-depth detail you provided was exactly what I was hoping for :2thumbs:.

[CanyonFreak]

You can also stem over the first pothole problem. Bad fall if you slip but it isn't bad butt to feet over the top.