These are more pics of The Squeeze.
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These are more pics of The Squeeze.
So do you have all your own gear then? Can you explain what you use exactly? I am totally clueless when it comes to this sport. :idea: What holds your rope? Some kind of anchor in the rock? What do you do if there is no anchor already in the rock? Drill your own? How? What would you call this sport exactly? Just rappelling? What are the buzz words? :blahblah:
The sport is called "canyoneering," and has really only become popular within the past 5 - 10 years.
There are all kinds of slot canyons, but the funnest ones are the ones that are risky and require rappels of up to 100 feet or more, and have water obstacles that require swimming to get through the canyon. When you come up to a drop, you have to tie your rope into an anchor - usually a large rock or tree or something solid. You can bring along a drill and rockbolts along, and make anchors that way, but it sucks to have to pack a drill in your backpack, plus it permanently scars the rock (not good). If there are no anchors at the drop, you've gotta build one (which actually is one of the funnest parts of the sport). This consists of hunting around for large rocks or logs or other natural items that may be put together in such a way as to hold your body weight when you tie your rope into it. But EXTREME caution should be taken when building natural anchors. If you haven't done it before, you should go with someone who has experience to learn how before going off on your own. If you don't know what you're doing and build an unsturdy anchor at the top of a 100 foot drop, chances are very good that you will plunge to your death.
Required gear consists of: Ropes, climbing harness, belay device, carabiners, and about 20 other items all depending on the type of canyon you're doing at the time. Definitely bring along first aid kit, food, and lots of water! Helmets should probably be considered required gear, but as you can see from my pics, I have yet to get one. :oops:
Thanks for the tips! This sport deserves it own area.
rockgremlin says:
Ya think! :gap: That would be tough to find things to use in that kind of area :?: There cant be that many trees around and how do you move the rocks? :idea: That could get interesting. How long have you been canyoneering?Quote:
But EXTREME caution should be taken when building natural anchors.
Some of the best natural anchors just consist of a bunch of smaller to medium sized rocks stacked together. Sometimes ya have to get creative and tie your rope around just one medium sized rock, and then bury the rock in the sand. That kind of an anchor is called a "deadman."
I was introduced to the sport back in 1993 by my brother-in-law (Chuck). Since that time I've gotten more and more into it. It's a neat sport because every canyon is unique and has it's different obstacles and qualities that makes every trip different from the last.
Canyoneering got a little attention earlier this year when that guy Aron Ralston from Colorado got stuck in a slot canyon named Blue John Canyon in the Robbers Roost area, and had to cut his hand off to free himself.
So where is this canyon at? How long is the total hike/climb? Do you rapell down only, or do you climb back up the same way?
Seger's Hole (as with most slot canyons) is located in a very remote area. If you look on a topo map and find where the Muddy Creek cuts through the San Rafael Swell, you'll notice a little dirt road that snakes all the way down to the Muddy Creek from I-70. The dirt road ends at an old abandoned uranium mine (the Hidden Splendor Mine). Seger's Hole trailhead starts there. It's about an hour and a half on dirt roads. Total hiking time is roughly 10 - 12 hours.
You have to do a fair amount of uphill hiking to get to where you drop into the slot canyon, but once you're in the canyon, it's all downhill. That's another big plus to canyoneering - there's not very much actual climbing that's required. Sometimes there is in order to make an early exit out of the canyon, or to get past some obstacles, but generally not. For the most part, once you're in the slot, you're committed and there's no turning back because the canyon walls are too steep and high to climb out. You've just gotta follow it all the way to it's end.
geez, I keep forgetting to log in. :roll: :!:
So do you park a car at the top and bottom?
You can park a car at the top and bottom, but it's a pain. The difference in driving time from the trailhead at the top and the trailhead at the bottom is about three hours. Best just to park at the bottom (the Hidden Splendor Mine), and make a loop hike out of it.
Geeze He-man! I am behind about 1000 miles on the treadmill for that one. :slobber: Looks like a blast though! I need to kick it in the :bootyshake: to get read for this summer.Quote:
Total hiking time is roughly 10 - 12 hours.
How many people do you see in these canyons? It probably depends on the which one eh? :popcorn:
BTW....I got confirmation on my tickets! :rockon: We are headed to Tempe for a new years day kick off. :cheers:
If I counted all the people I've ever seen on all my slot canyon hikes in ten years experience, it would be less than 10 people! Like I said, it's not a very popular sport because the locations are so remote, and the sport itself is so challenging and dangerous. But the payoff is that you see parts of the state that hardly anyone gets to see. I love it. It's in my blood.
That's awesome that you scored Fiesta Bowl tix! I'm totally jealous!! :evil:
I love that kind of stuff. Let's get a destination and date planned this spring, or even late winter.
I guess it's got to be late enough in the year to avoid any floods though.
What time of year could we get to these canyons?
You can do dry canyons at any time of year. By dry I mean ones that don't have standing water that requires swimming through. If ya wanna do the wet ones in the winter, you've gotta outfit yourself in drysuits and other stuff.
There are lots of really great dry canyons though. Just a matter of picking a date and hoping it doesn't snow. :wallbash:
Ah, another Canyoneering place on the web.
Please allow me to answer some questions higher up the chain here...
1. How do you get anchors? You develop skills to work with the natural environment to come up with anchors when needed. Best way to do this is canyon with more experienced people.
2. Do I need a bolt kit? No. It requires great skill to place bolts in the soft, creamy stuff called rock around here. Your time and effort is better spent figuring out how to get natural anchors.
3. Why do I need a helmet? You like being able to feed yourself, right? I consider wearing a helmet not so much for your own sake, as it is for your family's sake. Pretty easy to whack your head while canyoneering. Pretty severe consequences. Bike Helmet, Kayak Helmet, heck, football helmet, all are better than NO Helmet! Only 50 bucks - get your Mom to buy one.
4. Where is???? C'mon by my place and take a look around - lots of information. I also sell stuff, and would be happy to toss stuff in boxes for you. http://www.canyoneeringusa.com
With all this snow and stuff, Ding/Dang should have waist deep pools in it. fun if you are ready for it. Sandals not recommended - just bring a couple pairs of sneakers, and some neoprene and/or wool socks, you should be OK.
The Squeeze is a great canyon, but not the easiest. Do Quandary Direct first, which is technically harder, but only about half as long.
Tom
Tom's canyoneering site is pretty good. Very informative, check it out sometime.
Welcome Tom! Glad to have another resident Canyoneering expert on here. :thumb: Hope you can tolerate all the rookie questions. :haha: Most of the people on here will be good for the sport. We have our heads screwed on fairly straight and wont show up with a generator and jackhammer. :stupid:Quote:
Originally Posted by ratagonia
I even drive a hybrid, talk about green. Looking forward to doing my first "rookie" slot next weekend.