Dry canyoneering in Utah in Thanksgiving holiday.

Hi,

My girlfriend and I are both beginners and we'd like to do some short 1-day canyoneering trips in Utah on Thanksgiving.
We were planning on one of the Leprechaun forks in Northwash but from a recent Trip report in canditions.com, it seems that canyon
has some swimming sections in it now. Can anyone recommend some nice dry canyons we can visit. We're not from the area, so we'll need
some information on how to get to the canyons as well. We'll be staying in Moab, but have no problem driving a few hours to get to the canyons.

Cheers,

Erez.

U-Turn Canyon is only about 10 minutes from Moab and is beginner friendly ("with competent leadership"), dry and fun.

http://www.climb-utah.com/Moab/uturn.htm

There are other dry canyons in the Moab area, but haven't done them yet.

Don't do the Leprechauns right now. The swimmer at the end is really bad.

Arscenic + Slideanide would make for a very fun day. They are dry right now. Information is available at climb-utah.com or bluugnome.com.

Welcome to Bogley!

Bob

Also in the Moab area and usually pretty dry is Medieval Chamber, which is really short, but a lot of fun. You could also give Elephant Butte a try. It's probably the best route in Moab, though not strictly a canyoneering route, it is a lot of fun.

As mentioned above go to Climb Utah and check the routes in Moab. There are a bunch of short, fun, dry routes. Elephant Butte, Undercover, and Rock of Ages are some of the best. If looking for a way to burn an hour or two you can't go wrong with U Turn.


Mark

Thanks for all the replies. We were thinking to check out slideanide and arscenic. Though from what I saw on Arscenic we may need more than one 60m rope. Is it easy to to break the first rappel into stages?

Yes, the rappel is easy to break up into stages.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Erez

Thanks for all the replies. We were thinking to check out slideanide and arscenic. Though from what I saw on Arscenic we may need more than one 60m rope. Is it easy to to break the first rappel into stages?

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Here is the key paragraph from Shane's website for Arscenic:

"The longest rappel in the canyon is 65 feet. The canyon can be completed with a single 60 meter rope if you carry it through the canyon with you. If you wish to use the simple and lightweight method mentioned in the route description you will need a 60-foot rope in addition to your 60 meter rope. If using the light weight method you will leave the 60 meter rope at the first rappel and retrieve it upon your return. Additional gear should consist of several shoulder length slings, a couple double length slings, 100 feet of webbing, several rapid links and a prusik system. Part of the appeal of this canyon is that many of the dryfalls offer the opportunity to downclimb instead of rappel"

I would not be looking at the Poison Springs canyons this time of year because they run north and are cold. But they might be dry. They do get muddy if it rains at all. I think you would do better doing stuff near Moab, rather than driving quite some ways to get to canyons.

And just a reminder, anchors are not necessarily in place and easy in these canyons. You say you are beginners - that can mean a lot of different things. Do you know how to get anchors, when the getting of anchors is difficult? We've had a lot of accidents in canyons this year...

Tom

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Scott P

Yes, the rappel is easy to break up into stages.

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We did that rappel in two stages and I specifically remember thinking that this rap sequence would be VERY easy to stick a rope on.
Unfortunate for greenhorns looking for experience, I believe that careful evaluation of the pull is a prerequisite for Arscenic.

I remember Slideanide and Constryctnine being much more straightforward.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Erez

Thanks for all the replies. We were thinking to check out slideanide and arscenic. Though from what I saw on Arscenic we may need more than one 60m rope. Is it easy to to break the first rappel into stages?

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No problem! There has been a little rain in Northern Utah, so Poison Springs might not be dry any more. If you are still going out there, consider doing things this way:

Starting with Arscenic, fix a 200 foot rope at the top, rappel to the bottom and enjoy hiking without your rope. Hike to the top and retrieve your rope (easy and quick).

If Arscenic is damp, then don't do Slideanide.

As of last week, the anchors in Sildeanide are solid. We were just there. Bring extra webbing in case a downclimb freaks you out.

Once back on top of the mesa, after your canyon(s), look carefully and find the well defined trail back to your car. Still bring a GPS, it would be very bad to get lost out there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slot Machine

Don't do the Leprechauns right now. The swimmer at the end is really bad.

Arscenic + Slideanide would make for a very fun day. They are dry right now. Information is available at climb-utah.com or bluugnome.com.

Welcome to Bogley!

Bob

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My roommates and I did Leprechaun a couple of weeks ago. And while there was water, it was just two short pools. After the pools there's a sun exposed area that dried us up pretty quick. My suggestion, do what we did: skinny dip and wade through the water with your pack held up high. I would think skinny dipping with your girlfriend could turn her into your wife real quick.

I wouldn't toss out Leprechaun so quickly for a little bit of water. It's a classic!