BW Canyon rope

[Reedus]

I have been wanting a 300 foot rope for a while now and finally bought one last week, but here is my dilemma: They only sold it in lengths of 200 and 600 feet. I already have a 200 foot rope, so I bought the 600 footer. Pricey little beotch it was. Do I cut it in half? Keep all 600 feet intact? Or chop 200 feet for a spare 60m rope and use 400 feet for big rappels like Heaps and Englestead? Haven't quite decided what to do yet although I almost want to cut the rope after I max it out on a 600 foot drop. That would probably get my heart racing about as much as skydiving would me thinks.

Reed

P.S - just for the record: what is the biggest rap anyone has done? No multi-pitch either, just straight down?

[Iceaxe]

My biggest rappels are the exit to Heaps and the Direct Route in Knotted Rope into the Muddy River Gorge. Both approach 300'. Nothing else compares to the Heaps rappel because it is entirely free hanging, soooooo far way from the wall..... and best of all, you usually have a big crowd that cheers when you touch down.

If I had a 600' spool I would cut it 300', 200' and 100' ....YMMV.... A 100' is my favorite rope to carry. I use it for about 90% of the canyons I do. Get your partner to carry a 100' and you can leap frog most drops and combine to do the bigger drops. Works perfect everywhere but Zion where I usually carry (2) 200'.

FWIW: If you do a rap over 300' you will want to use a rack.....

[rockgremlin]

P.S - just for the record: what is the biggest rap anyone has done? No multi-pitch either, just straight down?

I'm guessing a few on here have done Heaps. That last rap out of Heaps is a doozy. It's a two-stage rap, but the second stage is 300 feet straight down!!! As far as big raps go, that one is hard to beat!!

[Scott P]

P.S - just for the record: what is the biggest rap anyone has done? No multi-pitch either, just straight down?

Mine was 322 feet in Clearwater Canyon.

http://www.summitpost.org/canyon/152...er-Canyon.html

Mike K thought it was a bit less scary then the one in Heaps; Steve B thought it to be a bit more scary. I still haven't done Heaps.

[Iceaxe]

Without a doubt the first time I did Heaps was the scariest rap I have done. First off we used a single strand 8mm accessory chord.... well actually more like a 7.5 mm ass chord

[hike2kolob]

My biggest rappels are the exit to Heaps and the Direct Route in Knotted Rope into the Muddy River Gorge. Both approach 300'. Nothing else compares to the Heaps rappel because it is entirely free hanging, soooooo far way from the wall..... and best of all, you usually have a big crowd that cheers when you touch down.

O.K. Now I definitely want to do Heaps! How many canyons does it take before one feels comfortable to do this canyon?

[Reedus]

I personally have never done Heaps before, but from what I hear, it is the Mt. Everest of canyoneering. Definitely gonna wanna practice up on the class 3 canyons before doin that one. I personally wouldn't do it without someone who has been before either.

[shaggy125]

I personally have never done Heaps before, but from what I hear, it is the Mt. Everest of canyoneering. Definitely gonna wanna practice up on the class 3 canyons before doin that one. I personally wouldn't do it without someone who has been before either.

I don't know if Mt. Everest is the best comparison, maybe the Mt. Rainier of canyoneering? It puts all your skills to the test. I've done Heaps and will admit I was probably under-qualified to do it, but luckily it was in "easy" conditions and we had a great time. I will say with only two of us carrying 600 feet of rope and overnight gear through all those potholes it was the most physically challenging thing I've done to date. It's an unbelievable canyon though. I'd say the best way to see the canyon would be get comfortable doing easier canyons, learn lots of tricks from more experienced guys, get comfortable escaping potholes, doing free raps, do lots of push ups in preparation, etc... then sign up for a trip at a Tom's Fest or ACA get together with an old timer who has done the canyon 10 times already. Some list Imlay as their favorite canyon, but for me Heaps takes the cake, it's deeper, longer, and you can't beat the last rappel. Hey Reed, maybe you should do Heaps with that 600 footer, but instead of doing the exit rappel as a multi stage drop, do the whole thing in one shot, sure would save a lot of time! Tom has talked about doing Telephone Canyon including the final rap, I think he estimated it at around 700 feet or so though so I'm not sure if your 600 footer would reach.

Eric.

[hike2kolob]

I personally have never done Heaps before, but from what I hear, it is the Mt. Everest of canyoneering. Definitely gonna wanna practice up on the class 3 canyons before doin that one. I personally wouldn't do it without someone who has been before either.

I don't know if Mt. Everest is the best comparison, maybe the Mt. Rainier of canyoneering? It puts all your skills to the test. I've done Heaps and will admit I was probably under-qualified to do it, but luckily it was in "easy" conditions and we had a great time. I will say with only two of us carrying 600 feet of rope and overnight gear through all those potholes it was the most physically challenging thing I've done to date. It's an unbelievable canyon though. I'd say the best way to see the canyon would be get comfortable doing easier canyons, learn lots of tricks from more experienced guys, get comfortable escaping potholes, doing free raps, do lots of push ups in preparation, etc... then sign up for a trip at a Tom's Fest or ACA get together with an old timer who has done the canyon 10 times already. Some list Imlay as their favorite canyon, but for me Heaps takes the cake, it's deeper, longer, and you can't beat the last rappel. Hey Reed, maybe you should do Heaps with that 600 footer, but instead of doing the exit rappel as a multi stage drop, do the whole thing in one shot, sure would save a lot of time! Tom has talked about doing Telephone Canyon including the final rap, I think he estimated it at around 700 feet or so though so I'm not sure if your 600 footer would reach.

Eric.

Thanks, Eric. I plan to do all of the above suggestions. I will be a canyon slut with whomever, whenever as long as they can teach me something. I can even pay for gas and carry some ropes.

Ultimately, I want to do Heaps, Imlay, Kolob and Englestead. After doing Pine Creek and Mystery. If it is in Zions I want to hike it. I love that place.

[rock_ski_cowboy]

If I had a 600' spool I would cut it 300', 200' and 100' ....YMMV.... A 100' is my favorite rope to carry. I use it for about 90% of the canyons I do. Get your partner to carry a 100' and you can leap frog most drops and combine to do the bigger drops. Works perfect everywhere but Zion where I usually carry (2) 200'.

FWIW: If you do a rap over 300' you will want to use a rack.....

What Shane said. Good info from a man who knows. The longer the rope the less you'll use it because carrying it sucks. Carrying a 200' rope where a 100' rope will do also sucks. Carrying a 200' rope where 2 100' ropes will do also sucks. etc. etc. you get the idea.

Heaps is amazing. Serious business though. 1st time through was ominous and a little scary at times. I'll post the TR here if anyone cares. Even if you go with folks that will take care of the rope work, everyone needs to be up to par on hooking, ascending, passing knots, etc. Not a place for teaching or being taught.

Oh and combining the last two rappels in Heaps is a significantly bad idea for several reasons. If you want to do a 600 foot rappel, find a tree or a big rock at the top of a 600 foot cliff that you can drive too. Carrying a 600 foot rope through a canyon would blow. Carrying 1200 feet of rope so you can pull 600 feet of rope would blow worse. Getting to the bottom and realizing that there is no way you can pull 600 feet of rope without rigging a pulley system at the top would be the icing on the cake.

Have fun when you find your 600 foot rappel, though. Sounds scary as hell. Take some pictures.

[shaggy125]

Oh and combining the last two rappels in Heaps is a significantly bad idea for several reasons. If you want to do a 600 foot rappel, find a tree or a big rock at the top of a 600 foot cliff that you can drive too. Carrying a 600 foot rope through a canyon would blow. Carrying 1200 feet of rope so you can pull 600 feet of rope would blow worse. Getting to the bottom and realizing that there is no way you can pull 600 feet of rope without rigging a pulley system at the top would be the icing on the cake.

Thanks for posting that Benny, I should probably be careful about what I post for everyone to read, someone might actually take me serious. Ben is right, taking 1200 feet of rope into Heaps (or even taking 600 into the canyon and stashing 600 at Emerald Pools) is a bad idea, I was joking when I made that comment.

Eric.

[shaggy125]

Thanks, Eric. I plan to do all of the above suggestions. I will be a canyon slut with whomever, whenever as long as they can teach me something. I can even pay for gas and carry some ropes.

Ultimately, I want to do Heaps, Imlay, Kolob and Englestead. After doing Pine Creek and Mystery. If it is in Zions I want to hike it. I love that place.

Pay for 100% of gas? When do you want to go? Zion was really what got me into canyoneering too. I had hiked most of the trails and it was (and still is) my favorite place in the world. I hated that there were so many canyons I couldn't see without ropes and some skills. I got into the sport because I thought the canyons looked cool, but I am hooked on the sport because it's so much fun. Even if a canyon isn't particularly scenic, if it has lots of fun obstacles to overcome I'll love it. Scenery is now just an added bonus.

Eric.

[rockgremlin]

Shaggy is right. The scenery in Zion is outstanding. Scenery is an added bonus for me too. You don't have to go to Zion every time you want a scenic slot though. You'd be surprised at how scenic some of the Roost/Swell canyons are. Upper Chute, North Fork Robber's Roost and Not Mindbender are some really great photogenic slots.

[hike2kolob]

Thanks, Eric. I plan to do all of the above suggestions. I will be a canyon slut with whomever, whenever as long as they can teach me something. I can even pay for gas and carry some ropes.

Ultimately, I want to do Heaps, Imlay, Kolob and Englestead. After doing Pine Creek and Mystery. If it is in Zions I want to hike it. I love that place.

Pay for 100% of gas? When do you want to go? Zion was really what got me into canyoneering too. I had hiked most of the trails and it was (and still is) my favorite place in the world. I hated that there were so many canyons I couldn't see without ropes and some skills. I got into the sport because I thought the canyons looked cool, but I am hooked on the sport because it's so much fun. Even if a canyon isn't particularly scenic, if it has lots of fun obstacles to overcome I'll love it. Scenery is now just an added bonus.

Eric.

Sure, I'll pay for gas. I thought you would never ask. How about the weekend after North Wash? I like the problem solving too.

[hike2kolob]

Shaggy is right. The scenery in Zion is outstanding. Scenery is an added bonus for me too. You don't have to go to Zion every time you want a scenic slot though. You'd be surprised at how scenic some of the Roost/Swell canyons are. Upper Chute, North Fork Robber's Roost and Not Mindbender are some really great photogenic slots.

I do love some of the other areas of So. Utah. They all have their time and place...Moab, Escalante, Buckskin, Lake Powell...but Zion has always had a special place in my heart. It is something about the lush grottos and the massive cliffs. Though I prefer Zion in the warmth of the summer and fall. I have not been there as much in the spring, probably because I am usually hiking upstream in the Narrows and the spring runoff can make that more difficult.

[shaggy125]

I have not been there as much in the spring, probably because I am usually hiking upstream in the Narrows and the spring runoff can make that more difficult.

You missed out this last spring. I went once in February and again in March, with the huge snow year there were waterfalls coming out of Echo, Heaps, and Telephone canyons, it was pretty sweet. I'll attach a couple pictures. This year I would guess the waterfalls will be small and only last a very short time. If you are ever there during a big rain storm, don't run to the tent, go waterfall hunting.

Sure, I'll pay for gas. I thought you would never ask. How about the weekend after North Wash? I like the problem solving too.

I am doing a week long backpack that week so unfortunately that is a bad weekend for me. Let me look at my schedule, I'd be more than happy to do it another time. I was just kidding on paying all the gas money.

Eric.

[stefan]

sweet shots!!!
.....................


stefan

[hike2kolob]

Nice photos Eric. Something magical about waterfalls.

I'll catch you another time on a hike. Enjoy your trip.

I will say those constant photos at the top do make you want to get out. Gotta love Utah.

[Iceaxe]

I like the waterfall pics