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Thread: Zion Canyoneering History
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03-27-2014, 11:06 AM #41
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03-27-2014 11:06 AM # ADS
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03-27-2014, 11:08 AM #42
Fifi hook.
http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en/...start=25&sz=24
Kinda funny, seeing it still in the line after all these years.
Tom
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03-27-2014, 11:34 AM #43
If an old fart like me can do it in 9 hrs 22 mins - though, saving some juice for the afternoon's canyon - then BDC should do OK. Might have to rappel single strand at least once in there...
http://www.canyoneeringusa.com/rave/...anyon-24-hour/
Tom
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03-27-2014, 11:35 AM #44
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03-27-2014, 11:38 AM #45
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03-27-2014, 12:16 PM #46
MIA trail had been published for years in the old Brereton and Dunaway book, Exploring the Backcountry of Zion National Park. My guess is they hiked in and went down Kolob from there, not down from the head of the canyon. Not a small accomplishment, no doubt, but, possibly done well before them as there isn't much need for a rope. Folks had been crawlin' around the Zion backcountry for quite some time (as the old ruins in Parunaweap might attest).
Tom, I don't think the "release system" they used to drop their ropes in Heaps was a fifi hook...?
From the "In Search of the Devil's Pit" TR:
We took out the parachute cord. Which took some tine untangling, and lowered both packs to the ground, keeping the cord tight so It would not get tangled with the rope. The three bolts we found in the wall were solid and we felt secure with the addition of another sling. I tied the parachute cord to the rope through a rope locking device that should cone down when we retrieve the rope. I ran the rope through six break bars, and lowered it out over the edge from the other end to keep it from tangling, and stepped out over the edge. It went free immediately, and was a pleasant trip down. I touched the ground on the talus slope about 40 feet from the pool. Lori rappelled down immediately after. The rope was retrieved with the parachute cord, and as planned, the rope locking device also fell to the ground.
I talked to Lori who was on that trip, and, dimly recall they used the same as the original party...some device that clamped onto the rope that could be released by a tug (from 300 friggin' feet away!) with a light parachute cord.
Wild stuff!
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03-27-2014, 12:28 PM #47
Google is my friend!
Check out this "rope clamp":
The patent date is 1912!
Neat lookin' rig. Parachute cord on that hook, which, when pulled down, releases the pin that the rope is clamped by. Simple. Could this be the rig they used (or similar)?
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03-27-2014, 12:33 PM #48
A Decrocheur?
http://storrick.cnc.net/VerticalDevi...tMisc0640.html
Could have been a Petzl Shunt (developed in 1972). Older catalogs depicted its use as a decrocheur.
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03-27-2014, 12:56 PM #49
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03-27-2014, 01:30 PM #50
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03-27-2014, 01:37 PM #51
Ah, I see.
Your point was that they probably went down MIA and did not find any evidence of previous travel, and perhaps thought they had done a FIRST. But, the route does not require leaving evidence, so...
As a contemporaneous example, the Right Fork of North Creek first done in 1965 - 1966.
http://www.canyoneeringusa.com/history/right65.htm
Tom
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03-27-2014, 04:43 PM #52
The man is not around right now, but he'll be back here in about a month. I'll ask him a lot more detailed questions and see if he has or will write a report.
I wondered if maybe they went in at MIA, but that's not the way he told the tale...
As far as the history books go, lighten up Shane. I wrote that in fun. However, you have to agree that if his claim is real, it would definitely change the way early Kolob canyoneering history is viewed.
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03-27-2014, 06:44 PM #53
Lighten up???
You asked for advise and I gave you some. I promise not to make that mistake again. I don't have a dog in this fight. I honestly don't give a shit about first claimed descents because they seldom are. But I do enjoy reading historical trip reports.
Tap'n on my Galaxy G3
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03-28-2014, 06:33 AM #54
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