TR: Keyhole & Subway (top to bottom) May 5 & 6

[Ryebrye]

I'm gathering my photos and such from the trip - but thought I would just post the conditions for any interested parties.

Keyhole - plenty of water. We started the canyon at dusk and finished at around 9:30 PM... As was discussed on a recent thread about Pine Creek - yes, doing Keyhole in the dark was very worthwhile. It's such a short canyon it is easy to bang it out the night before you do a big canyon the next day...

I'd never done Keyhole before... I think that all but one bolt in that canyon are completely useless. Even on the approach a basic downward scramble has a tree slung... erhmm... why? Whatever the case - once the sun went down and we were left to headlamps for the last half of the canyon - the enjoyment factor increased a great deal.

Water in Keyhole was cold - but we had drysuits so it didn't matter. Doing it at night without wet or drysuits would be very stupid - but you should all know that...

The Subway Top to Bottom.... Last year at this time we had to turn back at Keyhole falls and bushwack our way back up... So if anyone is able to tell you what water levels in The Subway are compared to last year... I definitely can...

The water this year is about six to eight feet lower at some points. The keyhole falls has a flow, but nothing major. We hung a left and looked at the Das Boot route when we started - and there was a nice waterfall there - so that section might have a nice flow right now... and might be very fun.

All-in-all it was a fun trip, but not nearly as extreme as last year... Permits are easy to grab for May - so it might be worth your while to snag one. It is definitely easy. We didn't need to use a harness once.

The water below keyhole falls was deep enough that we could just put an arm through the hole on the lefthand side and just swing over, and then drop into the water below it. No handline or webbing was necessary.

There were some sections of chest-deep water. Drysuits or wetsuits would be required for the trip.

[Iceaxe]

I think that all but one bolt in that canyon are completely useless.

Actually none of the bolts in Keyhole are needed..... the first rappel you can downclimb the log or sling the huge Ponderosa Pine at the top.

The second rappel now anchored by a large glue-in would be the most difficult for noob's to figure out. Before the bolt was placed the rappel was anchored from a sling around a chokestone on the upstream side of the pothole. Stand at the glue-in, look behind you at eye level and you will see the chokestone across the pothole. Really pertty simple....

The third rappel can easily be anchored from the second rappel anchor around the chokestone. This is what is reffered to as a chained rappel since you chain several short rappels together into one long rappel.....OR... the third rappel is actually very easy to just walk down if you have sticky rubber. It's also easy to downclimb with your butt in the crack and your feet against the wall. This is a perfect example of folks seeing a bolt and immedately whipping out the rope to rappel.

Thanks for the TR. Nice to know the Subway is doable.