Black hole and Fry Canyon 9-15 and 9-16-07

[Jaxx]

OK. I have been slacking in my TR duties. My Dad, Brother-in-law (chabadiah) and I went to hit these canyons on a Saturday and Sunday. We drove down late Friday night and just slept under the stars near the Hite boat ramp.
We woke up and leisurely got ready for the canyon. We took our time like usual and got a late start. The canyon took us about 8 hours. We took a couple long breaks and also played in the black hole for about an hour.
We got to the bottom TH and hopped on our bikes for the ride to the TH. I am not in the best shape and the bike ride was hot and hard on the uphill. I guess I pushed myself a little hard because I threw up the water I had that morning after we got to the TH. After emptying my stomach I felt much better.
We entered the canyon and enjoyed making it to the shade.
The first swim we didn't put on our wetsuits and it was very refreshing. On the second long swim we decided to put on the wetsuits. The swim was long and fund.
When we got to the black hole part of the canyon we were expecting a
very tight slot filled with water into a dark scary hole that was pitch black. It wasn't. The slot was tight but not restricting. The black hole was fun to swim through. There is a giant rock that you could swim under or around if the water was higher. We played in the black hole for about an hour jumping off into the water and going back and forth through it. The hike out had some cool spots of canyon with the killer exit. The exit on Black hole reminded me of the entrance to Spry but not so long and hard haha.
We got back to the Hite area did our check in call and hit the sack.

Black Hole Pics

The view in the morning from camp


Hiking in


Dad in the rock scrambling area


Chabadiah and Dad in the second swim


Cool small frog. They were everywhere in the canyon


Chabadiah's monster sandwich


Chabadiah in the "scary, tight" 90 degree turn in the black hole. It was more than 90 degrees but still not very tight.


Guys in the black hole




Exiting narrows


Sunset from the exit


Fry canyon was alot of fun. It was Pinecreekish in that the entrance was almost right away. We got down and suited up. The downclimbs were fun and the water awesome in the canyon. I would suggest not putting on your wetsuit in the first swim area because you walk for a long time in the sun between the next potholes and even if you got chilly after the first swim you will get hot.
We got to the rappel and Chabadiah decided that he wanted to try out his ascending gear. So we set up a biner block and he rapped down and came back up. We decided to keep the biner block we had set up to practice single line rappeling.
We backed up the biner block, check out the setup and tell me what you think, I posted some pics below of the setup. The only problem I could see is if you didn't have a clean pull you could easily get it stuck on a rock, bush, or in a crack.
I rappelled down to the first little pool and the Dad came down and went all the way to the bottom. Chabadiah came down and we pulled the rope from the first pothole. It pulled easily. We downclimbed the second part into the long swim and it was very easy. The swim was super long and alot colder than the black hole. I was happy to have a wetsuit. The Indian ruins looked cool but we couldn't figure out how to get up to them. The exit hike was like deja vu from the exit of black hole. Once at the top of Fry it is kindof disappointing to see how far you have to walk back but it is very easy and cool to look back into the canyon you were just in. The hike back would not be fun on a hot summer day it is very exposed to the sun the whole way on the sandstone.

Fry Canyon Pics

What is left of the Hite boat ramp. Water is very low


first "swim"


looking into the slot rap anchors are on the right where the guys are standing


Chabadiah ascending


Biner block setup



Dad on rap


Chabadiah on rap


looking into the swim at the bottom of the rappel/downclimb. Very peaceful looking.


Chabadiah showing our sweet setup at the end of the pull


Chabadiah at the top of the downclimb after the rap I'm floating in the water


Indian ruins


looking back to the long swim


Dad on the exit hike, It looks alot steeper than it really was.


On the way home we stopped at the Hite overlook. disappointing, to most.


On the way home we were glad the clouds weren't near us

[sparker1]

Hey, that's a good TR and photos of what must have been a really fun week-end. Thanks for sharing.

[Jaxx]

Hey, that's a good TR and photos of what must have been a really fun week-end. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks
I hope chabadiah will log on and post some of his pics. he took a bunch to.

[oldno7]

nice tr and photo's

you really shouldn't need to backup your biner block,if it gave you the warm fuzzies then it served it's purpose but-----
did you see any rope slippage from your initial settup to where chabidiah is holding it at the bottom?

If the clove is dressed tight on the backbone of the biner your good to go,
thats not saying each rappeler shouldn't double check it before going down.ymmv

if someday you want a better blocking system check into figure 8 contingency/block and learn how to use it.

[Jaxx]

trusting a knot always seemed scary to me, this way of backing up did give me the warm fuzzies. I will probably keep doing this if it is possible to still have a clean pull. I figure might as well back it up if you can.

I will do some research on the figure 8 contingency/block. Thanks for your input.

[oldno7]

I'd be glad to show you in a canyon or on a rock face at Cedar city if your ever in the area.

[Iceaxe]

Looks to me like if you remove all the biners and all the knots you would have the ultimate setup.

This is a great example of making something that is super simple into something complicated. I have a theory that the more complicated a system is the more opportunities you have to mess up.

[Jaxx]

Looks to me like if you remove all the biners and all the knots you would have the ultimate setup.

This is a great example of making something that is super simple into something complicated. I have a theory that the more complicated a system is the more opportunities you have to mess up.

I would agree with you there. Chabadiah wanted to ascend so we set it up single so he could. I usually double, but we had it set up and figured why not practice some SRT. Just adding to the toolbox

[rockgremlin]

Hey that's a great TR! Thanks for the detail. I still haven't hit Fry Canyon even though it's practically in my backyard!

The water levels look pretty high -- which is a good thing in the BH.

[Jaxx]

Hey that's a great TR! Thanks for the detail. I still haven't hit Fry Canyon even though it's practically in my backyard!

The water levels look pretty high -- which is a good thing in the BH.

Thanks!
I was thinking the water must be high. I noticed that if it was lower it would be tighter in the sharp turn spot in the BH that some people warned us about. Fry was a fun one and perfect for this weather because there is alot of sun exposed walking.

I almost forgot about the Native Americans that we met. They were parked at the little gas station in Hite. As we drove by they said that they have been there all night because they were almost out of gas and they were waiting for the store to open at 11 am so they could pay cash for the gas. None of them had a credit card to use. My Dad let them use his card and they gave him the cash for it. There were three of them and they look baked, mabey from the crappy nights sleep they had in there little chev trailblazer, mabey they were high. Either way they were cool guys. They were from monument valley I think. They were coming home from their jobs in SLC, they work there during the week and come home on the weekends. What a long drive.

[sparker1]

Hey that's a great TR! Thanks for the detail. I still haven't hit Fry Canyon even though it's practically in my backyard!

The water levels look pretty high -- which is a good thing in the BH.

Thanks!
I was thinking the water must be high. I noticed that if it was lower it would be tighter in the sharp turn spot in the BH that some people warned us about. Fry was a fun one and perfect for this weather because there is alot of sun exposed walking.

I almost forgot about the Native Americans that we met. They were parked at the little gas station in Hite. As we drove by they said that they have been there all night because they were almost out of gas and they were waiting for the store to open at 11 am so they could pay cash for the gas. None of them had a credit card to use. My Dad let them use his card and they gave him the cash for it. There were three of them and they look baked, mabey from the crappy nights sleep they had in there little chev trailblazer, mabey they were high. Either way they were cool guys. They were from monument valley I think. They were coming home from their jobs in SLC, they work there during the week and come home on the weekends. What a long drive.

I've met more than a few Navajos, and a few from other tribes. Most are likable and want much the same life as we do. Because their culture motivates them to stay together in their homeland, or the reservation "granted" them is all they know, I don't think they get the assistance of some other minorities. Affirmative action never quite reached them.

[tanya]

Great Stuff!

[Canyonbug]

We got to the rappel and Chabadiah decided that he wanted to try out his ascending gear. So we set up a biner block and he rapped down and came back up. We decided to keep the biner block we had set up to practice single line rappeling.
We backed up the biner block, check out the setup and tell me what you think, I posted some pics below of the setup. The only problem I could see is if you didn't have a clean pull you could easily get it stuck on a rock, bush, or in a crack.

Jaxx,
Thanks for the TR, both are great canyons. I have been in Fry and ascended out of it on different occasions.

With your Biner Block setup if you feel comfortable with it, or worried about so much items snagging on a pull, I would loose all of the knots and biner's other than the clove hitch and biner block. Also the Clove Hitch should be tied onto the spine of the biner and not onto the end.

Have fun in the canyons and be safe.

[chabidiah]

It was a great time and we love taking our time in the canyons. I know we took a lot longer to complete the canyons, from other reviews that we had read, but we go to relax and enjoy. It is true that sometimes the "Turner Men" are maybe overly safe but I would rather be safe then dead. I thought the biner backup was very simple just a block with an extra 8 and biner. Anyway it was a good time and I will be posting up some pics shortly.

[chabidiah]

Finally here are some pics

[Iceaxe]

The Black Hole has to be one of the top 5 canyons of all time.

Every time I see pictures I want to do it again.

[chabidiah]

I was a little disappointed that there wasn't going to be any rappelling but I really didn't miss it while we were in playin around. I would have to recommend this canyon to anyone who looking for a beautiful wet slot.

[shaggy125]

I was never motivated to do the Black Hole because how cool can it be if High School kids and scout groups do it in the summer? When I did it however my mind was changed, it's one of my favorites now. I still want to do it again and see if I feel the same way now that it is "easy." I've only done it with the log jams, and it was quite an adventure, especially swimming in total darkness underneath the giant 40 footer.

Eric.

[Iceaxe]

Someone asked me the other day if I knew of anther route that required as much long swimming as the Black Hole and I couldn't think of anything. In Imlay and Heaps you might be in the water more but not those long twisting hallway swims you find in the Black Hole.

I've done a couple on Lake Powell where we had to swim out the slot in the lake for a longs ways to reach where the boats could get..... but I don't really count that since its a man made obstacale.

Pine Creek has a lot of swimming if you catch it with flow.

[shaggy125]

Yea, Choprock has one really long swim through twisty slot like the hole, and a couple other pretty long ones, but still nothing like the Black Hole. Some friends did it a week or two ago just after the storms. Said they counted 6 swims of at least 100 yards, and a few other that he said he swam for 100 feet, could touch for a second or two, then swam for another 100 feet. He didn't count those in the 6 he counted. Just nothing like those long swims, super cool! I've heard stories of Neon being one constant swim if you hit it just after a big storm.

Eric.