Warm Springs Canyons Conditions

[AJ]

We did the whole Warm Springs canyon system over the past weekend. Went down Pottymouth (Kelsey's Fun Slot) on Friday, set the 7m drop (Kelsey's Lower Warm Springs Canyon), down to the big drop to Lake Powell. Back up and out Pottymouth (Kelsey's Fun Slot) and over to Sinusitis (Kelsey's Keeper Pothole Fork.) Down Sinusitis (Kelsey's Keeper Pothole Fork) and then back up Kelsey's Lower Warm Springs Canyon and Upper Warm Springs Narrows. Dropped gear for Glaucoma (Kelsey's Best Slot.)

Saturday, set exit for Glaucoma (Kelsey's Best Slot), then did Glaucoma (Kelsey's Best Slot) down to the lake and back. Dropped gear and water for Earache (Kelsey's Potholes Fork.) Set exit for Earache (Kelsey's Potholes Fork.)

Sunday did Earache (Kelsey's Potholes Fork) down to the lake and out.

There were four of us, and I'll have more info about timing in my upcoming TR. When I get a chance to catch up on stuff, I'll do a detailed TR and it will have pics.

For now, some general conditions:

Note: Kelsey had seen these canyons previously, and they had much more water than this trip. Many areas have been very dry right now, so take that into consideration with this report...


Pottymouth (Kelsey's Fun Slot)
Has some pretty tight sections, can go high as well. Pretty short. Kelsey recommends not to take anything through except knee/elbow pads and a camera. That can work, but make sure you are ready for it, and have had enough water (or will have enough) based on the temp. As always, I'd recommend having emergency gear nearby, just in case. (It's easy to stash stuff at the entry and exits to all of these canyons, the distances are prety short.) There was a little water, knee deep; but it could be avoided. It was 90's for us, so no wetsuit necessary.



Lower Pottymouth (Kelsey's Lower Warm Springs Canyon)
Quite short from the confluence with Pottymouth (Kelsey's Fun Slot), but pretty. The big drop to lake Powell at the end is really cool. Didn't look like 380ft to me though; looked more like 250 (only by viewing though, so caveat emptor.) Will check next time, as I plan on ascending it... The 7m drop is fun. It can definitely be upclimbed, but most folks will definitely want a rope. It was pretty dry, with only one small puddle that could be avoided. Would be far more difficult with wet/muddy shoes.



Sinusitis (Kelsey's Keeper Pothole Fork)
A fun canyon with lots of variety. The Keeper Pothole was completely dry, and was climbed out by using a partner assist. Would be far more difficult with water and/or wet/muddy shoes. It can also be stemmed over with high penalty points for failure. If I remember right, this canyon had some high stemming too, but not too serious (compared to the next two.) There was a little water, knee deep; but it could be avoided. It was 90's for us, so no wetsuit necessary.



Kelsey's Upper Narrows of Warm Springs Creek
Completely dry, and some fun upclimbs. We used Lower Warm Springs and Upper Narrows Warm Springs as our exit out of Sinusitis (Kelsey's Keeper Pothole Fork.) It was completely dry.



Glaucoma (Kelsey's Best Slot)
Do not underestimate this canyon. I would give it an X rating as there are several spots where you need to span over silos, and it has a cool room (also needing to span over) which would trap you if you fell in. Had never seen anything like it. The 7m downclimb in the canyon looks worse than it is, but it is still pretty serious. Large penalty points for failure. Overall, a pretty strenuous canyon as it had lots of upclimbs and spans. I don't know if Kelsey recommended not taking anything in this canyon, but if so, I'd recommend against that. We had one pack between the group, and was glad I had it. Took some water (which we drank) and some emergency gear including a 50' rope (even though we didn't need it, was glad to have it just in case.) We stashed (and drank) water at the entry and in the pack we lowered with the ascenders for the ascending exit. All water in the canyon was able to be avoided. We didn't need wetsuits, but again, it was 90 degrees out.

NOTE: If you are heading downcanyon from the ascending exit, beware of the first chamber. This is easily one of the most challenging spots in canyons I have encountered. It is a chamber with a flared, tight, negative exit. Even with a rope, it took me two tries (and a lot of energy) to get back upcanyon, and it took my buddy four tries. It could easily keep someone. I wedged a rock that can be used (carried from a different part of the canyon as there was nothing there), but I would back it up with some rock pro. You could use a #2 or #3 camalot C4 or a big bro 3 upcanyon from the chamber (or maybe a combination of them.) We put a LOT of stress on the rope (we used meat anchors), so just make sure it's solid. If you made it through the canyon, you should be fine with everything down from the chamber. I'd bring the rock pro and a 40' rope for the chamber, a 45' rope for the rockpile handline (able to be up/downclimbed by strong climbers), and 50' of rope for the final rap/ascend or handline.



Earache (Kelsey's Potholes Fork)
Again, a pretty strenuous canyon, but not as much as Glaucoma (Kelsey's Best Slot.) Shorter day, and it has some pothole escapes, tricky downclimbs, and strenuous upclimbs. Just used partner assists, but used a hook rap for the canyon entry and for one hole entry. Final drop is awesome, and can be downclimbed by the skilled. High penalty points for failure though. One final 70' rap down to the lake past the ascending exit. The ascending exit can be done with a 200' rope, but has a large freehanging section; so make sure you are proficient with ascenders before attempting. We had water up to our thighs (or knees if you tried to avoid), and didn't use wetsuits. It was again 90 degrees out, so the water was welcoming.



Overall, these are pretty remote and rugged canyons. Be prepared if you attempt them. If you are prepared though, they are pretty cool, with some really challenging sections and some beautiful features. The views of Lake Powell and the surrounding areas are fantastic.



The road in definitely needs a HC 4WD vehicle, and there is one spot that is fairly steep. We had two Jeeps (Commander and Patriot) and made it in and out fine. The roads were dry, but rocky and rough in sections.



Hope that helps,
A.J.

[nat]

Glaucoma (Kelsey's Best Slot)
Do not underestimate this canyon. I would give it an X rating as there are several spots where you need to span over silos, and it has a cool room (also needing to span over) which would trap you if you fell in. Had never seen anything like it. The 7m downclimb in the canyon looks worse than it is, but it is still pretty serious. Large penalty points for failure. Overall, a pretty strenuous canyon as it had lots of upclimbs and spans. I don't know if Kelsey recommended not taking anything in this canyon, but if so, I'd recommend against that. We had one pack between the group, and was glad I had it. Took some water (which we drank) and some emergency gear including a 50' rope (even though we didn't need it, was glad to have it just in case.) We stashed (and drank) water at the entry and in the pack we lowered with the ascenders for the ascending exit. All water in the canyon was able to be avoided. We didn't need wetsuits, but again, it was 90 degrees out.


A.J.

Nice TR A.J. I just wanted to point out that the "cool room" in Glaucoma is not the trap that it appears to be. I did this with Aaron Ramrass a few years ago, and we found that the room ca be entered and exited at ground level at the down canyon end. So in fact, you can downclimb into it at the beginning, and walk out. Not as serious as it looks.

Nat

[penmartens]

Thanks for the beta. It is good info for the future.
Penny

[Iceaxe]

Nice TR.

Fun Slot, Best Slot, Keeper Pothole Fork..... and Kelsey makes fun of our "silly" names.

Reading his stuff gives me a headache and always leaves my brain feeling like someone used it to play soccer with....