Sandthrax TR

[ratagonia]

As for the access what do you propose should happen? No acces to anyone with out a guide(mentor) and rim support team, helmets and X number of canyons under their belt? Yea right. What I think might help though would be posting as acurate and descriptive info as possible as well as a good amount of pictures of all the hardships to be faced. That way no one is suprised by what they find in this easily accessable canyon. A mention of great endurance required, and possibly a list of suggested prerequisit canyons could help too. It's pretty obvious this is a test peice and will remain that way.

Such information on Sandthrax has been available for about a year. Try here: http://canyoneeringusa.com/utah/north/sand.php

comes up 4th on a google of "Sandthrax".

I suggest the access situation is just fine. I'm a big believer in personal responsibility.

Looks like the next couple canyons on the list are probly psycho d and quandry direct, hopefully between now and memorial weekend.

Quandary Direct is pretty easy. The potholes all yield easily to pack toss technique, but it is a good place to learn how the throwbags and/or pack tosses work. It is helpful if, after completing the "direct" section, one person can climb back up the bypass and clean the anchor for the first rappel, so the next party gets to figure out their own anchor for it.

Psycho D - look for passages other than the obvious.

Tom

[ratagonia]

We did have a back up plan so there was no way we could be trapped (hammer, hand drill, hooks, 10 studs). Both Eric and I are fairly experienced aid climbers (I've lead 4 C3 pitches).

Let me withdraw the concession I was going to make that you actually had a realistic sense of the risks involved. NOT!

Having drilled a lot of holes in Navajo Sandstone, let me assure you that having a drill, hammer, hooks and 10 studs, and some experience aid climbing on actual rock, in no way means that trying to drill your way out of trouble would work. Period.

The Navajo Sandstone in North Wash is only distantly related to rock. You are unlikely to be able to drill hookable holes. What size soft-rock bolts did you have? I find 3/8" Powerbolts largely ineffective, but the 1/2" Powersbolts work well if you drill a 3/8" hole and ream it to 1/2" to produce an accurate hole.

"... there was no way we could be trapped."

Laughable, if it was not in the class of "famous last words".

Next time you go out, be sure to leave a detailed itinerary with a map with your contact person, maybe even fax it to the sheriff's office. Might save time, so the SAR team knows where to go to haul the surviving members of the party out.

Tom

[ratagonia]

A mention of great endurance required, and possibly a list of suggested prerequisit canyons could help too. It's pretty obvious this is a test peice and will remain that way.

Does the route description for The Naked Edge, King of Swords, or Crack of Fear include a list of suggested prepatory climbs?

Tom

[stefan]

-Brian in SLC
(speaking of climbing prowess, I should embarass someone who posts here who's mentioned in Sherman's Stone Crusade as having the hardest bouldering route in the country back in the day...any guesses?)

i remember when my close friends who lived nearby the route started talking about the route, and, i thought, what a small world this is.

[ratagonia]

-Brian in SLC
(speaking of climbing prowess, I should embarass someone who posts here who's mentioned in Sherman's Stone Crusade as having the hardest bouldering route in the country back in the day...any guesses?)

i remember when my close friends who lived nearby the route started talking about the route, and, i thought, what a small world this is.

bump - for the new kid on the block.

Careful out there... Doing Sandthrax before doing the other canyons mentioned is not "careful out there". It's not 5.10 trad, it is 5.10 very odd offwidth, groundfall potential. This other party did not have a problem with the crux, they had a problem with the rest of the canyon, which proved difficult without canyon-specific climbing experience.

T

[oval]

Hehe-

Interesting thread to say the least. Thanks Tom.

I don't quite view myself as in the same position as this guy, I've probably got a bit more years experience under my belt with several different types of climbing (going on 15 years of trad climbing experience, 5 of canyoneering).

Probably gonna hold off on this one, though, as there are a couple of other ones I'm more interested atm... and matching my schedule to my 2 good climbing partners that can handle themselves and the psychological side for this canyon... can't just be a canyon that I want to do, so to speak.

Anywho, very fun stuff, can't wait to get to it (and the OW... I'll have to rock-paper-scissor my trad partner for lead on the crux though... hopefully I'll win :D)! If only I didn't have to work, right? :D

[forum8fox]

Been out of the loop for a while, I got a new addiction CAVING!
Eric has talked me into another test piece, so I decided to check back in the canyoneering forum for a change (BTW you all should check out my caving TR's!). I saw this was drug up from the grave so I thought I would see what was up.

Anyway I had about 2-3 years canyon experience and I've been climbing on my own since I was about 16 (8 years) and I climbed before that with my neighbor as a kid. I climb upto 5.10 trad and 11+ sport and C3/+ on aid. I've climbed alot in Colorado, I've climbed in Utah a hand full of times. Squamish once. So you have more experience and your less qualified??? How does that work?

P.S. our agenda is to do a test run on quandry direct first and do psycho damage the same weekend. Then if we do well were going for smiling cricket on labor day weekend.
WE GET AFTER IT, THAT IS ALL!
Being afraid of death is no way to live your life, it's too short and no one get's out alive!

[goofball]

Then if we do well were going for smiling cricket on labor day weekend.
WE GET AFTER IT, THAT IS ALL!
Being afraid of death is no way to live your life, it's too short and no one get's out alive!

very pretty, very fun, very strenuous canyon. would hate to see awkward water levels in the keepers though. while your there replace those old bolts ! please ? and maybe carry in a 40' ladder to secure in place at the pit and the pendulum. that would be great.

[oval]

Anyway I had about 2-3 years canyon experience and I've been climbing on my own since I was about 16 (8 years) and I climbed before that with my neighbor as a kid. I climb upto 5.10 trad and 11+ sport and C3/+ on aid. I've climbed alot in Colorado, I've climbed in Utah a hand full of times. Squamish once. So you have more experience and your less qualified??? How does that work?

P.S. our agenda is to do a test run on quandry direct first and do psycho damage the same weekend. Then if we do well were going for smiling cricket on labor day weekend.

Hey, I meant no disrespect; you got it done and that's great. Yeah, I have more experience and more qualification, I've been climbing for longer with more varied experience all over the states you listed and then some... I've had a lot more years of knowing when to call a climb/ascent off than you have... so I should be even better off. You guys pulled it off; it was within your ability level and you are obviously proud of it... as you should be!

WE GET AFTER IT, THAT IS ALL!
Being afraid of death is no way to live your life, it's too short and no one get's out alive!

Absolutely, if you caveat that with fear is an appropriate human response that should not be ignored... it can save your life to respect Fear... or whatever it is that is causing it. There are plenty of consequences if you screw something up that shouldn't be overlooked. R and X rated climbs/canyons are not subtle areas where you are rolling the dice. That's my opinion, anyway.