Winter canyoneering beta for San Rafael Swell?

[Reverso]

Hey all you burly canyoneers...I am planning to go to the San Rafael Swell area next month (Mid-FEb.) if it stays dry down there. I have never been there in the winter..March is the earliest I have been. Can anyone suggest some dry or relatively dry canyons that are fun in winter down there? Any info would be helpful! I hear it's great down there this time of year...

[Scott P]

For technical canyons, Old Woman and Quandary (non-direct) are some of the driest I can think of, but either might have pools. Enigma was dry every time I've been there, but the road out there passes over clay beds and you would want it to be pretty dry. Baptist/Chute can be dry and used to be done somewhat often in winter, but the canyon has apparently become much more difficult and they are at higher elevation. North Wash isn't that far away and would have more choices and the canyons are better than say something like Old Woman.

In the same general area, some of the best winter canyons to visit are just east of the Swell, such as the forks of Three Canyon and Moonshine Wash. Neither canyon is very far from the Swell.

[ratagonia]

Hey all you burly canyoneers...I am planning to go to the San Rafael Swell area next month (Mid-FEb.) if it stays dry down there. I have never been there in the winter..March is the earliest I have been. Can anyone suggest some dry or relatively dry canyons that are fun in winter down there? Any info would be helpful! I hear it's great down there this time of year...

North Wash?

Tom

[asdf]

NIck and I were camping in the swell this past weekend. We hiked some non-tech canyons and the snow pack was a bit intermittent. Where I-70 cuts into the reef there was 4-5"s of snow, we hiked up Uneva canyon and the canyon floor was full of ice and pretty treacherous. We then moved south towards Goblin Valley were the snow was almost non existent. We then hiked LWHC with only encountering a tiny bit of ice in the deepest darkest narrows. The next morning we drove out to Crack canyon and again ran into 4-5 inches of snow on the behind the reef road. We left the car and as we got closer to the canyon the snow turned to and the ground 90% dry inside the canyon.

Crack


Uneva

[Iceaxe]

Winter Canyons:

1st choice = North Wash
2nd choice = Robbers Roost

Both require the same amount of travel time as the Swell, and both have a larger selection of canyons that tend to stay dry.

[Reverso]

Hey thanks for the info! North Wash is a lot of fun too...Think we may go in to Robber's Roost is the weather stays good since the wife's never been in there.

Sorry for the over generalization...I tend to lump Roost, Swell, N Wash all together. Anywhere down there in the slots is good for me! Keep the info coming though, I would like to hear from anyone who goes down there to keep tabs on conditions. Right now I am leaning towards the Roost as Horseshoe canyon is nearby and we're taking a friend who's never been in there.

I do love the feeling of an impending canyoneering trip...

[Scott Card]

I do love the feeling of an impending canyoneering trip...

From Dictionary.com
[QUOTE]
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[Reverso]

Looks like it's going to be the Roost.....the land of the Angel Cow of Death and the lost Ghost Cowboy(you'd have had to be there)...I love Robber's Roost...Have met all sorts of VERY different folks out there...We'll likely have a walk down Horseshoe just for kicks next Thursday morning....Not-Mindbender Friday if no snow, Three Canyon, Big Spring Loop Saturday and Sunday. Done all but Three Canyon, which looks fun...Lots of good options down there...I would expect water to be frozen if it exists, but not really sure...Stoked! Hey Scott what's the dictionary definition of STOKED!?

[nielse2]

I did Leprechaun this last week, it was tons of fun and nice and dry as well. Highly recomend it.

[Don]

stoked

–adjective Slang .
1. exhilarated; excited.
2. intoxicated or stupefied with a drug; high.

dictionary.com

[Reverso]

I was considering that, however my partner is a bit too big to squeeze even through middle lep I think...What to you think the conditions are like in Adobe Swale or Arsenic, Slianide etc?

[Reverso]

Yeah..maybe a bit of both! Not too high to be careful this weekend, weather is not cooperating..I now have plan A for the Roost, Plan B for North Wash, Plan C screwing around in Moab...Hope the weather is not as bad as it appears it may be!