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Thread: Icebox Canyon - ZNP - 8/15/12

  1. #1

    Icebox Canyon - ZNP - 8/15/12

    Icebox Canyon is not on the standard Zion NP list of canyons that can be reserved online, so Dean had to drive to the Kolob station to obtain our permit. The ranger commented that she hadn't issued a permit for Icebox in quite a while. Maybe that was because this is monsoon season and forecast temps were 100+


    PICTURES - http://www.meetup.com/AZ-TECH-CANYON...otos/10238242/


    Four of us started our adventure at 700 am at the Lee Pass trailhead and meandered down the trail, up the wash and then .5 mile up the steep brushy slope to the slickrock entrance of Icebox Canyon. We were in the shade all the way to the top.

    Although I had been through Icebox 3 times before, this was the first approach using the southern/slickrock entrance, and this is definitely the more 'interesting' entrance because you get an extra upper elevation slot section and a 3-station-hanging-on-the-wall rappel down one big long wall. Since we had four people we needed extra ropes and it still was a 'rope management' challenge to get us all down the wall. Plus we had a temporarily stuck rope that slowed us down when attempting to pull the rope from station 1 down to station 2. SASteve and Maria had to hang at station 3 for about 45 minutes waiting for us to get ropes down to them.


    And then we were in the main canyon.


    Perhaps it was the angle of the sunlight or the time of day or the clear blue skies, but for some reason the colors of the canyon seemed vibrant and dramatic - more so than previous trips. This gave us the feeling we all look for in these canyons - where you get a better experience than you expected and you start to think 'this is one of the best canyoneering experiences I have had'.....


    We worked through heavy foliage (but not really brushwacking) for a while, and worked around several potholes of water. Eventually we reached a pothole/slot that required swimming for about 50 feet. Actually turned out to be great timing on a hot day to get into some cool water (no suits). However the bolts at the entry point are old and corroded. Every time I have reached this point in my 4 trips through Icebox everyone is appalled and scared to use these points to drop into the water. Someone needs to invite Tom and his bolting kit to do a trip down Icebox to fix this spot.


    After the swim we encountered several colorful alcove sections which got larger and more colorful. Finally we passed the arch and started the 6 mile slog back to the parking area.

    Since this is August, we had clear hot skies all day long, and dreaded the hike out. We prayed for a late afternoon shower - almost a storm, but not quite. 2 miles into the return we got exactly what we wanted - storm clouds with thunder and sudden cool breezes. The last mile uphill it was raining gently, and it stopped just as we reached our vehicle. Then the Sun comes out and there was a massive rainbow to highlight one last view of the Kolob finger section of Zion. Oh yeah.


    As we rode home looking forward to a shower and beverage (not nec. in that order) we had that great feeling of hard-earned accomplishment, and are just starting to plan our next adventure......

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    Moderator jman's Avatar
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    Re: Icebox Canyon - ZNP - 8/15/12

    ah yeah! Those are some great pics. I never had much of a interest in Icebox until now...
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  4. #3

    Re: Icebox Canyon - ZNP - 8/15/12

    Nice pics how long was that first rapple?
    Don`t be afraid your life will end be afraid it will never begin fear is the thief of all dreams...

  5. #4

    Re: Icebox Canyon - ZNP - 8/15/12

    The three rap lengths on the wall are 165, 165 and 140 feet, so you are dealing with a 500 foot entry to the canyon - and the view down is a lot different than the Heaps view looking down several hundred feet.

    Also I've seen a few reports of this trip taking people 16 hours. Yeah, if you are doing an overnight and carrying lots of gear. However we did this recent trip in under 12 hours and could have knocked another 2 off if we were motivated. Plus the last 6 miles (3 hours) are all on an open trail that is easy to follow.

  6. #5
    Content Provider Emeritus ratagonia's Avatar
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    Re: Icebox Canyon - ZNP - 8/15/12

    Quote Originally Posted by blueskies View Post
    We worked through heavy foliage (but not really brushwacking) for a while, and worked around several potholes of water. Eventually we reached a pothole/slot that required swimming for about 50 feet. Actually turned out to be great timing on a hot day to get into some cool water (no suits). However the bolts at the entry point are old and corroded. Every time I have reached this point in my 4 trips through Icebox everyone is appalled and scared to use these points to drop into the water. Someone needs to invite Tom and his bolting kit to do a trip down Icebox to fix this spot.
    Good on ya -

    Several years ago, I fixed what I thought needed fixing. Some of the drops have anchors in weird places.

    Maybe your stuck rope was your penance for not cleaning up those amazingly lush rappel anchors...

    Tom

  7. #6

    Re: Icebox Canyon - ZNP - 8/15/12

    Well Tom, since I don't have much experience with hanging stations, I learned a lot on this wall. Normally when arriving at a multiple sling anchor I've got time to stand there and consider cleaning things up. In this instance we had two people below at station 3 that had been waiting for us. I was the 4th to come down the rope and when I arrived at station 2 and had to connect to the anchors, disconnect from the rope and try to get comfortable just hanging with no perch. That was adrenaline enough, but then Dean next to me couldn't pull the rope. So while I am trying to adjust to this new perspective I am also trying to help yank on the pull rope Nothing moves. Then the two of us try jumping up and off with both our weight. Nothing.

    At this point I was not feeling too comfortable on the wall. When I saw all the slings I was thinking more like adding to them and building a nest that I could crawl into ....

    We reset and Dean flicks the rope up to loosen it and then suddenly it easily moves about 10 feet, then stops/sticks again. We can barely see the knot (EDT) over the 'edge' and it even looked like one side of the 'tail' of the knot had gently circled our rap-side rope (??). Dean flicked the rope again and it pulled down. Whew.

    SASteve was whining/I mean requesting that we get down soon because his legs were going numb.

    I learned that a wall like this takes a lot of advance rope management planning, and we had not anticipated a need to clean up any the stations. We were ready if we needed to put in slings, but not to change them.

    My question is about the pitons. How old are these likely to be? When I see a piton, when was the 'time' that people switched to bolts? 10 years, 20 years ago?

  8. #7
    Content Provider Emeritus ratagonia's Avatar
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    Re: Icebox Canyon - ZNP - 8/15/12

    While my comment could easily be taken as pure snark, there is more to it than that. Those anchors look messy, and, when you rebuild them, you can think about, and build for, a cleaner pull. So, maybe, maybe not, but it can be that the messy anchor RESULTS in difficulty in pulling.

    Drilled pitons are very unpredictable. Impossible to inspect. Can be really good. Can be really bad. Some people still use them, so there is no particular timestamp on them if you seen them. But yeah, haven't been used much in the last 10 years.

    Tom

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