Let's talk about Egypt 3 (or other Egypts)

[yetigonecrazy]

hello-

I just have a couple questions about the Egypt canyons, but more specifically, Egypt 3. It's very likely we will be going there next spring, and I will have a mixed bag of ability levels. How difficult would it be to cherry pick the narrows sections of the canyon? Is there a rappel to start this canyon like the other Egypts, and if so how difficult would it be to have 1/2 rap and 1/2 go around and meet up? What about having some people bypass and some people go through the uber-tight narrows and the possible swims at the bottom?

Also, are any of the canyons worth visiting by coming in from the bottom? Are there any out there that can be explored for a ways up before being stopped by a serious obstacle?

Thanks so much. I heart you all

[canyondevil]

Down 2, up 3 is a great loop. Not too difficult. The others would be tough or impossible to go up.

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[Absolute Gravity]

I was just there a week ago, and did Egypts 1 and 3. Egypt 3 is no rappels, no swims (may get wet though), super easy, super scenic and just a lot of fun. I don't see how you could bypass the narrows but they really weren't very bad.

Egypt 1 is a little tougher and requires a few down climbs and short rappels ( a couple off of deadman's anchors, around 15 ft high) but still an easy canyon, and very fun. Here is the trip report and some beta in the comments :
http://www.bogley.com/forum/showthre...?66272-Egypt-1

[denaliguide]

egypt 3 is entered on the east side of the canyon down some easy slopes. no rappel needed. the narrows are a lot of fun. if you want to do the whole canyon you have to do one rappel at the very end with a short wade/swim depending on water level, the rap can be easily bypassed.

when i was there we went up egypt 2. not all the way obviously. the only real obstacle was a 15' climb/chimney around a chockstone. maybe 5.5. right at the top of the chockstone i found some moki steps to the east which allowed an easy exit and short hike to the car.

[Slot Machine]

Down 2, up 3 is a great loop. Not too difficult. The others would be tough or impossible to go up.

If trying this loop, make sure you don't go up the pothole section of E3. We did this accidentally, it is cool but uses up a bit of time. Just be sure to program your GPS to get from the bottom of E2 to the open area above the pothole section of E3. There are also a couple of slides in E3 that might be tough for some to climb. If you are going with people of varied skill levels, I would probably just stick to heading down E3 (not up).

when i was there we went up egypt 2. not all the way obviously. the only real obstacle was a 15' climb/chimney around a chockstone. maybe 5.5. right at the top of the chockstone i found some moki steps to the east which allowed an easy exit and short hike to the car.

Hmmm, I can't picture exactly where you are talking about. There are a couple of ways to enter the canyon, then there is a 35-40 foot rappel. My brother-in-law had to climb that rappel to get our stuck rope. He rated it a 5.10a. Is this 5.5 upclimb downcanyon from the 40 footer?

Pictures of Tyler climbing this are here: http://www.bogley.com/forum/showthre...?62730-Egypt-2

Personally, I would never go up E2. The bottom half of the cayon is not that good. The 270 foot rap is awesome though, a must do. The rest of E2 is just not as good as E3 or E1.

[denaliguide]

If trying this loop, make sure you don't go up the pothole section of E3. We did this accidentally, it is cool but uses up a bit of time. Just be sure to program your GPS to get from the bottom of E2 to the open area above the pothole section of E3. There are also a couple of slides in E3 that might be tough for some to climb. If you are going with people of varied skill levels, I would probably just stick to heading down E3 (not up).

Hmmm, I can't picture exactly where you are talking about. There are a couple of ways to enter the canyon, then there is a 35-40 foot rappel. My brother-in-law had to climb that rappel to get our stuck rope. He rated it a 5.10a. Is this 5.5 upclimb downcanyon from the 40 footer?

Pictures of Tyler climbing this are here: http://www.bogley.com/forum/showthre...?62730-Egypt-2

Personally, I would never go up E2. The bottom half of the cayon is not that good. The 270 foot rap is awesome though, a must do. The rest of E2 is just not as good as E3 or E1.

the shots of your bro-in-law climbing up to the chockstone looks a lot like i remember it. i'm not a 5.10 climber at all and i did it easily. 5.5 or maybe 5.6. but i did like chimneys, always did feel secure in them, and i can't imagine myself soloing up anything that hard. didn't remember it being 40 feet though, but i'm pretty sure that's it. the chockstone had a bunch of slings and a couple of rap rings when i was there. if you ever get back there check on the left (when looking down canyon) from the top of the chockstone and see if you can spot the moki steps. they were right there close to the block and that was how we got out.

here's my map of it. do i have egypt 2 mismarked? it could happen.

[yetigonecrazy]

Thank you everybody for your info! I appreciate it greatly. Let me see if I can clear up my intentions....

Basically, it's like this:

I will be there with my pops and some friends. Some of us (my pops & others) want to go canyoneering but aren't technically skilled. Others of us (me and others) are technically skilled and want the whole dish. So we were looking for canyons that allow both technical and non technical to go through. We've done a lot of canyons over the years (including lots in Escalante, so no thanks on offers for Dry Fork, Spooky, Zebra, etc, because we've been through those), and we got looking at the Egypts because E3 initially looked like a good choice for the split interests. Pops loves to canyoneer, although in a non-technical variety. (He's done a couple of easy raps [not in canyons] and the goal is to get him more into the technical regions, but it's doubtful the conversion will be complete by next spring). Pops is also a big guy, 5'11'', 225ish. So that's why I was asking about bypassing the super skinny narrows. We would love to be able to drop in, go through as far as we can, and have my pops and others be able to bypass the super skinny and join us below. Likewise, our interest in going up a canyon does NOT mean going all the way through the top. It means merely hiking up one, two, four hundred yards or whatever it is and then come back out. Just to make it a little more worth it as we are puttering around the bottom area.

And yes, I know people are going to reply with "well why wouldnt you just go through the whole thing" or "just teach him hor to rappel" or "find a different canyon".....So please read the above again. This is the canyon area we want to visit, and these are the people I will be going with. I want to have fun and I want to have an adventure, but I am also keen to make sure we don't get it into a situation we can't get out of. That's where the helpful beta I am seeking comes in handy. Not everyone that canyoneers is a super stud like all of you folks. Some people are moderate adventurers, and that is fine in itself. So if you don't have anything beneficial to add, please, hold your comments, because they aren't welcome.

For those that have a good idea of what I'm trying to find out, let's hear it! I appreciate it!!

[pup]

I did E3 last spring (6"1", 195#). I was able to make it through all of the tight spots except one spot where my claustrophobia got the best of me. Two other members of our group were larger than me and didn't attempt it. It was very easy to backtrack the 25 feet and bypass the tight spot. We dropped back in just past the narrow section and rejoined our group. If your "pops" needs to bypass any section - it shouldn't be an issue.

[Slot Machine]

the shots of your bro-in-law climbing up to the chockstone looks a lot like i remember it. i'm not a 5.10 climber at all and i did it easily. 5.5 or maybe 5.6. but i did like chimneys, always did feel secure in them, and i can't imagine myself soloing up anything that hard. didn't remember it being 40 feet though, but i'm pretty sure that's it. the chockstone had a bunch of slings and a couple of rap rings when i was there. if you ever get back there check on the left (when looking down canyon) from the top of the chockstone and see if you can spot the moki steps. they were right there close to the block and that was how we got out.

here's my map of it. do i have egypt 2 mismarked? it could happen.

You have it all marked out correctly. That would be a pretty good map for yeti.

If you look closely at my pictures, you can see my helmet below Tyler (for perspective). That chimney was pretty tall, but easy, probably 5.5-5.6. The hard part was getting over the chokestone, because when you get to the top of the chimney you are almost directly below it. Tyler had to perform an athletic, twisting move to grab a "5.10 sloper" on the back of the chokestone (LDC), then pull himself up. I wish we would have filmed it, it was awesome. There might be an easier move to get up, but he didn't see it.

Back on track for Mr Yeti... I would take pops through the top of E3, it is easy. Have him bypass the skinnies while you do it. Have everyone bypass the E3 potholes and explore that section from the bottom, it is nice. Explore the bottom of E2 if you still thirst for more. Done.

Bob

[yetigonecrazy]

Thanks for the input, everyone. I really appreciate it.

One last series of questions. What is the process for bypassing the skinnies? Are the walls in the overall canyon moderate enough at that point to scramble up and around? Or are going to have to rig a handline to get out of the slot? Looks like a lot of fun, and very excited to go! Thanks again!

[Slot Machine]

Thanks for the input, everyone. I really appreciate it.

One last series of questions. What is the process for bypassing the skinnies? Are the walls in the overall canyon moderate enough at that point to scramble up and around? Or are going to have to rig a handline to get out of the slot? Looks like a lot of fun, and very excited to go! Thanks again!

As you head down E3 you will get to a wide, shallow opening. It's easy to climb out at that point. The skinnies start as soon as you continue down canyon. You will know you are there when the walls become very rough and knobbly. When pops gets to the knobbly part, take him back (an easy walk, just a few feet), and help him out of the canyon. I don't think a handline will be required. He should probably pass the canyon on the LDC side (east side), I do not know for certain that the LDC is the easiest side, but either side will *probably* work.

Whew. If your spirng trip goes sucessfully, I fully expect an invite to do those canyons you discovered.

Bob

[yetigonecrazy]

Thanks so much Bob. Pops is gettin up there in years, and despite his limitations he is always game to go explore and see more slickrock, so it's just nice knowing we aren't headed into anything we shouldn't be able to handle. I will give you a holler when we head that way next spring, I've talked a couple of my friends into exploring the Allen Dump area some more post-Egypts and we'd love to have ya. As far as the ones I posted earlier, I have no plans in motion currently to do any of those....but if you'd want to combine forces on a couple of them I would be keen!

[hesse15]

had been a long time, but egypt 3 is a wonderful hike.
usually does not have much difficulties ,in spring you can find water but usually is not very high,so sometime is better to strip down and get dressed after the pool not really need forwetsuits from what I remember!