Crystal Springs / Moqui Peninsula

[Slot Machine]

It looks like there are a dozen respectable canyons on the Crystal Springs / Moqui Peninsula.

Does anybody know:

Is this BLM land?

If any kind of permit is needed to explore the area?

Is there is a reliable source of water on the peninsula (like a spring, a Crystal spring perhaps)?

Also, it looks like the easiest way to access the peninsula is via point "B" on my map. Is it possible to hire a boat at Hall's Crossing to drop us off at point "B", then pick us up a few days later? Would it be easier to fix a rope at point "A", rap down, swim across, then reverse this path when finished exploring? (Yeah, I'm aware this might sound a lil' crazy , jus' wondering.)

Is this peninsula a death wish? Or, perhaps, a relaxing oasis where I can work on my tan?

Bob

[yetigonecrazy]

Looks like fun! I was looking at a couple of obscure dark lines in that area a while back too. That whole area seems to be holding big time, North, Lake, Moqui, Crystal....they all have good looking tribs. If you look a bit further south, around the Nokai Dome area, you should also find a handful of others. I think Steve Allen has been in that area, but as usual, nobody seems to want to identify if and what he did, so at this point they are still plenty obscure. Looks like we saw some of the same, and some different ones. I've included my obscure slots map [as it stands thus far] if you want to have a look....

[Scott P]

No permits required. I've done some of those canyons, including main fork Crystal Springs. Also, the lower side forks of Crystal Springs and Moki are R or X canyons and require experience.

There is water in Crystal Springs Canyon in a few places. One is a huge Olympic sized swimming pool below the biggest drop. This was during the severe drought of 2002, so I assume that it is permanent.

[Slot Machine]

No permits required. I've done some of those canyons, including main fork Crystal Springs. Also, the lower side forks of Crystal Springs and Moki are R or X canyons and require experience.

There is water in Crystal Springs Canyon in a few places. One is a huge Olympic sized swimming pool below the biggest drop. This was during the severe drought of 2002, so I assume that it is permanent.

Thanks for the quality info Scott.

I assume that camping at point B would be the most comfortable way to do these canyons. Is it possible to hire someone to drop us off / pick us up at point B? Has anyone (on Bogley) ever hired someone at Halls Crossing to do this? Should I just buy a boat?

[PG Rob]

By boat is definitely the best way to go on these canyons. They are accessible from the lake. Best bet is to have a boat crew of leisure seekers to motor you around each day. A boat can be rented at either Bullfrog or Halls Crossings; or you can invite a friend with a boat.

You are talking about over 30 square miles of territory, so it would be quite a feat to cover it in a week. If you take it by land, you will likely need to chop up your exploring into 2 trips: Between Forgotten and Crystal and then Between Crystal and Moqui.

Also, it is about 300 feet from the rim to the lake at point A, which would make for a fun ascent with full packs that are soaking wet.

I have explored many of these. When you thinking of going?

Rob

[Slot Machine]

By boat is definitely the best way to go on these canyons. They are accessible from the lake. Best bet is to have a boat crew of leisure seekers to motor you around each day. A boat can be rented at either Bullfrog or Halls Crossings; or you can invite a friend with a boat.

I contacted a boat rental place yesterday. I asked how much it would cost to drop us off one day and pick us up a few days later. This was their reply:

"Hello Bob,

Yes we do this all the time for groups on Lake Powell. Our least expensive option is the 4 hour boat time and cost $1,495.00 + tax and gas used. So if you need a drop off one day and pick up another day you would have to times this by two.

If we can help in anyway please let us know.

Sincerely,
Invert Sports LLC"

Wow. $3000 for drop off / pick up service!?! Buying a boat or ascending out are starting to sound more reasonable by the minute. I'd haul my wet pack up like a pig on El Cap if I had to, in order to save that kind of cash.

What is the smallest boat that you can reasonably take across the lake? I've never been on Lake Powell and generally dislike boats. I just want something that will get us there and won't sink. I have a couple nickles that I could throw at a small boat. Any suggestions?

You are talking about over 30 square miles of territory, so it would be quite a feat to cover it in a week. If you take it by land, you will likely need to chop up your exploring into 2 trips: Between Forgotten and Crystal and then Between Crystal and Moqui.

Breaking this into two trips is an excellent idea. I was thinking the same thing once I started measuring how far we would need to hike each day.

I have explored many of these. When you thinking of going?

April.

[Scott P]

Since the posts above have already been made; here is a fair warning:

As hinted in an earlier post (which I probably shouldn't have made), several of the canyons in that area are death traps for the inexperienced (I only know of one that isn't on the extremely difficult side). Before going to the "un-betaed" X slots, make sure you are competent in the betaed X slots first and that you are well familiar with anyone else going. At a minimum you should be both a competent technical climber and competent in the X canyons.

I have many years of experience, but with one exception (main fork Crystal Springs), I do not consider myself to be competent enough to lead any of those canyons.

Also, whether on Powell, Escalante, or where-ever, doing more than one X canyon on a trip is impractical for most of us. If you survive, most of us are too beat up and bloody for another one without a long recovery period. If you do get into hard ones, always do one near the end of the trip because after one you will be suffering.

[Slot Machine]

I have many years of experience, but with one exception (main fork Crystal Springs), I do not consider myself to be competent enough to lead any of those canyons.

This statement is sobering. Thank you for posting more thoughts about the area, for the safety of those involved.

Maybe not April then. Hmm...

[penmartens]

Scott,
That is a very well worded warning with a lot of common sense thrown in. Thanks for sharing that with the community.
Penny

[Everett]

I've done many of these slots. Did you want detailed beta or are you just asking general questions?

[Slot Machine]

I've done many of these slots. Did you want detailed beta or are you just asking general questions?

A few months ago, I was hoping that these canyons were within my skill set, because they have a very appealing geometry, and I'd like to spend some time on the lake. I've been told by reliable sources that they are quite scary (X or XX), with the exception of one slot that is a solid 'R'.

Also, I need to get the whole boat situation figured out. Then maybe go do the Eden Canyons, which look a little less committing. I generally don't like boats, and my schedule for this year is already full, so it might have to wait for next year.

So, I'll hit you up if/when we head down to the Moqui/Crystal area. If you have any info on the Eden area, I'd like to learn a little about those slots. No big need to know, more like casual curiosity. Thanks.

[Slot Machine]

Oh! Just found the Eden info on the other Powell thread. Nevermind.

[Iceaxe]

I've been told by reliable sources that they are quite scary (X or XX), with the exception of one slot that is a solid 'R'.

XX

Alright... let's not get carried away with ratings inflation. First off, there is no such thing as a XX rating, that is just someone trying to scare you (or make sure you show proper respect for the route). X means mistakes will prove deadly, so what's the deal, XX means you die twice?

And if there was such an animal with a XX rating it would not be a canyon that has been descend by 50 and 60 year old canyoneers... In fact, being descend by your grandparents should probably be the definition for NOT being rated XX.

FWIW: Ratings inflation is a pet-peeve of mine.

YMMV

[Slot Machine]

Alright... let's not get carried away with ratings inflation.

Well, I wonder if 'XX' was just my informant's way to communicate the level of danger, since all X canyons are not created equally. Kind of like the Yosemite Decimal System. Before there were a-d ratings, there were just large groupings of climbs classified as 5.10, even though 5.11 is much more difficult.

In the future, I wonder if the canyon rating system will become slightly more refined. I'm not advocating alphabet soup to describe each canyon, but I wonder if an X.1, X.2, X.3 rating system would better communicate the level of danger; perhaps describe the likelihood of fatal injury. Sorry if that sounds macabre, but it might be better than lumping Sandthrax and PINTAC into a simple 'X' category, since they are not equally risky.

Just an idea. I don't want to be the guy rating them. You go first.

[stefan]

XX

Alright... let's not get carried away with ratings inflation. First off, there is no such thing as a XX rating, that is just someone trying to scare you (or make sure you show proper respect for the route).

fyi MK has used the XX rating

[Iceaxe]

fyi MK has used the XX rating

I don't care who has used it.... it's still ratings inflation.

Tap'n on my Galaxy G3

[Brian in SLC]

Seems like triple X is also responsible for "inflation"? Ha ha...

[ratagonia]

Sorry if that sounds macabre, but it might be better than lumping Sandthrax and PINTAC into a simple 'X' category, since they are not equally risky.

... which is why Sandthrax is a SLOT-Xminus and Pintac is a SLOT-Xplus.

Tom

[SRG]

And if there was such an animal with a XX rating it would not be a canyon that has been descend by 50 and 60 year old canyoneers... In fact, being descend by your grandparents should probably be the definition for NOT being rated XX.

awesome

X.1, X.2, X.3

I like this idea. The X means death if you slip, the additional decimal would describe the difficulty. Although the +/- works just as well.

[Iceaxe]

An X rating tells you everything you need to know, which is you had better do your homework!

There is nothing you can jam into the next 5 characters that will adequately described an X canyon. That is what a route description is for.

Sandthrax and PINTAC are a good example. One has a more difficult crux the other is more committing, so which X is more deserving?

Tap'n on my Galaxy G3