Elephant Butte, Arches National Park

[WorkBad]

I've done many canyons but this is my first Bogley TripReport! I hope the pics work out with the resolution I selected. Be safe out there. Enjoy!

Wife and I did Elephant Butte 1 March 2013. Neither of us have done this one before. Armed with a GPS, way points, trail description, 165ft rope, 200ft pull cord, 120ft of webbing, ascending gear, helmets, and sense of adventure we went for it. We still found ourselves confused at times so here are some pics to help the next guy/gal.

Picture of the start canyon with large boulders.


We hiked up until we got to the crack. It is here that we met up with a novice group willing to share in the adventure.

Notice the lovely snow covered slope we thought we were going to ascend, didn't happen. I ended up climbing up the crack which wasn't too bad, then belayed the wife up. Once at the top we went left. 10 feet north(left) on the right hand side there is a break in the wall which allows easy passage east and into a "sandy" (snowy) bowl.

Wife on Belay. Guy in the background is from the other group.


The sandy bowl was not sandy at all but full of snow and ice. Here is a pic of where we came from in the background and what we needed to get up. That is solid ice, I defeated the slope by getting a running start and flopping onto my belly like a penguin. It wasn't pretty I'm sure.


Once up this slope we found ourselves in yet another type of bowl full of snow. Below the arrow you can see the other group getting their members up the icy slope which we just defeated. My wife is looking at the next obstacle behind me (I took the photo).

Next obstacle!

Same obstacle looking down this time. Notice my wife, the only one with a helmet on.


We kept going up this drainage and eventually came to a very small bowl with a medium sized boulder in the bottom. This is where we encountered the 5.4 exposed ledge which I did with my 5.10 canyoneers. Something to note, there seemed to be two different ways to go but I promise only one way is correct. Take the harder looking route south and out of the small bowl. I got up without incident and the wife ascended off a set aider while on belay.


Here is a pic looking back down at the the medium sized boulder.


Further south we gained the lip and carefully lowered ourselves to the large gathering area above rap 1 (60ft). Anchor webbing is in good shape and properly lengthened to prevent rope pull grooves. At the staging area for rap one we could clearly see our route to the summit.


After rap 1 we pulled our ropes and down climbed the remaining 20 feet to the canyon floor. This is me using my assets to get down.


We carefully worked our way up the steep sandstone face and gained the summit. There is a lot of exposure on the way up and down, choosing the best route is crucial for safety.
Pic from the summit.

We then were ready to come back down.
This is the approx route we took to get down. Pic taken from Google Earth, followed by a pic I took from the top looking down. I think the key is to be sure to get onto the south side of the giant crack in the Butte that runs diagonal "/" "forward slash" (lol) when looking east on a map.



After getting to the bottom of the proper drainage things went really smooth and fast. There was only a couple of slides into fresh powder and a step over a couple of frozen pools. The final rappel was a little spooky to get out to because of the ice. Anchor off three pitons was in great shape.





Back to the car in 6 hours, the ice and snow made this even harder I'm sure.
Back to camp then 190 mile drive home!

[Jolly Green]

Great trip report! Looks like it will be in prime condition in a few more weeks. Unless you like all that snow and ice stuff. Well done!

[jman]

Wow! Awesome First TR!

I saw your post on candition earlier... So this is who you are.

Love the directions on your pics.

Elephant is a good one, although the ice makes for a fun challenge.

And Welcome to Bogley.

[WorkBad]

Thanks Jolly G. and jman!

[Brian in SLC]

Great TR!

[Sandstone Addiction]

I really enjoyed your first TR! Beautiful pics.

[WorkBad]

Thank You Brian and Sandstone! I've enjoyed everyone's trip reports and comments through the years.

[Iceaxe]

Great first TR.... thanks.

Tap'n on my Galaxy G3

[accadacca]

Excellent TR. I bet it was tricky with that snow and ice, but you guys made it work.

[Mountaineer]

Loved the pictures with arrows on where to go! Fantastic write-up, and great job!

[oldno7]

great write up and pics...