Spry Canyon - May 2012

[Kuya]

This was the last canyon Jay and I did on our Zion Adventure in May 2012. Like all Zion Canyons, this one was very beautiful! But its beauty comes at a little higher cost. The approach of this hike is brutal. It is straight up a mountain side for about 1000 ft. Ok ok... if I were in better shape it would have been much easier, but still, this canyon demands quite the hike to get to the top. there are even some cool petroglyphs to be found on the way up. They are worth a visit.


Once at the top, it is a blast going down. The first rap isn't very steep, but it quite long and fun. I was more like walking down a chute than a cliff, but it was different and very good. After that first rap, it takes a while to get to the narrow part, but the narrow section is a lot of fun. I don't have a waterproof camera so much of what we saw wasn't captured on film, But I do have a few pics and video clips to showcase some of the canyon. Enjoy!

[mzamp]

The approach of this hike is brutal. It is straight up a mountain side for about 1000 ft.

Car shuttle or hitch hike comes to mind

[Kuya]

Car shuttle or hitch hike comes to mind

What killed me was the hike from the bottom of pine-creek to the top of the canyon. I'm in better shape this year, but when I did this it was killer, Especially in the hot May sun!

[hank moon]

What killed me was the hike from the bottom of pine-creek to the top of the canyon. I'm in better shape this year, but when I did this it was killer, Especially in the hot May sun!

An early start (cool) and good conditioning make it relatively trivial. Try it again sometime under better conditions and post back, eh?

[Kuya]

An early start (cool) and good conditioning make it relatively trivial. Try it again sometime under better conditions and post back, eh?

I bet it would be a much different experience for me this year. However, it is not a canyon that I foresee me doing again in the near future. It was pretty enough, but not the best canyon I have ever done. The view from the top was amazing, but the actual slot canyon sections were... underwhelming.

[WorkBad]

Thanks for the Trip Report, Spry is one of my favorites.

[Bshelton]

Just went through Spry for the first time last weekend. Agreed the approach is quite a march.
The canyon entrance had patches of snow but all avoidable, the first rap pothole was covered in melting ice/snow and appeared pretty unstable. It being our first time through we went far LDC since we couldn't see the exact location on the pothole nor did we know the depth and didn't feel like falling through the ice/snow unexpectedly.
A trickle of a flow continued through the entire canyon and most water was no more than waist deep. A couple of short swimmers but 3/2 rubber was plenty warm.
It unreal how many rope groves are in this canyon, I know that topic is synonymous with this canyon but what a sight to see in person. I have to admit its takes away from the experience a bit when your constantly concerned with ropes getting stuck.
Question- why is it advised to avoid dropping into the slot and canyon beta describes going left or right of the slot and dropping back in when it first narrows up?
We followed the beta and went left using the large pine tree with easy access. Kind of a cool chamber up canyon from that drop.
The rest of the canyon was pretty straight forward other than rap 5. At rap I opted to rap from the chokestone into the pool rather than the pine tree to avoid rope grooves and a stuck rope. Once in the pool I discovered I was required to do the second stage from the same anchor and no matter what, last man down was required to use the pine tree due to the pull (or lack thereof) through the pothole.
The exit is almost as bad as the approach if you stay in the watercourse but much faster. The last optional rap is worth doing for sure.
I brought the camera but only had enough battery for a crappy picture of the first rap.
Overall great canyon and worth doing. We got really lucky with a 75' day and plenty of sunshine. Car to car 7hrs with lots of leisure time in the canyon.

[hank moon]

no matter what, last man down was required to use the pine tree due to the pull (or lack thereof) through the pothole.

Though it seems kinda unlikely, pulling down from the chockstone anchor has always worked fine for me - no need to re-rig off the tree.

p.s. crappy pic of first rap better than no pic of first rap - post up!

[Aj84737]

I believe it was recommended to go left or right and then dropping back into the canyon to avoid a very unstable log jam. If it is flowing now maybe it is possible that the log jam is now gone. We did this canyon in January and there was snow and ice like crazy. I agree the rope grooves take away from the beauty of the canyon and defiantly adds to the stress of all the rope pulls. Pretty fun canyon I know we enjoyed it. Looking forward to doing it again sometime in the rear future.

[Bshelton]

Though it seems kinda unlikely, pulling down from the chockstone anchor has always worked fine for me - no need to re-rig off the tree.

p.s. crappy pic of first rap better than no pic of first rap - post up!

I heard the same thing from Tom- honestly didn't even try the pull. It looked like it redirected so much it would never go. Ill give it a shot next time. Ill get a pic posted soon.

[Bshelton]

I believe it was recommended to go left or right and then dropping back into the canyon to avoid a very unstable log jam. If it is flowing now maybe it is possible that the log jam is now gone. We did this canyon in January and there was snow and ice like crazy. I agree the rope grooves take away from the beauty of the canyon and defiantly adds to the stress of all the rope pulls. Pretty fun canyon I know we enjoyed it. Looking forward to doing it again sometime in the rear future.

From the top there appeared to be some sort of very large jam. It looked stable from afar but never got ip close. What you stated seems to make sense. Next time ill try and reverse up canyon a bit from the rap and explore it a bit more.

[ratagonia]

From the top there appeared to be some sort of very large jam. It looked stable from afar but never got ip close. What you stated seems to make sense. Next time ill try and reverse up canyon a bit from the rap and explore it a bit more.

That log jam is the anchor for a short extremely awkward rappel. It has been eroding away slowly over the years. Probably wouldn't be able to evaluate it from below very well, especially since it is mighty dark down there!

There's an arch nearby that could also be used. Or the tree above the V-slot downclimb, but that is a long way away.

Tom