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Thread: 07/13/13 - Eye of the Needle

  1. #1
    Moderator jman's Avatar
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    07/13/13 - Eye of the Needle

    Two or three years ago, my buddy Jeff Guest won the grand prize trip when Z.A.C. held a photo and video contest that allowed people to show "how they let nature be their guide". Jeff did a great compilation of the his canyon descents all throughout Utah (and his many backflips haha). The grand prize was for a 3 day basic course given through ZAC for two people.

    After talking to ZAC about switching up the grand-prize; they allowed Jeff a trip for 2 people down their "Extreme" course and other Imlay Canyon Gear produced goods.

    I don't remember why we chose July, but probably due to work schedules I'd imagine.

    So Jeff and I headed down after work and we were ready to go! We were pretty excited for this canyon as many did not do it before the landowners closed access to it and only allowed ZAC permission. Plus, I there are just a few public TRs on the web about it which adds to the mystique.

    We were greeted by our awesome guide BJ with ZAC. He looked us over and said that I won't have to worry about you guys, and we'll just treat this as a friend descent rather than me (BJ) doing all of the work. Sounds good to me. Jeff and I like like the problem-solving of canyons.

    Eye of the Needle is all-bolted and there is no swimming involved. The deepest it gets is waist-deep at one of the waterfall pools. Otherwise, it's all just a stream that you are in for most of the rappels.

    It features 10 rappels, although 2 of them could be downclimbed (but wouldn't suggest it due to the slippery nature of those logs that you would DC next too).

    The Eye of the Needle Rappel is definitely the highlight of the canyon - the largest rappel of the canyon, and features a arch/hole that you rappel through. Very cool!

    At the end of the canyon, you can either go down towards the MIA exit (which takes another 1hr to 2 hours to reach) or you can do the ZAC preferred method which is ASCEND a canyon fork of over 400ft. This is where BJ and ZAC makes it a treat for their clients.

    Even before the first rappel of the canyon, our guide went down a canyon fork and left 3 ropes for our multi-pitch ascent. BJ descended over 400 feet and ascended all of that - in under 30 minutes. He was definitely superhuman for doing that. Then of course, after he descends the canyon with us, he has to ascend it again. Talk about a exercise!

    BJ was great because let us do all of the rigging and problem solving, while he watched. He was the first one to ascend and let both Jeff and I ascend at the same time. I do LOVE my handled-ascenders! When we reached the top he said we were the fastest guided group to the canyon. Yay for us. But really, it is a straight-forward canyon with 10 rappels.

    My recommendation - if you have the time and money (better if you have a large group) do the canyon. It was fun, although short (it seemed) and the ascent is good practice. Classic Zion stuff. Awesome scenery - and the canyons up there are incredible!

    Thanks ZAC for hooking us up and providing a awesome guide!


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    ●Canyoneering 'Canyon Conditions' @ www.candition.com
    ●Hiking Treks (my younger brother's website): hiking guides @ www.thetrekplanner.com
    "He who walks on the edge...will eventually fall."
    "There are two ways to die in the desert - dehydration and drowning." -overhearing a Park Ranger at Capitol Reef N.P.
    "...the first law of gear-dynamics: gear is like a gas - it will expand to fit the available space." -Wortman, Outside magazine.
    "SEND IT, BRO!!"

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  4. #2
    awesome video, as always.

  5. #3
    A buddy and I did this canyon back in 05, a classic.

  6. #4

  7. #5
    Awesome video. Thanks for posting.
    Don't believe everything you think.

    -Borrowed from a bumper sticker I believe

  8. #6
    Jman- is this canyon really $395 per person plus tip better than kolob?

  9. #7
    Great video.

    Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

  10. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Jolly Green View Post
    Jman- is this canyon really $395 per person plus tip better than kolob?
    I have done both Kolob and Eye of the Needle, and Kolob is the better canyon IMHO. The tech section of Kolob is short, the tech section in Eye of the Needle is extremely short. Standard exit for both is out the MIA.

    I understand there is a short cut out of Eye of the Needle if you know where to setup a short jug. The private Property issues also make the Needle a pain in the ass.

    Bottom line is Kolob is a much bigger bang for your buck, has a unique history, and doesn't have as many hoops to jump through (no ninja stealth required).

    Anyhoo... that's my two cents.


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    Moderator jman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Iceaxe View Post
    I have done both Kolob and Eye of the Needle, and Kolob is the better canyon IMHO. The tech section of Kolob is short, the tech section in Eye of the Needle is extremely short. Standard exit for both is out the MIA.

    I understand there is a short cut out of Eye of the Needle if you know where to setup a short jug. The private Property issues also make the Needle a pain in the ass.

    Bottom line is Kolob is a much bigger bang for your buck, has a unique history, and doesn't have as many hoops to jump through (no ninja stealth required).

    Anyhoo... that's my two cents.

    Yeah, Eye is much shorter. Kolob is better bang for buck. Eye doesn't have swimmers - Kolob does.

    For what it is - eye isn't a bad canyon at all. Quite fun but short.

    And the "short jug" is a multi-pitch ascent of 400+ ft. You have to know what you are doing to set these up before hand. But hey, it was all free for us courtesy of ZAC - thanks again guys!



    -Brett
    ●Canyoneering 'Canyon Conditions' @ www.candition.com
    ●Hiking Treks (my younger brother's website): hiking guides @ www.thetrekplanner.com
    "He who walks on the edge...will eventually fall."
    "There are two ways to die in the desert - dehydration and drowning." -overhearing a Park Ranger at Capitol Reef N.P.
    "...the first law of gear-dynamics: gear is like a gas - it will expand to fit the available space." -Wortman, Outside magazine.
    "SEND IT, BRO!!"

  12. #10
    That short jug is about 350 ft. We came down it the first time we were looking for Eye Of The Needle, 2 pitches. This was back in 05 so things could have changed. A month later I hooked up with someone else that knew his way into EOTN and the right way to get out of the MIA. That trip was probably one of the last free trips into that canyon. Even though the owner send we were welcomed at any time, then a couple of months later news came out that people were not allowed into the canyon anymore.

  13. #11
    Setting up the ascent in the middle fork/Chute is not difficult at all. And the long rap (the first one) is a very easy jug since it's low angle. The other two raps are short and fairly straightforward ascents. We've set it up a few times now for ascents out of that area and it's way better than doing the MIA, plus the crossroads area there is amazing. We spent about an hour or so investigating other jug options off the point that juts out just north/west of the Chute. Appears to be a shorter drop and could maybe be accomplished with one single 200' rope with a little scrambling. One of these years we'll check it out!
    beefcake. BEEFCAKE!

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    Moderator jman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by nelsonccc View Post
    Setting up the ascent in the middle fork/Chute is not difficult at all. And the long rap (the first one) is a very easy jug since it's low angle. The other two raps are short and fairly straightforward ascents. We've set it up a few times now for ascents out of that area and it's way better than doing the MIA, plus the crossroads area there is amazing. We spent about an hour or so investigating other jug options off the point that juts out just north/west of the Chute. Appears to be a shorter drop and could maybe be accomplished with one single 200' rope with a little scrambling. One of these years we'll check it out!
    Actually it's not hard at all. I was attempting to discourage people from trying it since it's the better route. Lol

    But yeah, I agree - it's the better route than MIA.

    However, the biggest time waister is having a group stuck behind a slow jugging group. Out guide was telling us that it took 3 people over 4 hours (!!!!) to ascend it. That would suck cause the first two pitches really only allows for one person to ascend in the flute. The last and biggest pitch could allow multiple lines but still it would be a big bottleneck.




    -Brett
    ●Canyoneering 'Canyon Conditions' @ www.candition.com
    ●Hiking Treks (my younger brother's website): hiking guides @ www.thetrekplanner.com
    "He who walks on the edge...will eventually fall."
    "There are two ways to die in the desert - dehydration and drowning." -overhearing a Park Ranger at Capitol Reef N.P.
    "...the first law of gear-dynamics: gear is like a gas - it will expand to fit the available space." -Wortman, Outside magazine.
    "SEND IT, BRO!!"

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  17. #13
    Looks awesome! How do you think this one stacks up against a wet Boundary? That one even has arches to rappel through.
    --Cliff

  18. #14
    Moderator jman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ilipichicuma View Post
    Looks awesome! How do you think this one stacks up against a wet Boundary? That one even has arches to rappel through.
    Haven't done Boundary yet, so I can't say. Sorry.
    ●Canyoneering 'Canyon Conditions' @ www.candition.com
    ●Hiking Treks (my younger brother's website): hiking guides @ www.thetrekplanner.com
    "He who walks on the edge...will eventually fall."
    "There are two ways to die in the desert - dehydration and drowning." -overhearing a Park Ranger at Capitol Reef N.P.
    "...the first law of gear-dynamics: gear is like a gas - it will expand to fit the available space." -Wortman, Outside magazine.
    "SEND IT, BRO!!"

  19. #15
    When I did Boundary it was bone dry, but if I recall correctly it was much longer than EON. If Boundary was in flowing conditions I would choose it over EON otherwise, EON everyday of the week. Turning it into an overnighter hiking out the narrows is a great time.

    Not to mention choosing Boundary saves a ton in $$ without the guide ( unless you prefer the poach method ;) )

  20. #16
    From what I understand, Boundary is almost always wet these days. I don't know if that's changed because it's been a dryer year. I haven't been down there since the summer of '11, which was a really wet year. But it was also flowing all year the year before that.
    --Cliff

  21. #17
    Last time I went through was November of (I'm guessing) 2010. It was dry as can be. I imaging its either rated an A or C probably not much in between. Any info on when it's typically flowing? I'd love to do it in wet conditions, it has some decent raps there that probably make for some great falls.

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