Lomatium - Fiery Furnace

[Iceaxe]

Shane those rocks are reasonable size it seems like when I looked at them it would be very hard to get your webbing back. YMMV.

I didn't expect to retrieve the webbing if you sling those rocks.

We have tried several ways to get to top of skull arch. No luck. We want to rappel of the nose bone. Oh sorry back when that would of been legal.

I went through a period of Arch bagging and have stood on top of most the major arches inside the park. With the new rules I don't believe climbing most of the arches is legal these days..... but.... I climbed Skull Arch from the front side. Facing it, start on the right side up to a ledge (5.8ish), then up the left side to the bottom of the two arch openings, then back across to the other side is a fairly easy short crack system to the top. As I recall, we down climbed it all to the first ledge above the 5.8ish section. There is a hidden bolt anchor on the ledge. There is a rather large peace sign carved into the rock span between the two openings as I recall.

There is also a large carving above Tunnel Arch near Landscape Arch. In fact, there are a lot of wanna-be paleo-idiot carvings around a number of arches, which kind of surprised me.

Arch bagging has been around as an underground sub-culture for a long time. I believe I walked across just about every major arch in the park except Delicate Arch and Ribbon Arch. Delicate Arch was off limits as it was one of those unwritten brotherhood of the secret code deals.....

Gerry Roach pretty much set the tone and rules that the sub-culture of Arch Baggers live by in 1982 with his book "Arch Bagger - A Scramblers Guide to Arches National Park".

Gerry Roach's book is kinda rare and kinda pricey these days as only 300 copies were ever printed. Copy's were selling for $100 last time I looked and signed copies were $200. I picked up my copy of the book from a fellow canyoneer that found it on a book store clearance table for $1.69.

[Iceaxe]

Additional Note - I tried to climb Skull Arch using Roach's beta (I believe Roach calls it Twin Arch) which uses a rear (Krill Canyon) approach and never figured it out. I spent a day with Price and Summers working on the rear approach and we could never make it work. When that didn't work we used the direct frontal assault.

[bioject]

Fiddlestick and sandtrap are outside the skill and comfort range of 90% of your average canyoneers. Lomation is a trade route and a simple and safe anchor needs to be established. Mishaps at this location will do nothing to forward canyoneering inside the Fiery Furnace where it is already on thin ice. Sounds like this would be an ideal project for the CAC to invest some energy in.

So dumb down the skill it takes so that less skilled people can do it? I would prefer if more people were educated instead and given the skills to do it without the need for bolts.

[Iceaxe]

So dumb down the skill it takes so that less skilled people can do it? I would prefer if more people were educated instead and given the skills to do it without the need for bolts.

Are you familiar with the Fiery Furnace? It's history? It's issues? Are you aware the route is already bolted with the exception of this one rappel? Are you aware the current anchor is an arch?

Normally I would agree with you about dumbing down a route... but the Furnace is a very different animal. Discussions have already been held inside the park service about only allowing access by ranger guided tours. Discussions have been held about banning technical gear. This is not your typical canyon and if canyoneers become even a small problem we could easily lose access.

If canyoneers want to maintain access we can't have rope grooves, especially in an arch. We can't tie up resources with SAR and accidents. We can't create a management issue.

[bioject]

Don't hesitate to contact us and see if we could be of help - though we still haven't done the Krill route.

Do you remember how long the approach takes from the car to the first rap in Lomatium?

[Kuya]

About an hour or so. Depends on how much you stop to gawk at the incredible scenery. I always like to stop by Suprise Arch too.

[Iceaxe]

Do you remember how long the approach takes from the car to the first rap in Lomatium?

If you hike direct, don't get lost, and don't visit any of the side attractions about 20 minutes. The entire loop can be done in less than an hour, but then you would be completely missing the charm of the Furnace as it's the side attractions and scenery that make the trip.

The entire Fiery Furnace is relatively small at about 1/2 mile long and 1/2 mile wide. It would easily fit inside a couple city blocks. About 15 years ago we explored every square foot of the Furnace and it took 3 full days, with a crew of skilled climbers/canyoneers. Once you get the place figured out it's pretty simple, but if you have never been before you will get lost in the maze.

[Sandstone Addiction]

Has anyone tried painting bolts, hangers, and chains to match the color of the sandstone to minimize the chance of being seen by sightseers?

[peakbaggers]

Do you remember how long the approach takes from the car to the first rap in Lomatium?

There are actually several ways to approach the first rap/main arch (Abbey) - two of which I've heard come from the outer fringes of the Furnace area. Using those can get you there quickly. I don't think the NPS likes people using those but I may be wrong. I've only ever done the "inside" route and there can be variations on that as well. To do the entire inside route and have time to enjoy the scenery, explore around some of the other side canyons, take photos and maybe eat a little, give yourself a good four+ hours for a smaller group and especially if you're taking a newb.

[Iceaxe]

There are actually several ways to approach the first rap/main arch (Abbey) - two of which I've heard come from the outer fringes of the Furnace area. Using those can get you there quickly.

Using the outside approaches would be highly frowned upon as they all cross large swaths of crypto in addition to creating meandering social trails. Using the outside approaches is the type of thing that will get canyoneering banned inside the Furnace. Not only that the inside approach is the fastest and most direct approach from the parking lot. It's pretty much a straight shot to the head of Lomatium if you cut out the side trips to things like Surprise Arch.

[moab mark]

Video:)