SGR - Is it really all that?

[TommyBoy]

I was invited to go do SGR yesterday with Cristina and jumped at the chance since it has been on my list ever since it was published. It required an early start since I only had the one day off so it was down to Moab and back in a day.


The scenery on the hike in is quite stunning, this was only my second trip to Moab, and the first one was years ago on an ATV trip before I got into canyoneering























Crossing the first silo




Everyone says you're not supposed to look down, but I can't resist, I look everytime.








That was some COLD water





All in all it was a great day and I'm glad I did it, but the difficulty is IMHO a little over hyped. The hike in was beautiful and there was some great stuff in the slot, but the high stemming section is at most 20 yards long, and the rest of the canyon is fairly straightforward. The silos don't get very wide, and they aren't more than 4-5' long either so they aren't hard to get across. It may be harder than any thing else in Moab and I agree that something needs to be done to draw attention to that, but rating it R+ isn't the way to go. Even the rappel at the end of the stemming section shouldn't be that hard to rig. The current set up is off a tree that would be hard to re rig if necessary, but there is a hueco that could be used that is right there at the level you are stemming at, and is actually easier to reach than the webbing that is currently in place.


Just in case its not clear I had a great time out there and would definitely do the canyon again sometime, but if you're looking for an awesome high stemming canyon this isn't it. Its a wonderful day hiking through the backcountry of Moab to approach the canyon, which is a relatively mild day with a short spicy section of stemming thrown in.

[Scott P]

I can't see the photos for some reason.

[TommyBoy]

Should be fixed now

[Iceaxe]

It may be harder than any thing else in Moab and I agree that something needs to be done to draw attention to that, but rating it R+ isn't the way to go.

I've always had SGR rated R.

If you are reading my route descriptions an R rating is just a little warning there is something out of the ordinary that you had better know about before you go so do your homework. While an X rating is a big warning there is something out of the ordinary that you had better know about before you go so do your homework. Pretty dang simple don't ya think?

I try to never sandbag or over rate a route, My ratings often change after I get more feedback from trusted canyoneers and partners, which is a huge advantage a website has over a guide book. I'm just posting this so some of you can gain some insight from a sprayer of beta.

I don't do plus/minus, PG, slot with a twist, on the girlfriend scale... Keep It Simple Stupid.... Your Mileage May Vary.