Not Imlay anchors question

[jushyd]

I am researching canyons to do this fall. At http://www.canyoneeringusa.com, it says about Not Imlay: “only has 1 bolt and you will likely need to build your own anchors.”

Is this still the case? Just 1 bolt? And can someone elaborate please on “building your own anchors”. What are the best anchor techniques for this canyon? That way I can learn and practice this before going out there this October

Thank you.

[Iceaxe]

I'm thinking you will find the information in this article to be of use.

Canyoneering Primer
http://climb-utah.com/Misc/natural.htm

This article was written by a friend of mine about 10 years ago, but most of the information is still practical.

[2065toyota]

No anchors have to 'built' in Not Imlay. It is just a matter of using or replacing the webbing that is there around the numerous trees and boulders in place.

My initial thoughts are that if the question is being asked, you may want to do some canyons with some people that have experience and can help you learn about different anchors.

Common sense will always be your best tool though.

[TommyBoy]

From your post (ie asking about building anchors) you sound fairly inexperienced at canyoneering. Not Imlay has 2 long rappels in it, the second of which is free hanging for a large part of it. If I'm wrong about your experience then ignore this, but perhaps you should consider starting off with some of the easier classics in Zion before jumping in to something like Not Imlay. It's a great canyon, but there are others with easier access that will give you more bang for your buck, and will perhaps be a little safer for a newer canyoneer.

[Iceaxe]

There is some very sound advice contained in the above posts.



Not to mention there are a couple hundred canyons that are much better then Not-Imlay, like Imlay. Not-Imlay is normally done by folks who have done all the trade routes several times and are just looking for something different.

[jushyd]

I'm thinking you will find the information in this article to be of use.

Canyoneering Primer
http://climb-utah.com/Misc/natural.htm

This article was written by a friend of mine about 10 years ago, but most of the information is still practical.

Thanks for the link Iceaxe. I found it useful.

[jushyd]

I have some experience canyoneering in Zion (3 canyons- Subway, Spry and Mystery) and lots of experience on rope with very long drops (I'm a vertical caver in Tennessee). I guess my original question should be changed to, when building anchors, does this mean we should bring and leave behind, our own slings/webbing/quick links, rappel rings, etc. or do you reckon these things are usually already in place? If I don't have to bring a lot with me (on the plane ride and into the canyon, I'd rather not) but of course I will if I have too. I guess what I'm looking for is up-to-date beta on the rigging at each drop.

I want to know, should I be practicing ghosting techniques or what?

And Iceaxe, I've chosen Not Imlay along with 10 other canyons that I need to narrow down to 6 or 7. Imlay and Heaps would probably be out of the comfort zone of one or two of my people. I plan to hit them next year.

[TommyBoy]

I would bring maybe 2 pieces of webbing around 20-25' with you and then if you end up needing more you can buy it in town. Most likely you won't even need that much, however you will be going after the monsoon season so unless there is a trip report that is after the most recent storms its impossible to tell what might have happened to the anchors in canyon. I just did Not Imlay about a week ago and the anchors were in good condition, and the drainage for that one is small so likely won't need any replacements, but a couple of the anchors in that canyon require 10-15' of webbing to replace so if they are bad you'll need a fair bit.

As far as ghosting goes, it's always a good idea to practice it in safe conditions since its a great tool to have in your kit, but Zion doesn't practice a ghosting ethic so there will probably be anchors in place.

I wouldn't rule out Not Imlay completely, I thought it was a great canyon with some views of the park most don't see, but if you haven't done the classics yet they will give you more for your time out here. It will always be there next trip as well.

[ratagonia]

I would bring maybe 2 pieces of webbing around 20-25' with you and then if you end up needing more you can buy it in town. Most likely you won't even need that much, however you will be going after the monsoon season so unless there is a trip report that is after the most recent storms its impossible to tell what might have happened to the anchors in canyon. I just did Not Imlay about a week ago and the anchors were in good condition, and the drainage for that one is small so likely won't need any replacements, but a couple of the anchors in that canyon require 10-15' of webbing to replace so if they are bad you'll need a fair bit.

As far as ghosting goes, it's always a good idea to practice it in safe conditions since its a great tool to have in your kit, but Zion doesn't practice a ghosting ethic so there will probably be anchors in place.

I wouldn't rule out Not Imlay completely, I thought it was a great canyon with some views of the park most don't see, but if you haven't done the classics yet they will give you more for your time out here. It will always be there next trip as well.

Yes and no.

Not-Imlay is an example that is not typical for Zion. Specifically, the traderoute canyons in Zion are generally thought-free 'adventures', where the anchors are taken care of, except maybe you might have to replace the webbing on a bolted anchor or conspicuous tree, every other trip. Not-Imlay is not like that. At least not yet.

I refer to this as a "backcountry" canyon.

While anchors might already be rigged, this does not mean they are rigged in the best way possible, or that the webbing is intact. It only takes one storm hitting this particular drainage to chew up several of the anchors. And as TommyBoy points out, several of these anchors take long slings to rig well. And some degree of backcountry canyon savvy to figure out how to rig them well. It only took me 3 times through the canyon to get it figured out.

Since Not Imlay is a good example of this, let me pontificate on the problems involved. Though my memory may confuse the sequence of events.

1. Rappel 1: if it is rigged 'correctly' (optimally might be a better word), when you arrive at R1, you will think "why is that webbing so gosh darn long? I don't want to start the rappel way down there, I want to start it comfortably way up here." Yes you do, but when you get to the ledge near the bottom, you will find out that your 300' rope does not get ALL the way to the bottom, it gets to a plenty big ledge, and then you are left with a nasty downclimb and traverse on steep dirt to get to the actual bottom.

"Rappel a few feet to the south (right, looking out) of the watercourse. Seek out a stout tree 20 feet right of the watercourse, and attach a ridiculously long sling to get the rappel ring down the slab as far as practicable."

The sling for that one is perhaps 30 feet. Also, the longer the sling, the easier the pull.

2. Rappel 2: is off two quite small trees, if they are still up to the task. If not, you might need to enlist other small trees. With its growing popularity, this rap might need to be bolted pretty soon. There is not much for anchors in the area, other than a few quite small trees. Gentle rappelling is advised.

3. Rappel 3: the anchor here is easy... however, it is also a reasonable downclimb. You could also belay less-aggressive members of your party on the first 20 feet of the downclimb, though many people rappel this. And I do not mean the 10 foot downclimb to get to the anchor.

4. Rappel 4: a single bolt. Also downclimbable, but harder and less secure than R3.

5. Rappel 5: awkward because the good anchors are not in a convenient location. A long sling (20-30 feet) may be required here to get the ring over the edge, to a good place for the pull.

6. Rappel 6: 260 feet. A longish sling (15 feet? 20 feet?) off a pinch gets the ring over the edge. Many people make this a bit short, resulting in pulling problems. This rap is famous for core-shotting the rope, most often at the ~100 foot mark where the rope goes over an edge and the rappel is free to the ground. We might need to put a bolted anchor in there, at the edge. (???) Good rappelling technique and precise setting of rappel friction = no core shot. Any degree of clumsiness on any member of the party = rope gets core shot.

-----

Thus, I would suggest bringing 80 feet of webbing, thinking carefully about each rappel, and having backcountry canyon experience before doing this canyon. I like this canyon a lot, however, it is not a plug and chug Zion sport-canyon type experience.

Tom

http://www.canyoneeringusa.com/utah/zion/technical/not-imlay/

[ratagonia]

I would also like to caution against placing much, if ANY, reliance on recent conditions reports. Conditions in the canyon can change substantially in an hour. Bring materials, equipment, and savvy based on the canyon being as difficult as it can possibly be, rather than thinking it will be as Joe Schmoe found it a week ago, or as the Beta tells you it is.

Please.

Tom

[twotimer]

Great post there, Tom.

[jushyd]

Wow! Excellent info TommyBoy and ratgonia! Thank you very much. On a side note Tom, I recently purchased some gear from your company (I love my new Spry pack!!) but I wanted to tell you that one of your employees, Shirlz, went above and beyond for me on tracking down a large Imlay Rope Silo in the color I wanted. I was grateful and I will recommend your company to my friends.

[ratagonia]

Wow! Excellent info TommyBoy and ratgonia! Thank you very much. On a side note Tom, I recently purchased some gear from your company (I love my new Spry pack!!) but I wanted to tell you that one of your employees, Shirlz, went above and beyond for me on tracking down a large Imlay Rope Silo in the color I wanted. I was grateful and I will recommend your company to my friends.

We are only two people here, just so you know.

We try to give exceptional, personal service to all our customers. Thank you for recognizing this.

Tom