Horsetank Wash / Sandrock Canyoneering - Slightly Epic

Sigh... This is going to be a long entry. There's no way around it. Saturday, July 7th, our team of four spent over 16 hours in this canyon after a few events went awry. Let me preface by saying no one was seriously hurt, though there was certainly a close call during our escape from the canyon. At the end I will try to summarize the lessons learned, arising out of some of the decisions made that contributed to some not-so-ideal conditions.

Let's begin with the facts:

Horsetank Wash / Sandrock Canyon

• ACA Canyon Rating: 3B R IV
• Time Required:  8-12 hrs
• Actual Time: 16+ hrs
• Mileage: ~6 miles
• Rappels:  ~6 raps: 45ft, 15ft, 20ft, 35ft, 80ft, 25ft
• Swims: Tons of swims (more than 15 maybe?) 
• Actual Mileage: 8+ miles (we took the full approach route in)
• Location: North of Strawberry, AZ off the US-260 in the Fossil Springs Wilderness

My friend Charlie and I had been tossing around the idea of descending a canyon for a while. Recently I came to terms with the lackluster winter and accepted the grim fate of summer in the desert. Looking for any means of staying near and dear to my mountaineering spirit, I finally realized that canyoneering could be that temporary answer. It just might be a way of staying in tune with the art moving through harsh environments with ropes and a skill set to navigate terrain, mitigate risk, and make calculated, life-preserving decisions. Krystal, Charlie and I finally met up for breakfast and poured through Todd Martin's Arizona: Technical Canyoneering book searching for a good fit for our first excursion. Let me reinforce: Horsetank Wash should probably not be attempted by new people to the sport -- It is a very demanding, humbling, enduring canyon to say the least. With our background and our friend Rob's background (he was the veteran of the group, having previously been through West Clear Creek and Zion canyons), we decided it would be a worthy prize. We conducted the necessary research, synced schedules and finalized plans to meet at the pull-off on the US260, between mileposts 246 and 247 the night before. We met at around 9pm Friday night, polished off some brewdogs, and turned in for the night, sleeping in our cars.

The next morning we took turns emerging from the cars at around 6am. Krystal unfortunately, had hardly slept a hour the entire night, having been spooked by the eerie sounds of the wilderness. She finally snoozed as us three fellas cooked quick individual breakfasts and began packing for the day.

more to come...

Gearing up for some AZ Summer Canyoneering

It's official. I think I have finally come to terms with the loss of winter. Here we are well-into the month of June -- yeah, it took that long. Even with several teases throughout the past few weeks, hearing of fresh ice on Mt. Mendel, and stellar snow conditions on the north couloir of Gilpin Peak in Colorado, I have decided to hang up the alpine boots for a few months. There's so much going on with wedding planning, and I promised to take a more "involved" role in the finer details -- what does that mean for the guy, exactly? Anyhow, not wanting to give up the adventurer within me, I have decided to embrace my home state offerings.

Don't get me wrong, Arizona has plenty to offer. There's thousands of established climbing routes littered throughout many unique ranges in the state. I love to climb. I wish it wasn't 110+ degrees here locally; I'd get out to the crags and dry-tool more (yeah, yeah, I still can't give up the winter spirit). However, one of the greatest offerings of this state are the canyons -- we've got the damn Grandest of them all up north, for crying out loud. Until now, I've kept my distance from the sport of canyoneering. Unfortunately, claiming ignorance, I just assumed canyoneering was just the sport of rappelling. You know, the "lazy-man's way of getting down the mountain", hehehe. However, with desperation setting in, knowing I can't get out to some of the prime summer alpine locations, I've resorted to delving into one of this state's greatest offerings. I picked up the Todd Martin guide to Technical Canyoneering in AZ last week and I haven't been able to put it down. There's something about jumping into unfamiliar territory and the surrounding intrigue that seems to creep in, ushering that lil' sense of curiosity further and further.

My friend Charlie and I have been chatting back in forth for several months about going for it, trying our climbers' hand at a canyon or two. We met this Saturday for breakfast and settled it. In two weeks, we're going for it. My lady has expressed interest in coming with and two other notable partners in crime have signed on. In two weeks, we're setting our sites on a technical descent of Horsetank Wash and ascent out of Sandrock Canyon. The looping route is rated at 3B R IV, meaning there are some inherent route-finding risks, some technical raps off natural anchors and at least one keeper pothole. I'm already working through my systems at home to prep for pothole escape. The route out of the canyon is also one of note, ascending out a system of weaknesses in the canyon, with some decent class 4/5 exposed climbing. I'm already comfortable with taking on the role to lead these climbs out and setting belay for anyone else in our group who needs it. From what I've read, it's mostly mental cruxes to overcome on the free-solo out of the canyon. I'm okay with that. Above all, I'm stoked to bring my beloved gal with us. I know she has been frustrated about not keeping up on some of the snow climbs that I already have quite a bit of experience with. I think this could be a great mutual activity for both of us, utilizing each of our different strengths and weaknesses to conquer a new experience in a uniting way. Beyond that, I'm stoked to apply my rope experience from other mediums to an entirely different playing field. Bring on the canyon.