7 days of PNW Canyons

IraLewis Sep 12, 2012 06:54 AM
 

About a dozen folks joined in a little cascades canyon tour last week.

Some highlights beyond our perfect weather:

Ape Canyon's 18 rappels (before the canyon opens up) took 12 hours from the trail head to our car shuttle. Sights of Adams, Rainier, and Hood from approach were rather fantastic. We did remove the infamous Pink Tricam and bolt the last drop above one of the many "mysteriously deep pools." The trip report Ken posted to the Canyoneering Northwest website by the college students who did the first descent was accurate and well told. In mid-canyon we encountered a large melting out snow pile. We could easily navigate around and under it, but I wonder if this would be an obstacle in an earlier season descent or after a cooler summer, as Echo in Zion has presented in past seasons. Chris Hood mentioned the rockfall hazard. Beware, several large rocks fell from the rim above while we walked through the canyon. All in all a great day and a unique wilderness canyon. Ken, I took notes to draw up a canyon profile.

The anchors in Davis Creek and the South Fork of the Snoqualmie were in great shape.

Thunder Falls of Summit Creek is always a short classic and was good for our "off" day.

We had no issues in Wallace and descended all the way through the lower section.

We improved the anchor situation in Thornton on several drops and replaced a few anchors on the traverse in Gorge.

All in all, the Cascades are an amazing playground and we all really enjoyed a great week in Washington.

-Ira

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neil wilkinson Sep 12, 2012 01:33 PM
 

Dito on what Ira wrote below. The PNW really does hold some of the best canyons in the US hands down.

Note: There are some damaged hangers on the infamous 'traverse' in Gorge. Additionally, most of the hangers are 'finger tightened' beneath the nuts. We did not have a properly sized wrench to remove the damaged hardware. This is a labor of love that still needs done.

Davis Creek: The original descending party placed two bolts on canyon right about mid-way down. These bolts are near the water course and rusting badly. This station will be in need of maintenance in the next couple of years as the current hardware is reaching the end of its safely usable life (the largest sin being the use of carbon steel bolts in a wet environment). A proper replacement with stainless bolts in a better location will be in order.

Cheers,
Neil 
 
 

From: IraLewis <ira.lewis@gmail.com>
To: pnwcanyoning@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2012 12:54 AM
Subject: [PNWCanyoning] 7 days of PNW Canyons

 
About a dozen folks joined in a little cascades canyon tour last week.

Some highlights beyond our perfect weather:

Ape Canyon's 18 rappels (before the canyon opens up) took 12 hours from the trail head to our car shuttle. Sights of Adams, Rainier, and Hood from approach were rather fantastic. We did remove the infamous Pink Tricam and bolt the last drop above one of the many "mysteriously deep pools." The trip report Ken posted to the Canyoneering Northwest website by the college students who did the first descent was accurate and well told. In mid-canyon we encountered a large melting out snow pile. We could easily navigate around and under it, but I wonder if this would be an obstacle in an earlier season descent or after a cooler summer, as Echo in Zion has presented in past seasons. Chris Hood mentioned the rockfall hazard. Beware, several large rocks fell from the rim above while we walked through the canyon. All in all a great day and a unique wilderness canyon. Ken, I took notes to draw up a canyon profile.

The anchors in Davis Creek and the South Fork of the Snoqualmie were in great shape.

Thunder Falls of Summit Creek is always a short classic and was good for our "off" day.

We had no issues in Wallace and descended all the way through the lower section.

We improved the anchor situation in Thornton on several drops and replaced a few anchors on the traverse in Gorge.

All in all, the Cascades are an amazing playground and we all really enjoyed a great week in Washington.

-Ira



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Recent Activity:
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