Because we were done by noon, Steve wasted no time and insisted we explore the adjoining fork which had a slot canyon in it. Getting access to that tributary by its canyon rim was a bit more difficult. Some 5.4 bouldering through a notch got us to the top. This slot defies description and was quite deceptive. Nonetheless we climbed and hiked to the entrance to this slot as the heat became opressive. Jim, who was exausted by the first day in Crystal, opted out along with the other Jim. It was just Palmieri, Allen, and myself.

There was less than a mile of canyon to do but it was very difficult technically. This was the first time I’d heard Steve use the term Mae West. He said this was a Mae West canyon: difficult canyon to get into and out of and tight throughout the length. Steve commented to Pat at the end of the day, he would rate this canyon 5.4 R grade II, the R meaning the route had long, exposed stemmming runouts with no protection. My honest opinion was that there were several full-body stems that were possibly as hard as 5.6, and one section of near suicidal runout 5.8.

It was so narrow in some places, various stemming and chimneying techniques were constantly required, performing continuous straining stemming for continuous sections for up to 100 feet in length. The crux required a belay using stemming positions in order to negotiate a bulbous section that was too wide to stem. A fall would have sent us 20 feet to the keeper narrowing of the dark crack below us. This is what climbers call a bombay—basically a flaring chimney, difficult to stay in. After this heart–pounding move, the canyon eases off about 50 meters downstream.

At the exit point was another chimney which bombayed above the big pool—the lake. We stemmed out to the bombay and dropped through a notch into the cold lake. Then swam 10 meters to shore. We were totally exhausted and feeling weak. Pat cramped up. Our clothes top and bottom had been abraided down to the skin and beyond. Everything stung.

This mean canyon was named Bunfodder. At the entrance to the slot on the lake shore, I had noticed earlier in the day some used toilet paper. And because of that and in memorium to our abraided backsides I decided that the canyon should be called Bunfodder.

Despite the toilet paper which probably blew in over the morning breeze, from or near our campsite, Steve insisted this was a first. If it was a first, we all agreed we wouldn’t want to be on the second. The second first descent occurred years later. The party named the route Psychological Damage for whatever reason. Choosing to ignore the documented 1999 descent. And the route was probably negotiated before that by dam engineers two decades before.

Thus this canyon became the poster child of my pet peeve on First Descents.


Dave Black


Tales of Bunfodder (aka Psycho Damage):
  Mae West Slot • Dave Black
  Bunfodder • Dave Black
  Bun Fodder • Steve Allen
  Transcript from a Spiral Notebook • Hank Moon
  A Night to Remember • Tom Jones
  Psychological Damage • Steve Brezovec    ( SHORT FILM )
  Psychic (or Psycho) Damage • Ram
  A Night to Remember II • Doug Noel
  An Old Friend Revisited • Ram
  What’s in a Name? • Ram

Articles by Dave Black:
  First Descent? • Dave Black
  Mae West Slot • Dave Black
  A Sh***y Trip in Heaps • Dave Black
  Fixed Ropes in the Black Hole • Dave Black
  For Pothole Puzzle Solvers • Dave Black
  On Writing Books • Dave Black
  Crete • Dave Black
  Bunfodder • Dave Black

© 2022 Dave Black