This is a silly sport.

The whole thing. Sliding down ropes in remote places, risking death and destruction on a regular basis, for what?

Philosophical ponderings aside, the way to make it MORE preposterous is to do this stuff in winter, when there are additional hazards and the chance that even a minor injury could mean death. It is critical to do canyons you know well, bring extra gear and extra ropes, plan on a slower–than–normal pace, etc. ... and have no weak links on your team.

We do this each year in preparation for FreezeFest. Ram came down to Zion for a quick run through Mystery, a fine moderate canyon that starts with a north–facing approach known as the Death Gully. We assembled a crack team—Jenny West, Ramoo, Tim Hoover, Mike Schasch and myself—and hiked up from Weeping Rock starting in the first light of dawn at 7 AM. As Ram says, it is better to have extra hours of light at the end of the day than at the beginning.

Creepers allowed reasonable hiking up the hill to the Observation Point Turn. Conditions were somewhat drier/less snowy than expected. The Gully of Death was snowy and slippery as anticipated, with snow conditions perhaps worse than expected. Tracks from a previous party actually made it harder, as they created a breakable crust over the 4′′ of depth hoar. Traction was hard to get. Ice axes, creepers, ski poles and buttocks were all used in abundance. It was tedious, but we all made it down safe and into the flat part of the canyon. A little light filtered in and, as the sun came around, a little direct light lit up the snow crystals and red walls. Truly delightful.

The rock narrows were mostly clear of snow, and our crack team made quick time through the technical part. Out into the East/West running flat part of Mystery was again snowy and cold. We discussed the possibility of the lake being present and difficult—but it was a flat with snow on it, and we were soon up the sandpile, booting down the steep west face of the pile. A few more obstacles and we were at the gear–up spot for the final bit. Suits were donned, dry or wet. Harnesses back on over massive amounts of clothes.

Mike traversed out, set the rope, and rapped down as the rest of us dilly–dallied with dressing. Jenny and I traversed over to the anchor, and Jenny set up on rappel. She dilly–dallied again, then leaned back to start her rappel. A funny sound was heard from her harness—she pulled back up—YIKES!!! Her harness was not fastened. We quickly temporized safety, and she traversed back to the prep area to shake out and get herself sorted out. Whew—disaster avoided.


Harness Interruptus — starting to put on a harness, then stopping to do something else, and not getting back to it.


Don’t do this!

Back to the rappel. Tim went down after a careful check. Jenny came back and went down. Ram went down. I rigged the rap for retrieval and glided down the rope.

Through the jungle section, to the final rap, down the super–slippery wall, then a brief walk out to the veranda, and back to the car at the Temple of Sinawava about 5 PM. We were amazed at the number of people on the Gateway to the Narrows Trail, and in the Park in general. Love that the Park is enjoyed by many even in tough conditions.

I wish to add emphasis to this from my personal experience. I get out in the canyons a lot! The odds of an occasional screw–up are in my favor therefore. At this particular rappel, on that particular day, this ‘screw–up’ could have cost me my life. Certainly it likely would have resulted in a serious injury.

I usually use a Black Diamond Alpine Bod harness (it is light, fairly inexpensive and I go through several in a year). I hacksaw off the secondary back–up buckle to facilitate my arthritic hands in the fastening of the waist strap. For those of you who don’t know this harness, the rappel biner attaches over the main strap near the waist buckle and links to the crotch loop and takes the entire load (with minor assist from the leg loops, of course). In other words, If done properly, I would attach my rappel device, via the carabiner, to the waist strap and then complete the buckling procedure.

It was hard to see over the zipper of my drysuit and I struggled with gloves, multiple layers but finally made the exposed journey to the anchor where Tom was waiting. I clipped into the rope. I felt with my hands that I was clipped in correctly, locked the biner and unclipped from the anchor strap to begin the rappel. Sensing that something was still not ‘right’ I unweighted the rope and gave myself a good visual inspection and asked Tom to do the same. Initially, neither of us saw an issue. I attached again to the rope but something still seemed wrong. My main adventure partners know that I sometimes get what they call a ‘Spidey Sense.’ This sense has saved many lives including mine. This was one of those occasions. Upon another inspection we saw the end of my waist strap had not been inserted into the buckle. YIKES! Tom grabbed the end of my waist strap, hanging limply through half of the buckle and tied a knot. Thanks, Tom!

I was now pretty discombobulated (I love that word) so I retreated to begin again and regain my composure. Whew! REALLY!

Here’s my point, folks. I ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK MYSELF AT THE RAPPEL! ALWAYS! I make it a habit. It has saved my butt several times. Three other times, I was the last on a rappel, alone and was set to rappel off the biner–blocked side of the rope and caught my mistake on the second check. Often, my partners hear me request that we double check each other at each rappel. If you’re the last person, you better make it a habit of checking yourself. ALWAYS.

I hope that I can inspire you all to ALWAYS double–check yourself and your partners at EVERY rappel. It is a good idea as well, to tell the folks already on terra firma to holler up to remind you to double check your system.

The initial trail up to Observation point was icy. micro spikes were a tremendous help. As we got to higher altitudes, the ice became spotty, as more sun reached the trail and a bit of south exposure mixed in with the prevailing western exposure. The ice is created by hikers on the snowy trail.

Once on the top, we encountered patchy Styrofoam–like snow and frozen soil in about equal proportions. That snow appeared to be melting during the day and the frozen ground showed evidence of becoming muddy during the middle of the day too and then freezing again overnight.

The Death Gully, with its north exposure was snow covered, often a foot or more deep. Not as much snow as anticipated. Another group (of three?) had been down days before us and their tracks helped in places and hurt in others.

On the steeper ground, many of us just dropped to our butts, used poles, axes and arms as rudders and brakes, and slid down the hill. It is hard to fall when you are already on the ground. One needed to watch for those sharp covered rocks though.

I found it more dangerous when the angle eased, as we were forced to our feet and many holes in the unconsolidated sugary snow, made the twisting of and ankle or knee a real possibility. All the way to the raps, the descent took unceasing concentration. We took a lovely break in the snow for hot tea and soups, along with food. It was quite beautiful, the world coated in snow.

Once at the rap stations, we broke into our roles and moved through the drops with great speed. It actually was the most mentally restful part of the day, as their was little snow to hurt oneself on.

Below the raps, I was surprised to see the midcanyon section with as much snow as the Death Gully. I know it is east–west trending and the walls are high, but I thought it would be open enough and lower altitude that it would be drier. Instead, it required the same vigilance and care as the upper canyon.

The lower canyon, between the two raps had evidence of that much ice had fallen recently. The upper walls were pretty clear for us, but it was obvious that this area was a shooting gallery of ice, fairly recently.

Out the bottom and over to Tim and Sue’s for lasagna, fresh bread and other delicacies. A lovely day that was quite mentally challenging, as almost every step required care. Very worth it to see this spot on the planet many of us know so well, draped in a blanket of snow.



Tales of FreezeFest:
Perfect Beginning • Ram
Escape from Canyon X • Tom Jones
FreezeFest II • Ram
Logjams in the Black Hole • Ram
Joining the Shenanigans Club • Ryan Cornia
FreezeFest III • Ram
Chamber Music • Ram
Fixed Ropes in the Black Hole • Dave Black
Cheese on Ice • Ram
FreezeFest IX (short film) • Dan Ransom  
Euphrates Canyon • Cassy Brown

Tales of Christmas:
Crystal Kaleidoscope • Ram
Christmas in Imlay • Ram
A Left Fork Christmas • Ram
Mystery on Ice • Tom Jones, Jenny West & Ram
Call of the Wild • Ram
Mysterious Christmas • Ram
Holy Water • Ram
A Christmas Heaps • Tom Jones
Fat Man’s Joy & Winter Wonderland • Ram & Tom Jones
A Christmas Pine Creek/Keyhole • Ram
A Christmas Day Canyon (or Two) • Tom Jones
Christmas in Behunin • Ram
Lodge Canyon Christmas • Ram

© 2013 Thomas Nolan Jones, Jenny West, & Ram