By Todd Schacherl
What is canyoneering? It’s a mix of hiking, scrambling and rappelling. The hiking part is usually the approach and the walk off as well as the in-between spots when going from one rappel to the next.
Scrambling is kind of like rock climbing but without ropes and anchors. Basically, using techniques like stemming, chimneying and using your hands and feet to climb up, down, over, under and around various obstacles.
Rappelling is when using a rope to slide down a rope over a waterfall or pour over and other high obstacles. Rappelling requires the use of a rappel device that adds friction to the rope, which allows one to slow their descent down the rope.
Las Vegas is a great base of operations for rappelling as there are many destinations within a few hours drive. This includes Death Valley National Park, Lake Mead Recreation Area, Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area, Mount Charleston and Zion National Park.
Canyoneering in Death Valley is a little different since permanent anchors are not allowed because of its national park status. This means that only rocks are allowed to be used as anchors. Even using trees, of which there aren’t many, is technically not allowed.
Rocks with pinch points, which is where a rock rests against another rock and where they touch, is where an anchor can be placed. Dead man anchors are also used, which is a pile of rocks with webbing tied around one of the rocks.
These anchors can look sketchy, but if done correctly, and when using what’s called a soft start, they can be safely used. Often a backup to a dead man’s anchor is simply what we call a “meat anchor.”
That’s where someone, usually the smallest person in the group, ties into the dead man’s anchor so that if that fails, the weight of the person would be enough to prevent the person rappelling from crashing to the ground.
Canyoneering in Zion often requires permits to access areas like the Subway and Keyhole Canyon, not to be confused with Keyhole Canyon between Nelson and Searchlight.
Red Rock Canyon requires a reservation if you are accessing anything from the scenic loop drive between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. from Oct. 1 to May 31, when things start getting hot.
Lake Mead requires an America the Beautiful pass or a weekly pass, which costs $25 per car for one week of access to the recreation area. Mount Charleston requires no fees, but some trails are still closed more than two years after Hurricane Hillary hit the area.
Lake Mead Canyoneering Routes
There are three very popular routes near Lake Mead: Sheep Bone to Quarry Canyon, Boy Scout Canyon and Motorcycle Canyon. The first two are loop hikes, and the latter is an out-and-back route.
Sheep Bone Canyon
This route is about 6 miles round trip. Without a 4×4 to get close to the start of Sheep Bone Canyon, it’s best to park at the now-closed boat ramp for Boulder Beach. Then walk to Sheep Bone Canyon, which is across the street and to the left. It’s a little over a mile from the boat ramp to the beginning of the canyon.
From there we are rewarded with the amazing volcanic geology and fun scrambles. Eventually, we climb out of Sheep Bone Canyon and up to a saddle that allows us to drop into Quarry Canyon, where the rappelling begins.
There are seven to 10 rappels. Most are in the 40-foot range, and there are a few that can be down climbed. The reason it’s called “quarry canyon” is because of the quarry at the end of the canyon.
Motorcycle Canyon
This route starts at the Gold Strike Hot Springs trailhead at exit 2 of US 93. Instead of heading down to the hot springs, head up to the ridge to the right. The loop completes by coming up the hot springs trail from about halfway down.
This has a long approach, but if you have a couple 4×4 vehicles, you can drive right to the top of the first rappel. The first rappel is about 90 feet and the second one right afterwards is about 80 feet. Just below the landing of the first rappel is where the motorcycle rests.
There are at least two more rappels and possibly four more, but two are down climbable with some technical experience. The first rappel has permanent anchors, and the next uses a large rock spire for a webbing anchor. Most of the rest use dead man anchors.
The last one uses a chock rock’s pinch point for an anchor that sits over the edge to be rappelled. This one is a lot of fun, but it is long hike. Longer if you want to hit the hot springs because one would have to hike down Gold Strike Canyon and then back up again adding at least another few miles to the overall hike.
Boy Scout Canyon
This one starts at the top of a 300-foot-plus wall. Yes, the first rappel is more than 300 feet, and the last 100 feet or so is a free hang. There are only three rappels, and this one is about 5 miles out and back. The reward are the several hot springs that will be encountered while getting down to the Colorado River.
At one spot, there is a cold spring just 10 feet from a hot spring as well as the weeping wall where cool water rains off a wall. The return trip allows for a climb out on a steep loose trail.
If one is so inclined, they can ascend the same 300-foot wall that starts the route. Typically, that rope is left and retrieved from the top once everyone is back to the top.
Resources
Desert Southwest Adventures (this group does a lot of canyoneering and has oodles of experience in the area): https://www.meetup.com/meetup-group-clmrpxmh/
Zion National Park Canyoneering Daily Lottery: https://www.recreation.gov/permits/4251918
Red Rock Canyon Reservations (arrive before 8 a.m., and no reservation is needed): https://www.recreation.gov/timed-entry/10075177
