old canyon--new name

[oldno7]

I believe a certain young lady made a first descent last week,have a name for the canyon yet Ashley??

[rcwild]

She said she really likes the name you gave it – Short Rope Canyon. Her first 200-foot rappel.

[stefan]

what do you mean by first descent/old canyon/new name?

[oldno7]

well---
it's old canyon because aren't they all:D
we have all had our eye on this one for quite awhile, you can see it from I-15. Theres nothing to hide, I believe all involved would share info.
There was no sign of any other descents(and I looked close). Still could have been done before but I highly doubt it.

[stefan]

okay, i figured you meant old in that all canyons are old (except for example kennecott copper mine, if you call that scar a canyon, har har)

my intention isn't really to challenge your claim. but just to offer what i have learned from others.

as far as first descents go, i think the conventional wisdom tells us that one can never assume/prove a first descent of a canyon. there are some who are highly capable of leaving little trace in the short term, but in the long term, nature easily erases.

some go as far to look back to the anasazi and fremont, as they were highly capable canyoneers. a very good friend of mine recently did a very difficult slot which few have ever done. in that canyon he found a granary. mindblowing what the ancients were capable of doing.

but it sounds like fun. i do like the name. congrats on the exploration. awesome! close to I-15 is sure to please many folks :)

[oldno7]

Stefan

Of course you are right, it is very hard to prove a first descent.
So I'll go at it this way---first descent until proven otherwise.:D

The park service issued us a permit for this trip although the "canyon" is not in the park. They know of no other descents either.

First rap=200'(do not bring a 190' rope)
second=80'
third=40'
fourth=120'

[stefan]

just throwing that out there.

so the park issued a permit even though it's not in the park? is that because the route crosses the park boundary?

[rcwild]

just throwing that out there.

so the park issued a permit even though it's not in the park? is that because the route crosses the park boundary?

It was hard to tell for sure looking at the map how "canyony" the canyon would be inside the park. We could have debated the issue, but hey, it's only 15 bucks. As it turned out, the technical portion started a couple hundred yards outside the boundary.

The 16-year-old in the story is my daughter, Ashley. We had a blast. She's rappelled many times before, but this was her first 200-footer.

Anyone who has driven between St. George and Cedar City on I-15 has probably eyed the canyons in the cliffs to the east. A couple of them – like Kanaraville – are quite popular. Some of the others don't look like they're worth doing. Long approaches for a relatively little cookie. The 200-footer was a surprise. Doesn't look that high from the interestate.

BTW – I was with Kurt this morning. Our day was cut short by a phone call from his daughter. Sometime today Kurt's gonna be a grandpa.

Congrats, old man.

[brucefrombryce]

What is the mile marker so we can oogle it as we drive by?

[rcwild]

thirty nine

[stefan]

The 16-year-old in the story is my daughter, Ashley. We had a blast. She's rappelled many times before, but this was her first 200-footer.



kudos, i love hearing about kids excited about this stuff!

[rcwild]

All four of my kids love canyoneering. My sons, now 27 and 25, were doing canyons with me back in the 80s. They were climbing and rappelling when they were around 4 or 5. Did the Narrows from top to bottom with me when they were 8 and 6. Most of Waterholes the same year. Black Hole a year or two later. They did most of the "classic" canyons in Arizona before most people ever heard of canyoneering. The times I spent with them hiking, climbing and canyoneering are the fondest memories of my life.

Love to see the looks on my daughters' faces when they're rappelling. They were on Nickelodeon GAS a few years ago in a segment about canyoneering. When she was about 10, Ashley was also with me in an episode of "Nature of Champions" in France with Isabelle Patisier. I was Isabelle's climbing partner. Ashley was featured receiving a rock climbing lesson from Isabelle.

Proud papa.