rcwild
10-15-2009, 11:16 AM
Ivan's Tail is a short and easy canyon that lies on Ouray city-owned land that is zoned as open space.
Rating: 2C I
Time Required: 1 to 2 hours
Longest Rappel: 55 ft.
Permit Information
No permits are required
Camping/Lodging
Ouray offers numerous hotel and motel options as well as restaurants and bars. The Amphitheater Campground south of town offers an excellent central location. Other US Forest service campgrounds in the area offer primitive camping. Free camping in the area is very sparse.
Preferred Season
Mid-July into October depending on spring runoff and the first snow fall of winter.
Water Concerns
Flash flood in the narrow restricted section below the bridge is a real concern. Watch out for thunderstorms.
Special Challenges
Downclimbs can be spotted or sequenced.
Equipment Suggestions
Standard wet canyon kit including helmet and wetsuit. Slings and rapid links. A long enough rope to do the 55 ft. rappel under the bridge and up to 100' of rope if you wish to fix a line to exit.
Topographic Maps
Hiking Trails of Ouray County & the Uncompahgre Wilderness
Directions to Trailhead
Take US Highway 550 south out of Ouray 1.1 miles to the Amphitheater Campground Road. Turn left and park on the left (north) side of the Campground road before the bridge. The trailhead is just past the bridge on the right, and is marked with a sign reading `Baby Bathtubs Trail'.
Trailhead UTM Grid Coordinate
Approach
If you wish to fix a line and ascend out of the lower gorge, make your way down the rim on the north side of the creek (CR) for a minute or so. Look for broad flat slabs of rock with a small nearly dead tree growing out of it. There are two bolts here where you can fix a line. The bolts are 10' or so from the ledge. I have not measured the distance; you will likely need enough rope to ascend 100'. Bring a pad to avoid rope abrasion at the lip. Continue a short distance further to identify the loose gully with a single easy 5th-class move at the top. In the summer of 2009 a couple of drunks dumped their Dodge 1500 pickup truck into the bottom of the canyon. The wreck now marks the exit gully CR.
Hike up the trail, paralleling Portland Creek. You will soon cross the North Fork of Portland Creek, which may have a trickle of water running. Continue up the trail until the it reaches creek level above where the gorge begins (UTM 13 266255E 4210774N). Note you may notice a smaller gorge upstream from here, but it is not interesting.
Canyon Entry UTM Grid Coordinate
13 266255E 4210774N
Description: Standard Route
The canyon is named for the phenomena common in Ouray canyons, where the walls are white or red, but the gravel in the canyon floor is dark grey. This phenomenon is caused by the San Juan Tuff that covers much of the area, forming the craggy grey summits of the high peaks and ridges. The tuff is basically solidified mud and is very crumbly. Weathering turns it to gray gravel; erosion carries it down into the sandstone, limestone, and quartzite canyons below. Ivan's Tail is also special in that it is a narrow limestone canyon - a rare find in Colorado.
The creek's easy accessibility makes it a great place to watch floods during inclement weather. The whole of the Amphitheater cirque drains into the narrow limestone gorge. Dramatic views are to be had from the road bridge over the rappel.
Ivan's Tail is a good introduction to wet canyoning in Colorado. It is comprised of two short gorges. The upper gorge requires several downclimbs, but a rope is only needed for those who are not skilled downclimbers. The lower gorge requires one rappel and several advanced downclimbs. In addition, the lower gorge ends on private land, but there are two options to escape before the private land is reached: either a fixed rope that is ascended, or a loose gully with a single easy 5th-class move at the top. A wrecked Dodge 1500 pickup truck in the bottom of the gorge now markes this gully.
Head down stream. This upper gorge has several downclimbs. Beginners may want a hand. Some climbs may be in water or wet and possibly slippery.
After 15 minutes or so the gorge opens and you are back at the trailhead. You can exit here or continue to the lower gorge, which starts where the bridge crosses the creek at a 55' waterfall that must be rappelled. Anchor off of rock pinches or sling boulders. Some of the boulders and pinches near the drop may look stable but are not, test carefully or choose a boulder or pinch upstream. Please come back and retrieve your sling and rapid link after finishing the canyon. Below the falls are several downclimbs which can be tricky but can easily be belayed and spotted.
Description:
Variations: History
The upper gorge is a tourist favorite and has been descended many times before. Ice climbers have ascended the rappel waterfall. I have not heard of a canyoning style descent on this creek but it is certainly possible. John Hart, Charly Oliver and Mike Dallin descended it in summer 2007.
Exit
Look for your rope to exit the canyon if you are ascending. Otherwise look for the wrecked Dodge pick up truck next to a large boulder in the stream with a loose talus-filled gully behind it reaching the rim on CR. If you reach trees growing in the streambed you have gone too far. Climb the loose gully, and it is loose. The move at the top is fifth class but can be easily spotted. Hike along the rim up stream for 2 minutes until you reach the road and trailhead.
Since the rappel is so close to the trailhead and very visible from the bridge, be low impact and remove your webbing before you leave.
Canyon Exit UTM Grid Coordinate
Rating: 2C I
Time Required: 1 to 2 hours
Longest Rappel: 55 ft.
Permit Information
No permits are required
Camping/Lodging
Ouray offers numerous hotel and motel options as well as restaurants and bars. The Amphitheater Campground south of town offers an excellent central location. Other US Forest service campgrounds in the area offer primitive camping. Free camping in the area is very sparse.
Preferred Season
Mid-July into October depending on spring runoff and the first snow fall of winter.
Water Concerns
Flash flood in the narrow restricted section below the bridge is a real concern. Watch out for thunderstorms.
Special Challenges
Downclimbs can be spotted or sequenced.
Equipment Suggestions
Standard wet canyon kit including helmet and wetsuit. Slings and rapid links. A long enough rope to do the 55 ft. rappel under the bridge and up to 100' of rope if you wish to fix a line to exit.
Topographic Maps
Hiking Trails of Ouray County & the Uncompahgre Wilderness
Directions to Trailhead
Take US Highway 550 south out of Ouray 1.1 miles to the Amphitheater Campground Road. Turn left and park on the left (north) side of the Campground road before the bridge. The trailhead is just past the bridge on the right, and is marked with a sign reading `Baby Bathtubs Trail'.
Trailhead UTM Grid Coordinate
Approach
If you wish to fix a line and ascend out of the lower gorge, make your way down the rim on the north side of the creek (CR) for a minute or so. Look for broad flat slabs of rock with a small nearly dead tree growing out of it. There are two bolts here where you can fix a line. The bolts are 10' or so from the ledge. I have not measured the distance; you will likely need enough rope to ascend 100'. Bring a pad to avoid rope abrasion at the lip. Continue a short distance further to identify the loose gully with a single easy 5th-class move at the top. In the summer of 2009 a couple of drunks dumped their Dodge 1500 pickup truck into the bottom of the canyon. The wreck now marks the exit gully CR.
Hike up the trail, paralleling Portland Creek. You will soon cross the North Fork of Portland Creek, which may have a trickle of water running. Continue up the trail until the it reaches creek level above where the gorge begins (UTM 13 266255E 4210774N). Note you may notice a smaller gorge upstream from here, but it is not interesting.
Canyon Entry UTM Grid Coordinate
13 266255E 4210774N
Description: Standard Route
The canyon is named for the phenomena common in Ouray canyons, where the walls are white or red, but the gravel in the canyon floor is dark grey. This phenomenon is caused by the San Juan Tuff that covers much of the area, forming the craggy grey summits of the high peaks and ridges. The tuff is basically solidified mud and is very crumbly. Weathering turns it to gray gravel; erosion carries it down into the sandstone, limestone, and quartzite canyons below. Ivan's Tail is also special in that it is a narrow limestone canyon - a rare find in Colorado.
The creek's easy accessibility makes it a great place to watch floods during inclement weather. The whole of the Amphitheater cirque drains into the narrow limestone gorge. Dramatic views are to be had from the road bridge over the rappel.
Ivan's Tail is a good introduction to wet canyoning in Colorado. It is comprised of two short gorges. The upper gorge requires several downclimbs, but a rope is only needed for those who are not skilled downclimbers. The lower gorge requires one rappel and several advanced downclimbs. In addition, the lower gorge ends on private land, but there are two options to escape before the private land is reached: either a fixed rope that is ascended, or a loose gully with a single easy 5th-class move at the top. A wrecked Dodge 1500 pickup truck in the bottom of the gorge now markes this gully.
Head down stream. This upper gorge has several downclimbs. Beginners may want a hand. Some climbs may be in water or wet and possibly slippery.
After 15 minutes or so the gorge opens and you are back at the trailhead. You can exit here or continue to the lower gorge, which starts where the bridge crosses the creek at a 55' waterfall that must be rappelled. Anchor off of rock pinches or sling boulders. Some of the boulders and pinches near the drop may look stable but are not, test carefully or choose a boulder or pinch upstream. Please come back and retrieve your sling and rapid link after finishing the canyon. Below the falls are several downclimbs which can be tricky but can easily be belayed and spotted.
Description:
Variations: History
The upper gorge is a tourist favorite and has been descended many times before. Ice climbers have ascended the rappel waterfall. I have not heard of a canyoning style descent on this creek but it is certainly possible. John Hart, Charly Oliver and Mike Dallin descended it in summer 2007.
Exit
Look for your rope to exit the canyon if you are ascending. Otherwise look for the wrecked Dodge pick up truck next to a large boulder in the stream with a loose talus-filled gully behind it reaching the rim on CR. If you reach trees growing in the streambed you have gone too far. Climb the loose gully, and it is loose. The move at the top is fifth class but can be easily spotted. Hike along the rim up stream for 2 minutes until you reach the road and trailhead.
Since the rappel is so close to the trailhead and very visible from the bridge, be low impact and remove your webbing before you leave.
Canyon Exit UTM Grid Coordinate