We were invited back to North Carolina this past weekend to run a hidden gem of a canyon - not only for the fun but for the training value for the eventual rescue(s) that will happen due to the increase of visitors to the area. The canyon is in a fairly remote area with no real trails leading to it. Once in the watercourse, it drops pretty quickly and can be done with 5 raps (longest being about 100’), a little bit of “rhodo-neering” and a lot of rock-hopping over slippery Gneiss boulders. A beautiful and pristine area with no artificial anchors in place (yet). We had a fairly large group of SAR folks run it, taking us about 6 hours start to finish. Having run Bonas Defeat and other canyons in western NC area, I have to say this one has a bit more fun value than the others.
https://icetrekkers.com Best money you will ever spend for working on slick rock. I wore these on my Asolos and also had a pair of OR gaiters and my feet were never fully soaked even going in up to my knees, and the slip on traction gave great purchase.
Done a lot of trips in this area, and we all agreed that this was probably the best trip we've done. Place is absolutely beautiful and rugged. Pictures don't even get close to doing it justice.
something that strikes me in these photos is the amount of smiles you see.... To add to what Jeff said....this was a TOUGH canyon....all 13 of us took a digger at some point....hard falls on slick rocks meant we all got beat up a bit....briars, thick Rhodo, cold water....and just generally tough terrain....I say all this, not as a complaint, but as a testament to the mindset of the people we are training with... hard situations....yield hard people....and these folks WILLFULLY put themselves in the hardest situations they can in an effort to make themselves better so they can go SAVE others......its inspiring.
That is a pretty area Boss. I'm kinda jealous. I also noticed there's no abrasion sleeves or guards where your ropes are going over edges.....How is this addressed? Are is it that ropes are way better than they used to be?
If we had been climbing on rope we would have used rope pro for sure....given that most of these rappels were semi-vertical walk downs and not a true over hang we elected not to use rope pads....plus that adds extra time in rigging and we had a large group and wanted to travel as efficiently as possible. Ropes are a consumable item for us that we use up and retire more often that most....Jeff has also done extensive testing on some of our retired rope, even ropes with MAJOR damage, that performed well beyond our expectations.
Rope technology has come a long way as far as abrasion / cut resistance. We pretty much use Polyester ropes exclusively due to the very low stretch and the fact the fibers don't absorb water like Nylon, so it holds its same strength wet or dry. Our ropes of choice are 8.3mm Imlay Canyon Fire and 9mm Sterling HTP. The sheathing on the Canyon Fire is way more cut/abrasion resistant than the HTP since it's designed for canyon work. Of course, as Shane noted, we are constantly testing gear, checking gear after using it, etc.
Good to hear you guys are vigilant about your stuff, it just a good habit to be in. Besides, with all that bacon and whiskey in your bloodstream one of you cats going splat would be....pollutionary and environmentally unsound.
Yes, we take our safety seriously and always make Kevin Reeves test out any sketchy stuff before we try it.
Man I miss being on rope! wether it’s 150’ up a big Douglas fir , blocking it down , or on rope on the canyons and mountains of bc