Conditions:Arachnophobia Canyon-20241220065358

Latest:	19 Dec 2024 (25 days ago)

Reported by:	Modalmixture (1 reports)
Quality:	Amazing
Waterflow:	Dry
Wetsuit:	None
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Special challenges
Time:	8 hours

Team: 8 people with experience level Beginner to Expert

Trip report URL:

Comments: Beautiful day in Arachnophobia. Almost all the cairns were in good condition and easily inspectable. As the first party through this season, we replaced all webbing in the canyon and rebuilt a couple of cairns, in particular the one at the big rap. That one could use one or two more large rocks for extra comfort, but it’s solid enough as is. Some raps are extra chossy, be cautious of rockfall while belaying.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
19 Dec 2024	Amazing	Dry	None	Special challenges	8 hours	8 people Beginner to Expert	Modalmixture (1 reports)
Comment: Beautiful day in Arachnophobia. Almost all the cairns were in good condition and easily inspectable. As the first party through this season, we replaced all webbing in the canyon and rebuilt a couple of cairns, in particular the one at the big rap. That one could use one or two more large rocks for extra comfort, but it’s solid enough as is. Some raps are extra chossy, be cautious of rockfall while belaying.
29 Dec 2023	Good	Dry	None	Normal	7 hours	8 people Expert to Brand new	Bricepollock (36 reports)
Comment: 2 hrs approach, 5 hrs descent. Some people had route finding issues on the meandering approach with many gulleys when going up or traversing. Approach was very easy technically, essentially just a hike. Found existing, overbuilt cairns with all webbing in good condition which is representative of the prior descents this season. Not an R canyon, very typical entry-level canyon for the cairn capable.
14 Dec 2023	Great	Dry	None	Normal	5 hours	7 people Intermediate to Expert	David (15 reports)
Comment: Fun half day trip through Arachnophobia. We rebuilt the cairn anchor at rap 2 (170 ft drop) and replaced the webbing. We took our time since our group was smaller and this is a lower commitment canyon. This canyon is definitely more fun and interesting than Scorpion.
31 Mar 2023	Good	Dry	None	Normal	5 hours	10 people Beginner to Advanced	Feroz (34 reports),Boof (31 reports),Levr (21 reports),Giniya5 (7 reports),Knight (7 reports)
Comment: With a large slow group, we sent the bulk of the group and gear up the approach and had three fast hikers set the shuttle then catch up at the top. Took the third alternate approach (down Scorpion wash - climb opposite side just after Vinegaroon). We probably stayed a little too much to the left and gained extra elevation, losing some 20 min total. Overall it’s a good canyon with great views. We had a fun time leapfrogging and reinforcing some of the cairn anchors, especially at the top since the rock is so light and crumbly. Sticky rope on R2, even after making sure the strands were not twisted.
31 Dec 2022	Great	Dry	None	Normal	5 hours	11 people Intermediate to Expert	Desertnights (37 reports)
Comment: Big group but an early start to beat the weather. No anchor repair needed for this trip.
26 Nov 2022	Amazing	Dry	None	Special challenges	8 hours	13 people Brand new to Expert	ShastaKittens (6 reports)
Comment: We probably took a little longer than needed on approach (climbed twice). Re-build every anchor; the reason for 3, there is at least one anchor that was a challenge to build, so experienced person is needed. We had new people and children. That was the reason for 8-hour trip and our group was huge. Be careful with wearing the rope on the longest rappel. The rock is sharp. Check rope wear close to the anchor. Use proper friction. We core-shot ~9mm rope on long free-hang. Some rappels could be down-climbed like #1. Amazing canyon; great views; would do it again and again
20 Feb 2022	Great	Dry	None	Normal	5 hours	3 people Intermediate to Advanced	Johnbcaves (150 reports),Xenonrocket (102 reports)
Comment: OK, we were following a group and didn't have to rebuild anything. We had one sticky rope issue on R2.
13 Feb 2021	Amazing	Dry	None	Special challenges	5 hours	2 people	Willie92708 (973 reports)
Comment: We had a few navigational issues on the approach, but we easily got it sorted out; might have wasted 15 minutes total. Some of the anchors in the canyon are a bit sketchy (thus the beta R rating?); we tested all of them that were suspect and or rebuilt them; all the webbing seemed fresh. Some of the rappels have rather crumbly walls; do be careful! The views are stellar on the approach and during the first sequence of rappels (see pic). Along with a pleasant Sunny day with light wind made for an amazing trip!
28 Nov 2020	Good	Dry	None		8 hours	7 people	Lsangaila (3 reports)
Comment: Replaced webbing on all anchors except 2 that we bypassed.
17 Feb 2020	Great	Dry	None	Normal	5 hours	11 people Beginner to Expert	JPugh (6 reports)
Comment: Solid day in Arachnophobia. Most anchors were had purple colored webbing from a previous group. Unsure of how old it was, but it seemed to be in good condition more or less (rely on your own judgement here). If this webbing is still in the canyon at the start of the 2021 season I recommend replacing. Be mindful of pull down for 1st rappel. There is a system of small ledges here and the rope wanted to hang up on a horn.
23 Nov 2018	Great	Dry	None	Normal	8 hours	7 people Beginner to Expert	Dangel (157 reports),Dominik (64 reports),Morgan (103 reports),Exitfiftyone (21 reports)
Comment: We had various bits of trouble with the approach. The badlands in 29 mule team can be tricky if you're only there once a year... the USGS topo won't help you. It was clearly drawn by a drunken intern, from memory, who figured to himself the area would never get ground-truthed anyway. Anyway, on the second rap, we coreshot a rope by using the 210 foot station (there's a lower 170' station that seems to have better geometry). May or may not have been a sharp pinch point under a horn... or just someone not being careful enough. Replaced a bunch of anchors. Pulled out a bunch of tat.
18 Feb 2018 Trip report	Great	Dry	None	Special challenges	6 hours	6 people Intermediate to Advanced	French de (33 reports)
Comment: Arachnophobia is a great addition to the other Arachnid canyons in the Zabriskie Point area. We used a third alternative approach to the canyon. Just past the right turn up to the Vinegaroon is a left turn wash (36°23'21.37"N, 116°48'12.07"W) out of Scorpion valley. The wash has some easy scrambling that leads to the top of the Arachnophobia valley. There is a little exposure at the top of the wash. When you reach a point where there are only two choices, left or right, choose left. That will keep you out of the final scree climb that occurs on the right. From there it is a short hike around the top of the steep wash and over to the top of Arachnophobia valley. We farmed some larger rocks from up top and built an alternative deadman/rock Cairn anchor with extended webbing for the third free hang rappel. This made for an easier start and a better pull, although it does add to the length of rope required (a little over 200 feet) - we used a three hundred foot rope and a three hundred foot pull enabling us to move further down canyon for the pull lowering the risk of a stuck rope and preventing rope damage because of the sharp rock in this canyon. This is a very scenic and fun canyon. There are several anchor varieties and everyone in our group really enjoyed the canyon.
7 Jan 2017? Trip report							SaraScoles-Sciulla@Facebook (1 reports)
Comment: extracts from Facebook posts, click link for full details (privacy restrictions may apply) " Arachnophobia Canyon, Jan 7" Sara Scoles-Sciulla's timeline
3 Dec 2016	Good			Special challenges	7 hours	9 people Intermediate to Advanced	Freddy (51 reports)
Comment: All anchors inspected, rebuilt & replaced.