Conditions:Crack Addict Canyon-20240518055300
Latest: |
16 May 2024 (1 yr, 1 month ago) |
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| Reported by: | Mjbirdno (8 reports) | |
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| Quality: | Good |
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| Waterflow: | ||
| Wetsuit: | ||
| Water temperature: | ||
| Difficulty: | ||
| Time: |  5 hours
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Team: 4 people with experience level Beginner to Advanced
Trip report URL:
Comments: The LDC bypass at rappel 11 has very high rockfall potential. Lots of loose rocks came off as we did the new sequence of 2 rappels. If I did it again, I would sling webbing around the large boulder above R11 (up canyon from the prior / dying tree), cover the webbing on the back side with a stack of rocks, and extend the webbing 20-30 feet, closer to the edge.
All condition reports
| Date | Quality | Waterflow | Wetsuit | Difficulty | Time | Team | Reported by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Very Low 
| None 
| Normal  | 5 hours
| 1 people | Triggerfish (63 reports) | |
Comment: On a day that hit 109 down in Mesa, this shaded, north facing run was perfect. Ridge approach trail is easy to follow most of the way, and enjoyable. Class 4 bits were brief, with minimal exposure. Glad I took it. The part of Sterling I went through to exit is more gradual, but also twisty and full of boulders and poison ivy (avoidable, but widespread).
Anchors are fine, several an odd mix of rolled escape rings (not ideal, but no significant wear) on solid webbing. Toggled all but a couple taps (the really short ones). Walked up on someone’s stuck 100’ Canyon Extreme, bag and all, stuck by a tiny knuckle of rope on the forged ring at R11. It was fun to find that I had signal, was able to post “found gear” on fb while right there, and by the time I was back to the road, knew who to return it to. I usually don’t mind getting wet, but seeing the thigh high, cold, crawling with larvae water at bottom of R12. I locked off above waterline, rolled up pants, removed socks & shoes and threw them to dry ground. All in all, really enjoyed the route. The many back to back, pretty, straightforward raps, relatively dry route, and total time commitment put this one on my list as a good outing for taking small groups of new people.
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| Good | Dry
| None
| Normal |  4 hours
| 4 people Beginner to Advanced | Eric W (6 reports) | |
Comment: We took the shuttle option, which saved our legs, but not our suspension. You will benefit from high vehicle clearance on the upper section of the road. Our 7" clearance was fine, but plan on scraping the bottom of your car if you have less.
The canyon is packed with rappels in a short amount of time. The crack pipe anchor was something new. Everything is pretty straightforward. A couple of anchors could use new webbing with several more uses as slight abrasions were visible, but not critical. The last rappel required one member to get wet waist-deep. We rigged a guided rappel for everyone else to stay dry. Watch for mostly avoidable poison ivy on the way out!
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| Great | Dry
| None
| | 4 hours
| 4 people Intermediate to Advanced | LLRae (7 reports) | |
Comment: A nice bushwhack before you hit the technica portion. Fun raps with a few I teresting starts. Webbing for rap 1 May need to be replaced soon. There was some knee high water in rap 12. We exited to 89A via more bushwhacking. Very pretty.
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| Great | Dry
| None
| Normal | 5 hours
| 4 people Beginner to Advanced | Mfeingol (52 reports) | |
Comment: This is a really fun half-day canyon. One rappel after another through pretty scenery. Definitely worth the bottom-up ridge approach, which is a little steep at first and then scrambly later, but really not that bad. Our 5 hours included some time setting up a guided rappel over a tiny puddle of water, because why not?
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| Good | | | | 5 hours
| 4 people Intermediate to Advanced | RFontaine (280 reports) | |
Comment: A really good route with a bunch of decent rappels and lots of neat features throughout! We did the bottom up loop.. Steep, scrambly with very minimal bush. Having done top down in the past I much prefer this option, not as gnarly as the top down loop. Water was present but entirely avoidable. Exit down Sterling Canyon was pretty and easy. Again, way better than exiting back up to the rim!! 5 hours at a chill pace, even with some self rescue practice!
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| | | | 6 hours
| Dyln cole (76 reports) | |||
Comment: Webbing in good condition, went up sterling and back down to the 89, avoided R12 water easy, hot day.
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| Good | Dry
| None
| Normal | 7 hours
| 6 people | AZ Advocate (56 reports) | |
Comment: Familiarization run through Crack Addict today with Coconino County SAR. Lots of rappels, some funky/fun starts, and amazing scenery make this one an excellent place to get some great time on rope. Most anchor webbing was in great shape but there were a few which will need to be changed out within a month or 2. Set up a guideline with a double CEM at R12 as the pool at the bottom was still about 30-36" deep and unavoidable.
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| Good | Very Low
| None
| Normal | 8 hours
| 4 people | AZ Advocate (56 reports) | |
Comment: Another fun tour through this gem, which is an excellent choice when summer sun chases you away from Sedona's routes. We replaced soggy webbing at R1 and removed new red webbing with double escape rings at R3, and R11 due to rock fall potential. All other anchor webbing was in great shape.
R11 and R12 are now bolted with placements which allow for easy pulls.
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| | | | | Skyotie (13 reports) | |||
Comment: Added webbing on DCR off living tree for R11. Approximately 20' long to allow for easy pull. Other anchors are all in good shape
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| Good | | | | 5 hours
| 4 people Beginner to Advanced | Mjbirdno (8 reports) | |
Comment: The LDC bypass at rappel 11 has very high rockfall potential. Lots of loose rocks came off as we did the new sequence of 2 rappels. If I did it again, I would sling webbing around the large boulder above R11 (up canyon from the prior / dying tree), cover the webbing on the back side with a stack of rocks, and extend the webbing 20-30 feet, closer to the edge.
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| Great | Very Low
| None
| | | Isaactcheek (1 reports) | ||
Comment: R11 tree anchor is very dead and very suspect. We chose to scramble to a ledge DCL to use a much sturdier tree, though it was in a slightly awkward position. If using the tree anchor DCL, be mindful of loose rocks.
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| Good | | | Normal | 5 hours
| 4 people Advanced | EMoorcroft (451 reports) | |
Comment: R 11 trees are dying and may no longer provide a good anchor source. Fun little route in oak creek. Fall colors were still nice.
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| Great | Very Low
| None
| Normal | 7 hours
| 2 people Beginner to Intermediate | AZ Advocate (56 reports) | |
Comment: We looped the canyon, starting from the bottom and ascended up Sterling Canyon. The vegetative hardships contained within Sterling Canyon deserve special recognition as the density of raspberries, locust, and other such spiny/thorny brush is truly remarkable. Apart from that, it's a great approach, brutal but great type 2 fun. Even in the summer, with an early 5:30am start we were shaded for the majority of the hike up. If hiking up Sterling, it's much much easier to drop into Crack Addict from the Upper Parking pin instead of the head of the drainage, like the GPX track on rope wiki shows. Trust me, you'll have had your fill of bushwhacking in Sterling, so unless you're anxious for more of the same, just drop in from the upper parking pin.
NOTE: If you owned a Sterling CanyonPrime rope which happened to get stuck on the last rappel, we hiked it out and left it at Peace Outfitters in Flagstaff. Just swing by to pick it up. Thank you Peace Outfitters!!
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| Great | Very Low
| None
| Normal |  10 hours
| 4 people Beginner to Intermediate | Az adventurer (1 reports) | |
Comment: Did the loop hike starting at the bottom from the highway and hiking up the ridgeline. Approach was doable but steep/loose in some sections. Canyon was overall mostly dry (small avoidable pools) except for the last rappel, where there was an unavoidable large pool of water at the bottom about waist deep. Replaced webbing at most anchors (except rap 10, we used 9 as an anchor for both 9 and 10). Awesome day and great canyon!
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| Great | Deep pools
| None
| Normal | 5 hours
| 4 people Brand new to Expert | Greatshaitan (45 reports) | |
Comment: Out here for a Mountain Rescue Conference and decided to run this guy. Was a fun trip with a couple of brand new people. Backed up the webbing on the rap 12. Also did a guided rappel to avoid the last swimmer, well all avoided but me :) We used two vehicles and exited to the road.
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