Conditions:Icarus Canyon-20250521043714
Latest: |
20 May 2025 (2 days ago) |
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| Reported by: | Dyln cole (71 reports) | |
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| Quality: | ||
| Waterflow: | ||
| Wetsuit: | ||
| Water temperature: | ||
| Difficulty: | ||
| Time: |  10 hours
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Team: 4 people with experience level Beginner to Advanced
Trip report URL:
Comments: A surprisingly worthwhile canyon, the rappels were fun and the exit is amazing, following a not terribly brutal but not in much way enjoyable approach. We tried to stay high but dropping in earlier proved best, maybe a very late drop in aiming for R1 could work, but I think this is just brush city.
R6 was not very hard to miss at all, but perhaps this was due to the expectation of rappelling into it. The ledge was large enough to regather our group of 4, and at no point did we have to sequence. Pull beta is good, for R5, we got on rope from R6 and pulled at an extension which I would recommend to everyone else comfortable with this option as well.
Slow and comfortable day. Stay safe my friends.
All condition reports
| Date | Quality | Waterflow | Wetsuit | Difficulty | Time | Team | Reported by |
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| | | | 10 hours
| 4 people Beginner to Advanced | Dyln cole (71 reports) | ||
Comment: A surprisingly worthwhile canyon, the rappels were fun and the exit is amazing, following a not terribly brutal but not in much way enjoyable approach. We tried to stay high but dropping in earlier proved best, maybe a very late drop in aiming for R1 could work, but I think this is just brush city.
R6 was not very hard to miss at all, but perhaps this was due to the expectation of rappelling into it. The ledge was large enough to regather our group of 4, and at no point did we have to sequence. Pull beta is good, for R5, we got on rope from R6 and pulled at an extension which I would recommend to everyone else comfortable with this option as well. Slow and comfortable day. Stay safe my friends.
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| Great | | | |  6 hours
| 2 people Intermediate to Advanced | RFontaine (270 reports) | |
Comment: Great fun route with a couple top notch rappels!
Started hiking at 10am. 1 hr from parking lot to the top of AB Young. Another 2hrs from AB Young to 1st rap. Lots of pokey bush to battle near the end of final drainage! Full sun on entire approach, hotter then expected on this fall day… Easy to downclimb around R1 up and around on canyon left. Full shade once in canyon. Great rappels!! Easy exit. Total 6.5hrs | |||||||
| Great | | | Normal  | 8 hours
| 4 people Advanced | EMoorcroft (450 reports) | |
Comment: Replaced a few anchors. Saw a bear in the bottom of west fork. 8 hours includes exploration of some other side canyons. Made it tonthe top of ab young in 45 minutes.
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| Great | | | | 9 hours
| 4 people Intermediate to Advanced | RFontaine (270 reports) | |
Comment: Back again for a 3rd time! Exactly 1 year later! ...Still remains one of my favorites in AZ, a very fun and rewarding route!
Oak Creek's water level was low this time and we crossed over easily! AB Young trail was clear, easy hiking but we were met with a dusting of snow in the woods, once reaching the summit. We were happy to have brought micro-spikes for the slick snow and snow covered logs. We also wore neoprene booties under our shoes to avoid cold wet feet. The pool below the 1st rappel had dried up. Very little snow once descending the technical section. No water run off, yet! Every time I get to the 2nd rap (start of the 1st big sequence) I get so stoked! It feels massive as you can see so far out! We took our time through the descent, enjoying the views, making hot chocolate and hanging out. Most of the rapps are super fun with fantastic views! Especially the 4 big ones! Most webbing looked good. Replaced only 2 anchors that had abrasions. On the short exit drainage we were greeted with more snow and most of the upper section of West Fork Trail was covered with snow and ice. River crossings iced over! Super fun day! Love this route, definitely a must do this time of year!!
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| Great | | | | 6 hours
| 3 people Intermediate to Advanced | RFontaine (270 reports) | |
Comment: Loved it so much in the winter, just had to come back for another in summer! A cloudy day with a bit of rain in the forecast! Perfect!
Once again, such a fun and awesome canyon! Especially enjoyable if you are a fan of big clean rappels down large cliffs! The 4 big raps are really fantastic, in my opinion! We did the bottom up AB Young approach, which took us about 3.5hrs to get to the drop in. Very green and brushy in the final drainage to the approach. Webbing replaced on rappels 1, 2, and 3. All other webbing looks good for now. We did the alternate 90' rap for R4 which I really think is more enjoyable than staying in the watercourse. Nice big clean wall, 2 stage. This canyon is so rugged, raw, and green with multiple beautiful large cliffy raps! A good one to do in inclement weather too!
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| Amazing | Very Low 
| Rain jacket
| | 9 hours
| 3 people Advanced | RFontaine (270 reports) | |
Comment: Absolutely LOVED IT. Bottom up approach. Spent some time trying to find the best spot to cross river due to higher than normal flow. As we climbed AB Young, the morning rain turned to snow. At the top we were greeted with a wonderful snowy winter wonderland! First rappel had an unavoidable pool, we climbed up to the right and ghosted off a tree to avoid pool. Rap 3 the anchor is set back a ways and made for a tough pull, consider extending webbing. There were 2 pools at rap 4 that were much fuller than normal, so we climbed up canyon right and set webbing off a tree to avoid them, which made for a longer more interesting rappel down a wall and much easier rope pull. It snowed/ lightly rained almost the whole day. All the rappels were tiny trickling showers so we definitely got wet but none of us were uncomfortably cold with our rain jackets and layers. Absolutely beautiful canyon made even better with unique weather conditions! We had a blast!!
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| Good | | None 
| Special challenges | 8 hours
| 4 people Intermediate to Advanced | EMoorcroft (450 reports) | |
Comment: Description is spot on.
A rugged West Fork canyon! An arduous approach up AB Young, Locust bush laiden drainage, Long rappels off dead burnt trees and exposed ledges, loose rock, tricky rope placements, Beautiful Moss covered walls, fun downclimbs, and panoramic views of West Fork.... This lightly trafficked route feels like a first descent due to the rugged nature and well preserved beauty.
After r7 there is a fun 15' downclimb with an anchor set LDC. Thanks to the FD team. If your into hard approaches, getting down and dirty, and up for a challenge, than you'll enjoy it as we did.
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| Good | Dry
| | Normal | 8 hours
| Doctors out (26 reports) | ||
Comment: Spotted a vehicle at west fork and shuttled to bootlegger. Big approach hike but then the raps come fast and frequent. Several larger cliffy raps reminiscent of Immaculate. One small pool is avoidable with the small tree bridge I installed. You're welcome :)
Approach is kinda bushy, but it's a rugged fun canyon that has not seen much traffic. Would rate as a 3.5
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| Good | Dry
| None
| Special challenges | 8 hours
| 4 people Intermediate to Advanced | Nclegg (407 reports) | |
Comment: A truly wild canyon. Longer, more challenging, and more rugged than Illiam. Very vertical with lots of big, unique rappels in succession.
R2 was a bit daunting for some in the group. Watch your footing and use caution getting on rappel. Oh, and look out for ants - they will climb into your gloves and they will bite your hands. The small pool at the base of R4 was shallow and easily avoided. Eric's beta for the remaining raps is on point. Many of the rappels require special care to avoid pull issues or tangles. Be mindful of rope placement, rigging type, and rigging height/location. Avoid deploying more rope than necessary or dropping rope too soon.
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