Conditions:Illiam Canyon-20231106032917

Latest:	5 Nov 2023 (29 days ago)

Reported by:	Nclegg (308 reports)
Quality:	Good
Waterflow:	Dry
Wetsuit:
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Normal
Time:	7 hours

Team: 5 people

Trip report URL:

Comments: Encountered a black bear and two mountain lions (adult + cub) on approach as we were descending into the Illiam drainage. Fall color is abundant near the head of the canyon but leaves have mostly fallen along West Fork trail.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
5 Nov 2023	Good	Dry		Normal	7 hours	5 people	Nclegg (308 reports)
Comment: Encountered a black bear and two mountain lions (adult + cub) on approach as we were descending into the Illiam drainage. Fall color is abundant near the head of the canyon but leaves have mostly fallen along West Fork trail.
14 Jan 2023	Amazing	Very Low	Rain jacket	Special challenges	6 hours	2 people Intermediate to Advanced	Erek (207 reports),SarahFakler (8 reports)
Comment: Snow canyon. Thigh deep snow from leaving AB Young trail to first rappel. Ice and snow throughout canyon. Amazing conditions and experience. Did the chute rappel in two rappels. Beautiful canyon in snow.
28 Oct 2022	Good				5 hours	2 people Intermediate to Advanced	EMoorcroft (330 reports)
Comment: Great route. Fall colors are popping off! No issues. Anchors look great. Skipped r1 and r2. Downclimbed r9 on the left side.
11 Mar 2022	Amazing				7 hours	3 people Advanced	RFontaine (154 reports)
Comment: Took AB Young Trail up to the top. There were patches of snow on AB Young and up top we were greeted with a beautiful snow covered forest! Every rappel was icy but manageable and every landing was covered in atleast a foot or more of snow! This made for a fantastic, fun, and memorable experience! We had no rope pull issues as we rigged every rappel with the releasable CEM Knot. We did not set up a shuttle so we walked the road from West Fork to Bootleggers. This is the second time I've done this canyon and it is definitely underrated! All the raps are big and glorious, lots of free hanging and views for days!
15 May 2021	Good	Dry	None	Normal	5 hours	2 people Intermediate to Advanced	Nclegg (308 reports)
Comment: This rugged yet beautiful canyon sure does make you earn it with the approach up AB Young and subsequent navigation through dense brush and endless amounts of downed trees. Downclimbed the first couple raps. Before R3, we joked that the canyon currently had -1 stars, largely due to the dense and unforgiving brush...then came La Bella De Hew and the following rap sequence and our assessment quickly changed. Extended the anchor at R6 beyond the first lip. At this rap, we tossed the pull cord only slightly LDC (from about half way down the chute) and walked a bit down canyon for the pull. No anchor in sight at R9 so we rigged from a tree RDC. Took our time setting up the rappels and planning the pulls on the alleged rope-eaters. We brought an extra 200’ as insurance but it wasn’t needed. Be mindful of rope placement and you shouldn’t have any issues.
10 May 2021	Good	Dry		Special challenges	6 hours	2 people Intermediate to Advanced	EMoorcroft (330 reports)
Comment: r1. bypassed shelf RDC. r2. downclimbed. r3. down climbed to first ledge, then fiddle sticked. r4. fiddle sticked. r5. double line. r6. use souble line, stage pull ldc and throw pull side up and over ldc before continuing down the chute. or rapp down to ledge with chockstone then rapp chute off chockstone. one member of our team climbed the Chute to retrieve the fiddle stick from the ledge with the chockstone. Do not fiddle stick this rap! This climb is moderate up the crack with good holds and stemming in the Chute. After rapping the Chute if there is a competent climber in the group they may want a try at climbing the Chute to the chockstone. r7. STAGE PULL LDC! The rapp line can even go in the crack if it can't be avoided, but as long as the pull side goes ldc and over the hump the pull should be fine. Reccomended to stay out of crack if possible. r8. awkward start under sloping bush. wall I covered in lichen and moss so tread very lightly as to not damage the growth. r9. downclimbed tree ldc by gully. This was a fun route with really unique features. Watch out for Locusts bush up top and black berries by the creek. Awesome exit, scenic approach.
18 Oct 2020	Great	Dry	None	Special challenges	8 hours	4 people Beginner to Advanced	EMoorcroft (330 reports)
Comment: approach can be made easier if you stay along the edge of the rim and drop into the canyon later to avoid battling locusts bush. a 200' and 200' pull worked great for all rappels, with rope to spare. excellent sequence of longer rappels. the approach makes you earn it via 33 switchbacks, but was a great trail with scenic views. set all pulls ldc, and did a test pull on the large rappel. tossing the pull out of the chute about halfway down LDC helped reduce friction, and ease the pull. nice to see a wild canyon in the area with very little foot traffic.
5 Oct 2020	Great	Dry	None	Special challenges	7 hours	2 people	EMoorcroft (330 reports)
Comment: Rope retrieval mission. on rope beta cite is spot on for the pull/rigging beta. there is cell service throughout most of the route. test pull on longer rapps before last man down proved sufficient for clean pulls. most pulls should be set LDC. canyon is dry but drops into westfork and the fall colors are starting to kick in. overall a pretty straightforward canyon, just be mindful when rigging as there is high potential to stick your rope.
4 Oct 2020	Good	Dry	None	Normal	6 hours	2 people Intermediate	Brandon.levander (1 reports)
Comment: Good canyon with wildlife on the top of the approach. The approach is straightforward and on well-developed trails. The exit is an easy stroll out of west fork. Careful with the rope, we had to ascend to rescue a rope. On the second to last rappel we got our rope stuck during the pull. We had to come back two days later for a rope recovery. Took our time the second time through and had no issues.