Conditions:Island In The Sky-20170316005043
Latest: |
4 Mar 2017 (8 yrs, 9 mos ago) |
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| Reported by: | Danielson (93 reports) | |
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| Quality: | Great |
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| Waterflow: | Dry |
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| Wetsuit: | None |
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| Water temperature: | ||
| Difficulty: | Special challenges |
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| Time: |  4 hours
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Team: 5 people with experience level Intermediate to Expert
Trip report URL:
Comments: Bolts can be found on the first third of the trip (upclimb) presumably left by guiding companies to belay clients. There is a fixed rope in a dihedral near the top; we found it easier and safer to not use. All members of our party were able to climb the 5.6 crux (in the middle of the traverse) unprotected. I found this obstacle much easier than my last trip thru - but please still bring a good climber with you to be safe. We descnded the last part of the trip by down-climbing the 2 rappels. The second rappel is particularly difficult to down-climb and a handline was use just to be safe. There were anchors in place. The first was made with climbing rope thru 2 bolts, but it did seem like it could form an American Death Triangle? The second was webbing on 2 bolts painted brown.
All condition reports
| Date | Quality | Waterflow | Wetsuit | Difficulty | Time | Team | Reported by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great | | | | 4 hours
| 2 people Advanced | RFontaine (336 reports) | |
Comment: A very enjoyable and engaging route the whole way through!
The climbs were all very fun and the route while a bit mazey was not too hard to follow. I highly recommend download RoadTripRyan’s GPX file, it is much more detailed than the Ropewiki one, with turns and waypoints. We got off track a few times but it was easy to get back on track looking at the map. Was a fun adventure navigating through the maze! The chimney climb up was very neat, had to take bags off and hand them up through. (A Slot Tower pack could barely fit the opening). I was intrigued by the report the previous canyoneer had left about getting off track on a climbing big wall and being that we like big raps and hanging stations, we decided to try and follow their path down. Immediately after R1 (we rappelled DCR of the patio) I could see an equalized 2 bolt anchor far DCR requiring a somewhat heady traverse to access. I replaced the sunburnt webbing with 1/2” black webbing. From there I rappelled about 90’ down to the first chained climbing anchor I saw. This was a hanging station with hardly anything to stand on. One of the bolts was loose but the other was solid. From there it was about 150’ to the ground, passing another 2 bolt climbing anchor just below. The one I passed was semi hanging with a tiny shelf to stand. Next time I would go straight to that 2nd anchor, I would think it would be less than 150’ to access from the top. After getting to the bench we followed the slab down doing another 60’ drop than finally a 150’ drop to the ground. I really enjoyed this sequence and far better preferred this route over all the downclimbing. Such a great fun adventure route! Would do the same way again!
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| Great | Dry
| None
| Special challenges |  5 hours
| 2 people Brand new to Advanced | Kirbside (98 reports) | |
Comment: Great day at Island in the Sky. Overall the route is heady but doable. If you have a fear of heights the first 20-30 minutes are the worst of it
The route itself is actually about 5.5-5.6 climbing grade (Mountain Project says 5.2 which is silly). We were trending towards three hours, but after the first rappel on the exit, there is a climbing anchor with webbing visible on the right that we thought was our rappel anchor. This anchor descends about ~130-180 feet to a hanging rebelay on the face (not in the gulley). From this station it is another ~100-150 feet to the ground. We did not use this hanging rebelay so I can't say anything to it's quality. We sent our first person down not expecting this. They ended up missing the rebelay and getting the rope stuck on the wall in a J-hang which added about 2 hours of problem solving and rescue. In the end a 215' rope barely reached from the top station through the gully DCL to a ledge that you could downclimb from. Not recommended. Do not use this anchor unless you are prepared for this sequence You are able to downclimb and avoid this section entirely. The entire route could be done without ropes though the first rappel on the exit would be sketchy to downclimb. There is also a gully rappel to skip the scramble on the exit I attached a photo to make this a bit clearer. Additionally about halfway through the traverse there is a 2 bolt anchor that I assume is another alternate route down. We didn't use this anchor so I can't speak to that route | |||||||
| Great | Dry
| None
| Special challenges | 4 hours
| 5 people Intermediate to Expert | Danielson (93 reports) | |
Comment: Bolts can be found on the first third of the trip (upclimb) presumably left by guiding companies to belay clients. There is a fixed rope in a dihedral near the top; we found it easier and safer to not use. All members of our party were able to climb the 5.6 crux (in the middle of the traverse) unprotected. I found this obstacle much easier than my last trip thru - but please still bring a good climber with you to be safe. We descnded the last part of the trip by down-climbing the 2 rappels. The second rappel is particularly difficult to down-climb and a handline was use just to be safe. There were anchors in place. The first was made with climbing rope thru 2 bolts, but it did seem like it could form an American Death Triangle? The second was webbing on 2 bolts painted brown.
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