Conditions:Kaiser Creek-20160830182159
Latest: |
27 Aug 2016 (8 yrs, 9 mos ago) |
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| Reported by: | GueroSteve (8 reports) | |
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| Quality: | Great |
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| Waterflow: | Moderate |
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| Wetsuit: | Thick wetsuit |
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| Water temperature: | ||
| Difficulty: | Advanced |
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| Time: |  12 hours
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Team: 6 people with experience level Intermediate to Advanced
Trip report URL:
Comments: This ended up being a long, strenuous day for us. We underestimated the amount of tricky starts, anchoring building, wading through water, and problem solving in this canyon. With that said, the scenery can't be beat and you won't find the natural formations (caves, siphons, arches, sculpted granite) that this canyon has anywhere else in the Sierra.
All condition reports
| Date | Quality | Waterflow | Wetsuit | Difficulty | Time | Team | Reported by |
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| Good | Moderate Low
| Thin wetsuit
| Normal | 11 hours
| 2 people Advanced | Blueshade (55 reports) | |
Comment: I thought the beta was largely difficult to follow and left out a lot of details while being wordy on insignificant details. One important update is that the 2 jumps in the middle and the large rappel DOES have bolts on the second AND third pool. Note that it is still helpful to have someone rap off the tree above as the first set of bolts are across a sloped smooth rock face. Distance from these bolts to the bottom is under 200'. Roughly 150'from the next set of bolts.
The first major sieve is pretty minor, an easy step across, at least at lower flow. It is possible to go through the arch without putting your head under water. I don't recommend going under the subsequent boulder but it is possible. The second to last section: Moderately difficult DC into a hole created by a wedged boulder and tree debris below it. Pretty easy to climb out. Otherwise is a short jump or another moderately difficult DC. Single bolt on the right in a very shallow but large pothole off once side. This is a 2 stage rap followed by a stem/DC down a crack created by a vertically wedged flat boulder. Beware rope deployment and pull here as it can get caught in various places. It is possible to build a second anchor in the pinches and then rap the last 40'OR can be done carefully as a partners assist and DC. Finished with a mostly horizontal stem over a 30' V crack/chute. We also decided to skip the final narrows section due to the potentially bad swirling pothole below. But the beta is roughly as follows: 3 short drops or bypass these rappelling off the L side 2 big boulders that I think it's possible to swim under 1 short drop (currently with a log that may be solid enough to use as an anchor) then passes the appx 5' swirling pothole that could be difficult to escape and/or a sieve Stem/walk a whitewater corridor Canyon Opens and do a final rap from a tree R Note that good stemming and DC skills can make things go a lot better. Be aware that we ghosted, downclimbed, or, in one case, removed a bad anchor and jumped. So not all anchors are ready to go by some people's standards. One other note- there is near constant escape potential if paying attention (at least BEFORE the final narrows)
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| Great | Moderate High
| Thin wetsuit
| Special challenges  | 9 hours
| 3 people Advanced | Xenonrocket (102 reports),Johnbcaves (160 reports),Nkowalcz (10 reports) | |
Comment: Enjoyed the top of the half of the canyon, had one rope stuck at the "problematic pull" location described (just above the cave bypass). Misread beta and exited the canyon to bypass (very high to canyon rim!) before the right turn. One member overheated on the bypass hike, so we spent some time recovering/playing in the water and then exited the canyon before the last two gorge sections, so we didn't experience the dreaded sieves.
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| | | | | RussVZ@Facebook (6 reports) | |||
Comment: extracts from Facebook posts, click link for full details (privacy restrictions may apply)
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| Great | Moderate
| Thick wetsuit
| Advanced | 12 hours
| 6 people Intermediate to Advanced | GueroSteve (8 reports) | |
Comment: This ended up being a long, strenuous day for us. We underestimated the amount of tricky starts, anchoring building, wading through water, and problem solving in this canyon. With that said, the scenery can't be beat and you won't find the natural formations (caves, siphons, arches, sculpted granite) that this canyon has anywhere else in the Sierra.
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| Great | Significant
| Full wetsuit
| Special challenges | 10 hours
| 3 people Intermediate to Expert | Tiffanie (139 reports) | |
Comment: North Wash canyon meets the Sierras! This canyon has a lot of downclimbs, awkward starts, narrow slots that are similar to North Wash canyons. Add in the polished granite, water, siphons, and log traverses and you've got a canyon that's very unique and technical. Siphons are not common in the Sierras but this canyon has a lot of them. This canyon is likely best done in moderate flow - anything more would require a very experienced team of canyoneers. Most siphons are fairly obvious but there are some particularly nasty ones that are mentioned in the beta that should be avoided with care. The last major siphon should not be entered and can be avoided by climbing up into and over the slab DCR. Send your best rock climber and set up a guided rappel (meat) to help others. The hike out is steep but direct; the mosquitos are particularly vicious during sunset - mosquitos repellant is advised.
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