Conditions:Lomatium & Krill Loop-20231030020931

Latest:	29 Oct 2023 (1 yr, 8 mos ago)

Reported by:	Ingalls (28 reports)
Quality:	Great
Waterflow:	Dry
Wetsuit:	None
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Normal
Time:	4 hours

Team: 2 people with experience level Beginner to Expert

Trip report URL:

Comments: Fairly straightforward run through L&K. Absolutely beautiful area. The comments around GPS/Nav are a little overstated but nav certainly presents unique challenges. There are certainly much better canyons in the area but was fun to explore the fiery furnace area away from the well trodden path. Although we weren't particularly concerned about the exposure there was a decent amount of it that could deter many. If you plan to do this canyon be comfortable in 4th to easy 5th class terrain. Lots of rope groves on really simple down-climbs suggests that folks are doing this that are probably not prepared for what L&K throws at them.

Anchors are in good shape, replaced a bit of webbing. Folks have built webbing anchors directly off the sharp bolt hangers which I typically avoid as I've seen repeated loading begin to bite into the webbing (plus the manufacturers explicitly state not to do this. All in all a great day out.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
28 Feb 2025	Great	Dry	None	Easy	4 hours	3 people Advanced to Beginner	Witlov (1 reports)
Comment: Lomatium Krill Loop on Feb 28th with two friends with very little canyoneering experience but 5.13 climbers. Everything was bolted and canyon totally dr. Understand FF has been closed now - so we were probably some of the last to do it. Hopefully it will open again.
28 Apr 2024	Great	Very Low	None	Normal	5 hours	5 people Intermediate to Advanced	Tcarlisle (77 reports)
Comment: 5 hours 15 minutes car to car for both routes combined CONDITIONS Approach: Standard Approach to the top of Lomatium. No deviations to explore--just a straight shot as quick as we could. Water Exposure: Standing water was only present at the spots that always hold water--all of which was avoidable. The sandstone was was somewhat damp, but despite recent rains it was not too damp to cause crumbling issues. We were somewhat concerned that with the recent rains it would be slippery in the Furnace, but we didn't encounter traction issues. (on a previous trip in the Furnace recent rains and a light dusting of sand made it very slippery and some spots difficult to pass.) Anchors & Rappels: Anchors for both Lomatium and Krill are in good shape. All webbing is new and has little wear. The Belly of the Whale rappel in Krill is still off the three rusty pitons that have been there forever, but they don't move and seem to be solid. We used a fiddle stick on that anchor to reduce the chance of rope grooving as some light grooves are beginning to form. Exit: After Krill we opted to do do the down-climb route south towards the wash rather than going up and over to Kissing Turtles Arch. Despite having done this many times we found it a little tricky to get the correct route this time. STATS Group Size: 5 Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced Total Time: 5 hours 15 minutes car to car for both routes combined Weather: Started out overcast but became sunny Route: Standard route for Lomatium and Krill
29 Oct 2023	Great	Dry	None	Normal	4 hours	2 people Beginner to Expert	Ingalls (28 reports)
Comment: Fairly straightforward run through L&K. Absolutely beautiful area. The comments around GPS/Nav are a little overstated but nav certainly presents unique challenges. There are certainly much better canyons in the area but was fun to explore the fiery furnace area away from the well trodden path. Although we weren't particularly concerned about the exposure there was a decent amount of it that could deter many. If you plan to do this canyon be comfortable in 4th to easy 5th class terrain. Lots of rope groves on really simple down-climbs suggests that folks are doing this that are probably not prepared for what L&K throws at them. Anchors are in good shape, replaced a bit of webbing. Folks have built webbing anchors directly off the sharp bolt hangers which I typically avoid as I've seen repeated loading begin to bite into the webbing (plus the manufacturers explicitly state not to do this. All in all a great day out.
11 Mar 2023	Good	Dry	None	Special challenges	8 hours	4 people Intermediate to Advanced	Tcarlisle (77 reports)
Comment: Group of 4 consisting of experienced canyoneers, including three ACA trained Canyoneering Chicks. One person with prior experience canyoneering Lomatium and Krill. About 8 hours car to car with exploring and skills practice on the features included in that time. The forecast prior to the trip had been very rainy--in fact it had rained nearly all day the day before the trip. The day of the trip the forecast was 20-30 percent chance of light precipitation. With the the Fiery Furnace having a low flash flood risk, and reports of it being ice free, our main concern was with wet sandstone being crumbly or slippery. That and just being miserable and cold if it did rain on us. To our amazement and delight, though, aside from a minute or two of rain drops around 5:00pm--not really even a sprinkle--we had no rain. From morning until about 2:00 pm we had sun and blue skies and from then on it was lightly overcast. TRACTION ISSUES Despite raining all day the pervious day, the Furnace had dried out a lot. Still, the rock was a little damp and consequently less strong. There was no ice and only standing water in four places--the places that always hold water. The damp rock, combined with a light dusting of sand, did make it deceptively slippery at times. Those who had pervious experience in the Furnace remarked that certain spots were now much more challenging with the reduction in traction the dampness. At the Black Wall a canyoneer free climbed with great difficulty and then belayed up the remaining canyoneers, who all still struggled up. The V-slot change-over just before the Rabbit Hole was also more difficult. At that spot the damp rock reduced the strength of the rock so we couldn't use certain handholds because they would have instantly broken off. The rock was also a little slippery underfoot on the slope making just walking across not possible. The first one over just jumped for it. They then got into the slot to assist with holding up everyone's feet as they crossed while hanging onto a tiny crimp that just managed to be a bit of a handhold. TECHNICAL PORTION Both of the anchors in Lomatium are bolted. Drop one has chains and drop two has webbing. Both anchors are in good shape. The water at the bottom of both drops is avoidable. The rappel in Krill into the Belly of the Whale is still off of three pitons that have been there at least 10 years--perhaps much, much longer. They seemed to be in good shape, though, along with the webbing. The approach to Krill has some awkward spots on the up-climb through the boulder pile. This is best done with team work. We belayed the first person out to the anchor in case it was deceptively slippery, but we found it wasn't necessary. NAVIGATION While GPS is not great in the Fiery Furnace, it does much better than in years past. If you have good navigation skills and a GPS with a good satellite layer then you can kind of follow a GPX track. Still, it is highly recommended that you do this route with someone who has done it previously.
30 Nov 2021	Amazing	Dry	None	Normal	6 hours	6 people Brand new to Expert	C. Dubuisson (1 reports)
Comment: Excellent conditions, webbing at anchors was in good condition, route finding is sketchy, recommend you bring paper maps with high-resolution detail, as GPS was only useful on the top of the fins but not down in the slots and canyons.
18 May 2017	Amazing				7 hours	6 people Beginner to Expert	Danielson (93 reports)
Comment: Please check with the park for current canyoneering regulations when you pick up your permit. 7 hours includes Lomatium, and we used an unorthodox route. Due to construction, parking lot closes at 7pm Sun-Thur