Conditions:Pictograph Canyon-20250219174432

Latest:	17 Feb 2025 (1 month ago)

Reported by:	Dyln cole (49 reports)
Quality:
Waterflow:
Wetsuit:	None
Water temperature:
Difficulty:
Time:	4 hours

Team: 4 people with experience level Intermediate to Brand new

Trip report URL:

Comments: Absolutely Killer day, super fun, really enjoyed the route. We went after light precipitation, I think the approach would be a lot less enjoyable and full of loose dirt/sand if not for the precip, so plan this accordingly if possible. Most bolts look good, bolt station at R4 is ridiculously placed, I don't quite know what to say other than maybe have someone more comfy with exposure to rig and manage it, if you've got kiddos especially.

Lots of rope grooves, this canyon could benefit from ghosting techniques (practiced and trained), though with bolted rappels, the deterrent may be useless. R1, R6, and R8 will all absolutely benefit from traceless techniques, (R6 may not look it but raps under the rock and is at greatest risk to rope grooving, you'll see what I mean).

Overall, super fun canyon and I would rate 3.5 if I could.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
17 Feb 2025			None		4 hours	4 people Intermediate to Brand new	Dyln cole (49 reports)
Comment: Absolutely Killer day, super fun, really enjoyed the route. We went after light precipitation, I think the approach would be a lot less enjoyable and full of loose dirt/sand if not for the precip, so plan this accordingly if possible. Most bolts look good, bolt station at R4 is ridiculously placed, I don't quite know what to say other than maybe have someone more comfy with exposure to rig and manage it, if you've got kiddos especially. Lots of rope grooves, this canyon could benefit from ghosting techniques (practiced and trained), though with bolted rappels, the deterrent may be useless. R1, R6, and R8 will all absolutely benefit from traceless techniques, (R6 may not look it but raps under the rock and is at greatest risk to rope grooving, you'll see what I mean). Overall, super fun canyon and I would rate 3.5 if I could.
28 Jul 2024	Great	Dry	None	Normal	4 hours	5 people Intermediate	Celes (25 reports)
Comment: All anchors were good. Other than a couple of spots during the scramble ascend, the route finding was mostly clear. We were glad we did the approach from Tuacahn and exit via Snow Canyon. That allowed us to did the approach in the shade (started 7:30am), and also did the 140' rappel which can only be accessed if you exit Snow Canyon. 4.5 hrs car to car.
1 Apr 2024	Great	Dry	None	Normal		2 people Intermediate to Advanced	Sgarnold (5 reports)
Comment: - All bolted anchors in good condition. - Tat was in good condition, no obvious sun bleaching or fraying. - Linked R3 and R4 with no issue. Bit of a chimney squeeze below R4, beware of getting yourself wedged with a big pack. - Clean rope pulls all the way. - Took a bit of a vegetation thrashing on the approach up to the plateau and beware of loose boulders in the sandy slopes. - Little bit of water trickle at R6 and we kept our feet dry until the last pothole between R6 and R7. One of us was able to step over the pool but the shorter person couldn't do it. Brief thigh deep water for them. - We were able to avoid the pool at R7 by rappeling DCR and using a little crimp on the rock to pull out and away from the pool. We skipped R8 due to time. - GPX points/route were spot on.
24 Feb 2024	Great	Very Low	None	Normal	8 hours	10 people Brand new to Advanced	Tcarlisle (73 reports)
Comment: - CONDITIONS Approach: The approach from Tuacahn starts out on the Padre Canyon trail and it is not too hard to find the spot it leaves the trail. It does take some route finding to get up through the fins. We were slightly off route from the beta on the way up but were on route going down when exiting. Once through the fins the going is easier but route finding will a still necessary. Water Exposure: There is a little water that is foot to knee-deep. Most is avoidable with skill but the last pool would take a lot of skill to bridge wide and low to avoid. We all just went in. The recommendation is to just go in at first sign of water. Anchors & Rappels: All anchors, except for the second one, are bolted. Looks like some anchors have been updated to two bolts and a few anchors have been relocated but. I effort has been made to fill in old bolt holes. All anchors and webbing are in good shape. Exit: After reaching the bottom of the last canyon we scrambled up the Tuacahn Chimney gully. We stayed up canyon left at the split at the top as the beta indicated but didn’t see much sign of foot traffic so we wondered if the up canyon left might actually be easier. That being said the Tuacahn Chimney wasn’t hard, just slightly annoying. Once I the top we descended back down to Tuacahn. It was easier to find the exact route the beta describes when going down. The middle fin with exposure described in the beta looks not great from the top, but it it really not too bad. The exposure on either side is just a little uncomfortable. STATS Group Size: 10 people Skill Level: Absolute beginner up to Advanced Total Time: 8 hours car to car Weather: Clear skies and forecast. Temperature in the 50’s Route: Approach and Exit via Tuacahn TRIP REPORT Group of mixed skill levels, including some absolute beginners. This was the first time anyone in our group had descended this canyon. Being nearly all bolted this is a pretty mellow canyon. None of the starts are particularly difficult--with the hardest one being anchor 6 as it does require a bit of a swing out into open air that newbies might find challenging. In talking with our first-timers they said the most challenging part of this canyon for them was the scrambling on the approach and the exit. They were a little unnerved by some of the rappels but handled them perfectly.