Island In The Sky
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| | Difficulty:3A II (v3a1 II) Raps:4, max ↨89ft
Red Tape:Permit required Shuttle:Optional | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 4 Mar 2017
"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 |
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| Best season: | Any;HOT in Summer
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37.1944, -113.6427
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Introduction
Though technically not a canyon the Island in the Sky Traverse will test all of your canyoneering skills. The route climbs an extremely beautiful eroded butte up dihedrals and ramps and across a ledge system with exposed drops on all sides. When the top of the butte is achieved, the traverse across is a labyrinth of obstacles that will test your route finding abilities. The tiny clues of 3 parallel scratches and brown reflective disks that are screwed into the rock will only be discovered after you've found the correct passageway, but they will help guide you through the maze of drainages, slots, and cliffs by confirming you are on the right path. For the right group of canyoneers this will be an extremely enjoyable puzzle; for the unprepared it could be mean an unexpected camping trip or worse. While it is possible to complete the Island in the Sky route without ropes or rappelling by descending to the southeast this alternate downclimb route isn't shown in the GPX track above, but it should be noted that it exists and can be done without technical gear for the highly skilled
Island in the Sky Route – Important Safety Information
The Island in the Sky route has been the site of frequent search and rescue operations over the years. Most rescues are not injury-related, but rather due to parties becoming cliffed out—stuck in terrain too steep or exposed to safely descend without assistance.
The terrain throughout the route is primarily fourth-class, requiring scrambling and solid route-finding skills. The GPX track provides a general guide along the ridge, but there are numerous variations and decision points. You'll need to use your judgment and possibly engage in some bushwhacking and micro-navigation.
Common Pitfalls
The most common cause of people getting stuck is the inability to judge the downclimb terrain from above. What might look reasonable from the top can turn out to be exposed or too steep once committed. If your downclimbing skills are limited, this can quickly become a serious issue.
Another major factor is navigating in the dark. Even with high-powered headlamps, it’s incredibly difficult to judge terrain and distances after nightfall. Many parties have become cliffed out because they attempted the descent in the dark and couldn’t safely pick their way through it, even with lights.
Approach
Head towards Island in the Sky from the North (campground) end. The official trailhead is at 37.199470,-113.643495.
Start up wherever looks good, gain the top and traverse through the maze following intuition, RoadTripRyan's map and the physical markings.
The last canyon exit to the first rappel is hard to find, but there are three hard to see markings there.
The first rappel is in a short windblown cave. Brice Pollock's blog post has photos of all rappels.
Warning: Black plated holds on the scrambling are not as secure as Red Rocks and I could often break these holds off. Opting for open hand slopers more often.
Descent
There are many routes of various technicality, descends an exposed 5.6 chimney climb. It may be advisable to have at least one strong climber in your party.
The last canyon exit (which has three markings) was at 37.193317,-113.642325.
Originally it was listed that there were two rappels, but Brice Pollock's write-up found four and has good pictures of each:
- R1 - 20m (37.192317,-113.643242): two bolt anchor with webbing
- R2 - 22m (37.192075,-113.643670): two bolt anchor with stale webbing
- R3 - 27m (37.192088,-113.643730): two pitons and a bolt with webbing
- R3 alternate - 15m (37.192008,-113.643653): in the canyon for a straight drop off a slung column of sandstone
- R4 - 10m (37.191805,-113.643638): Rusted chains off rusted glue-ins
Exit
A half mile shuttle would be ideal, but it is not necessary.
Red tape
Permits
This canyoneering route is within Snow Canyon State Park and requires a permit to descend it. Permits can be obtained online through the Snow Canyon State Park website: https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/snow-canyon/canyoneering-permits/
Group-Size Limit: Group size is limited to 6. A group is any people sharing the same affiliation (school club, scout troop, family, friends, business). Any group splitting to avoid the size limit for the trips on the same route, on the same day, is a permit violation. Group mergers are also prohibited.
Daily Quota: There may be a daily quota that caps the number of permits given out, but if one is in place, and what the limit may be, is not made clear.
Cost: Permits cost $8.00 The website says that "Each permit is good for up to six people" but it is unclear if it is $8 total for up to 6 people, or $8 per person up to 6 people.
How to Purchase Permits
The website is super confusing and at the time of this posting it was too unclear to document.
Park Entrance Fee:
A park entrance fee is required to enter Snow Canyon State Park. Information and entrance rates for Snow Canyon State Park entrance fees is available via the park website: https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/snow-canyon/park-fees/
Beta sites
- Paragon Adventures
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RoadTripRyan.com : Island In The Sky - Action Cam Video by Alpinedon
