Portal Canyon
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| | Difficulty:3A IV (v3a1 IV) Raps:12-16, max ↨175ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:None Vehicle:Passenger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 23 Mar 2024
"A decent, worthwhile, full day route if in the area.. River crossing was for the most part knee deep. I wore a drysuit just because, and stashed i |
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| Best season: | Oct-Apr (avg for this region)
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36.8977, -113.8322
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Introduction[edit]
Portal Canyon is the longest and deepest narrow canyon in the area. Its character is similar to Death Valley canyons with many down climbs and short drops throughout the descent. This canyon is the longer version of the neighboring Cherry Canyon as half of the approach and most of the exit are the same.
Portal has been descended for more than a decade, by hundreds of people, using natural anchors (such as those described in the beta below). Please, if you are planning on making a descent, know how to evaluate, construct, and manage natural anchors within a technical canyon. Portal is not "throw and go" where every anchor is always simple. Every potential descent needs to be prepared with the knowledge and equipment to evaluate and construct natural anchors. If you do not have these skills, please learn them beforehand in a controlled-safe environment hopefully from an experienced source, BEFORE going in Portal canyon. With the proper experience the anchors in Portal are not sketchy nor dangerous, and risks of using natural anchors can be can be effectively and safely managed.
This is not the place to pull out the drill and install bolts or other fixed anchors. They are absolutely not needed outside of Land Manager sponsored SAR operations. If you cannot descend Portal without the use or installation of bolts, don't do it, and don't install them. Learn the skills to do so without, and come back later.
Portal Canyon is within the the federally designated Paiute Wilderness Area. Please abide by the laws of Wilderness Areas. That means it is illegal use motorized equipment (I'm looking at you power drill).
Approach[edit]
From the Virgin River Gorge Campground (Cedar Pocket), drive south on I-15 all the way out of the Gorge in order to turn around and head north. Heading north on I-15 through the Gorge, watch for a small (40ft) hill on the right side of the road 2 miles after entering the Gorge. Pull off the road to park in a large dirt and gravel area just past the hill. (If you are heading south bound on I-15, and want to continue south after the canyon, you can park on the north side of the highway and use a culvert to get underneath the highway).
Although this canyon is rated A, it is necessary to cross the Virgin River twice: once to approach the canyon, and once to return to your vehicles. Make sure that the flow is not too strong before attempting these crossings. Because the rest of the trip is usually entirely dry, it is highly recommended to take steps to have dry shoes and socks for use after crossing the river. Crossing the river in bare feet may be possible, or it may be useful to bring an alternate pair of shoes to cross the river in, and then leave on the opposite bank of the river in the bushes during the canyon.
Begin hiking up the wash -- you will return back down this wash at the end of the canyon. When the wash takes a 90 degree right turn, leave it and follow a smaller wash uphill and then to the right. This part of the hike starts out hard and gets even more difficult as the average grade up to the start of Cherry Canyon is 39%. Roughly follow the GPS track to cross a ridge and continue to the right (LDC) to the saddle overlooking Cherry Canyon. There is a brief reprieve from the steep approach as you head up the Cherry Canyon wash from the saddle with "only" a 21% grade. Then, leave the wash and head very steeply (49% grade) to the top of the ridge on the right. If you reach the top of the ridge at the right point, you can then contour across the large bowl heading only slightly up hill to end up at the second saddle peak just above Portal Canyon. Descend a short distance into the canyon itself.
Descent[edit]
Portal Canyon has a good variety of rappelling; short and long rappels, highly technical rappels, flat and easy walls, anchor building, and meat anchor opportunities. Many of the rappels in here are fairly technical and it is much more challenging than neighboring Cherry Canyon. This canyon has alot of Face-Bashers (rappeling over and around large chokestones that abruptly cuts under into a free hang), so be ready for alot of awkward starts (and awkward middles).
The beginning section has around 8 short rappels, separated by scenic, deep curvy slots. It has numerous down climbs on smooth polished rock. There are a few places where rappelling could be avoided by sending the group down on a meat anchor and spotting the last person as they slide down. As of March 2015, this section was flood damaged, and all but one of the anchors were washed away (many of which we found farther down, sometimes still attached to the anchor tree which was uprooted and washed away). So be prepared to build anchors.
The middle section has two long rappels. The first long rappel is around 175' and (as of March 2015) was anchored by a large, sturdy cairn. The rope pull is difficult here; make sure to avoid leaving any unnecessary knots or biners on the rope. Although the drop is 175', it would be a good idea to use a pull strand of at least 200', in order to start the pull farther back where it is easier.
The second long rappel in the middle section drops around 150'. It is difficult to tell from the top if the rope touches the ground or not. Special care should be taken to make sure the rope does not get tangled in trees at the bottom (going down with the rope bag on your harness rather than tossing it might be a good idea). It may be possible to avoid the trees and loose rock at the bottom of this rappel by going halfway down, exiting the rope on a tiny pothole, and traversing around a slanted ledge RDC; however due to the smooth polished rock and the lack of handholds, this would be extremely dangerous.
After the two largest rappels, is some long, flat wash walking with a few easy down climbs.
The final section contains 6-8 rappels between 15 and 80 feet each. Many of these rappels were bolted as of March 2015. It looks as though you are only a few feet away from the end of the canyon, although there are still several rappels between you and the exit.
The last rappel is a large, flat, steep wall; an easy and fun rappel. It is anchored by two bolts on the rock LDC drops 110'-115' out of Portal Canyon into the main wash. A single 200' rope (or two 100's) is not enough to get you all the way down this. We tossed 100' of rope which looked like it was 2' above the ground from the top, but in reality it was more than 10' above the bottom. You will need 220' total for this one.
Exit[edit]
The last rappel in Portal Canyon exits into a large wash. Head down this wash and it will start to narrow, eventually leading to a small rappel in what is labeled as Bonus Canyon. This rappel can possibly be downclimbed as a 5.3, or there is an anchor high LDC. If you plan to descend Mayday Canyon in the future, it may be worthwhile to decide whether your group can climb up this rappel with packs. If so, the bypass around Bonus Canyon is unnecessary.
Continue out of Bonus Canyon and rejoin the wash you traveled up on the approach. Turn right at the river to return to the place where you crossed it, cross the river again, and retrace your steps back to your vehicle.
Red tape[edit]
Beta sites[edit]
- https://www.stavislost.com/hikes/trail/portal-canyon
- Las Vegas Slots Facebook Beta
Las Vegas Slots Book by Rick Ianiello : Portal Canyon