Six Shooter Canyon (South)
| Rating: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | Difficulty:3A III (v3a1 III) Raps:4, max ↨165ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:None Vehicle:Passenger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Start: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parking: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Condition Reports: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best season: | Nov-Mar
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Regions: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
_Banner.jpg)
36.1227, -116.7292
36.1143, -116.7440
Search nearby locations
Weather forecast
Waterflow
Introduction[edit]
Approach[edit]
From the junction of Highway 190 and Badwater Road, drive about 27.5 miles south on Badwater Road. Note, this is about 10.9 miles south of the Badwater parking area. There is a long, straight stretch of road on the south side of Copper Canyon’s enormous alluvial fan. Park at the east end of this straight stretch, just before the road turns at the foot of the mountain.
Hike north from the parking spot, staying in the alluvial paths just left of the more rocky alluvial fan. After about .6 mile, continue hiking on easy terrain to the northeast, and then north up into a wash. About .1 mile into the wash, look for a dryfall on the right.
About 50 feet past this dryfall, on the same (right) side of the wash, ascend the steep slope. Avoid the tempting smooth terrain on the left (north). Stay to the right and go up the more steppy stuff. About 50 feet up, there is a rock outcrop, and you will want to head for the left side of that. Directly above the rock outcrop, find your way into a very small gully. As soon as the terrain levels out a bit (about 120 feet up), exit to the right and enter a significant and obvious drainage.
Continue up this drainage, bypassing left or right or climbing each dryfall as it is encountered. After about .3 to .4 mile, fork right, into what appears to be a side drainage. Another few hundred feet after that, fork right again. From there, continue up the drainages, forking to the right every time there is a choice, until it levels out at the top, at a minor saddle, just below elevation 1000 feet. From here, the canyon in front of you is High Noon Canyon.
From the level area, angle to the left (northeast) into High Noon Canyon. Ascend directly up the slope on the opposite side. After about 350 feet of ascent, the route will level out. Angle down to the right (south) to cross over a shallow drainage and back up onto the ridge on the other side. Continue east up the ridge until around elevation 1600 feet, where the first option to enter the canyon to the right presents itself. Angle up-canyon as you descend the slope to the canyon floor. This is Six Shooter Canyon North.
The next part is tricky, because the south side of this canyon has limited escape options. Getting this part might be a real pain without using GPS and the KML file provided on this page. The exit point on the canyon floor is somewhere just above elevation 1550 feet. If you angled down into the canyon from the north side just right, you will have reached the canyon floor at this spot.
Head up the south side of the canyon, angling up-canyon (south-southeast) to follow the best terrain options. After climbing about 200 feet, you will reach a rocky ridge just below elevation 1800 feet. Angle to the right (southwest) to cross it at a gap.
Continue southwest across a gully and onto the next ridge. From here, the destination canyon is close, but there is still one more gully and ridge to cross. Head downhill to the west a couple-hundred feet (measured horizontally) to slightly easier terrain, before turning left (south) and crossing the last gully and ridge into Six Shooter Canyon South.
Descent[edit]
Rap 1: 75+90=165ft?
Rap 2: 60ft.
Rap 3: 90ft.
At around elevation 350 feet is the confluence with Six Shooter Canyon North, so the features below this are common to both canyons.
Six Shooter North Rap 8: 40ft?+80ft?=120ft?
Rappel length is rope length, not drop height. All rappel lengths are approximate. Some are only estimated, not actually measured. Numbers provided as a rough guide only. Be aware of your surroundings and do not blindly follow any canyoneering info. Max rap length of 165 feet is an approximation.
Exit[edit]
About 20 minutes of easy hiking down alluvial fan.
Red tape[edit]
Beta sites[edit]
Trip reports and media[edit]
Background[edit]
Rick Kent discovered and named the canyon in 2018.
First descent: 27 December 2020. Noah Chaigneau (age 6), Yannick Chaigneau, Mike Cressman, Rick Kent, Shirley Lam, Ali Miller, Abby Wines. (Alphabetical order.)