The General
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Condition Reports: | 9 Feb 2025
"Well flagged trail with pink markings. Many were in 5/4 full suits and got a little chilled. We could have not used the traversal in Slot of Doom at |
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Best season: | Dec-Apr
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Introduction
The General is an epic canyon draining a large section of Turret Head (2350m). The canyon is deep, dark and aquatic. The highlight of the trip is dubbed "the slot of doom" a very vertical section of canyon that narrows down to foot width at it's base. As a result of the narrow corridors and numerous rappels in the water, consideration must be given to water levels prior to entry. This canyon is graded VI for commitment for a reason! No escape in the upper sections, like... nothing. The ‘grass cliff’ offers an emergency escape (not recommended). First ‘easy’ escape is the ‘escape crack’. After the ‘v slot’ there are multiple options for escape. Any parties wishing to descend the canyon should assume that many/all anchors will have been destroyed in floods and suitable equipment should be carried to replace any missing/damaged anchors.
Water levels
The reference photo location is just upstream from the jctn with Captain Chaos.
The presence (and quantity) of water flowing over the rock on middle right of photo indicates moderate to high level.
The absence of water flowing over the rock on middle right of photo indicates low levels.
Low
29 February 2024
Approach
There is good camping with cell phone signal at the DOC Diamond Lake campsite. Can also camp at the Dart Track roadhead, but no signal and loads of sandflies.
Approach by Car: Drive from Glenorchy towards Paradise. The road turns to gravel and you must cross several fords. The road and fords are suitable for a 2WD car in normal weather conditions. There is a DOC toilet at the end of the Dart Valley road (5mins beyond Canyon Car Park).
Drive to the last ford before the end of the Dart Valley road (see map above). Cross the ford and park in the grassy flats off to the side of the road.
Approach on Foot:
From the car park, walk back along the road towards the creek. At the roadsign before the creek find a faint road track in the grass. Follow the track, which will turn into a faint path through the forest, that comes and goes, all the time RR. Eventually join the creek at some wide floodbeds RR, and follow it upstream, to the junction with Captain Chaos. The water level checkpoint is just upstream of the junction.
Les Haut: (the top):
Climb the hill between the Captain and the General. Follow the ridge line close to the Captain. Stick to the ridge that divides the Captain and General catchments and keep climbing. Once above the tree line make your way over a scree slope/ creek and up through tussock grass to the south branch of The General.
Inferiore, Intermedio or Superiore:
If you plan on entering the Canyon at one of the lower entry points, climb the hill between the Captain and the General. From here, pick up the well-taped way and follow the GPX route. The way will siddle leftwards to cross two streams/drainage lines at about the 800m contour.
Map showing approach marked in red. As this is trackless wilderness the below is a rough guide only. The GPX above to the Superiore entry is accurate.
Descent
The canyon can be spilt into four sections. The only section you can walk into is Les Haut. The other sections all require abseil entry. Therefore, exiting is not possible at any of the ‘section junctions’ unless an escape rope is placed prior to entry.
Les Haut (the top):
Enter the creek at the 1300m contour. After a short boulder scramble the canyon proper begins. This section of canyon is fairly open with wide boulder filled corridors and towering canyon walls. After the R4 waterfall the North and South Branches of the creek merge, significantly increasing flow. At R6 be aware of sharp edges that may cause rope damage. A deviation anchor may be required at some stage to mitigate this hazard.
Superiore:
Between the R9 and R10 waterfalls it is possible to enter the canyon from a natural anchor (tree) on a bench on canyon left (CL) 30m above the canyon floor (at the 1050m contour). Be aware of a high potential for rockfall in this area. Here, the canyon begins to narrow with the waterfalls coming in quick succession. R17 is a double drop with tricky overhangs on both waterfalls. The downclimb (DC) after R20 is very narrow and may pose a hazard in high water conditions.
Intermedio:
After the R21 down-climbs (before R22) it is possible to enter the canyon via a double bolted anchor on the rim, 25m above the canyon floor. The anchor (at the 900m contour) is not easy to locate. Allow extra time to find this anchor if using this as your entry point. The “Grass Cliff” after R22 (marked on the topo) was used as anemergency escape point during the first descent, but it is very sketchy, with high consequence’s in the event of a fall, it is not recommended.
The ‘Slot of Doom’ is the crux of the canyon. There is a deviation on Canyon Left (CL) on the R23 drop (~10m below the anchor) that may assist the first person down to reach the R24 anchor (double bolts). The R25 anchor (double bolts) is located just over the small ledge (lots of loose rock, first person kick it clear and people following should be careful). Run out extra rope to reach the R25 anchor. Both R24 and R25 are hanging belays with limited space (two people max!). Teams should take this into account prior to entering the Slot of Doom to ensure smooth transition through this sequence. A hand line anchor is used to access the R26 anchors.
In "low to normal" water levels (judge for yourself), it is possible to skip both the deviation and R24 anchor. Length uncertain, but your long rope will reach. (But then again, why miss the spectacular R24 anchor.) Again in "low to normal water levels", can abseil R25 directly from the traverse bolt rather than hanging off the anchor.
From the bottom of the Slot of Doom waterfall through to R29 the canyon is very narrow and would pose a significant hazard in high water conditions.
Inferiore:
Between the R29 and R30 waterfalls it is possible to enter the canyon from a natural anchor (tree) on the rim on canyon left (CL) 40m above the canyon floor (at the 800m contour). R31 is a double drop with a high potential for rope jam in a pinch after the first pool. It is the authors opinion that an additional anchor should be installed sometime in the future to split this into two abseils. After the R35 downclimbs the canyon opens out and escape is possible at several locations prior to entering the ‘V Slot’ (after R39). R37 has a nasty overhang and probably deserves a deviation to avoid this. R39 also has a nasty over hang but has a (badly damaged) deviation on Canyon Left (CL) ~5m below the anchor. R40 has an undercut wall at the base of the falls that could pose a hazard in high water conditions. After R42 the canyon again widens out offering potential escapes. R43 and R44 both have undercut walls at the base of the falls that could pose a hazard in high water conditions.
Exit
Once you reach the end of the Canyon at 620m, you are probably feeling "a bit shit" (especially if you started from Les Haut). Bashing through the bush back to the entry trail is "a bit shit". Boulder bashing down the creek is "a bit more shit". The choice is yours.
Red tape
Beta sites
Trip reports and media
Video of The General starting at the Intermedio abseil entry, by Roc Bombak
Video by the opener of The General, Joe Bugden
Background
First descent(s):
Les Haut section: Greg Tilden, Canyoning Bob, Matt Belcher and Joe Bugden (Feb 2018)
Superiore section: Greg Tilden, Luis Goncalves and Joe Bugden (Mar 2016)
Intermedio section: Greg Tilden, Joe Bugden (With forced exit up the "grass cliff" Jan 2016)
Intermedio section (including Slot of Doom): Greg Tilden, Daniel Clearwater, Riki Brown, Toine Houtenbos and Joe Bugden (Jan 2016)
Inferiore section: Greg Tilden, Kaden Anderson, Joe Bugden (Jan 2016)