20110305 Allison Gulch

davantalus · Post by **davantalus** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 3:39 pm

Dominik and I canyoneered Allison Gulch on Saturday with two of his friends from Vegas. We had a blast, explored the mine, and returned safe.

No pictures - I decided to leave my SLR at home at the last minute. Dominik was bringing his anyway. Unfortunately Dominik had the same idea and knew I'd be bringing mine. Lesson learned there.

The approach was a little better than I remembered from two years ago in terms of washouts, poison oak, and yucca. Dominik reported that the gulch had a higher flow than a month ago; And also a big new boulder had fallen into the vertical shaft used to descend to the lower level.

The slot canyon about halfway down is amazingly beautiful. I need to head back with the tripod and wide angle.

There were a few bees on the final rappel but they didn't seem be bothered by us.

This was my first canyoneering trip. So much fun!

Burchey · Post by **Burchey** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 4:16 pm

Nice, too bad on the pics.

I'm guessing the gear required for such a trip is a totally different set from what you'd need for anything else in the mountains - with small overlap like a helmet or rope if you already had treated ropes for other climbing.

Educate this fool.

davantalus · Post by **davantalus** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 4:37 pm

Burchey wrote: ↑Nice, too bad on the pics.

Yeah, I'll probably end up making another trip at some point. That slot canyon is dying to be shot right.

Burchey wrote: ↑Educate this fool.

Haha. I'm a caver. But I'll do the best I can... Maybe the more experienced members can toss in some corrections.

SRT is an interesting beast. There's a basic crossover (like you said, with helmets, waterproof lights, non-cotton clothing). The rest of the gear is _similar_ but the devil is in the details.

A few examples:
I was using my figure-8 and everyone else had a Petzl Piranha. In the dry climbing/caving situations of California the 8 does fine. In the middle of a waterfall I found it pretty difficult to get the right amount of control on a wet, somewhat skinny, canyoneering rope.

Canyoneers don't seem to subscribe to the frog system I'm used to. Their system puts more emphasis on weight savings over efficient climbing for the obvious reason that you rarely have to go back up.

SRT-wise. No matter the arena, you should definitely make the effort to find a skilled teacher and a good place to practice. These are skills where learning from a book just doesn't cut it. Your rope skills should be automatic before you test them against freezing water and a slick waterfall. Off the top of my head canyoneering seminar/classes or the Socal Grotto might be a good place to start.

Oh, and don't forget to watch Sanctum for good mercy-drowning technique. This will come in handy.

Also I picked up some neoprene socks before the trip and love them. If your feet are going to be wet all day - they might as well be warm!

Burchey · Post by **Burchey** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 4:45 pm

Wow, that does sound involved. It's amazing the amount of gear you could justify for all these crazy outdoor situations we get ourselves into. Take some complicated rappelling, add cold running water, and it's a whole different ballgame.

davantalus · Post by **davantalus** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 5:49 pm

Burchey wrote: ↑Take some complicated rappelling, add cold running water, and it's a whole different ballgame.

Hahaha! I feel the same way about your snow adventures. "Wow that looks crazy. I need so much more gear! Cold makes my knees hurt."

lilbitmo · Post by **lilbitmo** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 7:12 pm

Dav- glad to see you back out in the San Gab's - too bad about the pict's you always take some great shots.

Thanks for the TR