Orderville Canyon. Courtesy photo
The Mountaineers canyoneering expedition to Zion National Park required rappels like this 80-foot drop into Birch Hollow. Courtesy photo
Entering Birch Hollow required a 40-foot rappel, as demonstrated by trip leader Dan Creveling. Courtesy photoLAM News:
The Los Alamos Mountaineers traveled to Zion National Park for a canyoneering adventure this July, led and organized by Dan Creveling.
The Mountaineers will hear about the Zion adventure at their August meeting at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21. The meeting will be at Crossroads Bible Church because of construction underway at Fuller Lodge.
The canyoneers will speak about their adventures, show their slides, and share their enthusiasm. The meeting will begin with trip reports and trip planning, followed immediately thereafter by the program.
Steve Reneau swimming through the famous “Subway” canyon route. Courtesy photo
Canyoneering is the art and science of descending deep, narrow clefts by any means possible. Sometimes walking will do, but more technical canyons require rappelling (descending a rope), stemming (pushing on both walls to stay above the bottom), or swimming.
The Colorado Plateau has one of the greatest concentrations of narrow “slot” canyons in the road, most of them less than a day’s drive away.
Men of the Mountaineers in Echo Canyon. Courtesy photo
More than two dozen people participated in the Zion trip, choosing from canyons with a variety of exotic names, such as Pine Creek, Birch Hollow, Subway, Echo, Keyhole and Behunin.
The Subway, for example, is named for a section that is almost a tunnel, with only a narrow slot giving an opening to daylight.
According to the Mountaineers, the days were long and tiring, the rappels up to 160 feet deep, but the shared sense of adventure made the effort worthwhile.
The longest rappel of the trip was a 165-foot free-hanging descent into Behunin Canyon. Courtesy photo
Aftermath of a summer rain, seen from the visitor’s center at Zion National Park. Courtesy photo
