Death Valley Canyoneering 2015
On Feb 13 2015, I drove my van to Death Valley to join a large group of Canyoneers from all over. It was organized by Randi Poor and Carol Petrelli. More than 70 people attended. I camped at “The Slabs,” located outside the park and about 6 miles east of the turnoff to Dante’s View road. I joined other groups of people and descended canyons for 3 days. Most of the group left after 4 days. Jeff Fisher and I moved camp to Texas Spring campground near Furnace Creek and spend a few more days in the park. On day 8, I joined Ron Bartell and Christine Mitchel as they celebrated their list finish of climbing all the named peaks (listed on the topo maps) in Death Valley.
14 Feb - North Fork of Typhon
Typhon is one of many canyons that can be accessed from the Dante’s View area at 5,475 ft ft. The routes end near sea level near Badwater. The descents are very long. I joined a group led by Scott Swaney where the objective was to descend the canyon by starting at the bottom, climbing up half way, and then doing the technical part of the canyon. This eliminated the long car shuttle and also bypassed the upper 2,500 ft of non-technical terrain. We left our cars parked on the Badwater road and started up at about 7 AM. It took about 3 hours to ascend 3,000 ft and drop into the North Fork and start the canyon descent. We did 17 rappels and then bypassed 2 more. We were back at the cars around 5:30. People in the group were Scot Swaney, Ron Hudson, Karen Anderson, Brad, Steven, Aysel Gezik, Brian Jennings (BJ), Norma Ryan, and me. It was the first time this canyon had been descended starting from the bottom.
15 Feb - Scorpion
I went with mostly the same group of people to try to do Scorpion Canyon from the bottom. This canyon did not start near Dante’s View so the elevation gain was much less. But it had never been descended from the bottom. We started by parking our cars on the Desolation Canyon road, just to the south of Artist’s Palette. We wanted to go up the ridge separating Desolation Canyon from Scorpion Canyon, the next canyon to the North. We were not able to do that. We then ascended the ridge south of Desolation hoping to cross higher up. That also did not work. So we retreated, drove east to the normal start for Scorpion (on 20 Mule Team Road), and did the normal descent. We started hiking at noon, reached the first of 8 rappels around 1:45, and finished the canyon at 4:30.
16 Feb - Purgatory
Today was similar to the descent of Typhon. We had a large group led by Tom Jones. Again, we were attempting to do the canyon starting at the bottom. We parked on the Badwater road and were hiking up the ridge to the left of Purgatory at 6:45. We climbed about 3,000 ft in 3 hours. We dropped in and started the 17 rappels. Everything went very smoothly. We finished the last rappel 9 ½ hours after the start. The people in the very experienced group were Tom Jones, Carol Petrelli, Ram, Eric and Terry (from Idaho), Rick Kent, Jeff Fisher, Laura, and me.
17 Feb - Mosaic Canyon
A timing mixup prevented Jeff Fisher and I from joining others for a descent in the Cottonwood Mountains. Instead, we drove a dirt road to the trailhead for Mosaic Canyon and did a 4-mile round trip hike part way up the canyon. We moved our camp to Texas Springs during the day.
18 Feb - Natural Bridges
Jeff and I drove to the Natural Bridges trailhead and started hiking at 7:10. We climbed up the wrong ridge at the start but recovered and eventually got to the top of the rappels. We had a good day. Natural Bridge canyon has a smooth floor interspersed with down climbs and 12 rappels. At the bottom, we passed under the Natural Bridge and returned to the cars. Total time was 10 hours car-to-car including the 1 ½ hour mistake at the beginning.
19 Feb - Vinegaroon
This is a canyon parallel and north of Scorpion Canyon. The approach is the same and the route begins by descending the first part of Scorpion Canyon. About 30 minutes down, we turned right at a large wash and climbed to a saddle to the North. From the saddle, we followed a ridge to the Northwest with views of Scorpion to the left and the Zabriskie Point area to the right. We finally dropped into Vinegaroon and did 5 rappels. Time was about 6 ½ hours car to car..
20 Feb - Darwin Falls
About 1 mile west of Panamint Springs, Jeff and drove south 2 miles on a good gravel road. We parked and walked about 2 miles along a 4WD road to China Gardens were we visited the spring and old mine. We took photos of a bullet ridden car. We worked out way down canyon. We did several rappels including Darwin Falls and had to swim a pool to continue. It is very interesting to swim and wear neoprene in Death Valley.
21 Feb - Bartell-Mitchel Death Valley List Finish
Friends Ron and Christine have been climbing Death Valley high points for many years. They were finally finishing their “List” of named peaks as found on the 7.5 minute topo maps covering Death Valley. For their final peak, they would ascent Cinder Hill, a peak near Badwater whose summit was below sea level. I drove to meet them after Darwin Falls, and photographed the festivities. Attendees at the party were Ron + Christine, Gary Craig, Greg + Mirna Roach, Dave + Ann Perkins,. Linda McDermott, Vic + Sue Henney, Dave Boyle, Ron + Ellen Grau, and me.
Read More14 Feb - North Fork of Typhon
Typhon is one of many canyons that can be accessed from the Dante’s View area at 5,475 ft ft. The routes end near sea level near Badwater. The descents are very long. I joined a group led by Scott Swaney where the objective was to descend the canyon by starting at the bottom, climbing up half way, and then doing the technical part of the canyon. This eliminated the long car shuttle and also bypassed the upper 2,500 ft of non-technical terrain. We left our cars parked on the Badwater road and started up at about 7 AM. It took about 3 hours to ascend 3,000 ft and drop into the North Fork and start the canyon descent. We did 17 rappels and then bypassed 2 more. We were back at the cars around 5:30. People in the group were Scot Swaney, Ron Hudson, Karen Anderson, Brad, Steven, Aysel Gezik, Brian Jennings (BJ), Norma Ryan, and me. It was the first time this canyon had been descended starting from the bottom.
15 Feb - Scorpion
I went with mostly the same group of people to try to do Scorpion Canyon from the bottom. This canyon did not start near Dante’s View so the elevation gain was much less. But it had never been descended from the bottom. We started by parking our cars on the Desolation Canyon road, just to the south of Artist’s Palette. We wanted to go up the ridge separating Desolation Canyon from Scorpion Canyon, the next canyon to the North. We were not able to do that. We then ascended the ridge south of Desolation hoping to cross higher up. That also did not work. So we retreated, drove east to the normal start for Scorpion (on 20 Mule Team Road), and did the normal descent. We started hiking at noon, reached the first of 8 rappels around 1:45, and finished the canyon at 4:30.
16 Feb - Purgatory
Today was similar to the descent of Typhon. We had a large group led by Tom Jones. Again, we were attempting to do the canyon starting at the bottom. We parked on the Badwater road and were hiking up the ridge to the left of Purgatory at 6:45. We climbed about 3,000 ft in 3 hours. We dropped in and started the 17 rappels. Everything went very smoothly. We finished the last rappel 9 ½ hours after the start. The people in the very experienced group were Tom Jones, Carol Petrelli, Ram, Eric and Terry (from Idaho), Rick Kent, Jeff Fisher, Laura, and me.
17 Feb - Mosaic Canyon
A timing mixup prevented Jeff Fisher and I from joining others for a descent in the Cottonwood Mountains. Instead, we drove a dirt road to the trailhead for Mosaic Canyon and did a 4-mile round trip hike part way up the canyon. We moved our camp to Texas Springs during the day.
18 Feb - Natural Bridges
Jeff and I drove to the Natural Bridges trailhead and started hiking at 7:10. We climbed up the wrong ridge at the start but recovered and eventually got to the top of the rappels. We had a good day. Natural Bridge canyon has a smooth floor interspersed with down climbs and 12 rappels. At the bottom, we passed under the Natural Bridge and returned to the cars. Total time was 10 hours car-to-car including the 1 ½ hour mistake at the beginning.
19 Feb - Vinegaroon
This is a canyon parallel and north of Scorpion Canyon. The approach is the same and the route begins by descending the first part of Scorpion Canyon. About 30 minutes down, we turned right at a large wash and climbed to a saddle to the North. From the saddle, we followed a ridge to the Northwest with views of Scorpion to the left and the Zabriskie Point area to the right. We finally dropped into Vinegaroon and did 5 rappels. Time was about 6 ½ hours car to car..
20 Feb - Darwin Falls
About 1 mile west of Panamint Springs, Jeff and drove south 2 miles on a good gravel road. We parked and walked about 2 miles along a 4WD road to China Gardens were we visited the spring and old mine. We took photos of a bullet ridden car. We worked out way down canyon. We did several rappels including Darwin Falls and had to swim a pool to continue. It is very interesting to swim and wear neoprene in Death Valley.
21 Feb - Bartell-Mitchel Death Valley List Finish
Friends Ron and Christine have been climbing Death Valley high points for many years. They were finally finishing their “List” of named peaks as found on the 7.5 minute topo maps covering Death Valley. For their final peak, they would ascent Cinder Hill, a peak near Badwater whose summit was below sea level. I drove to meet them after Darwin Falls, and photographed the festivities. Attendees at the party were Ron + Christine, Gary Craig, Greg + Mirna Roach, Dave + Ann Perkins,. Linda McDermott, Vic + Sue Henney, Dave Boyle, Ron + Ellen Grau, and me.
