Canyonlands Canyoneering

Moab · United States

Challenging7 daysNorth America~£1,800 est.

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Overview

Southern Utah's slickrock country is the world capital of canyoneering, and a week split between Moab and Escalante samples its whole grammar. Around Moab, classics like Granary Canyon and the Medieval Chamber — finishing with a free-hanging 30 m rappel beside Morning Glory Bridge — teach the craft: anchors, rope work, downclimbs, the way Navajo sandstone rewards friction and punishes hurry. Then the Grand Staircase-Escalante backroads deliver the pure slots: Peek-a-Boo and Spooky's corkscrew narrows, linked as a loop that squeezes to shoulder width, and Zebra's pink-striped corridor, all reached off the washboard Hole-in-the-Rock Road with a topo map and good judgement. The variable that kills people here is flash flooding: a storm cell fifty kilometres away can send a wall of brown water down a slot under blue sky. Check the forecast for the whole drainage, not the trailhead, and stay out when in doubt. March-May and September-November bring workable temperatures; summer cooks, and winter ices the potholes. Permits are free and self-issued for most Escalante slots. Around £1,800 covers a hire 4x4, camping and a two-day guided course in Moab to calibrate your rope skills before going self-sufficient.