The Traverse you can barely make out the yellow raft to cross the
moat protecting Isolation Canyon
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2nd Annual Isolation Canyon Experience 2001
May 24, 2001
Alan- Well, After a 5-1/2 hour lead-footed journey from Las Vegas I arrived at around 5:30
PM yesterday. Seeing Jeremy's truck there confirmed I was in the right place. I loaded up
and proceeded to hike in (note to self: Next time, wear hiking shoes instead of sports
sandals). Upon reaching the narrows I spotted the raft and smiled at the dedication and
ingenuity of my host, Jeremy. Not long after safely negotiating the treacherous waters,
Jeremy met me on the trail and we arrived at the campsite at around 6:30 PM. After
settling in, we decided to get a few climbs in before dark. We finished the first one
(Slowdive) in twilight and did two more (Morningrise & Straight to the Milkyway) by
headlamp. I on-sighted the first two and top-roped the third. Back at camp we started a
fire and ate canned food and after a bit of stargazing on that moonless night, we hit the
sack.
Jeremy- I arrived here Thursday (May 24) morning at around 10AM. I hiked in and floated
across the traverse with backpack on. I had to pump some air into the deflated canary
coloured float boat. I then headed down to camp and set up the new tent. Now there are two
permanent tents here, Brown (old) and Green (new). After resting for a bit, I filtered
some water and ate. I figured Ben would be arriving soon so I hiked out to the traverse
and floated around for awhile. After an enjoyable nap on the water, I hiked to the main
entrance boulder. Still no Ben, so I rested on the slab while checking out the Winter Wall
East from a distance. Looks like there should be some great routes. Still no Ben. I
figured Alan and Ben should be arriving about now, so I climbed up on a ridge to get a
better view of the trail in. Waited there awhile, then gave up and went back to camp.
Rested at camp and read the BOM. I then decided that maybe I should go back to the
traverse to help either Ben or Alan get their packs across on the raft. About half way
there I ran into Alan below the main wall. After resting at camp we decided to get a few
climbs in before nightfall. Alan lead and on-sighted Slowdive. He then on-sighted
Morningrise by headlamp. Finally, We top-roped Straight to the Milkyway by headlamp. At
camp I had a can of Dintymoore Turkey and some fruit cocktail. Bed time.
May 25
Alan- Woke up at 5:30 AM, had breakfast, read scriptures, headed out to the Winter Wall
were I led on three routes and top-roped two. Descent cellular reception so I called my
wife and checked my voice-mail. From there we slid down the scree and filled our bellies
with water of dubious quality. After a quick power nap we went over to the Rainbow Wall
where I led on two of the three pitches we did there. While hiking (sliding) down the
scree I gashed the side of my foot. We were done for the day anyway, having done 7
pitches. After dinner we happily went to bed.
Jeremy- Woke up after a good nights sleep. I slept a lot better this time since I brought
a blanket and thermals. We climbed at the winter wall first. We didn't bring enough water
up, and started to become dehydrated. Alan led For Seeking Heat and I followed. We then
top-roped When the Sun Hits. I then set up a top-rope on Golden hair and we both climbed
that. Alan then led a new route to the right of Golden Hair. I followed then we headed
back to the creek for water. After drinking straight from the creek and a quick nap, we
scrambled to the base of Rainbow Wall. Alan led Movement and didn't even use the mandatory
knee move. I cleaned, and then he led the first pitch of his later to be named favorite
route, Shadow Play. I led the second pitch. I wish I had a couple more #4.5's for the
beginning of this pitch. Oh well, I was happy to have at least one. Back at camp I did
laundry and ate dinner before calling it a night (I wore two pairs of socks tonight).
May 26
Alan- I have to leave at 8AM this morning to be able to get back to Vegas for a friend's
house warming party (Gabriel & Shahdi Joseph) well do a couple of 1st ascents right
here next to camp before I leave. Had a blast!!
Jeremy- Woke up later this morning. After washing up, we decided to check out a couple of
routes next to camp. Alan led the crack/corner and I followed. We then top-roped and
cleaned the face route. They were both very enjoyable. The face looks like it has enough
gear, but should be a little sporty at the crux. On the hike out we ran into Ben and
Shannan. Chatted for a bit, then kept hiking to the cars. Our packs weren't too heavy so
we made good time. There is a girl's camp going on up here (Peoria Stake). Some five girls
were camped out in the back bed of my truck (they thought it was one of theirs). I ate and
rested while waiting for Shaun to show up. It's a little after 12PM and still no Shaun, so
I'm going back to camp. Floated across the traverse then pumped some more air into the
raft. Met Ben and Shannan at the campsite. After they had a chance to get situated we
racked up to finish "Catch the Breeze". Shannan had the hammock set up and was
reading a good book, so I am told. What an incredible route! Ben led the first pitch,
which we had previously done a few weeks ago. This time he went straight up to the anchors
rather than wandering out left by the corner with shrubs. I followed then prepared for the
unexplored huge corner up above. I ventured out onto the clean face with minimal gear and
great in-cut holds. I climbed up and to the right, but later when Ben followed we
determined that up and left was more protectable and better climbing. After about twenty
feet of face, I came to a descent two-foot wide ledge at the base of the huge corner. It
consists of a wide crack paralleling the wall and a thin crack going into the wall. The
low angle face was pleasantly jugged. I placed a #3 Camalot and the "Fat cam", a
#4.5 Camalot. I joyfully topped out on a large ledge with tons of scary scree rock.
Delicately stepping my way to the back of the ledge, I set up a good belay. Ben followed
and cleaned some of the loose stuff and cacti. He then led the next section, which was
awesome. Some good (key) stemming and shoulder/head camming works great on this pitch.
There is an almost body width chimney on your left that is made up of a huge detached
block and the main wall itself. There also is an OK crack just right of the chimney that
works great for holds. To the right another few feet is a beautiful crack for gear and
holds. After about twenty-five feet Ben topped out onto a ledge. There WAS a small cactus
growing right at the top of the crack, but I disposed of it. He then went out right up a
small ramp to a shrub before cranking up a face and wide crack for about 15 feet to the
top. He belayed me off a tree and I did a little cleaning, but there is still some work to
do. I figure we can clean another time when no one is in the canyon. We proceeded to
scramble off the top out right. It's a little dicey at parts, but if you are deliberate
and careful, it is OK. Down the scree we went. I washed some clothes then had the best
dinner as of yet down here. Shannan and Ben brought tin foil dinners. I could barely
finish it, there was so much. We also cooked some hash browns. I am so tired. I went to
wash my pot, then laid out on the slab to watch the stars. The sun was still barely
lighting the sky so as to leave a faint silhouette of the walls and ridge behind me. If
you lay down and look back over your head, the ridge looks like a huge amphitheater with
the stars as the main act. We saw what we believe are satellites. They were moving very
fast. Ben and Shannan joined me in some stargazing. Bed time. Good night. Oh, I almost
forgot to mention that we went swimming. Ben went first then Shannan and I followed. The
large pond by DT's Roof is shallow enough at parts so that it is not too cold. It was very
refreshing. We need to start doing that every afternoon after siesta time, 1:30 PM.
May 27
Ben- I'm sitting in the hammock on a lazy Sunday morning out here in Isolation Canyon.
Toby's dug himself into a hole in the sand in the shade, taking a nap. Shannon is eating
cereal (cranberry apple crunch w/ oatmeal) and Jeremy is trimming branches by the two new
routes he and Alan did yesterday. We finished the upper section of "Catch the
Breeze" yesterday afternoon. Awesome climbing! The two crack systems above the first
pitch were super great for gear and the climbing was amazing, with good face holds,
stemming, etc. The second crack is steeper, but really fun and well protected. We exited
out right and walked off the tier to the right of the pyramid. The route still needs more
cleaning. We cleaned a lot of rocks off the ledges, but near the top there's still more to
go. The wall that we found a few weeks ago, Winter Wall East, should have some really good
shorter routes on it (100'+). We'll probably get to do some of those tomorrow. Another
area I want to try sometime is just north of Shadow Play about 50 yds. Looks like a good
face up to a small roof and then who knows what from there. I hope we have time to get to
that area. Today is mostly a rest day, and that is why I am REALLY enjoying this hammock
right now! More later...
Jeremy- Today we just relaxed and hung out. After some reading, we decided to go on a
little hike to the south of the canyon. We did a little bouldering and even found a few
great problems. One of them involves climbing on a roof and pulling through it onto a
face. We weren't able to pull it off, so it looks like we have another project. We also
tried a couple of really hard face problems to the right with good landing. This whole
little area has a lot of sand for landings. That's why we call it "The Beach".
Home of "The Three Minute Egg". A few of these other problems, that we tried,
will also become classics once we can pull them off. We hiked a little further then
decided to lounge in a nice shallow pool of water. It was almost like a little Jacuzzi
(minus the hot water). After about 15 minutes of relaxation, something snapped at Ben's
toe. Startled, he jumped to his feet to discover a large crawdad peeking out from under a
boulder. He was probably curious to see what this new object in his pond was, so he tried
to grab Ben's toe. After that, we became savage crawdad hunters. We fashioned two pronged
spears, out of tree branches, for pinning them. After many failed attempts we soon gained
experience and technique for capturing them. Four or five hours latter, we were back at
camp with a number of catches. The last one was huge! Ben and I, by headlamps, found this
guy in a shallow pool near "Catch the Breeze". For dinner we had potatoes, mixed
vegetables, and crawdad. Yummy!! More laundry and stargazing tonight.
May 28
Jeremy- Woke up late after a great nights sleep. Ben and Shannan climbed
"Slowdive" first thing. We then all played on the incredible campground classic
"Shine". After packing up camp, we worked our way over to the Winter Wall East.
We left most of the extra gear at the traverse, while hauling up just climbing gear to the
base of the wall. Ben roped up for the first lead. He cruised up the initial face to a
small ledge. After examining the crack system above, he decided to have a look around at
other possible options. Nothing looked very good from his position. The cracks looked to
house some loose blocks and gear was questionable at best from his viewpoint. He came down
and I went up to the same ledge. After making it to the ledge I soon became aware of what
he meant. You can't tell if there will be any gear or not from where you stand. I decided
to go up the crack corner to the right. A beautiful corner with solid gear. After about 60
feet of rope dragged climbing, I came to a tough section. It involved some traversing
above descent gear on good incut holds. The angle was slightly steeper and I could feel a
mild pump starting to set in. Quickly and methodically I moved left and up to a large
chimney that I was hoping would contain gear. Unfortunately there wasn't any and I was
already runout. After stringing together a few bad placements (courage placements) I
carefully topped out to a big tree belay. As I was topping out I noticed that one of my
placements, which was kind of a blind one at the time, was actually pretty solid. Next
time we do this pitch, I am going to climb straight up the corner, rather than traverse in
from the left. I had to this time because of the agave and large cactus towards the
bottom. It was getting late, so after Ben followed, we hiked out to the cars. We decided
to start our own "Oscar's" tradition. We went to a place called "El
Rancho" for dinner. They must have found us weird. We went through a bunch of chips
and a ton of food before leaving. Ummm, good!
We'll, once again it was a great annual trip. This year saw a number of first ascents and
beautiful routes at that. Some great bouldering, crawdad hunts, swimming, and a canary
coloured float boat. Hope everyone enjoyed it. For those who could not attend, we hope to
see you there next year. Cheers...Jer
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2001 participants
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