Ever since reading about Sandthrax canyon I thought I would never do it, I just thought whats the point. However, for the last year or so, my main canyon partner has been wanting to do it so I started to consider maybe doing it one day. Then after our trip down to Escalante this March where we did Raven and East Baker I started to consider the possibility that I might be ready to give it a try. So I start thinking about when would be a good time to do it and we decide to do it May 1st down at the NW Meetup. Now I have to try and find the cams necessary to ascend the crux, so I start asking around and several times I think I’ve found someone who has them/can get them for me, only to be disappointed. Finally at the last minute I manage to find someone who has them and I have to drive from Spanish Fork up to Thanksgiving Point to get them then go home and finish packing. I get all packed and ready to go and my buddy calls and he’s in the middle of some emergency and can’t go. Luckily for us someone at work needed to trade a few days that ended up leaving me with a Fri/Sat free this weekend and I called up my friend to see if we could take another shot at Sandthrax. He’s in and I’ve still got the cams so the trip is on. Throughout this whole process I had been waffling back and forth between being afraid of what I was getting myself into and being confident in the skills I had gained over the last few years of canyoneering. The moment finally arrived and we hiked to the head of the canyon and the familiarity of hiking and chatting with my friend was enough to calm my nerves and I was confident that, with care, we could make it through safely.
Looking at the head of Sandthrax
And I thought we would be staying dry on this trip
Going Down
One of many Silos we had to cross that day
Relaxing and waiting for my buddy. It was nice to be on good old earth after 4.5 hrs of stemming.
It was an awesome trip and the sense of personal accomplishment after getting out was amazing. Unfortunately I missed some of the obvious pics, like exiting the crux and of course the end of the canyon. Incentive to go back again and enjoy the canyon a second time, although I’ll be sure to bring a pad for my butt next time.
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Mike
Those are some fine pics of East Leprechaun.
Jeremy Freeman
Awesome TR @Tom Collins! I love how, as my canyoneering experience advances, Sandthrax looks more and more do-able, and a lot more fun than scary I too never thought it would be on my radar, but it has been recently!
Mountaineer
Nice pics! Some of the best I’ve seen for this canyon. Nice job, and congratulations.
I wonder about a “butt/lower back” type pad. Have any used this before, and does it help or hinder? What have people used?
Ram
The Gold Gym shorts work for me. Without them….. One to two days and its sore. With them, I can go indefinitely
PG Rob
Sorry to link to the “other” forum: http://www.bogley.com/forum/showthread.php?62518-Protect-your-backside-in-extended-Mae-West
Blake Merrell
Awesome TR. I hope to be able to do this canyon someday. What are some recommended intro “R” slots to help someone ease into this kind of canyoneering?
Ram
Big Tony’s R variation. Then Raven. Then Lower Pintac. Then finish with DDI. All in the same remote area.
Tom Collins
I would also suggest Raven canyon once you have some stemming experience. It has a few sustained stemming sections, if you feel comfortable in them you can probably handle the stemming in Sandthrax. It’s not perfect though since, in Sandthrax, the stemming is much longer and some of the moves are harder. Not to mention the crux climb is not something you can practice for in canyons.
Ram
Fine effort and thanks for the TR. Congratulations. Was it easier or harder than you thought? How long did it take? I can’t say that getting feet wet to start the thing would be on my wish list. The canyon has so many memorable spots. More than most X’s. How did you deal the crux? Any other spots stand out? What is next on the agenda?
hank moon
X2, but air dries quickly
Mountaineer
Thanks for the comparison Tom! Interesting, you’ve validated a lot of side discussions going on around the same thing: Raven and Sandthrax, comparisons and consensus of an X slot.
I liked your description on how you worked up to the challenge. It is amazing how much the mental plays into it. Good idea to practice skills and gain technical/technique/experience, which leads to additional mental confidence. Critical before attempting something harder like Sandthrax. But hey, there are exceptions. It seems there are some out there just born for high risk and have no need for progression. Maybe those people have high life insurance policies?
Tom Collins
I wasn’t saying that Raven and Sandthrax deserve the same rating, I agree with the R rating on Raven, I simply meant that Raven was a good canyon to prep for Sandthrax and make sure you feel comfortable with exposure. I think it comes down to the fact that in Raven, while there were some spots with exposure (like the black raven silo picture in your thread), none of the moves needed to cross those spots were particularly hard. Not the case in Sandthrax, there were 3-4 spots where we were quite high up and extended about as far as I could go without transitioning to a full body stem.
ratagonia
Some more comparison details –
Sandthrax is an endurance X(minus) canyon. It is not so much the high spots or the hard spots; it is that there is so MUCH high stemming. Yes, there are a few scary spots, but those spots are not “X” hard by themselves, really. Maybe.
Just like other canyons, X Canyons vary widely in their attributes.
Tom
hank moon
Might the rating be somewhat style-dependent? Sandthrax’s crux yields to aid, but if done “free” w/o aid or protection, ’tis certainly an “X” spot.
Overall, the “X” rating feels deserved and appropriate, especially for a roadside test-piece.
ratagonia
The SLOT-X(minus) rating is for the canyon, independent of the “crux” upclimb. Sandthrax being an exception to the usual ratings, which do not include a rated up-climbing section. The Crux itself is 5.11 (or 5.9 C2) and protects well with the right gear, thus from a climbing point of view does not get a poor-protection rating. Of course, like any climbing protection rating, if you don’t bring the right gear or use it effectively, the climb can be made dangerous.
Tom
PG Rob
Trail, Stair, Middle Lep, surprisingly Zero G, etc… Most any narrow canyon where you can choose your level will work. You can go into many, many canyons that fit this description and “practice” with few penalty points. You have probably already done several canyons that would work. Obviously, you travel differently in them to get the practice.
Psycho D is a good “just before canyon”.