UT: Robber’s Roost – Little Bull Canyon and Chambers

In preparation for an upcoming Pandora’s Box trip, we decided to do Little Bull Canyon and Chambers so we could freshen up our stemming and squeezing skills.

We started the day off with Little Bull canyon and practically ran through the first shallow slot section until we were at the first rappel. The first rappel is off a small chock-stone where the canyon suddenly tightens and drops dramatically into darkness. The rappel was tricky to set up and required a difficult start.

The rappel placed us in a nice dark chamber next to an even trickier second rappel. The second rappel requires some tight wedging above the chock-stone anchor and everyone had quite the time trying reach down to the rope to set up the rappel. The dark chambers and hallways after the 2nd rappel were incredible and would be worth returning to in afternoon light.

The canyon opened a little overhead and the last section was tight slanted hallways similar to parts of Leprechaun canyon. We exited the canyon before the last big rappel into Robbers Roost Canyon and hiked up the slick-rock to the car, finishing in 3 hours. Little Bull Canyon was short, beautiful and a nice warm up before chambers.

We drove down to the end of the mesa, ate lunch and took as much gear out of our packs as possible before starting the hike down to chambers. When we reached the slot we were surprised by how fast it got into the business! The first section was reminiscent of Boss Hog Canyon in the North Wash with fun little elevators and down-climbs. The lighting was fantastic!
We soon hit the first really tight hallways and we went up and over some tight spots. We used up a lot of energy going over some spots we may have been able to pass at ground level but we didn’t want to take the chance.
The tight sections got dark enough to use a headlamp in and then suddenly opened up into the amazing namesake chambers. We got there just in time to see some awesome beams of light coming down, illuminating the chamber and we watched them quickly disappear.
The light effects in the chambers were over in minutes and it must require some pretty good timing to get them when they are at max light.

The canyon opened after the chambers and then changed character as it narrowed again. The next section of the slot was the crux of the canyon in my opinion and it got tighter than any canyon I’ve been in. The crack down-climb turned out to be fairly simple and I was wondering where the up-climb I had heard about was going to show up. Thomas was leading and got started down a scary looking narrow section with thigh deep water and my wife Olivia followed behind him stemming mid level above the surface of the water. I followed suit and heard Thomas saying that he was stuck. He was thigh deep in water and was in so tight he couldn’t turn his head. Olivia got above him and took his bag, allowing him to do some panic wiggling that luckily got him unstuck. I was not in a great spot myself and my chest was wedged in pretty good, my head unable to turn. It didn’t help that I was mid level in the slot and strenuously reversed back out of the section. When I managed to reverse back into the opening I noticed an arrow scratched into the canyon wall pointing up. I realized we had just missed the up-climb and was amazed Thomas and my wife had made it through! The last three members of the group and I made it up the awkward climb over the tight section and down-climbed to meet up with Thomas and Olivia.
We were exhausted and rested in a circular room not realizing we were right next to the last down-climb. Thomas and I went ahead and down the final chute, out of the canyon. One by one my wife, Jake, Chris and Caitlin made it out the last down-climb and into the amazing lower canyon. The streaked canyon walls towered overhead and there was a lot of greenery making for an epic finish!
The scale and beauty of the lower canyon was unexpected and we soaked it in. We bushwhacked our way down to the Dirty Devil river and then made our way through the slick-rock maze back up to the cars, enjoying amazing views of Robbers Roost. We made it back to the cars clocking a round trip of 4 hours. Chambers’s was very psychical and one the most beautiful canyons I’ve ever been in. We had a strong group and I’d like to thank Chris Haines and his wife Caitlin for coming with us. I am very excited to go with this group into Pandora’s Box next Saturday!