Micro Death Hollow - Keeper Mode

On October 11th, 2019, Tony, Cara, Steph and I planned to enjoy a rest day in Micro Death Hollow.  It had been 6 weeks since it had last rained in Escalante, but we packed our wetsuits just in case.

We rigged our rope at the top of the 280 foot rappel, then threw it down.

*SPLASH*

We all took a deep breath.  It was obviously time to put our wetsuits on.  The morning was cold, so we spent a few minutes talking about what possibly awaited us below.  We had heard tales about a very difficult pothole.  Possibly half-full of freezing water?  The prospect seemed grim.  Maybe coming back another day was the best idea.

Steph had the foresight to bring a 7mm suit, even though she had a thinner wetsuit available.  She also brought a puffy jacket to wear over her wetsuit.  She is good at staying warm.

She decided to go down and check out the pothole, knowing full well that she might have to ascend the long rope.  With some trepidation, we listened quietly as Steph descended...

"Oh my God..."

Echoed up from far below.  Steph doesn't normally phrase things that way.  Our imaginations ran wild.

Steph communicated what she saw - a small platform just behind a monstrous pothole.  It was 13 feet deep with a severely overhung exit lip, featureless and coated with slick mud.  Then she rapped down into the pothole to discover waist-deep water with mud that surrounded her ankles and shins.  It was messy and stinky, but the risk of hypothermia was low.

Tony rapped down next, with about 50 lbs of full PotShots in his pack.  Not an easy task.

For the next two hours Steph and Tony battled the pothole.  Steph tried to escape while standing on Tony's hands - but was not successful.  Many PotShots were thrown and many slid back in.  The tiny throwing area limited Tony's ability to throw for distance, and the tiny landing area limited which Potshots would stick.

While Cara and I were waiting up top we noticed a tree on the left downcanyon side that would probably let us rappel down into the canyon just past the pothole, so we pulled the rope up and re-rigged the rappel at that vantage point, being extremely careful not to pull any rocks.

Cara and I then rappelled into the slot and came down about a foot past the pothole (!!).  About that time Steph figure out that one of the PotShots was really stuck (a good thing).  At that point she was pretty covered with mud, but was still determined to defeat the pothole.

Cara and I didn't touch the stuck PotShot and gave her one last try at it.  With much determination, she got her ascender up and over the lip of the pothole, then climbed out under her own power.  SUCCESS!!

We discovered a LOT of water in the rest of the canyon, two swimmers in fact.  I didn't bother with a wetsuit for the first one and suffered badly.  There was ice floating in the second one, which was a long swimmer down a hallway, so I put on my 3/2 wetsuit and suffered almost as badly.  Lesson learned!! :)

We did not take many photos because we were trying to get through the water quickly. 

Steph doing battle with a monster:

And Steph beating that monster, fair and square:





Notes:

This canyon can hold water for a very long time and change dramatically with each flood.

The landing zone for our PotShots had one lucky rock that snagged our rope.
There is no guarantee that it will be there to snag ropes in the future.

Hooks might have helped, but we didn't see any useful features.

Even though the daytime high was 70 degrees, there was still ice in the canyon.

There is an alternate entrance to this canyon on the LDC side called Dirty Jobs,
which looks more fun than dealing with the pothole at the top of the watercourse.
We will try that next time.

Micro Death Hollow

On April 12th, 2013, Tony, Tyler, Steph and I spent an afternoon in Micro Death Hollow.

On a fridgid day last fall we walked around the rim of Micro Death Hollow peering at the goodies within. At the time there was a considerable amount of water in the canyon. We also couldn’t find a reasonable exit. We decided to save it for another day.

Friday we visited again and the conditions were much better. A warmer day, and a drier canyon presented us with a better opportunity.

We had almost no beta; a big rap at the top, a possible 4th class exit near the bottom of the canyon, but knew nothing else about the contnents of the canyon. We planned to complete the canyon and escape down the Escalante River to the highway. Our second option, if possible, would be to climb up a weakness in the cliff face on the north side of the Escalante River. The 4th class exit on the west side of the slot was our third option for escape.

There was no water visible from the top of the canyon, so Tony and I gambled and ditched our cumbersome wetsuits. Tyler and Steph opted to bring theirs. A difficult decision for each of us.

At 250 feet, the entry rappel was easily one of best we have ever seen. The bottom 200 feet is fluted and visually sublime. The rest of the canyon delivers as well. There was a little bit of forced high stemming, a tricky little pothole, followed by a scenic slot.

We opted to skip the final rappel through a deep water-filled pothole, because it is within throwing distance of the Escalante River. Finishing the canyon this way would have made our return hike much longer. Oh yeah, I didn't have my wetsuit either. Easy call.

It was a great hike with three of the best people I know. I'm as thankful for their talents as I am for their company.

The Beta:

Park here: 37°45'53"N 111°29'59"W and hike down to the mouth of the canyon.

There is only 1 mandatory rappel; 250 feet. Bring a 300 foot rope, to give yourself the option of anchoring to a sturdy bush away from the drop. Leave your rope at the top of the rappel and retrieve it at the end of your day. Pulling your rope would certainly leave grooves in that magnificent entry rappel; and hauling a long rope through the canyon would suck. So please, just leave it.

UPDATE (April 2015): A friend told me that the sand can wash out at the bottom of the big rappel, exposing a large keeper pothole and extending the rappel by about 10-15 feet. SO GO PREPARED!

Some medium-high stemming is required, maybe 20 feet off the deck. Not difficult, but not beginner friendly.

The canyon has the potential to hold a lot of water, so bring some kind of protection from the cold. A 3/2 wetsuit (or shorty) on most warm days will be adequate. There is a pothole mid-canyon that is tricky to avoid.

At the very end of the canyon there is a 40 foot rappel down to a large pothole. The Escalante River is just beyond this pothole, so we skipped it and took the 4thclass exit. The pothole looked very deep and the escape from within looked difficult. More importantly, your escape from the Escalante River will probably take a considerable amount of time and effort. For this reason, I recommend skipping the optional final rappel and pothole.

Reverse the canyon for about 200 feet and exit on the LDC (west) side. Look up the slope and you will see a seam heading up to the top. This is the 4th class exit. Toe-jam your way carefully up the seam. There is some exposure and technique involved with this exit, so it is not recommended for beginners.

Hike up until you can traverse back towards the top of the canyon. The traverse is very easy and obvious. Be careful to avoid the crypto.

Retrieve your rope by pulling it up from the side of the canyon to avoid grooving the rappel. Then lug your rope back to your car.

Budget a car-to-car time of about 4 hours.