Short approach
Its an easy one mile stroll from the "trailhead" to the head of the slot canyon that has become known as Slideanide.
An incredible canyon filled with amazingly fun slides
Its an easy one mile stroll from the "trailhead" to the head of the slot canyon that has become known as Slideanide.
View down Slideanide from the rim.
The head of Slideanide as seen on the approach.
Dominic on the initial 50 foot rappel.
Dominic and Kevin watch as Dwight rappels. We managed to descend the remainder of the canyon without rappelling.
Dominic leads the way as the canyon slots up.
Doiminic warms up with some optional stemming.
Kevin sizes up a rather large drop. It serves as a hint of what lies ahead.
Kevin and Dwight maneauver past a series of chockstones.
Dominic rides a short but classic elevator.
Dwight at the top of the elevator.
Kevin is the newbie on the trip but after two full days of canyons he's starting to show some darn good form.
We're psyched to find this canyon contains so many challenging yet reasonable short drops.
Kevin downclimbs a tricky chute with a handline in place for a little extra reassurance.
Dwight shows off his confidence by waiting for Dominic to pull the rope before tackling the problem. He picks up some style points here.
Dwight utilizes the backwards pack technique to stem over some water and muck.
The canyon walls flare a bit near the end of the water and Kevin carefully inches his way downward. Dominic decides to use the more conventional bunny strap technique to deal with his pack... conventional except that its hooked to holes in the rear of his pants! After four canyons our clothing is compromised to varying extents. The route description we used commented that this canyon has the habit of "showing a little cheek".
Kevin hangs off a chockstone that tops yet another interesting drop.
Kevin climbs around the lower chockstone and prepares to finesse his way into the elevator below.
Dominic watches in anticipation as Kevin transitions into the chute, the most delicate part of the procedure.
Dwight heads the investigation of what looks like the biggest slide we've ever seen.
Dwight cautiously starts down the chute. There are anchors present indicating that at least some people choose to rappel this part. So far it feels good though. We decide to get the rope out and put it in place to serve as a handline in the event of a slip just to be on the safe side. Dominic gets meat anchor duty.
Dwight does a little dance as a direct result of the thrill generated from riding the mammoth slide. As it turns out this is the start of what our route description calls "one of the most dramatic and angelic exit rappels to be found in a Colorado Plateau slot canyon". Somehow we managed to descend this section with teamwork and never needed to do a single rappel.
Dwight photographs Kevin as he gets into the giant slide. Every playground should have one of these.
This section of canyon is by far the most beautiful.
After the "big slide" there are a series of smaller, but still fantastic, slides. We can't believe our good fortune!
Dominic, Kevin and some more slides. Slideanide indeed!
Kevin works his way down a chimney.
A mistake will mean a dip in the stinky mud pit.
Kevin safely makes the transition at the bottom of the chimney. Cake from here.
Dwight partway down the steep chute system at the end of the canyon.
Dwight stands at the bottom of the huge exit chute.
Dominic downclimbs the final tricky drop.
Looking back at the incredible exit chute at the end of the technical portion of Slideanide.
Dominic hikes up slickrock slopes back to the trailhead at the end of a long day.