Rope Suggestions for Full Imlay

Hey Desert Rats!

Planning on a full Imlay trip next year. Party of 3. All very experienced climbers with dozens of canyons under our belts, including much pothole work in the Swell (Squeeze, Quandry, Miners, Iron, etc.). Planning a 2 day trip with a bivy above Crossroads.

Looking for suggestions on rope selection. 60m, 65m pull cord, and 2 working ropes (120')? Trying to stay light. What do you guys think?

Cheers,
M

That's a bunch of rope.

I might suggest paring down to 1 60m and your 2 120' ropes. No extra 65m and no pull cord. Still gives you enough extra rope to exit the canyon if you stick a rope.

That was exactly what we were discussing as well. With the big raps from Potato Hollow, would we be good to go with that setup?

1 x 200' (8mm preferred)
1 x 120'
1 x 80' (or optionally another 120')

A shorter (less than 200') dyneema pull cord and a toggle/fiddlestick, if you're familiar and comfortable with that technique. This will no doubt draw derision from those who got off the train of progress years ago after having done mostly Zion canyons with double strand rappels on ATC's... But even in canyons like Imlay, they can prove to be valuable tools when used by those proficient in applying them.

The longest rappel is 170 feet, the Headwall Rappel in the upper canyon. There is one other long rappel in the upper canyon. After that, the longest rappel is the last, 110 feet. And all other rappels are 60 feet or less. However, the Crossroads two-stage rappel is exactly 60 feet, but you can't pull it from there, you need another 20 feet to pull it.

The Alcove at the Crossroad is a very good place to stay. You can stay above that but good places to stay with water available are hard to come by.

The sequence to get to the anchor for the Headwall Rappel in inobvious. Two short rappels from trees leads to a ledge with bolts that are out of sight from above. The bolts that is. A few parties have rapped from the lower tree and over the edge with results they found annoying.

Tom

Class, please refer to your notes from Aug 8 2019.

Thanks for the info. Sounds like we should roll with the 200', 120', and 80'. Pack the big rope away once in the canyon and keep the 2 working ropes rolling down the canyon. We plan to go quick and light. We always have the Escaper if needed! Cheers

Thanks for the info. Sounds like we should roll with the 200', 120', and 80'. Pack the big rope away once in the canyon and keep the 2 working ropes rolling down the canyon. We plan to go quick and light. We always have the Beal Escaper if needed! Cheers

First, I'd skip the bivy. But hey, your call. Just know it is very much a doable canyon in one day. Hit the first rap at first light and you'll likely be in the Narrows with hours of daylight to spare. I mean, you want to stay light but you're taking camp? That doesn't make any sense.

Second, if I did it again with only 3 I would take a 200, a 200 foot pull cord, and maybe 2-3 working ropes (60-80ish). I think you'll only need to pull out the 2-hundo about 5 times, most of them first thing in the morning. So maybe put it in a dry bag to save weight, but that would keep you from using it as a working rope too I suppose. Bear in mind we'd be fiddling nearly every anchor, so if you don't do that, you might want different lengths like the 120s mentioned above.