Saturday, November 21, 2009

Trip Report - Copperhead Canyon, July 15th, 2009

At Zion Adventure Company, staff members will often write reports of trips to enlighten other staff members about conditions, learning experiences, trials, etc. This is my trip report about the first major canyon I descended.

Copperhead Canyon – July 15th, 2009:
A Trip Report


Charlotte M. Vaillancourt
To put it mildly, the canyoneering trip for me this past Sunday was a very big deal. My first canyoneering experience in March during training ended poorly. I was in tears, and never completed it. Until that time in my life I had never done anything involving ropes, harnesses, helmets, and the other accoutrements needing for a successful canyoneering endeavor.
For the past several months I had wanted to go again, but I had yet to build up the courage. The Charlotte M. Vaillancourt Baby Steps to Canyoneering program helped immensely to get me to the point where I could even consider canyoneering as a possibility. First, rappelling off the ladder while hanging from the rafters in the ZAC basement with Scott Williams, then the trip to Lamb’s Knoll to practice rappelling with Scott both helped immensely. However, I still had trouble believing that the equipment was actually designed to withstand the thousands of pounds of force placed on it. It was that I questioned more than anything. Furthermore, I needed to know if I could be successful in doing what we take 5 year olds to do. Also, it has always felt rather hypocritical to me to be selling a product and discussing it when I had no personal experience with it.

Anna and Calvin accompanied me to Lamb’s Knoll, where it was our intention to do Snake Alley, a decent, beginning canyon, and one I personally felt that I could manage. When I asked Calvin to accompany me I said, “Calvin, the thing I fear most is that I will realize how much I like canyoneering, and will have a new addiction.” Calvin responded that canyoneering was an okay addiction to have. Also, it was on my Summer 2009 To Do list, and crossing things off of that list is something I try to do often. When we arrived, Z-Rock already had a sizable group there, a loud, Spanish-speaking one at that. We could here them from Snake Alley at the parking area. Calvin and I learned later that day that the group arrived at Z-Rock anticipating a day of canoeing, not canyoneering. Just a little different.

The day almost came to a tragic end at the small grotto where we put gear on. Calvin told me to grab a certain harness from the staff gear in the basement. I took it trusting him it was the right size. Only once we got to the grotto did we realize it was not. Oops…our bad. Fortunately, Anna’s personal harness fit. There were a few moments when I was secretly hoping that we could turn around at that point, however, I did wonder at the same time when I would have the courage again to go.

On we went. Arriving near the Snake Alley descent, we realized that Snake Alley might not be the best choice. The Z-Rock group was 1) large and 2) slow-moving. Much like the classic Robert Frost poem, we took the road less traveled and it made all the difference. We headed up to the right to see what we could find there.

During the next 30 minutes of scrambling, the one thing I kept thinking was how my Montrail trail shoes were comfortable, but severely lacking in the traction department. (Ironically, my shoes also had the best traction of any of the group’s). I also lamented the sand gathering ability of the shoes, for which it gets gold stars all-around, but which is not something I was unaware of. I learned that lesson on the disastrous November 2007 Hop Valley hike. Worst. Hike. Ever. Focusing on my shoes kept me from over analyzing, and subsequently, talking myself out of actually canyoneering.

I will not say that everything went perfectly. Some tears were shed by me when the rappelling became real and eminent…okay, a lot of tears. Until that point I focused on the individual steps I needed to make, not the big picture. I once found a line in Outside magazine that said, “Sometimes I want to simplify my life to the point where I think about the next 20 feet, not the next 20 years.” That is what I did, but that was hard when the next 20 feet were straight down.

During my tears I could only think about how far I had already come, and how the not knowing if I could do canyoneering would continue to haunt me. When I considered my options, rappelling was the lesser of two evils to get me back to my trusty Saturn Ion, Jackson, named such after a road trip which resulted in it looking like a Jackson Pollack painting because of all the mud. I could go and do all the down climbing, scrambling, the Carousel of Death (named such by Anna’s sister), etc. again, or just go 80 feet. Hmmm…decisions, decisions.

Long story short, I chose to rappel, and I am glad that I did. I definitely was not keen on the times when my feet did not touch the canyon wall, but I did not let that stop me. I also rappelled without an auto-block. For whatever reason, I could not wrap my mind around Calvin’s explanation of its purpose or how it works. That was just confusing me, and raising my anxiety level at a time when that would simply hinder my progress further.

As Anna said after my first rappel, I rocked it. A lot of fear was gone at that moment, and my original fear of realizing that I would like canyoneering was realized. I enjoyed myself immensely, and the second rappel was a total piece of cake after what I had just done.
Ultimately, I learned several important lessons from my few hours canyoneering Sunday morning:
  • I need to invest in shoes with better traction and that keep sand at bay
  • Having my own harness is vital, so that I never arrive at the beginning with one that does not fit.
  • Petzl helmets make one’s head look unsettlingly large.
  • I need to learn the mechanics of canyoneering: the ropes, the knots, the hows, the whys, etc.
  • Some fear is always needed to ensure one’s safety, but I cannot let it control me or prevent me from experiencing new things.
  • I am ADDICTED to canyoneering, and I find myself searching the calendar in SO for potential trips to add on to.
  • A new lifetime goal: To go canyoneering on every continent. First up: Israel this winter; a true Zion adventure!

I cannot wait until July 26th when I get to go and do Keyhole Canyon. Four months ago if someone said that I would eventually say something like that, I would have thought they were certifiable.




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