Lower Refrigerator Canyon, Zion National Park, UT

I've had my eye on the 'end of Refrigerator Canyon' thingee for a while. Even tried it once, but the rain gods had other plans that day. Probably a good thing, as it turned out we were perhaps not so prepared for the long drops involved. This spring, I rounded up Jonathan for an afternoon out and, lo and behold, he had actually DONE the canyon, back in the day. He mentioned a pool (huh?), a 300' rope (oops) and... that his memory was not so so good.

It was quite a winter, here in Zion. Had my eye on a little canyon (but not this one). (Lower 'Frigerator)

It was quite a winter, here in Zion. Had my eye on a little canyon (but not this one).

Spring F I N A L L Y showed its pretty little face, represented here by an East Zion Peach Tree blossom.

A mandatory visit to the Backcountry desk… (no comment).

The approach: paved, practically the whole way. JZ and I hiked the Angels Landing trail to the little wooden bridge across the canyon, then dropped into the 'head' of the canyon, where an extended family was working on lunch. We entered their midst, and proceeded to put on harnesses and helmets and various accoutrements.

The canyon starts with a bit of a chimney downclimb, in a couple of steps. JZ heads on down.

And down a little further…

Royce Trappier placed two bolts here about 25 years ago. These two looked pretty good. The short drop below led to a pool of unknown depth. Time for wetsuits?

Two experienced canyoneers, hemming and hawing to get the other guy to go first: JZs patience (unusually) ran out first, or maybe it was a ghost of a memory – so without suit, he rapped down to the level of the pool – and found a ledge that evaded the water and found a way to the top of the pillar.

That little rap – turns out to be a fun downclimb. Here’s Scott on the downclimb, a few weeks later.

Which brings us to the top of the pillar.

In April, JZ and I rapped from the higher bolts, across the edge of the pillar and down to the next of Royce's bolted anchors. When I rapped, someone core-shot the rope in two places, where it crossed the edge of the pillar. That was not a good setup for a rappel.

Natural anchors in this area are few and far between. The whole thing is basically a drop, not much of a canyon, after the first bit. An anchor carefully positioned above the next drop would be helpful, would prevent rope grooves, and keep folks from core-shotting their ropes. If people end up doing this route, it might also prevent a rescue from being required, so... So we put in two bolts.

Scott Williams setting up off the new anchor.

JZ rapping down the side of the pillar (first trip).

One hundred and twenty feet to a small ledge, room for two.

Scott starting down that same rap, from the new anchor location.

JZ tango-ing with the tree on the final rap

On the small ledge, Royce had again placed two bolts, directly where the water lands after falling 120 feet from the pillar. The rock had eroded away behind the hangers approximately 3/4". The bolts looked kinda OK, all things considered.

We considered our options. Would the bolts probably hold? Yeah, probably. Was probably good enough? Uh, not really. Did we have a bolt kit and know how to use it? Yup! Were we natural-anchor enthusiasts unwilling to die for a political position? YOU BETCHA!

We pulled out the kit, drilled a hole, filled it and rapped to the ground. (This anchor now has two 1/2" x 3-3/4" Powers 'bluetip' Powerbolts).

Quite a nice rap, that. About 180 feet, with the last hundred going free. Directly below the drop, the branches of a small tree reach out (successfully) to snag the rope. A bit of lush vegetation (including poison ivy) brightens the small grotto...

...interesting rocks dot the terrain. (Lower 'Frigerator)

…interesting rocks dot the terrain.

We packed up the ropes, leaving a Rope Silo available to fill with empty water bottles (ez), followed the creek down a ways until deer trails led right, eventually back to the paved trail. Not a bad little canyon adventure. Can't really say its a 'good canyon', but in the heart of Zion, a nice little dry adventure to do on a late summer afternoon, or in the morning, if its cold out.