End of Rope
Region: Loy Canyon
Distance: 3 miles+
Difficulty: Hard
Elevation Gain: 900’
ACA: 4All
Duration: 3-6 hours
Rope: 1 x 220’ + 1 x 90’ + 1 x 220’ Pull Cord
Anchor Materials: 50’ of webbing + 5-7 rapides
Longest Rappel: 215’ from a re-belay station
Parking: Park at what the canyoneering community refers to as the End of Rope Parking.
Overview: End of rope classifies as a technical adventure route and the only route described in this guide with a hanging re-belay. The adventurous approach, uniqueness of the route, and technical requirements make it worth sharing. The approach and technical portion are not beginner friendly. Potential of flash flooding is low, but the rock slide gully on the approach is not recommended after recent bouts of precipitation. The alcove system and pour off are quite memorable, and the archaeological site at the base of the route is nothing short of spectacular.
Adventurous Approach.
Luxurious Alcove
Hanging Re-belay
Archaeological Sites
Approach: From the End of the Rope parking, follow a worn social trail to a large wash and obvious gully on the right or east side. Hike up the trail on the left side of the gully to the rockslide. Carefully navigate through the large boulders (helmets recommended) to the saddle. Once atop the saddle start working your way to the left and into Hartwell Canyon. Follow this bench north until you see a small cliff dwelling under an overhang, this will be your next stop. From the this shelf, send your most confident climber up and around the nose. The scrambling is easy but somewhat exposed; team members may need assistance here. From above the ruin trend back south or the way you came, following the line between the white and red rock. Once you are back on the Loy canyon side, gear up and locate the access rappel off a small pine tree on the left. The technical descent starts here.
Descent: Two access rappels will land you on the main red rock bench and near the head of the alcove system. The next 2-3 rappels come in quick succession. Groups of 2-4 recommended.
Access Rappels for End of Rope and Hung Out to Dry
R1: 50’ from a tree on a slightly exposed edge on the left.
R2: 100’ off a tree. Watch for loose rock here. Use extra caution on the rope retrieval .
After the second rappel walk a short distance to the large crack on the left.
R3: Downclimb into the head of the slot (recommended) or locate an anchor off a tree on the right side for a rappel of 70’ into the alcove.
R4: 90’ from a tree down a sloping crack to the bolted anchor on the LDC side. The route can be escaped safely at any point until the rope is pulled from this anchor, then you are committed to the big drop.
R5: 215’ from the bolted anchor on a small ledge (two people at a time). We have used a retrievable anchor on this rappel and it has worked well.
Coordinates:
End of Rope Parking: 34.92498, -111.91738
R1 Access Rappel: 34.92946, -111.91431
End of Rope: 34.92911, -111.91476
Exit: From the last rappel follow faint braided trails over a few small drainages and back to the main parking area.
Preservation: Please respect archaeological sites and sensitive terrain along your journey.
Link Ups: Typically, folks have had enough after this short but demanding route. If you’ve got extra time and energy, Brownbag Special is a worthy link-up.
Route Established By: Lars Romig, Kyle Wright, and Collin Wright