u/theoriginalharbinger

A week and change ago, I posted an invite to join in for some Heaps fun (https://www.reddit.com/r/canyoneering/comments/1tapt9y/in\_which\_i\_do\_that\_thing\_that\_ive\_always/). Had a few takers. Unfortunately, we lost two due to illness/injury and another couple for transit. As such, ended up being me plus one.

And the good news, all things went smoothly! While Heaps itself was a veritable scrapyard of lost gear - we found two ropes and a couple others odds and ends, and the day before us another group found a decade-old GoPro and another couple ropes - and I myself lost a radio (c'est la vie), we started around 5AM and got out well before dark. First two narrows were completed in under 45 minutes apiece. Third narrows took a bit longer on account of the drysack holding the big rope not being dry anymore. Per my wearable, water temp low was about 42F; I was comfy in a 5mm wetsuit and 7mm socks. No gloves in canyon for me.

All too often, only the "Mistakes were made" reports make it onto Reddit or FB (I've authored a semi-notorious "Mistakes were made" Heaps report from last year, when I did it with a two-person team in very low water). But the "Yeah, sometimes it's okay to do sketchy things with strangers" reports never seem to make the light of day.

In that light - anyone want to do Heaps on Memorial Day?

We had a group of 4 for Heaps on May 16; due to illness (fortunately confined to just that one person), we are now a group of 3. All ultrarunners and experienced canyoneers, though.

Have I advocated against randomly soliciting people for high-consequence adventure? Yes I have, at times vehemently. I've personally done Heaps twice (once with strangers, at their invite, once as one-half of a two person team in low water), and done other highly technical / high-endurance routes (like Right Fork and Checkerboard, to name other lesser loved Zion route). I've also looked at trip reports of those who've brought strangers through with varying degrees of success as well as my own experiences, and have come up with a heuristic; if you think you fit the bill and want to give Heaps a run, please shoot me a DM.

The criteria:

- Have completed a marathon, ultrarun, triathlon, high-altitude multi-day mountaineering trip (Shasta, Rainier, Gannett, Granite, similar), highly-technical R canyon (Imlay, Poe, Insomnia the hard way out, similar) that demands cardio, or otherwise feel like you've got your cardio dialed in. Heaps is not so much hard (which it is) as it is relentless.

- Are not dogmatic about rope work. I've been in-canyon (not Heaps) with people who want to re-rig everything contingency, who want to tie a backup for every first person down, who want to dig up and inspect every piece of webbing. I'm a fan of "speed is safety" - you are far more likely to make a mistake when you're tired, fatigued, bored, or shivering in the water waiting for the leader to tie his prusik properly. I'm not reckless with my ropes (I am insistent on safe systems, but am not dogmatic about *which* system), but ya gotta be comfortable rap'ing on a biner block or double-strand or doing meat-backed raps.

- Are not panicky. I realize that nobody actually admits to panickiness, but if you are not a participatory problem-solver this is probably not a great trip.

All that said, if you want to get into Heaps and have the pre-quals above, send me a DM. The logistics have already been solved, including permitting and car shuttles and ropes and radios and team safety gear - you would simply need to be able to get into Virgin or Laverkin on Friday for a team meet-and-greet-and-pack and be okay with an early-morning start.

A followup to Random Reddit Invite To Heaps

In which I do that thing that I've always wholeheartedly non-endorsed: Anyone care to join a Heaps crew on Saturday (details in comments)?