Juggler and Grand Canyons, Blue Mountains

Tom Brennan had agreed to accompany me for my last day of Canyoning. We arranged to meet at North Richmond and asses the conditions before deciding on our trip. The weather was still unstable with afternoon thunderstorms forecast and as such he opted for another shorter easier day to mitigate the risk of flash flooding.

We drove back southwest to the Great Western Highway, where I parked my car and hopped into Tom’s wagon. Our goal for today was Juggler Canyon followed by Grand Canyon. The two canyons are often linked together for a days outing. Whilst Juggler didn’t have a glowing reputation, it was billed as a much more interesting way to get to Grand Canyon, which would be a rather short day on its own.

Parking at the end of an old dirt road, we began down the track towards Juggler. Tom and I held views about canyoning that were poles apart, but it was interesting to hear his reasoning on a number of issues we dissagreed about. He almost never wears a helmet, very rarely brings a wetsuit and is completely content to absiel double strand despite knowledge of more advanced rope techniques.

His attitude reflected the gist I got from many Oz Canyoners, that to them, Canyoning is just a natural extension of bushwalking with just a few extra challenges thrown in. This idea persists because of the relative ease of most Oz Canyons, the lack of much current and the very warm australian temperatures.

Contrast this to my opinion that it is a sport in its own right, with the requirement for specialist equipment and techniques, given the experience in NZ, Utah and Europe….

Even though I didn’t quite agree with him, at least a bit more background information was starting to make the reasoning a little more understandable..

Arriving at the first drop, I paused to put my helmet and harness on, whilst Tom looped the rope, threw it then hand over handed down the low angle drop. I rappelled, then stashed the rope in my rope bag. At the next drop, I rigged a stien knot to give me a single line, then rapped with the rope bag attached down the debris chocked double tiered drop.

Tom rigged the next absiel from old slings around boulder pinches. There was a bit of water pouring over the edge, so he removed his t-shirt, and delicately abseiled to edge his way out of the fall line. I put on my spray jacket and went right down the middle.. It seems a crux difference between the two schools of thought is wether water is to be avoided at all costs, or embraced and sought after…

From here, It returned to a bit of a scramble till we arrived at the old tourist track that led to Grand Canyon. The track climbed to the halfway up the rim, then sidled around above the canyon on a track incised into the rock.

Before long, we encountered the super engineered NWPS three bolt and chain anchor. I descended first, marvelling at the super subway style of canyon formation.

Packing the rope away, we slowly began down canyon. Rather than sliding our way into the numerous pools to wade across, Tom made a point of delicate traverses to remain dry at all costs. Whilst it seemed a little strange at first, it actually made a very simple canyon a fair bit more challenging and enjoyable.

The highlight of the canyon was definitely the giant subway like formation of the canyon. Reminding me of the Zion canyon with that name, Grand seemed to have the same shape but on a significantly larger scale.

Near the end of the canyon, there was one compulsory swim, which Tom again tackled with the ‘strip off’ approach, whereas I put on a layer of neoprene and my spray top. He was probably laughing in side, when I slowly hauled my pack complete with wet rope, wet neoprene and technical canyoning harness up the exit hill. Perhaps a lesson needs to be learnt here.. Match your equipment to your trip… ;0)

On the way out, we paused at a neat rocky outcrop for a bite of lunch. Overhead the thunder cells were brewing, which hastened us on our way. Another mellow but enjoyable adventure to end my trip.

Jenolan Caves, Australia

User Pays Caving....

Having finished my days canyoning by mid morning, I was looking for other activities to make the most of the day. Driving into Katoomba, I saw ‘The Edge’ big screen movie about the Blue Mountains. Whilst at the cinema, I saw an advert for the Jenolan Caves. Thinking that tourist caving would be the perfect indoors outdoor activity, I embarked on the 1.5hr drive further south west from Katoomba after lunch.

I wasn’t that enthralled about the idea when I saw the prices for the tours, but a quick walk through a grotto into a huge ballroom cavern convinced me to splash out for a trip.

Our tour guide resembled an aged Billy Connelly, but he was very interesting and knowledgeable about the caves and their history.

There were lots of different tours through distinct systems to be done, but I just did the one tour through a cave whose name I cannot remember. It was a very beautiful cave, despite the concrete and tourist handrailling…

Empress Canyon, Blue Mountains

Thunderstorms and a lack of a partner saw me mostly stay inside on the 27^th, but similar weather conditions prevailed on the 28^th. Rick was still happy to canyon, but suggested something short and simple given the forecast.

We agreed to meet up near Wentworth Falls at the consevation hut (café) for Empress Canyon. Since it is possible to do the whole round trip in about an hour, Empress is very popular with beginner and commercial groups. It has a few easy down climbs, a couple of swims, a slide and a 30m abseil to finish, making it a nice short glimpse at the sport. It is not without its dangers though. A few years ago someone drowned in high water in a hydraulic above the rappel, and just days before our trip an American tourist had a heart attack whilst halfway down the falls..

Rick and I suited up in the car park in the clouds and light rain before making the short 10 minute stroll down to the canyon. Just as we began down the canyon, a clap of thunder rolled down behind us. I thought about bailing, but Rick said the catchment was tiny, so it would have to thunder directly on top of us to be any real danger.

As it was, we raced quickly through the canyons twists, turns, down climbs and swims. The dark sky made photography very trick, but added a bit to the excitement of the trip. Arriving at the first and final rappel, Rick rigged the ropes up on the true left and proceeded over the edge. The fall was running at a bit more than a trickle, making the descent the fun highlight of the trip.

Rick traversed off on a ledge before the final pool, where as I chose to continue to the bottom. Using standard OzCanyon techniques, there was heaps of Canyon spaghetti in the pool. As I awkardly tried to unclip from the double ropes, I felt something tug at my right foot. Treading water and looking at your ankle was a bit tricky, but imagine my surprise when I saw a huge tangle of rope that had neatly tied itself in a big knot, right around my ankle!! I tried to get Rick to take a photo of the knot, but my words were lost beside the waterfall.. Even in a gentle waterfall, with almost no current it goes to show why not setting the ropelenght can be inherantly dangerous….

We were back at the café very quickly and Rick bade me farewell for the day. I paused long enough to have a coffee as the rain came down before continuing on to Katoomba to watch ‘The Edge’ IMAX movie about the Blue Mountains.

South Branch of Upper Bowens Ck, Blue Mountains

With the work conference over, it was time to go into full holiday mode. I met up with Rick Seldon at the Claustral entrance where we exchanged greetings. Rick seemed a bit shy at first, but this was only a front for an amiable gentleman with a very funny yet very dry sense of humour..

The canyon that Rick had chosen for today was the South Branch of Upper Bowens Creek. Dropping my car at the exit point, we drove a further few kilometers to the entry point. Following Rick along a lightly padded social trail, I heard him comment something about “Always dropping off the ridge too soon”. So we dropped off the ridge a bit too soon, arriving in the right hand tributary stream to a full-fun bush bash. Fortunately the fun didn’t last too long…

We suited up at a convenient spot then began with a couple of down climbs to the first rappel in the tributary. It was a slippery two tiered drop that could be walked round, but I opted to descend it directly.

There was one other 10m drop before we reached a really neat 20m pitch that was almost totally enclosed like a tube.

Here we met up with the left hand tributary that was worth a look 50m up canyon. The rope and harness were no longer needed, so I put it all away and strolled after Rick, who had a propensity to walk quite quickly…

The next slot canyon section was quite pretty, with some giant chock stones wedged high above. Before long, we emerged into a wide gorge with Sassafrass trees and wide sweeping river bends.

Rick and I continued down stream for a while before reaching a boulder field that we scrambled over, around, through and under to keep progressing.

Below the boulder field, we entered the second slot section which was by far the highlight of the whole trip. Rick had planned our timing just right, so as we entered this section, the sun was overhead. Amazing shafts of light penetrated the depths giving incredible sights to behold. With the contrast of the light shaft and dark canyon I found it very hard to get good photos, but managed a couple of keepers.

The canyon continued with some fun down climbs and a few logs to slither down. Then as soon as it began, the magnificent slot relaxed into a shallower, wider gorge. From here we breifly explored a couple of tributaries before continuing a way downstream to the exit point.

We took a rest and a bite to eat on a large flat rock, before climbing out of the canyon via small ledge systems, short body cracks, a small cave and a rock climb. A much more mellow day but 4.5hrs very well spent in a beautiful canyon.

Claustral Canyon, Blue Mountains, Australia

Claustral Canyon has carved itself a reputation as one of the finest absiel canyons in the Blue Mountains. First descended in 1960 by a group from the Sydney Uni Bushwalkers (SUBW) using manilla ropes and over-the-shoulder abseiling techniques, Claustral has kept its popularity through ease of access and magnificent formations. The names comes from “Claustraphobia” refering to the famously dark “Black Hole of the Calcutta” where the three rappels are. The canyon is done commercially and is very popular with recreationalists too. There have been many deaths in Claustral, mostly from inexperienced groups and hypothermia, but occaisonally drownings feature. A friend from my last trip to Aussie, Ian Knapp, was the latest victim of Claustral. He slipped whilst descending a fixed rope and became wedged in a siphon and drowned. RIP Ian..

I hadn’t met Rowan Peck or Roderick Smith before, but it wasn’t long before we all began to get along well. It was a chilly and windy morning up at Mt Tomah, so I was pleased to get on the track and moving.

As expected, we weren’t the only ones Canyoning here this Sunday. We passed one large party of middle to senior aged Canyoners just as the entry track arrived at the upper reaches of Claustral Brook. Continuing downstream a ways, we found a spot to suit up and were soon passed by other keener Canyoners.

The canyon soon began to slot up a little and offer a number of small challenges. Whilst most of our Claustral companions chose the easiest options, I often chose the harder, wetter, more interesting ways. We had a few small jumps and hand-over-hand down climbs on fixed lines to contend with before reaching the mouth of ‘The Black Hole of the Calcutta’.

Mt Wilson Topo maps names these three tiered waterfalls as Calcutta Falls, though it wasn’t until I descended that I truly appreciated the ‘Black Hole’ part of the name. The first pitch was from a wedged log on the true left. Looking at all the rope scars, I wonder how much longer the log would last. Surely a slung rapide would remove all the wear from the log?

I’d purposely left my rope bag at home, since there were only three raps and I didn’t want to rock the boat too much with my newly acquainted companions. Though as I stared over the edge into the reasonable flow of the falls, I wished I had brought the bag.

Rowan rappelled first and I was able to snap the ‘Classic Claustral Abseil’ photo.

As Rod pulled the rope down, I joined Rowan who had wedged himself comfortably in a constriction just before the next pitch. After I stacked the rope in my pack, I slung it from my harness and began to thread the rope end through the single ring bolt on the upper right hand wall. This time I rigged single strand and disappeared into the next pitch.

A few meters from the pool, there was a beautiful round hole in the canyon wall that was slung for the next anchor. I rigged our second rope single strand then went through the hole and down the final pitch. On descent I looked up and around and marveled at the incredible formations above me and the blackness beneath. On each subsequent abseil, we had traveled deeper in to the heart of the canyon. Each meter descended was now a meter of incredible formation above.

At the end of the final rappel, I sidestepped left onto a ledge to try and take photos of the others on the way down. It was very dark, so I was shooting 4 second exposures. Unfortunately it was too loud to communicate well with Rod and Rowan, so I only got a couple of photos before they made it to me.

We jumped into the pool and began to wade our way through some of the deepest, darkest and most amazingly beautiful canyon narrows I’ve been in yet. Arrays of ferns lined the walls, giving a green hue to the transcendent lighting. A short way along we arrived at a confluence, where Ranon Canyon enters the Claustral System.

For the next 20 minutes we waded our way through the 3-4m wide and 30-40m deep cleft in the earth, marveling at the shapes, colours, flora and fauna within.

Soon though, the incredible canyon relented back to ‘average’ canyon and we paused at the confluence with Thunder Canyon for a moment. Rowan knew of a Glow-worm cave up Thunder Canyon, so we ditched our packs and scrambled our way up Canyon to Westerway falls. Here the Canyon is very dark, so with headlights shining, we dove into the pool, straight toward the falls and at the very last moment ducked under the rock to emerge in a giant chamber behind the waterfall. Switching off our lights, our eyes adjusted then widened at the incredible display before us. Hundreds of Glow Worms lit the cavern like the night sky, whilst the waterfall pounded down outside.

Rowan and Rod continued back into the cave in search of more Glow worms. Not being much fond of caves, I remained in the main chamber to enjoy the show until they returned. Back at the main Canyon we had a bite to eat before continuing downstream.

There were several large boulder fields to negotiate, as well as some tricky down climbs to be made.

One in particular made me pause and contemplate a few things. Here was the siphon that had claimed Ian’s Life. I investigated it carefully and pondered the circumstances. True, it didn’t look like much, but with a reasonable amount of flow like the Canyon had been experiencing recently, it was a very real and present danger.

Beneath that nasty hand line, we had a 50m ‘tunnel swim’ which was our final obstacle in the Canyon. Joining the throng of other Oz Canyoners, we changed into our hiking clothes for the scramble out of Rainbow Ravine. The guide book promised a decent scramble out and the reality did not disappoint. Though none of the climbs were exposed, they were difficult enough to require concentration.

Rainbow Ravine itself was a neat, short-lived canyon, and soon we were ready to scramble the final section out. A young lady was having difficulty with the climb, so we took her the long way round and repatriated her with her group on one of the large slabs that overlooked the Canyon.

The walk out was satisfyingly challenging and it was quite nice to reach the car and end the exertion for the day. Our trip was a 7.5hr round trip, including lunch and the side trip to the Glow Worm Cave.

Butterbox Canyon, Blue Mountains, Australia

t was great to meet up with Joe Bugden and Tony Maurer again for some Blue Mountain Canyoning. I’d luckily been sent to Sydney for a work (PFPS) course and decided to take some leave to make the most of the free airfares.

Our group met at the Glenbrook Servo. Here I met Shane Greenup for the first time. Joe’s friend Nick rounded out our group of 5 for the trip to Butterbox Canyon. Also known as Rocky Points Ravine and Mt Hay canyon, the trip began at the end of the long and bumpy Mt Hay road. Arriving in one piece, we soon saw that we wouldn’t be alone in the canyon. At least a half dozen other cars took shared the parking area.

We strolled down a well formed track into scrubby and marshy ground towards the gaping cleft in the giant sandstone escarpments that overlook the Grose Valley. Soon we reached a fixed hand line down a small cliff and into a tributary. Scrambling a short way down the stream, Shane and I paused to put our helmets. Nick had a lucky escape, when he when head over heels just a little further along. He reckons he’ll start wearing his helmet a bit earlier in future…

When it was time to suit up prior to the first abseil, our party was one of three at the first drop. Talk about rush hour in the Canyon!! It was a bit silly, as each party seemed to resent the others being present and tried to rush to get ahead of one another. There were anchors already on the left and right, but the third party looped a bit of debris in the center. Three ropes and three Canyoners all descending at once…

One party wore no wetsuits, but a helmet or two amongst them, whilst the other group had wetsuits but no helmets…. Still amazes me the way some Australian Canyoners go about business.

The rat race continued along a couple of small neat drops till the canyon began to slot up. Shane was the only one to try the optional jump, but we all met up at the bottom of the third rap ready to do the two pitch slot rappel. Here the stream descends very rapidly through a very impressive but rather short slot.

The first pitch descended 20m past a number of smaller chock stones in the dark slot and deposited us on a slightly large chock stone with two ring bolts in the canyon wall. Joe took the time to add an equalized sling and quick link. Hopefully, this would encourage others to minimize wear on the ring bolts and learn how to rig in a way that shares the load most effectively.

The second 20m slot pitch was the undoubted highlight of the whole canyon. Following the water down the slot, the last few meters are overhung, letting the full force of the waterfall smash you in the chest as you go over... The coloration of the canyon walls here was amazing!

There was a swim to another small rap that ended again in a swim. A few meters beyond, we had the last little drop that emerged from the canyon section of the day. We all had fun jumping into the wide open pool.

Now resembling a steep stream again, there were several small waterfalls and drops that the normal route by-passes. Being such a nice day and having a group who rather enjoy the aquatic aspect of Canyoning, we chose to rig anchors and blast down the wet way and have a bit more fun.

The last pitch was a vertical wall of slime beneath a waterfall, making for some slippery antics on descent. Amongst the boulders at the bottom, we changed into dry clothes and enjoyed a bite of lunch.

There were several ways out of Butterbox, but our plan was to take the climbing route out. Climbing up beneath the huge sandstone walls, we sidled to the right until we were beneath the Grose Valley cliffs. There was first an obvious steep gully to ascend, a bit more right hand sidling then a switchback onto an ascending broad ledge. That broad ledge narrowed and led through a small squeeze under a gap in the rocks to reach the first bolt of the climb out.

Though only a grade 11, the climb feels rather exposed, with hundreds of meters of air at your heels towards the Grose River. Joe volunteered to lead the climb. We made it safely to the top of the pitch, one by one, just as another party appeared at the bottom. We belayed their first up, so he didn’t have to lead the pitch.

Continuing along a broad but exposed ledge and then up a steep gully with good holds we emerged on a rock outcrop overlooking Rocky Points Ravine. We peered back into the canyon for a while, before following our noses back up hill towards the car. It was a fun and satisfying 8hr day out J