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.