Canyoneering Route Descriptions for Robbers Roost, Utah (original) (raw)

An interesting area that has recently hit the radar screen of many canyoneers, the Roost has been known and explored by bandits, ranchers and environmental extremists for years.

The Roost has a sublime character. There's something cool about driving to the TOP, descending a narrow, squeeze-y slot, then popping out into a beautiful, pristine, remote backpacker-type canyon. Hiking downcanyon, the adventurer is then challenged by finding the obscure or obvious route back up to the top-lands. Repeat. The Roost has very clear distinctions between the plateau up top, the slotty canyons, and the wide canyons at the bottom. Half the struggle on many adventures is finding the escape route.

The Roost is one of Utah's more adult canyoneering areas. Like The Escalante, the adventures are spread out and, with a few exceptions such as the slots listed here, are rarely visited by humans. Self-reliance is the name of the game, which makes this a poor place for beginners to hone their skills. We have a few canyon descriptions here; a companion guide would be Steve Allen's Canyoneering 2, which has some info on the Roost.

Please practice a NO-BOLT ETHIC when visiting the Roost. The area yields easily to natural-anchor techniques, though this may mean using deadmen, cairns, carefully-placed chockstones or other advanced techniques. Bring some webbing, and welcome the challenge of playing by natural-anchor rules. ALL the canyons in the area have been descended, so please figure out a natural-anchor solution as your predecessors did - it is possible!