Smiling Cricket
Smiling Cricket from carpeybiggs on Vimeo.
The legend precedes this canyon. With only a handful of known descents, limited beta, complex logistics, and extremely remote access, it is certainly one of the plateau’s premiere wilderness slot canyons.
In true wilderness ethic, our team set out to document a descent, applying various low-impact techniques developed over the course of year’s of canyoneering experience.
Stay tuned in the weeks ahead, this is just a preview.
Great stuff Dan, I can’t wait to see finished piece.
PS: are you heading back to Asia this winter, if so lets coordinate a meetup and outing.
rick (doc)
Comment made by rick Fetters on October 17, 2009 @ 10:40 pm
Dude, that was SICK. Just seeing the preview made me nervous. Can’t wait to see what else you have on this. LOVED the picture on Flickr too.
Comment made by Tyler on October 18, 2009 @ 5:20 am
nice! looks like an amazing slot.
Comment made by kris on October 19, 2009 @ 9:11 am
Awesome trailer…very well done!
Comment made by Steve Kazakos on October 19, 2009 @ 7:31 pm
Awesome man
Comment made by B on October 20, 2009 @ 2:37 pm
Wow. who are you guys? Looks like the discovery channel. nice job. regards, Jeff
Comment made by jeff on October 20, 2009 @ 3:08 pm
Now this is what canyon(eer)ing is all about.. and the preview plays out really well. The source material and tight editing are a winning combination - Congratulations, Dan. Tom and Ram’s comments work well, too.
Comment made by Alan Pryke on October 20, 2009 @ 8:31 pm
So I have watched this clip at leaset ten times now and I just get more excited each time to get back out an do more canyons. I can’t wait till the finished video. Great work, Dan on the video and great job in the canyon to all who went.
Comment made by scott on October 23, 2009 @ 2:37 pm
What a canyon! 11.5 hrs. camp to camp? Spidey must have been setting the pace. Amazing video and pics, thanks for sharing.
Comment made by Bill on October 26, 2009 @ 11:28 am
Very nice. Did you shoot this with your DSLR? -Richard
Comment made by Richard R. Barron on October 29, 2009 @ 1:45 pm
This a canyon that you should definantly bring your bolt kit to. A couple of well placed bolts will result in a more enjoyable experience. Will not affect the beauty of the canyon.
Peace
Comment made by Holmes on November 25, 2009 @ 3:16 pm
Holmes - but methinks you haven’t experienced the canyon without bolts. I can’t imagine it being any more enjoyable than it now is, with just a few of the original bolts in place, and the rest like a giant puzzle that needs to be solved by the next group through…
Comment made by admin on November 27, 2009 @ 12:33 am
BOLTS?!?!?! The Canyon has been ghosted. It should be like climbing, once an aid route goes clean there is an ethic that says everyone there after should do it clean (with out hammering pitons). If there is no need for bolts then why add them? Rise yourself to the challange, don’t lower the challange to your level!
I personally along with a bunch of my friends aswell can’t wait to get into cricket and ghost it.
To us the challange is the main appeal, making your own anchors and finding your own solution to the problem at hand is a very rewarding experience.
Nice teaser Dan, I’ve probly watched it close to 20 times now. I’m excited to see the finished product. Good Job on the ghosting guys!
Comment made by Jason Kaplan on November 27, 2009 @ 11:30 am
No offense but the non-boltesr here are conceited and vain. There is a feeling by many that you are entitled to certain difficult locations just because you can run up a pothole without any help or climb a keeper like spiderman. This canyon, and many more like them, can be experienced by a greater number of people more safely if a few well position bolts and anchors are placed in discreet locations. Please don’t give me the B.S. that it takes away from he natural beauty of the canyon either. I will be doing this canyon in the spring with my bolt kit. I’m not taking UNNECCARY risks so a few tough guys can say they did this without any help. If you really are that great do this canyon without any equipment! If you don’t want to use the new anchors just do it your old way and let some other people enjoy this magnificent place as well. Those who argue otherwise I simple egotistical, narcissistic and selfish beyond belief. Stay safe.
Peace
Comment made by Holmes on November 29, 2009 @ 6:59 am
Holmes…watch out in there. Don’t assume that everyone can make the 44 foot bag toss. Or batman out on multiple cords or do the pit and the pendulum by doing the insanely dangerous hook holes to the precarious and bad bolt station 30 feet up where even putting in a bolt is beyond any measure of safety and then lean out on it off to the next station? Danger!!! Or even want to pendulum over the sharp edges there (now with over 40 feet of exposure) to get by the spot. Or do you plan to drill a dozen hook holes starting from a swimming position, doing the pot directing? There are many other spots that your kit won’t do squat for you. NO ONE can bolt this place into submission. Well maybe with 40 bolts or so. Oh yeah, remember that single bolt anchors are not considered safe, so those folks better bring 80.
Sometimes you can’t drill a canyon into something safe. Something that anyone can go to without much risk. This is one of those canyons. Assume you can put in a handful of drill holes and bolts and navigate the place within your safety margin. Then what about all the other people with less skill than you? Shouldn’t they be “entitled” to go too? Where is the line, Sir Holmes?
Addressing some of your other quotes
Holmes says….This canyon, and many more like them, can be experienced by a greater number of people more safely if a few well position bolts and anchors are placed in discreet locations.
OK, define greater number people? Everyone? Surely you don’t wish to exclude others? That would be as you said “conceited and vain.” of you. Just your skill set and above? Anyone with less skill than you and a hammer with more bolts? How many bolts would you consider too many? How many drill holes OK? Of course drill holes blow out and new ones will be needed. Where does the line get drawn? Who gets to draw it? AND we are not trying to draw that line either. Only making suggestions, offering ideas and solutions, challenging ourselves and others. Its called advocacy. If it is a good idea it will take with some and then with more folks latter. The reason we are putting the video together, will be to show new and safe techniques for descending canyons. I hope we can nudge you toward experimenting with these new methods and bury the kit at the bottom of the pack, for emergencies only
Holmes says…”I’m not taking UNNECESSARY risks so a few tough guys can say they did this without any help”
When we went back last month, to finish the ghosting of the place, Spidey was not on hand. We brought good, but not great athletes and these folks were very skeptical of the new techniques. This was part of the experiment. Will sound, very experienced anchor technicians buy into to the new ideas. We did nearby canyons after the Cricket descent without the plan of ghosting necessarily. Guess what? The new folks passed on every one of the “single” bolt stations. Not because they are anti bolt. They aren’t. They passed on it because the sand trap was faster, easier and safer, in their expert judgment. Give it a chance. You very well might view it differently too.
Holmes says….”If you don’t want to use the new anchors just do it your old way and let some other people enjoy this magnificent place as well.”
That’s what we did. If a bolt couldn’t come out by hand, it is still there. Some other people? Who? Who decides the line. Shouldn’t everyone be able to….. Back here again?
Holmes says…”No offense but the non-boltesr here are conceited and vain. Those who argue otherwise I simple egotistical, narcissistic and selfish beyond belief.”
Well its hard not to take offense being that one can’t fairly claim to “know” the mind of another and to be called so many unflattering names to boot. I don’t want to “win” the argument. I don’t want to contest that game. I want some folks to try new ideas. So many folks, myself at times too, have trouble stepping outside their own vestment in their beliefs/argument. Makes seeing new views challenging. But could you see how someone with less skills than you thinking the things you said about us, about you? You who can do it with just a handful or bolts and perhaps drill holes. They need more. The usual turn in the argument by my side at this point is…”what about handicap access?” I won’t insult you with that, but can you see the point? Where is the line? When we started this project, we did so knowing that it was possible, perhaps probable, that many folks wouldn’t give a rats ass about our “new ideas.” That many would “just see new beta” and line up trips there, bolt hammer in hand. Now if you want to call me selfish, I could argue your point a little too. As for narcissistic and egotistical……couldn’t one say the same about a group of people who feel “entitled” to visit a place no matter the means necessary. The canyon has existed for a long time. There are canyons I am not good enough to do. They are beyond my skill set and with my advancing years, it is no longer a case of ‘getter better.” I can’t climb many, many mountains and crag routes. I suppose I could bolt or chip them enough to do some of them. I won’t. I suspect neither would you. How is this different? I’m not sure this is a good idea to put at the end. It will rile many and have me be attacked as an egotist and selfish all over again. I have explored canyons for a long time. I used to share many of the “new finds” with the community. As a rule, I don’t anymore. The the amount of places I could share keeps growing and I would like to share the wonders found. I no longer do and its these unresolved ethics issues that stop me from sharing. It makes me sad, even if it makes me selfish and egotistical in others eyes. So Holmes….any of my thoughts worthy of consideration? Do i still look like the narcissistic and vain egotist?
Ram
Comment made by Ram on November 29, 2009 @ 10:43 am
Holmes,
I apologize if you think this is somehow about ego. It is my guess that when someone doesn’t understand another person’s point of view, the easiest way to resolve the conflict in one’s own mind is to call someone “egotistical.” It’s nothing of the sort.
Techniques have been developed that, on many levels, are far more enjoyable than placing or using bolts. No one is arguing that bolts take away from a place’s beauty. Well placed bolts rarely do. We are simply advocating that places remain unbolted as much as possible, so that every group through gets a chance to work through the problem solving. That is the quality that keeps most of us going back to canyons, and the feature of most canyons that make them most enjoyable.
We don’t “ghost” canyons to prove we are tougher, or stronger, or bigger, or whatever. In fact, you’ll probably find that most of our group is mediocre in talent and strength. But, we do have a lot of techniques for solving canyon problems. And that’s our goal, is to share our experiences, so others can find canyons and solve them as well. That’s what it is all about.
But that said, if you want to bolt the place, we won’t stop you. We’ll simply suggest that bolting the canyon will probably make it harder than if you tried some other techniques.
Come to Freezefest. Meet some of us. Let’s share some canyons. Swap some ideas. I think you’ll find we are probably exactly the opposite of what you suggest.
- Dan
Comment made by Dan Ransom on November 29, 2009 @ 2:51 pm
Congratulations to all of you who recently “ghosted” this beautiful little canyon. I am MOST IMPRESSED and applaud your commitment to this kind of ethic in these fragile places.
When Bogie and I first entered this canyon (nearly 30 years ago) the moment that we agreed we had exhausted our options and got out the bolt kit, I felt like we were diminishing the experience. At the same time, for me, it was an acknowledgement of my great humility for the canyon and the power and force alive there. It was bigger, better, stronger, trickier, more AWESOME than we were. It was not going to allow our passage without some sacrifice. So, we HAD to bolt/sling it. Still,it truly felt like I was littering in a sacred place. Litter or die?
(I’m not making justification to any of you, merely to myself.)
I would love to see the new arsenal of safety gear in action. Well done!
I’ve enjoyed reading the banter back and forth with you all, the NEW BREED. The photos are fabulous. I think I have only one. I look forward to getting out my journals, and continued to track some of your adventures from wet and beautiful B.C.
I’m a neophyte in this realm of internet communication but I did manage to discover the source of the new name, Smiling Cricket. Although I do LOVE the name, the sound of it, the image of it, etc. I have pondered long and hard about another aspect of it. I wanted to make sure, before I posted it out to “the internet ether”, that my motives were NOT ALL ABOUT ME AND MY EGO. I cannot honestly say now, that it does not have an element of just that. Still, it’s my birthday gift to myself to put it out there. So….
In reference to the naming of Frosted Flakes, Ram wrote: “So to the descenders goes the spoils of naming the place. What to do? … So…(he continues)…”
Although our group originally referred to this canyon as “L” (near “O” and “S”) when we first perused these canyons on our map, the first Experience of it, the first intimate touching of it, the first metal bolts that were drilled in her flanks, the first nylon streamers hung from her water courses, the first Descent with all that entails, resulted in the name “POE”.
Poe, not as beautiful a name as “Smiling Cricket” but the name that was born out of a rare and beautiful experience/adventure. The experience of being The First is truly something special and humbling, more and more. I cherish the few FIRSTS I have in my Life, as all of you do too, I’m sure.
So was this new name inspired by a cloud seen from camp or was there something in the canyon that spawned the name? I wonder if the place just MIGHT remember as I do, the unique and special relationship we established down there and the name that came out of it. I wonder what the Canyon would name us? You? Is it fair to change it? And based on what/who/why? Many native cultures don’t even place names on places. Does it even matter?
Something to ponder…Something to spark more controversy? (HA!) Do you canyoneers have rules about this kind of thing? Again, I’ve been out of the “game” for years so forgive my naivety if so.
Respectfully,
J West (aka Jenny Hall)
Comment made by J West on November 30, 2009 @ 5:15 pm
To J West: I am so glad you found out about our recent ghosting of Poe and approve. Many, many times on our trip I spoke of you and Mike Bogart’s incredible accomplishment of completing this canyon, and was hoping to find out more of what must have been a terrifying and wonderful experience.
I am awed by your success in completing this canyon, bolts or no.
To those who think bolts will make this canyon safe or easy, trust me, it won’t. Some of the bolt solutions to problems in the canyon are frighteningly intimidating and I am tremendously happy that we had better (safer, easier) alternatives. It is an incredibly difficult canyon and should only be attempted by the most experienced, well-prepared, and capable groups.
We have shown it can be ghosted, and the techniques we used were reliable, expedient, and safe. I would hope that future visitors to this incredible place treat it with the respect it deserves. Take the time to learn these techiques and your experience will be better, safer, and something to be proud of. Head in there with a bolt kit and a swagger and you may very well spend the rest of your short life in this canyon.
Personally, I love the challenge of using natural anchors and better, ghosting. And I find the aesthetic experience much, much greater as each drop is carefully examined, understood, and problem-solved into submission. The teamwork required in building, testing, and using natural and retrievable anchors is also a huge part of the experience–all but absent when clipping into existing bolts. I love these aspects of canyoneering enough to leave my bolt kit at home and come prepared for alternative solutions.
On our trip I asked why we weren’t calling the canyon Poe in deference Jenny (Hall) West and Mike Bogart’s incredible accomplishment in 1981. It will always be Poe to me…
–brendan
Comment made by Brendan on December 1, 2009 @ 7:13 pm
Jenny…..I am so excited that you found our reports of the descent. First of all I want to say that the techniques being used evolved over many years, coming from multiple sources and different groups. Each idea and group stood on the shoulders of those that came before and I feel it accurate to say that we all stand on yours. Feel no quilt about the bolts. You did not have the benefits of all the advances in the sport. I poked my head into few unknown canyons in the past 3 decades, so I know how bold it is to do so. Your groups accomplishments include some of the most challenging fare out there. Kudos!
Secondly, the reason why Smiling Cricket caught on as a name is it was talked about for some time before we found out its other and older name. I think Poe is a wonderful name. It comes from the Pit and the Pendulum is my guess? Is that true? Man, that was a scary spot to go high!! I am dying to hear more about it. But back on point. I will do what I can to support the original descenders most excellent name. Dan, perhaps we can start with the name of the video up top?
Ram
Comment made by Ram on December 1, 2009 @ 10:46 pm
jenny,
it’s wonderful and an honor to hear your comments. many thanks for sharing them.
poe’s been one of my favorite poets since i was young and i thought the name was brilliant!
your descent of the canyon must have been an incredible experience. it would be great to hear about it in detail!
to answer your question, jason pease named that particular canyon ’smiling cricket’ to reflect the fact that while he was able to get into the other two canyons to scout and explore a little when he first looked into those three canyons, he wasn’t actually able to get into poe/smiling cricket. so it was like a cricket chirping, that you can never see, but its chirping beckons you closer to try to see it — a metaphor for standing on the rim wanting to know what lies in the depths. you have to get down on the ground to see the cricket. of course, when he came back with a friend to get know the canyon he found that the cricket was a much bigger beast.
thanks for your inspiring history.
stefan
Comment made by stefan on December 8, 2009 @ 12:17 am
Great work guys!!! Amazing stuff. Brendan has told me about this trip and wow!!!!!!! Look forward to seeing more. Potts
Comment made by Potts on December 31, 2009 @ 1:00 pm
Thanks you guys, for the kind words (and from some really Big Hitters in the world of canyoneering!). FYI, I’m in the process of reconnecting dormant brain synapses of the first descent; gathering facts and photos. It might make for an interesting comparative of the “old” technical tools and the “new” ghosting techniques. Pits, pendulums, mysterious blank bolt holes, frog vs. cricket…and your trip?…’looking forward to more specifics.
J W
Comment made by J West on January 8, 2010 @ 10:31 am
Ask away Jenny as to our 3 trips out to that area. Did you read my trip report of our first time through, without ghosting on the Canyons Group?
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canyons/message/47755
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canyons/message/47768
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canyons/message/47776
I would love to know more about your adventures and the style. We can share where all the methods evolved from and from where to. I think we can anyway? Other question await too. Like my band of folks descended Kaleidoscope/Choprock in an April of the mid 1990’s I think? We found massive log jams in what we ended up calling the Grim Section ( Mid canyon- scary stuff). Some were 30 feet tall and 30 feet deep into the canyon. Four of them total. Would love to know if they were present when you descended in the early 80’s, wasn’t it? Love to narrow the timing of that significant flooding event. By the way, the log jams were washed out (A lot were seeded up high in the bombays and create problems in super high water still) on May 16th, 2000. Look forward to hearing more!
Ram
Comment made by Ram on January 9, 2010 @ 7:49 am