I was first told about this conglomerate slot canyon from one of my rock-climbing friends on an outdoor online forum that I frequent daily.  He sent me a PM (private message) about if I have heard anything about it – I haven’t.  And that’s surprising – even by me.

(I know a LOT of canyons, narrows, and cracks in Utah. It is a hot passion of mine to find them out.  To toot my own horn – I created a personal project of mirroring Climb-Utah.com’s routes in a personal Google Earth KMZ file.  This was a 3 year project where I would mirror every gps coordinate for every hike, canyon, etc., BUT I would also draw the approach, the hike/canyon itself, and exit paths for each route. Doing this for 3 years, I learned to read maps very well. I became obsessed with finding more some of my own as a “first descent”.  It is addicting to find “nature’s best kept secrets”.  And so I became VERY familiar with each route and canyon in every area.  A year or so after I showed a “sample” online of my work, another outdoor member created what’s called “The Super Amazing Canyoneering Map”.  Created by Bob Allen, aka “Slot Machine” on Bogley.com, he put together an exhaustive list of every slot canyon that has be discovered (and published).  But even within his Google Earth file, it definitely doesn’t list every canyon or route. And thus the exploration quest continues!

Back to my Google Earth file, it made it very visually impressive to see every trail/canyon for a certain region.  Later on, I released this KMZ file to Shane at Climb-Utah.com for him to use on his website.  I never sold it, released it to the public, or  etc. It was basically an ode to his website in creating a huge desire in me for Canyoneering back when I was 16 years old (I’m 34 now).  So if you visit his website and see a route that contains a .KMZ file for the route – that was me.  There have been recent addtions where he hasn’t asked for my updated file, which means he figured out how I do it now.  And that’s okay too.  I did it as a tribute to his website anyway.  More of like a thanks.)

Now that you know the context of why I said that it was surprising, even to me, made it even more appealing.  He also attached the beta for it which listed 4 rappels up to 45 feet and the gps coords for the entrance, drop-in, and exit.  He also included two pictures.  It definitely got my attention.  When I first saw the pictures, it looked like the famous Box Canyon in Maple Canyon, near the Manti area.  It wasn’t, he assured me when I asked him.

There was no name for it for what he could see, thus our name “Crumbling Canyon”.   And to be clear, this is NOT a first descent.  The last rappel is bolted.  My guess is that it was placed fairly recent. Maybe within the last 5 years. And so I know for sure, people have also explored it, rappeled it and possibly even named it. But I’m not sure of what they call it.  Even a Google Search of “spanish fork rappelling” or “spanish fork technical canyons” or “spanish fork slot canyon” results in nothing.

I’m sure as this grows in popularity it was also develop other names.  I called it “Noob Canyon” because it was quite easy, fun, but short.  If you are an experienced leader but want to take a bunch of noobs, this would be a good location to have some hands-on experience with what real canyoneering is somewhat about: bushwhacking, down-climbing, going through an *actual* slot canyon and a rappel (of 45 ft). This would be a treat for them.  If you have kids who enjoy this stuff too, they will think it’s the coolest stuff ever.

I believe this is the closest “technical” canyon to Salt Lake City now.  It is about a 25 minute drive from Provo.

From Highway 6 on this road, be sure to close the gate behind you. That’s all what the sign says “please close gate”. Please respect the area, as it appears to be private property and could be closed off. I’ll have to double-check of the property though.

From the parking area (just find a spot that isn’t block the road), head up the “road” for 0.15 miles until you see what I have called “the two towers”. This small box canyon your entrance.  Take this all the way through (with no technical challenges) up until you hit the ridge line to your north).  It’s steep and time consuming, but it no-time you will be there.

Look for the “The Two Towers” on both sides of the entrance canyon

Follow the box canyon up, which has no technical challenges, to the north to the top of the ridge.

Once you hit the ridge line, head east to the top.

Once at the top, head back down into the next drainage over to your east. 

**We will warn you and say you that you must choose the best path for you and your group’s ability.**

My rock climbing friend said that people would rappel into the canyon. We didn’t. We down-climbed.  And while it wasn’t overly difficult, there were some exposure along with many tripping hazards (conglomerate rock).  Be alert, especially if you have young kids.  Perhaps pull out a 50-ft hand-line here or find a natural anchor to rappel into. Choose your own adventure!

Chris navigating us down a path.

The conglomerate slot. Hidden in plain sight. Look closely.  About two hundred feet from the entrance.

At the entrance!

For us, we down-climbed the entire canyon except for the last rappel.  If you want to down-climb, it’s straightforward and easy.  If not, this tree that guards the entrance could be used as a natural anchor to rappel from.  Keep in mind, rappelling a large group will take a large amount of time. Consider down-climbing to keep people moving in that scenario.  If not, do what’s best for you and your group. (The picture below is kind of misleading, the down-climb is not pictured but is located to your right. It’s a 6 ft down-climb onto a ledge, followed by another 6-ft down-climb.)

At downclimb #2. This was about 6ft and straightforward. Chris used a rope to lower his backpack.

At the bottom of downclimb #2.

Past this, walk another 30ft to the next downclimb (#3). This one is about 6 ft as well.  Fun!

20 feet past the downclimb (#3) is a squeeze in the canyon in which you have to crawl under. Not tight at all.

“The Squeeze”

From here it was about another 50 feet to the end of the canyon, however there is a giant hole in the ground.  Oh…it only drops 35+ feet to the canyon floor! So yes, be very careful in this area of your footing. Especially if you bring younger kids. They could easily fall through and bang their heads all the way down like a ping-pong ball.  You *could* die if you weren’t careful in this particular spot. And part of the rappel is a bombay section, which means while it might be narrow at the top, it opens up at the bottom and drops you however many feet.  Don’t be stupid and pay attention as you hook everyone up for the rappel.

The end of the canyon is marked by a single-bolt located on the left side of the canyon. The rappel was 40feet and our 100ft rope double-stranded reached the bottom with just the perfect amount.  The rope pull was easy so no issues here.

This marks the end of the canyon.

From here, follow the drainage back for 0.30 miles back to your vehicle where you can recount your stories of heroism, bravery, courage, and to the clapping of “hundreds of spectators cheering you on” (canyoneering inside-joke). Or you could just tell them that you did an “ok” canyon and keep this secret to yourself.

At the end of the canyon. Follow the drainage back down the road for 0.30 miles back to your car. Simple as that.