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Canyoneering Route Description

Hades Canyon - 3A IV
Death Valley National Park, California.

Pictures 04-17-10

Quick Facts

04-17-10, 3 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 11.75 hours)  - done from Dante's View down, not up from the Badwater Road.

From Badwater road up.
Time Required - 11 to 13 hours
Distance - 6.9 miles Total, 2.3 miles Technical
Rappels - 14 Rappels, Longest Rappel 200 feet.
Longest vertical rap is 185 feet.  The 200 feet is for the rap with the longest rope travel as it drops over stages.
Elevation Range - 3815 to -255 feet below sea level
Shuttle Required - No   Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - No

From Dante's View down.
Time Required - 10 to 12 hours
Distance - 6.1 miles Total, 2.3 miles Technical
Rappels - 14 Rappels, Longest Rappel 200 feet.
Longest vertical rap is 185 feet.  The 200 feet is for the rap with the longest rope travel as it drops over stages.
Elevation Range - 5680 to -255 feet below sea level
Shuttle Required -Yes  41  Miles Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - No

See the Canyoneer Trip Report Explanation Notes page for an explanation of how the technical mileage or the gear used list is determined.

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up to 200 feet and 100 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.

General Comments

Hades Canyon is a big day of fun.  The upper 0.5 miles of the canyon from the head to the junction where the alternate entry meets the main canyon has a lot of loose crumbly rock.  After that the canyon has much more stable rock.  A lot of the longer rappels in the lower section of the canyon, drop over multiple ledges, giving the canyon a giant stair case feel.

Hades Canyon can be done as a route down from the Dante's View parking area or as a loop route starting from Badwater Road, up a ridge then back down to BadWater Road down Hades Canyon.

Note:
For third route option and a much bigger day try out the Hades Canyon - Dante's Variation route.  The Dante's Variation route drops straight down off the Dante's View parking area and meets Hades Canyon between raps 1 and 2.  Rick Kent invited some of us to do the first descent of that route which turned out to be a very cool huge day of fun!

The Badwater up route is a little more work but comes with the benefit of not having a Long shuttle involved.  This option is recommended for fit hikers since the route involves 4000 feet of elevation gain in just under 3 miles.  The route from the bottom will require another hour or so in route but will not require the long car shuttle and will result in an overall faster time.  Another plus to the route up from the bottom are the incredible views.  While ascending the ridge you get views in 2 directions over the salt flats of Bad Water, good views of the route up and up close and personal views down into sections of Hades Canyon.

The Dante's View down route requires a long car shuttle but is less strenuous and only 0.8 miles shorter.  The car shuttle will add well over an hour at the start of the day and well over an hour at the end of the day so keep this in mind when considering your route choice.

Getting to the Trailhead and Exit Vehicle (Escape Pod) Parking

To get to the Trailhead

Using the loop route from Badwater road up.
You will need to park alongside the road near the alluvial fan for Hades Canyon.  From the junction of highways 178 (Bad Water Road) and 190, drive 16.6 miles south on highway 178 to Bad Water.  From the Bad Water Parking lot on Bad Water road, drive 1.3 miles south and find a place to pull off the road (pkHades-Bad-Bt).

Using the top down route from Dante's View - requires a long shuttle.
After placing your exit vehicle drive 16.6 miles north on Badwater road to the junction of highways 178 (Bad Water Road) and 190.  From the junction drive east on highway 190 about 10.7 miles to the turn off for Dante's View.  Follow the signs to Dante's View which is another 13 miles.

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

Using the loop route from Badwater road up.
No exit vehicle is needed.  This is done as a loop route.

Using the top down route from Dante's View - requires a long shuttle.
From the junction of highways 178 (Badwater Road) and 190, drive 16.6 miles south on highway 178 to Bad Water parking area.  Continue south on Badwater Road for 2.3 miles to the center of the alluvial fan for Hades (pkHadesBt).  Park here to leave the exit vehicle.

Maps

Click the links for maps of the route. Map of the entire route.
Map of the technical section.

GPS Waypoint Information

Details

The Approach from Dante's View down:

Note:
If you are doing the loop route from Badwater road up, skip down to the description for the approach from Badwater Road up.

From the Dante’s View parking area head north and follow the well worn use trail toward Mount Perry (tMntPeryUseTrl).  The use trail is well worn and passes by Dante’s Peak (pDante'sPeak) about 0.4 miles into the trail.    

1.3 miles from the start of the Mount Perry Use Trail will be a saddle where you will leave the use trail to begin the route down into the head of Bad Canyon (jBadCyn).  There is very little in the way of land marks around this saddle so it is difficult to explain what to look for.  Use of a GPS would be a good idea so you get the correct saddle. 

The only landmark I could find is a reddish rock outcropping to the left of the trail a short distance north of the saddle.  The area where this saddle is has no large rocks and only small vegetation and the rock outcropping is fairly obvious.

From the saddle where you leave the trail (jBadCyn), go west and follow down a shallow drainage.  On the left (south) is a very small ridge running along the south side of the shallow drainage.  This ridge will provide an easier descent than dropping directly down the drainage.

About 500 feet down from the trail the shallow drainage turns southwest around the lower tip of the ridge down from the trail (wBadRP-01). 

Follow down the drainage as it turns southwest around the tip of the ridge. 

About 0.3 miles further down the small drainage meets a much larger and wider wash (wBadRP-02).  There will be a few easy down climbs along the way.  There are some boulders that can be seen up the larger wash that look pretty impressive.

Once in this larger wash (wBadRP-02) travel southwest down the larger wash. 

About 0.3 miles down the larger wash will be a drop of about 15 feet down a smooth fluted wall (wBadRP-03).  Do not down climb or bypass this drop.  Instead leave the wash by climbing up the side to the right (north).  Go about 250 feet out from the wash up onto a ridge (wBadRP-04).  From this ridge is a view over to part of Upper Bad Canyon to the north in the distance.  The wall of Bad Canyon that can be seen from this ridge has sand hills from debris running down the walls.  There is a very large wash between this ridge and the portion of Bad Canyon that can be seen.

From this ridge the next step is to get down into the large wash / drainage north of the ridge.  Travel about 300 feet north east to where the slope down into the wash is more gentle (wBadRP-05).

Continue north down the slope and into the wash as it turns more west.  There will be multiple down climbs along the slope into and along the wash.  The further down the wash you go the tighter it gets and some of the down climbs begin to feel things could get technical soon.

About 0.2 miles down the wash will be a drop of about 30 feet (wBadRP-06).  There is no easy down climb for this drop.  We found webbing rigged here to make the drop a rappel which is not necessary.  From the top of this drop, climb about 40 feet up the right (north) side of the wash.  From the top of the climb out is a scree slope descending all the way down into upper Bad Canyon.

Drop west, down the scree slope about 400 feet down into Bad Canyon.  On the way down the scree slope stay right (north) to avoid a couple drops before reaching the floor of Bad Canyon (yBadtp).

Once in Bad Canyon you can clearly see the Hades Fault to the southwest in the distance.  At this point Bad Canyon is a very wide open flat wash.  Travel south west down canyon about 0.5 miles to the bottom of the Hades Fault (jHades).

From bottom of the Hades Fault, climb up out of Bad Canyon going southwest up the Hades Fault.  About 600 feet up out of Bad Canyon you will end up on a saddle at the top of the Hades Fault.  The top of the Hades Fault is the top entry for Hades Canyon (yHadesTp).  Take a moment to enjoy the view down toward the salt flats over Hades Canyon to the south west and the view up Bad Canyon to the northeast.

Note:
If using this approach for Bad Canyon, just keep on going down bad canyon.

Skip down to the description for the canyon. 

The Approach from Badwater Road up:
This approach can be used for Bad Canyon or for Hades Canyon.  This route climbs the ridge between Bad and Hades Canyons.  The ridge leads to the top of the Hades Fault which is the head of Hades Canyon.  From the fault you can choose to drop down into Bad or Hades Canyon.

From where you parked your vehicle along the road (pkHades-Bad-Bt), walk east up the alluvial fan at the bottom of Hades Canyon.  As you walk, look at the ridge on the left (north) side of Hades Canyon and visually follow it down to the mouth of the canyon.  Where the slope meets the alluvial fan (wBad-Up-RP-01) is where you will start the climb up onto the ridge.

Starting north east up the ridge from the alluvial fan, the climb is steep for about 300 feet until it hits a section with an easier grade.  Once at the top of the initial short climb and on the easier grade, follow up along the right (east) edge of the ridge.  This section is wide open and flat with a view of Hades on the right (east).

About 800 feet further up the ridge is a section of loose crumbled earth with large dirt clod like boulders.  Climb up to the top of the dirt clod (wBad-Up-RP-02) section to get to the first long steep section of the climb up the ridge.

After getting to the top of the dirt clod section, the first long steep climb of the approach starts.  The slope is covered in sections of talus but has pretty solid footing.  A short distance up, look for a shallow drainage and follow it up the slope.  The drainage has a fair amount of solid rock not covered in talus that offers good footing.  About 850 feet from the top of the dirt clod section is an almost level section (wBad-Up-RP-03) good for taking a quick breather if needed.

About 350 feet from the large level section is a cairn (not in good shape but there) marking a path up the next section of the climb (wBad-Up-RP-04).  From here a faint path can be seen and easily followed leading further up the ridge.  Great views of the salt flats and down into Hades Canyon can be seen all along this portion of the route.

About 0.6 miles from the cairn is the top out of the first major section of the climb (wBad-Up-RP-05) at about 2240 feet elevation.  At this point you should be about 1.6 miles into the route with a total ascent of about 2500 feet.  As a side note, shortly before reaching this top out, you will have a good view of the 190 foot rappel in Hades Canyon.

About 800 feet from the top out of the first long steep climb is the start of the second long steep climb (wBad-Up-RP-06).  This second climb is not as steep but still feels very strenuous after just having climbed the last section.

About 0.2 miles up the second long climb the incline mellows a little then briefly starts down to where the route crosses a rugged knife edge section of the ridge (wBad-Up-RP-07).

About 0.3 miles past the knife edge section, is a cairn (wBad-Up-RP-08).  

About 0.2 miles from the cairn the climb levels briefly as the route crosses over a rugged protrusion of rock (wBad-Up-RP-09) on a small saddle.

About 0.3 miles from the saddle with the rugged rock protrusion is another cairn almost at the top of the climb (wBad-Up-RP-10).

About 350 feet from the cairn is the top of the second long steep climb and the highest point on the route (wBad-Up-RP-11) at 3815 feet.  Just before reaching this high point you may notice A LOT of sparkling rock, some of which is quite captivating.  The start of the route was from Bad Water road at -255 feet which gives a total elevation gain thus far of 4070 feet over 3 miles to this point.

From the highest point on the route turn east and follow the ridge down to a saddle then back up over another small hill.  On the other side of the hill, continue east down the slope toward the Hades Fault at the top of Hades Canyon. 

About 0.2 miles from the high point on the route, the slope will reach a drop (wBad-Up-RP-12) that is too steep to safely get down.  Turn south west and drop down a chute to get down into Hades Canyon.  This section is loose scree over hard dirt so it is very easy to slip and slide on the way down.  Once in Hades Canyon, turn left (north east) and go up canyon a short distance to the head of Hades Canyon (yHadesTp).

Take a moment to enjoy the view down toward the salt flats over Hades Canyon to the south west and the view up Bad Canyon to the northeast.

If using this approach for Bad Canyon:
Follow north west down a chute from the head of Hades Canyon.  About 500 feet down the chute will be a series of drops (wBad-Up-RP-13).  Turn east and climb up over the small ridge to get to the next chute over then drop down that chute to Bad Canyon (jHades).  You should be at an elevation of about 3470' when you reach the floor of Bad Canyon.

If using this approach for Hades Canyon:
Turn south and start down Hades Canyon.

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:

From the top of the Hades Fault (yHadesTp), start down Hades Canyon to the southwest.   

The start down from Hades Canyon is steep and full of loose rock and debris along the canyon floor.  There are various drops to down climb.  None of the down climbs are very high but care needs to be taken on these first down climbs because everything is loose and can easily slide or break.  

Rap 1 (dHadesR1) is about 400 feet down canyon from the top of the Hades Fault.  Rap 1 is anchored from some small boulders wedged between the walls.  Rap 1 drops about 45 feet down a rough loose section of rock.  

After rap 1 the canyon still has a lot of loose rock all over.  Shortly after rap 1 is a drop of about 30 feet.  Bypass the drop by going up and over a boulder RDC then scrambling down a very rough slope.  Shortly after is another drop of about 30 feet over a few huge boulders piled in the canyon.  Climb down RDC around the first boulder then stem between the bottom boulder and the canyon wall LDC.  After a couple more quick down climbs is a section of easy wash walking.  

About 500 feet down canyon of rap 1 is a down climb of about 15 feet.  The down climb itself is not very difficult.  The problem is all the loose rock along the way.  Everything is fragile and may break off if pulled on too hard.  It may be a good idea to give all but the last person down a meat anchor here.  

Shortly after is another drop of about 20 feet with an overhang under the top.  Bypass the drop by going up around a large boulder RDC then scrambling down the slope on the other side.  A few more down climbs along loose rock follow.  

About 0.4 miles down canyon of rap 1 is a side canyon that joins from LDC (east).  It is a worthwhile trip to drop your packs and go about 200 feet up the side canyon to a tall dry fall just for a look around.  There are 2 dry falls side by side.  The one on the right as you face them is the final rap down an alternate entry into Hades Canyon which drops directly down from the Dante’s View parking area.

Note:
If doing the Hades Canyon - Dante's Variation this is where the alternate route will meet the main Hades Canyon.

After this side canyon the rock becomes more solid and makes the down climbing a lot safer and more fun for the rest of the canyon.  

About 200 feet down canyon of the junction is a drop of about 15 feet with and easy sloped down climb LDC in a slot.

Shortly after is another sloped drop that is down climbed LDC along a slope.  This second sloped down climb has some very slick rock but the slope is gentle enough there is no issue with getting down safely.  If you feel like playing there is a section that will allow a pretty fun slide down.  

Next is a down climb of about 10 feet along a slanted crack RDC.  

After a section of easy wash walking is a down climb of about 10 feet down a crack RDC with an overhang at the top of the down climb.  

Another section of easy wash walking ends at a drop of about 25 feet.  This drop is bypassed by climbing up and around RDC about 50 feet back up canyon then dropping down a short scree slope to the canyon floor below the drop.  This drop is a little over 200 feet from rap 2.  

Rap 2 (dHadesR2) is about 0.4 miles down canyon of the junction with the alternate entry route.  Rap 2 is anchored from a red rock at the top of the rap which contrasts with the light gray rock around it.  Rap 2 drops about 60 feet with a small ledge about 15 feet down.  The last part of Rap 2 is slightly sloped and drops along a crack.  

Rap 3 (dHadesR3-4) is about 400 feet down canyon of rap 2.  Rap 3 is anchored from a choke stone under foot next to a large boulder.  Rap 3 drops about 30 feet to a large ledge below.  

Rap 4 starts from the ledge just below rap 3.  Rap 4 is anchored from a cairn anchor and drops about 80 feet with a ledge about 10 feet down.  The first 10 feet down to the ledge is an easy down climb.  Take a moment to look at the swirls of pink in the wall as you descend the second part of rap 4.  

Down canyon of rap 4 is mostly easy wash walking.  About 0.2 miles down canyon of rap 4 is a down climb of about 8 feet then a huge boulder in the wash just down canyon (wHadesRP-02).  There is a narrow opening LDC of the huge boulder allowing an easy walk around.  Then more easy wash walking continuing down canyon.  

Rap 5 (dHadesR5-6) is about 0.3 miles down canyon of the huge boulder in the wash.  Rap 5 is anchored from a large rock in the wash about 20 feet back from the rap.  The drop for rap 5 is about 35 feet with a small pocket in the wall part way down.  The rap is done about 15 feet RDC of the main pour off for the drop.  

Rap 6 starts from the huge shelf below rap 5.  Rap 6 is anchored from a very large rock embedded in the wash about 30 feet back from the lip.  Webbing is strung all the way over to the lip of the rap so the ropes are not too short.  Rap 6 drops about 180 feet down a sheer wall.  The view from the top of rap 6 gives that definite Big Air feel.  Unfortunately the canyon turns LDC after the rap so it is not possible to look too far down canyon from the top of rap 6.  

Rap 7 (dHadesR7-8) is a little over 300 feet down canyon of rap 6.  Rap 7 is anchored from a large rock a short distance up a slope above the rap.  To get to the anchor, scramble up about 15 feet LDC of the wash up onto a sloped rock area.  Rap 7 drops down a series of ledges, the tallest of these is about 60 feet.  The total rope travel from anchor to the bottom is about 135 feet.  Below rap 7 is a very large gravel filled shelf.  

Rap 8 starts from the shelf below rap 7.  Rap 8 is anchored from a cairn anchor and uses about 175 feet of rope as it drops down a series of ledges.  The highest ledge along Rap 8 is only about 40 feet.  

Below rap 8 is a long section of easy wash walking with a few short gentle sloped drops mixed in.  

Raps 9 – 13 are stretched over about 800 feet of the canyon.  

Rap 9 (dHadesR9-11) is about 0.5 miles down canyon of rap 8.  Rap 9 is anchored from a cairn anchor and drops about 140 feet with a ledge about 20 feet down.  Below the ledge rap 9 drops vertical down a wall with a few layers of color.  The lower portion of the rap is a little more colorful.  

Rap 10 is a short distance down canyon of rap 9.  Rap 10 is anchored from a cairn anchor and drops about 60 feet with a ledge about 20 feet down before continuing vertical.  

Rap 11 is a short distance down canyon of rap 10.  Rap 11 is anchored from a cairn anchor and uses 200 feet of rope as it drops over a series of ledges.  Two 200 foot ropes just barely reach the bottom of rap 11.  Just in case your ropes are a bit shorter it is a good idea to keep a watchful eye out so you do not rap off the end of the rope.  

Rap 12 (dHadesR12-13) is a short distance down canyon of rap 11.  Rap 12 is anchored from two choke stones.  Rap 12 uses about 125 feet of rope as it drops over 2 stages.  The first drop on rap 12 is about 50 feet then a long vertical section followed by a 30 foot drop.  Just before the second drop on rap 12 is a set of pitons RDC.  No need to use these pitons, just rap on by.  

Rap 13 is just around the corner below rap 12.  Rap 13 is anchored from a couple pitons RDC about 15 feet back from the rap.  Rap 13 uses about 145 feet of rope as it drops over a series of ledges.  

About 80 feet down canyon of rap 13 is a drop of about 10 feet.  Someone has tied webbing around a rock to allow this drop to be a rappel.  There is no need to rappel as this is a very easy down climb.  It just looks difficult from the top.  

A short walk down the wash after the down climb is a aerial fuel tank that has been dropped into the canyon long ago.  

After a couple sloped easy down climbs and some wash walking is rap 14.  

Rap 14 (dHadesR14) is about 200 feet after the dropped fuel tank.  Rap 14 is anchored from a rock embedded in the wash just above the rap.  Rap 14 drops about 60 feet (plus about 10 feet of rope back to the anchor) down a sloped wall next to a slanted crevice RDC.   

Rap 14 is optional.  Rather than rappel it is a relatively easy down climb by stemming down along the crevice RDC of the drop.  It looks difficult but is not.  Some of the rock along the down climb can be a little slick so keep that in mind if you decide to down climb.  

A couple hundred feet down canyon is a sloped down climb (yHadesBt).  Beyond this down climb it is a long easy wash walk out to the alluvial fan.

The Exit:
After the easy down climb below rap 14 (yHadesBt), continue about 0.2 miles out to where the canyon opens up onto the alluvial fan.  Once the canyon opens up onto the alluvial fan hike across the alluvial fan to your car.

If you did the top down route and parked where the center of the alluvial meets the road, continue southwest about 0.5 south west to your car at (pkHadesBt).

If you did the bottom up loop route and parked close to the approach up the ridge, continue about 0.5 miles west to where you left the exit vehicle parked (pkHades-Bad-Bt).

GPS Waypoint Information

Back to the Canyoneering Trip Report List page.

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