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Canyoneering Route Description

Typhon Canyon - Middle South Fork - 3A IV
Death Valley National Park, California. 

Pictures 12-19-10

Quick Facts

12-19-10, 7 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 11.7 hours)

Time Required - 10 to 13 hours
Distance - 6.4 miles Total, 2.9 miles Technical
Rappels - 18 Rappels, Longest Rappel 185 feet.
Longest vertical rap is 100 feet.  The 185 feet is for the rap with the longest rope travel as it drops over stages.
Elevation Range - 5700 - -200 feet below sea level
Shuttle Required -Yes 38.2 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 180 feet and 80 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.

General Comments

The Middle South Fork of Typhon Canyon requires a car shuttle.  One car needs to be left at a point on Badwater road for the exit vehicle.  Another vehicle(s) are driven to the Dante’s View parking area to begin the route.  

Typhon Canyon is like Erebus and Purgatory Canyons in that the rock colors and swirls are amazing.  The colorful sections of rock are captivating in some areas. 

Typhon Canyon has a lot of down climbs on the route.  So much so it would be very difficult to include a description for or mention all of them in a route description.  Be prepared for a lot of down climbing in this canyon.  None of the down climbs are too difficult but there are a whole bunch of them.  

Typhon is my personal second choice of the three canyons in this section (Typhon, Erebus and Purgatory) although it is a close runner up for Purgatory, my first choice.

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

To get to the Trailhead

From the junction of highways 178 (Bad Water Road) and 190, drive about 10.7 miles east on highway 190 to the turn off for Dante's View.  Follow the signs to Dante's View (sDantesView) which is another 13 miles.

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

From the junction of highways 178 (Bad Water Road) and 190, drive 13 miles south on highway 178 to the turn off for Natural Bridge.  Continue south past the turn off for Natural Bridge 1.5 miles and park alongside the road.  There is no parking spot, just find a comfortable place to get off the road (pkTyphonBt).

Maps

Map showing entire route.

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Map showing zoomed in for the technical section trips.

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GPS Waypoint Information

Details

The Approach:
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.

About 1.8 miles from the trail start, the trail fades away as it heads west (wMntPeryRP-01).  Do not follow it west, instead turn right (north) and go about 250 feet to the start of a hill heading up and west (wMntPeryRP-02).  Starting up the hill you will begin to see rocks with a white dot painted on them to help with following the trail.

A little over 500 feet the hill tops out on a ridge (wMntPeryRP-03).  Turn right (north) and follow along the ridge using the white paint spots to help keep you on track.

After about 200 feet, will be another short section of the trail that is clear and easy to follow.  As the trail fades away again (wMntPeryRP-04), another section of painted rocks is set to help with staying on route.  Another 0.2 miles and the trail will cross a small saddle which feels more like a wide flat area (wMntPeryRP-05).

From the small saddle (wMntPeryRP-05) follow the trail north and it will soon curve around west.

About 0.3 miles from the small saddle will be another saddle (jTyphonSouth) that is much more of a defined saddle.  As a visual land mark, the north side of this saddle is a hillside that is made up of red and white layers of dirt.  This saddle is where the route to the South Fork of Typhon Canyon leaves the Mount Perry Use Trail.

Leave the Mount Perry use trail and follow the ravine / wash down and to the west.  About 0.5 the wash will begin to look like it will start to get narrow and present a down climb of about 10 feet (yTyphonMdSF-Tp).

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
The down climb at the start of the technical section (yTyphonMdSF-Tp) is about 10 feet with lots of hand and foot holds. 

The down climb is made up of a lot of loose rock so be careful when down climbing.   Shortly down canyon is another drop of about 35 feet down sloped rock with some ledges.  Then two more easy down climbs of 6 and 10 feet.  About 70 feet down canyon of these down climbs is the top of rap 1.

Rap 1 (dTyphnMSFR1) is almost 300 feet down canyon of the first down climb at the head of the canyon.  Rap 1 is anchored from a cairn style anchor and drops about 30 feet on a sloped wall.  Rap 1 can be down climbed but it is safer to call this a rap since the rock is loose and unstable.  

Down canyon of rap 1 is wash walking for about 0.2 miles to a down climb of about 12 feet (wTyphnMSFRP-01).  Shortly after this drop is another drop of about 20 feet which is also an easy down climb with multiple possible ways down.  

After the 20 foot drop is another down climb of about 5 feet which begins a section of scrambling and down climbing small drops.  This section goes for about 0.25 miles.  This section is full of small down climbs of no consequence.  

As the section of down small down climbs end (wTyphnMSFRP-02) the canyon opens up for a section of easy wash walking.  The wash continues for about another 0.25 miles to the top of a down climb of about 6 to 8 feet (wTyphnMSFRP-03).  This starts a series of short drops in white yellow rock ranging from 8 to 25 feet.  All these down climbs are easy and gently sloped.  

About another 600 feet down canyon is the start of another series of down climbs (wTyphnMSFRP-04).  This series starts with a drop of about 25 feet and is an easy down climb followed by a flute to slide down of about 12 feet.  The flute offers a fun slide down if you are comfortable with elevator style sliding.  A meat anchor may be needed for weaker down climbers.  After the flute is an easy scramble down of about 15 feet, followed by a couple short drops of 6 to 8 feet each.  

About  350 feet farther down canyon is another sloped scramble down yellowish rock of about 15 feet.  Then a couple more short drops of about 8 feet before reaching the top of a drop of about 40 feet (wTyphnMSFRP-05).  This drop can be easily by passed RDC.  

After this bypass are several easy down climbs for a little over 300 feet before reaching a drop of about 12 feet which is a little more difficult.  This 12 foot down climb is easy for tall people but can be bypassed RDC if desired.   

Then another 150 feet down canyon to the top of a drop of about 25 feet (wTyphnMSFRP-06).  This drop is not good for down climbing as is has a large over hang.  Instead bypass this drop up and over LDC and traverse the rim about 150 feet to drop back down into the canyon.  

Rap 2 (dTyphnMSFR2-3) is right where you naturally drop back to the canyon floor after bypassing the 25 foot drop.  Rap 2 is anchored from a cairn anchor and uses about 90 feet of rope travel from the anchor to the ground.  Rap 2 is over two stages of 40 feet hen about 30 feet.  

Rap 3 is right at the bottom of rap 2.  Rap 3 is anchored from a cairn anchor about 10 feet back from the top of the drop.  Rap 3 drops about 110 feet down slightly sloped walls with a ledge about one third of the way down.  

About 40 feet down canyon of rap 3 is a drop of about 30 feet down a sloped pinkish shaded rock down to the wash.  This drop starts a series of multiple down climbs along the wash.  All of these down climbs are easy scrambles but are too numerous to explain or count each one.   

About 850 feet down canyon of rap 3 is a drop of about 12 feet down a deeply fluted pour off (wTyphnMSFRP-07) and is a fun slide down but can be bypassed on the RDC side if desired.  After the flute slide the series of easy down climbs and scrambles continues.  

About 800 feet after the fluted slide will be two drops that are significantly more difficult that the multiple easy down climbs you have been scrambling over (wTyphnMSFRP-08).  The first drop is about 35 or 40 feet and is bypassed along a series of ledges and rock features on the RDC side.  There are anchor possibilities at the top of this first drop and someone may make this a rappel at some point in the future.  If desired all but one person can rappel off of a meat anchor here to speed things up.  At the bottom of this drop is another drop of about 15 feet.  This second drop can be down climbed by better down climbers.  Weaker down climbers should be given a meat anchor.  Next the canyon continues with more easy down climbs one right after the other.  

About 450 feet farther down canyon is the start of a series of drops (wTyphnMSFRP-09).  The first of these drops is about 50 feet and the second looks to be a bit more.  These drops can be bypassed RDC by traversing along the rim.  

Rap 4 (dTyphnMSFR4) is about 150 feet down canyon of the drops that were bypassed.  Rap 4 is anchored from a rock embedded in the wash about 5 feet back from the top of the drop.  Rap 4 drops about 50 feet down a sloped wall but has an awkward start over a small overhang near the top.  At the bottom of rap 4 is a short easy down climb of about 15 feet do the wash below.  

Down canyon of rap 4 are more short easy down climbs for about 750 feet before reaching a scenic treat of a down climb under and through and arch (wTyphnMSFRP-10).  The drop down under the arch is down climbable but may give weaker down climbers trouble.  The better down climber in the group can provide a meat anchor for the others to aid in getting down this drop.  While it is tempting to throw the rope over the arch and rappel down it may be a better left alone.  Using the arch as an anchor will eventually leave rope pull scars from multiple parties descending the canyon.  The down climb under the arch is about 20 feet and has some slick sections of rock but with multiple foot and hand holds to the sides.  

Rap 5 is about 100 feet down canyon of the arch down climb.  Rap 5 is anchored from a rock laying in the pour off at the top of the rap.  Rap 5 drops over 3 stages.  The first two stages are about 10 feet and 15 feet and are both down climbable.  The third stage of rap 5 is about 30 feet and is not down climbable.   

At the bottom of rap 5 is a drop of about 15 feet that is easily down climbed.  Right after the down climb is the top of rap 6.  

Rap 6 (dTyphnMSFR5-6) is anchored from a cairn style anchor and drops down through a tight fluted section in a white layer of rock.  Rap 6 twists through a narrow section which may create rope pull issues.  To minimize rope pull issues it is a good Idea to extend the anchor as far as possible to keep rope pull issues to a minimum.  You can set the anchor long making an awkward start for the last person but tie it up shorter for all but the last person.    Rap 6 drops about 125 feet.  The first stage of rap 6 is about 25 feet in a narrow flute and the second part is down a sloped wall with some ledges along the way.  

After rap 6 are a few easy down climbs before reaching the confluence where the Middle South Fork and the South Fork of Typhon meet (jTyphonMSF-SF).  

About 600 feet down canyon of the confluence is a rock fall debris field to climb over (wTyphnMn-RP-01).

Down canyon of the rock fall more down climbs before reaching rap 7.  Just before reaching rap 7 will be a series of drops in a kind of wide open feeling section of canyon with the first drop being about 50 feet.  Bypass these drops by traversing along the rim RDC.

Rap 7 (dTyphonMnR7) is about 0.3 miles down canyon of rap 6.  Rap 7 is anchored from a rock embedded in the wash and drops about 30 feet.  

Rap 8 (dTyphonMnR8-10) is about 200 feet down canyon of rap 7.  Rap 8 is anchored from a large choke stone and drops about 30 feet down into a tight section.

Rap 9 is about 40 feet after rap 8.  Rap 9 starts from a tight slanting slot and is anchored from a choke stone at the floor of the slot.  Rap 9 has an awkward start due to the tight slanted slot it starts from but quickly becomes wide open and dropping vertically down a rough wall about 100 feet.  

Rap 10 is about 40 feet down canyon of rap 9.  Rap 10 is anchored from a cairn anchor about 15 feet back and drops about 85 feet down a slightly sloped wall.  Rap 10 has 100 feet of rope travel from anchor to ground so a 200 foot rope will just reach.  

Rap 11 (dTyphonMnR11) is about 500 feet down canyon of rap 10 and is anchored from a cairn anchor.  Rap 11 is a three stage rap with little to no anchor material on the intermediate ledges.  The total rope travel for rap 11 is about 180 feet over all three stages.  

Down canyon of rap 11 are a couple easy down climbs before reaching rap 12.  

Rap 12 (dTyphonMnR12) is about 400 feet down canyon of rap 11.  Rap 12 is anchored from a cairn anchor about 20 feet back and drops about 30 feet.

Shortly down canyon of rap 12 is a 25 foot drop that can be bypassed by climbing around RDC.  After bypassing the drop, there are several easy down climbs on the way down canyon toward rap 13.  

Rap 13 (dTyphonMnR13) is about 500 feet down canyon of rap 12.  Rap 13 is anchored from a couple choke stones RDC in a side cute.  Rap 13 has about 85 feet of rope travel as it drops over a couple stages.

Rap 14 (dTyphonMnR14) is about 275 feet down canyon of rap 13.  Rap 14 is anchored from a rock horn RDC and drops about 35 feet down an almost vertical wall.  It is possible to down climb the rap directly or down climb RDC of the rap.  Both down climb options are a bit sketchy and best done with a belay to be safe.

Down canyon of rap 14 are a few easy down climbs along the way down canyon toward rap 15.  

Rap 15 (dTyphonMnR15) is about 0.3 miles down canyon of rap 14.  Rap 15 is anchored from a large fractured rock embedded in the wash and drops about 40 feet to a narrow section with rock fall debris in it.  

At the other end of the narrow section with rock fall debris at the bottom of rap 15 is a drop of about 20 feet.  This can be down climbed but is a little challenging.  All but the last person can be given a meat anchor.  The last person can carefully down climbing the drop slightly RDC of the center of the drop.  

Rap 16 (dTyphonMnR16) is about 175 feet down canyon of rap 15.  Rap 16 is anchored from rocks placed in cracks to provide pinch points LDC about 10 feet back from the rap.  Rap 16 drops about 30 feet.  

Down canyon of rap 16 is some easy wash walking and a few easy down climbs.  

Rap 17 (dTyphonMnR17) is about 300 feet down canyon of rap 16.  Rap 17 is anchored from a pinch point between the canyon wall and a rock sticking up out of the wash RDC.  Rap 17 drops about 30 feet.  

Rap 18 (dTyphonMnR18) is about 60 feet down canyon of rap 17.  Rap 18 is anchored from a choke stone and drops about 20 feet.  

Just down canyon of rap 18 is a long sloped drop.  There is an anchor LDC if you wish to rap this drop but it is an easy down climb.  

At the bottom of this drop the canyon opens up onto the alluvial fan (yTyphonBt).

The Exit:
From where the canyon opens up onto the alluvial fan (yTyphonBt) travel south west about 0.4 miles to where you left the exit vehicle (pkTyphonBt).

GPS Waypoint Information

Back to the Canyoneering Trip Report List page.

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