What to expect at BluuGnome

At the moment, the majority of the content on is canyoneering beta.  The intent is to "eventually" add other useful information that may be helpful to the canyoneering community.

The beta here is written with the intent of being "used" by those that wish to go enjoy the canyon as well.  The route descriptions are not just "show and tell" with little to no information.  Route descriptions for the canyoneering routes include GPS Coordinates, Maps, Written Descriptions and other bits of information.  There are also links to pictures for each canyon which can help get a feel for what the canyon will be like.

The canyoneering route descriptions attempt to appeal to two kinds of people, those that like a lot of detail and those that do not.  The quick facts at the top of each description will give basic information for those only looking for that.  Reading further will provide the details others like to have access to.

In another way the route descriptions attempt to relate to two kinds of people, those with GPS and those without.  GPS is very helpful and sometimes almost needed.  But the route descriptions are also intended to be used by those without GPS by providing step by step directions to, through and from the canyon.

I live in Las Vegas and life has me tied to this specific geographic location for now.  This limits the area of canyoneering routes covered.  Canyons in California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah are primarily what are covered here.  Some of the main areas covered are Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Zion National Park, Death Valley National Park, Capitol Reef National Park and North Wash (including Cedar Mesa, Poison Springs, Robbers Roost).  There will also be canyons in other areas like Coconino National Forest - Arizona, Escalante National Monument - Utah, Mount Charleston - Nevada and Grand Canyon National Park - Arizona and Utah.

Looking for pictures in the canyons?

On the route description page for each canyon is a link to pictures from one or more trips in that canyon.  If you want to look at pictures from a particular canyon, find the route description page for that canyon then click on the picture link(s) on that page.

Once you have found the pictures for a canyon and are viewing the gallery, you can also navigate within the gallery to check out pictures from any other canyon.  This is good for those who are just interested in checking out pictures.  When viewing the picture gallery, use the up arrow icon in the control pane just below the thumbnails.  Use the up arrow icon to move up a level.  To move up another level the up arrow icon will be located in the left upper corner of the screen.

Luke's corner of the universe

BluuGnome Safety Net

Announcements

06-15-14
The photo galleries for the canyons were down for a day while being upgraded.  If you find a picture album link not working feel free to contact me to let me know,

Irish Jihad 2013
Successful Close
The Irish Jihad has now closed.  See the Irish Jihad Community Page to see how much we raised, stats, drawing winners etc.

Fiddlestick How To
New page added to the How To section showing how to use the Fiddlestick.

I attempted to cover everything I know about the Fiddlestick in an attempt to keep people safe and well informed.  Experienced Fiddlestick users may find some useful information should you take the time to wade through it all.

Irish Jihad 2013
Registration opens on February 1st for the Irish Jihad 2013 event!!
A fundraiser for SAR.
Strong, creative and fun loving canyoneers have the opportunity to try to complete the 7 Irish Canyons in a day while supporting a good cause.

Canyon Collective
Dan Ransom has started a new place for the community to share beta, share canyon conditions, view a map of known canyons, interact with the canyoneering community in forums and more.  The CanyonCollective.com is off to a brand new and exciting start!  sign up for a free account and have fun!

01-11-13
Site Maintanence

I recently spent some time cleaning a bunch of things up on BluuGnome. 

I found some VERY confusing stuff on the pages for the Leprechaun Canyons.  I fixed the issues and re-wrote a portion of the Middle Fork approach as it seemed WAY too confusing.

07-22-12
Old Bill Canyon Updated

Old Bill Canyon in Red Rock NV had access issues with crossing the Spring Mountain Ranch State Park Border.  The exit route in the route description has been updated to give a legal exit route skirting around the park boundary.  The legal exit is not as simple or straight forward as going through the park but it is legal.

06-30-12
Subway Route Updated
 Zion National Park Subway Canyoneering Route updated. The Park Service would like to redirect foot traffic for a short section of the Subway approach route to reduce impact on a small section of forest. 
The Route descriptions for Subway, Das Boot and Russell Gulch have been updated to reflect this change.  The adjustment is minor and is between route points wSubWayRP-01a and wSubWayRP-01b in the route descriptions.