Coffin Canyon 3AII, Death Valley, California

Finally the rain cleared enough to make the drive from Las Vegas to Death Valley for one of the classics in the Black Range. The original plan was to camp at Slabby for a weekend of Death Valley canyoneering with a group, but flooding risk exceeded our threshold. We ran a canyon in Vegas on Saturday and drove out to Coffin Canyon for Sunday. The roads had signs of washout from water running out of the mountains and a storm sat on top of the Black Range, but clouds were breaking on the windward side when we arrived — good conditions. With Mike Green.

The approach up the mountain was steep but easy to follow on the spur to the top. A Death Valley classic in the Black Range with stunning geology and technical drops. 5.5 hours total. Anyone who has canyoneered Death Valley has likely done this route.