Crater of Doom Canyon, Death Valley National Park

After Dark Shadow canyon we head up Fall Canyon and march to the sneak route that takes us back up to the ridge and over to Crater of Doom Canyon. The crew was a little tired but everyone stuck it out — a great decision as the sun was casting golden hour light into the canyon. The sneak route is a 1,000ft hill of loose rock, scree, and broken slab limestone.

Once we gained the summit, the sun was starting to set over the range across the basin so our time was limited to building anchors and leap-frogging through the canyon. Yannick and I made our way down rebuilding anchors and snapping photos along the way.

This section made the day worthwhile — some of the best canyon in Death Valley! The drops were in rapid succession under 200ft (check ropewiki.com for rope lengths). Once at the bottom the sun was setting and darkness was upon us. 11.5 hours later we made it to the car. Crater of Doom is a second descent — hope people don't wait another 4-5 years to revisit this place.

🎒 Gear for this: Sterling Canyoneering Rope · Petzl Grigri+ · Petzl Vertex Helmet · Petzl Canyon Harness