Canyoneering Route Description

Cliffs of Insanity Canyon - 4A III
Death Valley National Park, California. 

Quick Facts

01-20-13, 7 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 9 hours)

Time Required - 7.5 to 9.5 hours
Distance - 5.2 miles Total, 0.4 miles Technical
Rappels - 6 Rappels, Longest Rappel 250 feet.
Elevation Range - 255 - 1960 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - High Clearance, 4WD  Permit Required - No

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up to 250 feet and 70 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.

General Comments

The Princes Bride area is a collection of canyons north of Stovepipe Wells in the Cottonwood Mountains on the Panamint Range.  The Princess Bride Collection offers a few fun semi short canyons.  But you do need a high clearance 4WD vehicle to safely go enjoy them.

Thanks to Scott Swaney for locating these canyons, initiating the explorations of them and freely sharing the information.

Parking spots are limited and the spots are only large enough for one or two vehicles.  When driving out to the Princess Bride Canyons try to leave excess vehicles at Stovepipe Wells and take only one or two vehicles to the parking spot to start the canyons.  When choosing vehicles it is best to use the ones with 4WD and some clearance since there are a couple spots with deep rutted sand.

The vehicles will likely not be visible after exiting the canyon and you walk back across the desert toward them.  A GPS or a compass and map can be very helpful to get you pointed back to the cars after exiting the canyon.  If you follow the natural flow of the open desert and the wash like areas, you may find yourself wandering off course.

Cliffs of Insanity Canyon uses the the North Approach route.  Cliffs of Insanity is a short canyon with an interesting hanging pothole at rap 4 to avoid and a nice long 250 foot final rap.  The tech rating of 4 is due to advanced anchors and the need to avoid the hanging pothole on rap 4.  You should be comfortable using knot chalk anchors to enjoy this canyon.

Note:
There are two approach routes used for the Princess Bride Canyons, North Approach or South Approach.  While each approach route keeps the distance to a minimum for specific canyons, either approach can be used to access any of the Princess Bride Canyons.  There is an easy 0.7 mile route connecting the upper ends of the approaches running between the tops of Fire Swamp and Inconceivable Canyons.

The North Approach is best used for;  Pit of Despair, Cliffs of Insanity and Fire Swamp Canyons.
The South Approach is best used for;  Inconceivable, Buttercup, Humperdinck, Prepare to Die and Miracle Max Canyons.

Travel from upper end of North Approach to upper end of South Approach:
To travel from Fire Swamp to Inconceivable route find your way south about 0.2 miles to a saddle (wP-BrideCct01).  From the saddle route find your way down the slope south about 350 feet down into a wash (wP-BrideCct02) traveling down to the south.  About 900 feet down the drainage is a confluence where side drainage join from east and west (wP-BrideCct03).  Of note the drainage going east from here leads up to the top of what looks like a steep canyon running down the face of the mountain when viewed from the valley floor.  Continue south down the main wash about 500 feet passing another drainage joining in from the west (wP-BrideCct04).  Follow the drainage south about 0.2 miles to where it bends and begins to travel almost due east (InconceivableTp).  This is the top of Inconceivable Canyon and is the upper end of the South Approach route.

Travel from upper end of South Approach to upper end of North Approach:
To travel from the top of Inconceivable to the top of Fire Swamp, walk north up the Inconceivable drainage about 0.2 miles to where a small side drainage joins in from the west (wP-BrideCct04).  Continue north up the drainage about 500 feet to where a couple side drainage join from east and west (wP-BrideCct03).  Of note the drainage going east from here leads up to the top of what looks like a steep canyon running down the face of the mountain when viewed from the valley floor.  Continue north up the drainage about 900 feet to the upper end of the wash (wP-BrideCct02).  Travel north up the slope about 350 feet to a saddle (wP-BrideCct01).  Thee route find your way north about 0.2 miles down to the top of Fire Swamp Canyon (yFireSwampTp).

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

The drive directions start from the gas station in Stovepipe Wells Death Valley.  Stovepipe Wells is a small community on Highway 190 about mid way between Panamint Springs and Furnace Creek. 

From the convenience store / gas station in Stovepipe Wells (wStovpipeStore) look for the paved road on the southwest side of the store that leads west away from highway 190 which leads out toward Marble and Cottonwood Canyons (Cottonwood Canyon Road).  Drive west on the road passing the camp ground along the way. 

About 0.5 miles from highway 190 will be a fork in the road (ExtStovAirStrp).  The fork to the left goes over to an airstrip and is paved.  Stay right at this fork and travel on the dirt road going west. 

Note:
Be aware that a few spots early on in this road have deep sand with ruts that will give some vehicles trouble.  High clearance 4WD is recommended for travel on this dirt road.  Road conditions do change depending on rains, vehicular traffic and if the roads have been graded recently.  While it is possible to get passenger vehicles with all wheel drive through the sand it is not recommended.  A vehicle with clearance is helpful to get through the deep rutted sections.  The 4WD may not be used most of the time but with the sand it could make the difference between being stuck and being able to pull through a rough patch

Follow the dirt road west about 5 miles to where it bends to the right to the northwest (Pk-PrBrideS).  This bend in the road is a good place to park if you are following the South Approach route.

If you are going to be following the North Approach route, continuing past the bend about 0.4 miles to a wide spot in the road where you can park a couple vehicles (Pk-PrBrideN). 

Note:
There are various turnouts or wide spots in the road which are generally intended to be used for vehicles to pass one another and are only large enough for one or two cars to park.  The locations of the wide spots will change over time depending on what is done each time the the road is grated.

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

No exit vehicle is needed.  This is done as an out and back route.

Maps

GPS coordinate information listed at the bottom.  For information about waypoint naming and map symbols, refer to the Glossary page.

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

Details

The Approach:
From the parking spot (Pk-PrBrideN) begin the North Approach by walking southwest across open desert.

To follow the North Approach walk southwest across open desert on a bearing of about 220 degrees (true) toward the bottom of a drainage about 1.25 miles away.  From the parking area the drainage is the one leading up to the big shadowed area on the range.  The big shadowed area is Fire Swamp Canyon.  The picture below will help.

About 1.3 miles after leaving the parking spot is the bottom end of a corridor like section  (wP-BrideN-01). This corridor section leads up the drainage going up to the bottom of Fire Swamp and Inconceivable Canyons.

Note:
As you get closer to the corridor section in the wash the terrain gets a little more undulated where various washes form.  The corridor section is in the largest wash and the one leading directly up to the bottom of Fire Swamp Canyon.  If you get confused it only takes a little wondering around to find your way into the correct drainage leading up to the bottom of Fire Swamp Canyon.

Follow southwest up the corridor section about 700 feet to a short scramble up to the top end of the conglomerate corridor (wP-BrideN-02).  At this point the wash veers right to travel a little more to the west.  Walk up the wash about 0.3 miles to a confluence (FireSwampBt).  The confluence is where the bottom of the Fire Swamp drainage meets the wash you are in.

At the confluence (FireSwampBt) turn right to follow the wash leading up to the northwest.  About 400 feet up the wash will be a side canyon dropping down from the left (west) which is the bottom of Cliffs of Insanity Canyon (yClifInstyBt).

Continue northwest up the wash about 0.5 miles to where the bottom of a long obvious dry fall dumps down into the wash on the left (west) which is the bottom of Pit of Despair Canyon (PitOfDespairBt).

After passing the bottom of Pit of Despair Canyon you will need to do a little scrambling in places to continue up the wash as you go over rubble and small boulder debris.  A little over 300 feet after passing the bottom of Pit of Despair Canyon will be a scree slope on the left (west) side.

From the bottom of the scree slope (wP-BrideN-03) leave the wash and begin walking / scrambling up the scree slope.  The scree goes up a short distance to the bottom of some solid grey rock.  If you go past the scree slope you will soon get to a pinkish section of loose dirt and rock.  If you get to the pink stuff you have went a little too far up the wash.

A short distance up the scree is a solid grey rock area to scramble up.  Scrambling up the grey rock section will require hands in a few spots.

About 500 feet up from the wash you will notice it is possible to veer left and walk up to a nearby saddle.  Veer left and scramble about 80 feet over to the saddle (wP-BrideN-04).  Cross over this saddle then down the slope on the other side about 100 feet down to a wide wash (jPitOfDespMid).

Note:
This is where the North Approach route for the Princess Bride canyons crosses the mid point of Pit of Despair Canyon.  To continue the approach up to the top of the canyons cross the wash and go up the ridge.  If desired you can go east down canyon and do only the lower portion of Pit of Despair.

To continue the North Approach for the Princess Bride Canyons cross over the mid section wash (jPitOfDespMid) of Pit of Despair and travel up the ridge running up to the west.  As you go up the ridge you can see the upper portion of Pit of Despair Canyon on the right (west).  Portions of this ridge are steep and rough requiring some easy route finding and scrambling.

About 0.3 miles up from the wash in the mid point of Pit of Despair will be a peak you top out on (jPitOfDespTop).

Note:
If you were continuing dropping down to Pit of Despair Canyon you would go west about 800 feet over to the top of Pit of Despair Canyon.

From the high point (jPitOfDespTop) travel south down the slope toward a wide open flat area about 500 feet away.  When you reach the flat area you will be next to the head of a drainage (wP-BrideN-05).  The drainage is traveling down to the east over the mountain side and doesn't form a significant canyon.

From the flat area (wP-BrideN-05) continue south about 600 feet to a drainage.  Walk down the drainage a short distance to a confluence (yClifInstyTp).  This is the top of Cliffs of Insanity Canyon.

Note:
If you were continuing to Fire Swamp you would travel up the wash going up to the south.

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
From top of Cliffs of Insanity Canyon (yClifInstyTp) walk a short distance down the wash to a few easy scrambling down climbs of 10 to 12 feet each followed by more wash walking.

A little over 850 feet down canyon will be a downclimb of about 15 feet of moderate difficulty.  Just at the bottom of the down climb is rap 1.

Rap 1 (yClifInstyR1-2) is anchored from a cairn anchor and drops about 50? feet down a sloped wall. 

Rap 2 is about 40 feet down canyon of rap 1, is anchored from a large rock embedded in the wash about 10 feet back and drops 75 feet over 2 stages with a pothole about 5 feet deep at the bottom of the first stage.   I have not done so my self but was informed Rap 2 can be by passed with a downclimb LDC. 

There is a downclimb of about 25 feet just before reaching rap 3 about 250 feet down canyon.  The downclimb is along the RDC wall and is easy but will feel more difficult due to the exposure.  Lots of hand and foot holds making it easy if you take your time.

Rap 3 (yClifInstyR3) is anchored from cairn anchor and drops about 185 feet down a sloped rough wall.   If you look real close from the top of rap 3 you can see your cars parked on the road.

Rap 4 is a short distance down canyon from rap 3.

Rap 4 (yClifInstyR4) is anchored RDC from a knot chalk and drops a total of about 200 feet dropping over 3 stages (term stage used loosely here).  At the bottom of the first stage is a pothole about 7 feet deep and definitely a keeper.  Send a sure footed person first to carefully traverse the RDC side to get around the keeper pothole avoiding a pendulum in then they can stay to assist those who follow.   The second stage also goes by a pothole but that one is easy to avoid with easy stemming and is not a keeper.  The third stage drops down a slightly slope wall to finish the rappel.

Down canyon of rap 4 are a few easy scrambles to rap 5 a little over 100 feet down canyon.

Rap 5 (yClifInstyR5) is anchored from a cairn style anchor and drops about 150 feet with the last 30 feet of it downclimbable.  At the bottom of the rap is a pothole about 8 feet deep and easy to climb out of.  Just after rap 5 is a short scramble up over to another pothole where rap 6 starts from.

Rap 6 (yClifInstyR6) is anchored from a pair of knot chalks down in the pothole at the top of the rap and drops a total of 250 feet down a slightly sloped wall a little bit of free hang near the bottom.   The old anchor for this rap was a wart out on the LDC ledge that was exposed to get to.

After rap 6 is a mix of wash walking and a few easy scramble downclimbs to the end of the canyon (yClifInstyBt) where it dumps into the approach wash.

The Exit:
From the bottom of Cliffs of Insanity Canyon (yClifInstyBt) turn right and walk the wash about 400 feet to where the wash turns left to begin heading north east (FireSwampBt) which is the bottom of Fire Swamp Canyon. 

From the bottom of Fire Swamp Canyon (FireSwampBt) walk about 0.3 miles northeast down the wash to where the top of the conglomerate corridor begins (wP-BrideN-02).

Follow down the conglomerate corridor down the wash about 600 feet to where the wash begins to open up wide again (wP-BrideN-02).

After the corridor opens up check a GPS or a compass and walk northeast on a bearing of 38 degrees (true) for 1.26 miles back to the car parking spot (Pk-PrBrideN). 

Note:
Walking a straight line will get you there but will have a lot of ups and downs over the alluvium.  A smoother route can be had by staying a few hundred feet to the right (east) of the plotted straight line.  If you do this be aware that the alluvial fan will steer you farther right than desired.  For the shortest route just walk the straight line.  For a smoother route follow the flow of the alluvial to the road them turn left to walk up to the parked cars.

GPS Waypoint Information

Click to show / expand the list of waypoints below........

Cliffs of Insanity (1) - Drive to Trailhead

wStovpipeStore          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.60663   W -117.14688        Elev: 0 Feet Convenience store / gas station at Stove Pipe Wells. ExtStovAirStrp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.60696   W -117.15503        Elev: NaN Feet Turn off to go over to an airstrip. To drive out toward the Marble and Cottonwood Canyon area stay left at the fork to drive west. wCottonBend          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.61036   W -117.24602        Elev: 210 Feet A bend to the right while driving the road out toward Marble Canyon. This is bend in the right is a landmark to know you are getting close to the parking area for the Princess Bride canyons. Also if the berm on the south side of the road is washed out it may be possible to park here. PkPrincesBride          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.61438   W -117.25144        Elev: 255 Feet Small pull out gradded into teh side of the road. There are other turnouts near by and all are only large enough for 1 or two vehicles. Pick one and park to start the route toward the Princes Bride Canyons.

Cliffs of Insanity (2) - Approach

PkPrincesBride          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.61438   W -117.25144        Elev: 255 Feet Small pull out gradded into teh side of the road. There are other turnouts near by and all are only large enough for 1 or two vehicles. Pick one and park to start the route toward the Princes Bride Canyons. wP-BrideN-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.60007   W -117.26564        Elev: 575 Feet This is the bottom end of a corridor like section leading up toward the drainage below Fire Swamp and Inconceivable Canyon. wP-BrideN-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.59861   W -117.26700        Elev: NaN Feet Top of the corridor like section in the wash. FireSwampBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.59675   W -117.27158        Elev: 750 Feet Bottom of Fire Swamp Canyon where it dumps into the approach wash. yClifInstyBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.59731   W -117.27262        Elev: 780 Feet Bottom of Cliffs of Insanity Canyon. This is where it drops into the approach wash. PitOfDespairBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.60404   W -117.27645        Elev: 970 Feet Bottom of Pit of Despair Canyon. On the north approach this looks like a long dry fall dropping down to the wash. wP-BrideN-03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.60475   W -117.27702        Elev: 1,007 Feet Scree slope leaving up out of the wash about 300 feet after passing the bottom of Pit of Despair Canyon. wP-BrideN-04          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.60478   W -117.27859        Elev: 1,410 Feet A saddle on the north approach route. The mid section of Pit of Despair canyon is the wash below this saddle to the southwest. jPitOfDespMid          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.60456   W -117.27879        Elev: 1,375 Feet North Approach route for the Princess Bride canyons crosses the mid section Pit of Despair Canyon here. To continue the approach cross the wash and travel up the ridge to the southwest. Optionally you could leave the approach route here and drop into the lower portion of Pit of Despair Canyon. jPitOfDespTop          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.60000   W -117.27891        Elev: 1,960 Feet A peak along the north approach route. Leave the ridge and travel northwest route finding your way about 800 feet to the top of Pit of Despair Canyon or continue south down to a wide open flat area to continue the North Approach route. wP-BrideN-05          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.59850   W -117.27881        Elev: 1,915 Feet A large flat area along the North Approach route. This point is also where the head of a drainage is traveling down to the east over the mountain side. This drainage doesn't form a significant canyon. Continue south toward the top of Cliffs of Insanity. yClifInstyTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.59688   W -117.27927        Elev: 1,840 Feet Top of Cliffs of Insanity Canyon. This is a confluence in the drainage above. Follow down the drainage to the east to drop into Cliffs of Insanity or travel up the wash going up to the south to continue on the North Approach for the Princess Bride Canyons.

Cliffs of Insanity (3) - The Canyon

yClifInstyTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.59688   W -117.27927        Elev: 1,840 Feet Top of Cliffs of Insanity Canyon. This is a confluence in the drainage above. Follow down the drainage to the east to drop into Cliffs of Insanity or travel up the wash going up to the south to continue on the North Approach for the Princess Bride Canyons. yClifInstyR1-2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.59694   W -117.27647        Elev: 1,676 Feet Raps 1 and 2 - Cliffs of Insanity Canyon. Rap 1 (yClifInstyR1-2) is anchored from a cairn anchor and drops about 50? feet down a sloped wall.  Rap 2 is about 40 feet down canyon of rap 1, is anchored from a large rock embedded in the wash about 10 feet back and drops 75 feet over 2 stages with a pothole about 5 feet deep at the bottom of the first stage. I have not done so my self but was informed Rap 2 can be by passed with a downclimb LDC. yClifInstyR3          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.59671   W -117.27554        Elev: 1,575 Feet Rap 3 - Cliffs of Insanity Canyon. Anchored from cairn anchor and drops about 185 feet down a sloped rough wall. If you look real close from the top of rap 3 you can see your cars parked on the road. yClifInstyR4          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.59668   W -117.27500        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 4 - Cliffs of Insanity Canyon. Anchored RDC from a knot chalk and drops a total of about 200 feet dropping over 3 stages (term stage used loosely here). At the bottom of the first stage is a pothole about 7 feet deep and definitely a keeper. Send a sure footed person first to carefully traverse the RDC side to get around the keeper pothole avoiding a pendulum in then they can stay to assist those who follow. The second stage also goes by a pothole but that one is easy to avoid with easy stemming and is not a keeper. The third stage drops down a slightly slope wall to finish the rappel. yClifInstyR5          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.59658   W -117.27414        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 5 - Cliffs of Insanity Canyon. Anchored from a cairn style anchor and drops about 150 feet with the last 30 feet of it downclimbable. At the bottom of the rap is a pothole about 8 feet deep and easy to climb out of. Just after rap 5 is a short scramble up over to another pothole where rap 6 starts from. yClifInstyR6          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.59650   W -117.27392        Elev: 1,120 Feet Rap 6 - Cliffs of Insanity Canyon. Anchored from a pair of knot chalks down in the pothole at the top of the rap and drops a total of 250 feet down a slightly sloped wall a little bit of free hang near the bottom. The old anchor for this rap was a wart out on the LDC ledge that was exposed to get to. yClifInstyBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.59731   W -117.27262        Elev: 780 Feet Bottom of Cliffs of Insanity Canyon. This is where it drops into the approach wash.

Cliffs of Insanity (4) - Exit

yClifInstyBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.59731   W -117.27262        Elev: 780 Feet Bottom of Cliffs of Insanity Canyon. This is where it drops into the approach wash. FireSwampBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.59675   W -117.27158        Elev: 750 Feet Bottom of Fire Swamp Canyon where it dumps into the approach wash. wP-BrideN-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.59861   W -117.26700        Elev: NaN Feet Top of the corridor like section in the wash. wP-BrideN-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.60007   W -117.26564        Elev: 575 Feet This is the bottom end of a corridor like section leading up toward the drainage below Fire Swamp and Inconceivable Canyon. PkPrincesBride          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.61438   W -117.25144        Elev: 255 Feet Small pull out gradded into teh side of the road. There are other turnouts near by and all are only large enough for 1 or two vehicles. Pick one and park to start the route toward the Princes Bride Canyons.