Class:
4CII
Gear:
Rope: 2 @ 120’, 20 of webbing, 2 steel rappel rings, Layers for swimming in cold water, PFD, Bolted anchors with bolted directional to avoid foot entrapment at the base of second waterfall.
Expected Time Commitment:
3 hours car to car
Technical Obstacles:
Narrow swiftwater canyon rappels near and in the water course. Use of existing bolted directional anchor highly recommended to avoid foot entrapment at the base of the second waterfall. Rope management in the waterway.
Non Technical Obstacles:
Recommended Time of Year:
Late spring, summer, early fall.
Finding the Trail Head:
From Hwy 99 south of Fresno, Take the ramp onto CA-41 N 0.7 mi., Take exit 128A to merge onto CA-180 E toward Kings Canyon 1.1 mi.. Take exit 60A to merge onto CA-168 E toward Clovis/Huntington Lake 32.9 mi., Turn left at CA-168/Tollhouse Rd 17.8 mi. drive through the town of Shaver, past camp Edison and begin looking for a large half paved half dirt turnout on the left. There will also be a large granite dome which makes up the right hand wall of the Shaver Cut.
The Approach:
Park at the turnout and hike down the creek bed until it steepens up. At this point find a place to safely cross the creek and get onto the right hand side of the canyon. Traverse along canyon right working a series of easy ledges. You will see the water drop away as you traverse higher. You will reach a point where the ledge becomes much smaller. Traverse this ledge (with rope if necessary) carefully until it opens up again, continuing on until you reach a pair of good bolts. This is the first rappel.
The Canyon Descent:
#1 60′ into fast moving water.
swim carefully to the next bolted anchor canyon left. If you miss this anchor you may be swept over the next fall.
#2 70′ past a bolted directional that can also be used as a third rappel point. This directional has a steel hook that you can hook into your rappel line to change your direction and allow you to better avoid foot entrapment that can occur once inside the waterfall at its base. Swim away to a choked point in the canyon where you can climb out canyon right. A couple of tricky down climbs and crossing the creek again until you reach a large granite area to gear down.
Egress
Traverse your way around the base of the dome canyon right until you can begin climbing earth slopes following the dome back tot he car. If you climb to high you may need to rappel from a tree to get back to the creek bed that is walkable above the slot you just ran. It is not advisable to try to free solo the back of the dome as it is a bit steeper than it looks.
