Route Overview

Route Map

Before You Go

Skills Involved

• Rappel on two ropes joined with a knot
• Make a multi-stage rappel
• Assess the safety of a bolted anchor
• Know how to swim
• Assess the flow level of a waterfall
• Assess the safety of a fixed line

What Gear do you need?

• Two 70m ropes: Either full climbing ropes, or a rap like and a tagline if you’re qualified to set it up. It may be possible to do this with 2 60m ropes, but I haven’t personally done so
• Your chosen rap kit: A rappel device plus a backup. Consider bringing a kit for ascending back up the rope if you need to.
• Dry bag: This is optional, but it really helped me. I stopped before completing the final rap to put warm layers and non-essential gear in there before swimming.
• A warm car: Have a plan for what happens after you emerge from the water – it can be icy in colder months.
• Some Extra Tat: This isn’t a trade route, and many of the anchors do not have chains. Bring a bit of webbing or some slings you’re willing to lose, along with a quicklink or junk locker.
• A directional sling: There’s a piton directional you’ll want to clip if you want to stay dry

Potential Hazards

Entry

• Exposed Scrambling: In low flow conditions, getting to the pool is easy class 2 movement. But you will still probably die if you goof. There’s often a fixed line going from the pools to the rappel station – treat it as you would any other line in the valley and make your own call on whether it’s safe.
• Slippery Conditions: The slab approach to the rap lines is easy, but really slippery and exposed.

Rappel

• Everything is wet and slippery: Every intermediary ledge is slippery, as is the rap path. It’s easy to slip and take an unplanned pendulum.
• Pendulums: The rap line runs down and out climber’s right and you’ll have to traverse over slippery rock. In very low flow there’s some room for error, but if the flow is higher, swinging back into the falls could be really bad.
• Routefinding and anchors: There are lots of intermediary anchors from various climbing routes. Some are of questionable quality. Be comfortable making decisions about what anchors you trust and where your rap line should head. Never pull your ropes down on an anchor you aren’t sure leads anywhere.

Exit

• Moving water: In higher flow conditions, the rappels will drop you directly into an active rapid and you’ll need to swim your way to safety. In lower flow conditions the stakes are much lower, but you’ll still need to be able to swim.
• Cold water: The water is snowmelt flying through cold air and it feels like it. The swim is short but be prepared for the cold and have a plan for staying warm on the walk back to your car.

Assessing Flow Conditions

The greatest danger is by far the flow level of the falls. Luckily, there are tons of options for measuring how high the waters are and whether you’re going to be safe.

Seasons

The falls are typically raging in the spring and early summer, with flow levels petering off around September and October. This should help you plan, but seasonality alone isn’t enough – heavy rains in the high country can spike flow levels at any time.

River Gauges

To verify that the river isn’t being impacted by any high country storms, I use the USGS water gauge tracker. The measurements taken for the Merced River at Pohoho Bridge are typically a good proxy for flow levels at the falls – though not exact.

Ropewiki, a fantastic canyoneering resource, recommends beginners run the canyon this rappel is attached to at a flow level of less than 80 CFS. Even at 30 CFS, expect to get a little wet.

Conditions Reports

Because this rappel is actually the exit to a canyoneering route called Middle Earth, you can check the canyoneer’s beta for information. These trip reports reflect a user’s experience level and a brief description of their experience. Look out for recent descents by beginners mentioning low flow.

Visual Check

If the falls are gushing and the river is raging, don’t go. Check the pools at the base of the falls as you pass by the bridge. A good sign that it’s safe for beginners is that the falls are just a seepage, there is no water running over the rocks, and there are tourists lounging and swimming by the stagnant pools under the falls. Remember – there’s always more water than it looks like there will be from far away.

Detailed Route Description

The full adventure took us about 3 hours, going up the Sunnyside bench route, finding the raps, complaining about swimming, swimming, and walking back to our car.

Approach

Start from the top of the Sunnyside Bench climbing route. Head climber’s right on a trail that heads toward the falls. There’s a high trail and a low trail – both lead to where you’re going. There isn’t any technical downclimbing on the trail, so if you end up cliffed out, backtrack a short distance and keep going. Eventually, you’ll round the corner to the open falls amphitheater, just above a dark slab.

Start down the slab. While it’s not too steep, do take care as it’s pretty slick. The best way is to zigzag down a series of natural ledges until you reach the prominent tree. Once by the tree, you’ll be at a short class 3 downclimb. Step down onto the natural ledge and follow the foot rail down and skier’s left until you reach the pools.

Head out toward the edge of the falls. You’ll see a slabby ledge out to your left with a bolt line and potentially a fixed line. Don’t head too close to the edge of the falls! Be careful here – the rock is very slick

First Rappel

As you round the corner, you’ll see the first station – a two bolt anchor. Join your ropes, thread them through the chains, and get rapping. It’s a steep rappel but there’s a foot rail below the chains you can stand on to test the rap.

As you begin, head straight down to a two bolt climbing anchor on a small, slimy ledge.

If you have extra long ropes, like two 80ms for instance, you may be able to skip the intermediary rappel and traverse skier’s left toward the final station.

You’ll reach a two-bolt climbing anchor with some tat. This anchor does NOT have chains, so I recommend bringing some tat, some quicklinks, or some locking carabiners you don’t mind losing. We added a locker to this anchor and made the rap.

Second Rappel

At this point, you’ll want to start traversing climber’s right across the face, aiming for a large ledge.

As you reach the final ledge, you’ll see a very old three bolt anchor. There was tat and a quicklink when we went, but you should always be prepared to replace any parts of a fixed anchor.

Third Rappel

From the final anchor, you’ll want to rap hard climber’s right toward the very edge of the pool. The water is shallow and protected on this side.You’re aiming for a large, shed-sized boulder – off to the right of this is your exit.

The traverse is very slippery – my recommendation is to aim for a small gravelly ledge about 30 feet off the ground. From there, it is possible to clip a directional piton to prevent you and your partner from slipping and taking the long pendulum. The piton won’t be immediately visible while you’re on the ledge, but you should be able to peer around the corner and clip it.

Once you make it to the ground, set up a fireman’s belay for your partner so you can prevent them from swinging away once they unclip the piton and tow them to dry land. This should prevent either of you from having to take the swim, but full disclosure – the traverses are really slippery and making them is never a done deal. You should always be ready to get wet and swim if you’re making these raps.

History

This route is connected to an canyoneering route called Middle Earth that runs the length of the lower portion of Yosemite Falls.