First recorded descent of Magic Chamber

On June 7 John Strynol, Eric Thompson, and myself made the first recorded descent of Magic Chamber. Steve Mestag and myself had to give up because of the snowy conditions in early spring. This is the best slot in Colorado I have completed so far. It is a very good slot and is very pristine.

The loop took us seven hours. One member chickened out at the first rappel because he was worried about heading down an unknown canyon. We were expecting a few short rappels, a pretty good slot canyon, and a few wades and swims. We discovered a much more spectacular slot than we expected and it has become #1 on my list for the Colorado slot canyons. There was no wading or swimming, but there was some gymnastics required to keep our feet dry. The rappels were longer than expected. We were a little worried at the top of the highest rappel becasue we coudn't see the bottom and how deep the canyon was. We breathed a sigh of relief when we discovered our ropes were long enough.

When we dropped into the Magic Chamber we then knew that we discovered one of the best kept secrets in Colorado. We will return again and again.

Hiking out was very hot, but the trip was oh so worth it.



See the route description for more details.

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