Elephant Butte |

Arches National Park

Canyoneering Elephant Butte - Arches National ParkClimbing Elephant Butte - Arches National Park Elephant Butte

Arches National Park

Overview

LENGTH: 3-5 Hours

Fri

A chance of rain showers before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 60. South wind 5 to 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

60 | 41

Sat

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64.

64 | 44

Sun

Rain showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 56.

56 | 46

Mon

A slight chance of rain and snow showers after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 55.

55 | 35

Tue

Sunny, with a high near 60.

60 | 34

View Full Weather Details
SEASON: Any, no snow. Can be hot in the summer.
GEAR: Standard canyoneering gear.
RAPPELS: 2 to 35 m ( 115 ft. )

Fri

A chance of rain showers before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 60. South wind 5 to 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

60 | 41

Sat

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64.

64 | 44

Sun

Rain showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 56.

56 | 46

Mon

A slight chance of rain and snow showers after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 55.

55 | 35

Tue

Sunny, with a high near 60.

60 | 34

View Full Weather Details
Trailhead photo for Elephant Butte

Trailhead photo for Elephant Butte

Elephant Butte, at 5653 ft., is the highest point in Arches National Park. The route, winding through the maze of entrada fins, requires good route finding (or persistence), a rappel, and a bit of lower 5th class climbing to reach some of the best views around. Elephant Butte makes a great outing for those canyoneers with a little climbing experience, or climbers. It is not very technical, but very rewarding with excellent views.

Caution: I've had several groups e-mail me recently that Elephant Butte had very challenging climbing sections. In all cases, it was raining or had rained the day they visited and the sandstone was wet. Not recommended if the weather is threatening, there is snow on the ground, or the ground is wet from recent rain! Even a little precipitation will make the climbing much more difficult. The rule for climbing on sandstone is to make sure the rock is 100% dry before climbing. Sandstone is fragile. At best climbing it wet will make it more difficult. At worst, anchors can fail in the weaker wet sandstone and holds can break permanently changing routes.
Elephant Butte Approach Gully

Elephant Butte Approach Gully

Full Details

To help keep the riff-raff out, and encourage participation, you must login to see the details.

Login For Full Details!

- OR if you are not yet registered -

Register
(It is free and easy.)

Videos

Elephant Butte canyoneering bcmcgarrity
Elephant Butte - November 2021 sloganho

Comments

Want to make a comment? Login and let yourself be heard.