Cruxes and Vortexes - Tuy Loan Gorge 2015
In the middle of May last year I had some friends visit from Hawaii & NY, who had been living in Laos for some time building ropes courses. They came over and helped me put down a descent of the Lower Song Tuy Loan Gorge, and it was a great time.
Fast forward to this summer, when my brother and mother in law came to Vietnam to visit. Logan wanted some adventure, and number of my friends had also been asking to go on an adventure, so I made plans to take them down this gorge and have a good time.
Fast forward to this summer, when my brother and mother in law came to Vietnam to visit. Logan wanted some adventure, and number of my friends had also been asking to go on an adventure, so I made plans to take them down this gorge and have a good time.
On the hike in, one thing quickly became apparent: the water was going to be high. Not only was the spout waterfall underneath the Ba Na Hills cable car running quite high and impressive, but the handful of small side streams we passed over were also babbling along quite high. The biggest problem was we could hear the sounds of crashing water emanating from the gorge along the hike in, a sound that is normally not present. This was my first concern that the water was high, and I became a bit apprehensive as we pressed on.
Part 1- The Vortexes
Eventually we made it along the roads and down the scary, slippery chute to the river, where one thing was clear: the water was indeed extremely high. The rock we had hung out on last year was now almost completely underwater, and the river that had before babbled between the boulders had become a full river-wide channel. It was possible that water was as much as double as the last time. The mild apprehension that had been growling in my stomach upped it's intensity and I found myself wrangling with what to do.
I was facing a difficult choice: keep going? or turn around? Although some of our party had canyoning experience, some of our members did not, and I was a bit concerned what the crux moves were going to look like with the doubled water flow. Turning around meant a long, hot slog back to the bikes, with disappointment dragging us down every step of the way.
I was facing a difficult choice: keep going? or turn around? Although some of our party had canyoning experience, some of our members did not, and I was a bit concerned what the crux moves were going to look like with the doubled water flow. Turning around meant a long, hot slog back to the bikes, with disappointment dragging us down every step of the way.
So, we sat down and had a council of war. We knew that there was at least one possible escape route up the hill, a ways down, that we could take if the shit hit the fan. There was also the probability of maybe a second one, although that was a more dubious option. While there was trepidation and caution, we decided to press on, and just be very cautious about every obstacle, and how we would deal with them, and if it became too much then we would use one of the escape routes. Feeling a bit better about our options, we headed off down into the river.
We dropped in and immediately ran into what would be the name of the game for the day: long swims interspersed with chunky waterfalls that were small but powerful. One thing that was clearly evident from the higher flows was that many of the drops we had swum over and downclimbed in the past were now too powerful and dangerous to enter, so we had to get creative in our scrambling around drops.
Another thing we noticed with the increased flow was also that many of the smaller obstacles we had been forced to walk around due to low water before were now easily swim-able and plenty of fun. We found numerous small drops, chutes, and slides that were a blast to swim down. The one below we all had a great time coming down. David kept referring to these fun chutes as "vortexes", especially when they would dunk him under.
We made our way down, impressed with the high flows and the features they were creating, but we were also buoyed by how easily we were able to move around. Despite having to get creative with some obstacles, we were finding ways around everything that we couldn't enter. We hit the first bedrock section right on time, and were able to find ways around some of the more powerful drops in this section. Last time we swam in one nice pool here but this year there was no good exit from the pool so we had to keep going.
A short ways below and we made it to the Boulder Cave, where a gigantic boulder that is perched on top of other boulders create a small cave. There is often the remains of a small fire here, likely from local fishermen, and the flagging in the trees seemed to indicate a possible escape here. This made me feel quite a bit more comfortable as now we at least wouldn't have to backtrack all the way out.
Eventually we made it to Curtain Falls, which is a good de-lineator of progress in the canyon. While not quite 2/3rd of the way, it is a sign that you are more than halfway, and that the crux is coming up around the corner. Here is a picture of Curtain Falls showing last year's flows with this year's flows:
During our 2014 descent it was not only possible, but quite fun, to go behind this falls and let it cascade down over your shoulders. Given the epic heat of Vietnam, it made a nice spot to cool off. However, this year the falls was channel-wide, and would have given anyone who dared to go underneath it quite a chundering! This was a great visual indicator of just how high (and how much more powerful) the flow really was.
Part 2- The Crux
Soon enough, we came around the corner and we could see the bridge that spans over the narrows just downstream, which meant that the crux, the fun part, and the end were all very close at hand. The crux involves a long pool that terminates in a chunky sliding falls. Below this is another pool, and then a cascade down into a bedrock gorge. The cascade can only be passed at river level, as going around it would require a rap in from the top or a complete bypass of the gorge.
While we were standing around having a look down into the gorge, we spotted a couple of local Vietnamese hunters who had just emerged from the jungle into the gorge. They were a little bewildered to see us but didn't come over and talk to us. However, seeing them meant that there was indeed a trail nearby, so we had an easy escape at this point should the crux be impassable.
My concern was this: the chunky sliding falls would have been extremely hard to reverse, and staging all of our party down to the top of the crux, without knowing if it was passable, would have resulted in our party possibly getting stuck, or at least being forced to make a sketchy climb out.
So, I came up with a plan: string people out and stage them at each piece of the puzzle, so we could bring people back out if we needed to. I elected to take the first part, and made my way down the edge.
So, I came up with a plan: string people out and stage them at each piece of the puzzle, so we could bring people back out if we needed to. I elected to take the first part, and made my way down the edge.
I wasn't quite sure about what I saw, and needed someone else to come down the next step further. Mikey and Logan came down next and had a look at the situation, and together we decided there was indeed a thin line down through the cascade. I came back out to help with staging everyone down, and then played last man standing while I made sure Logan [who was probing at this point] could make the next moves.
I didn't get any pictures of people moving through the hardest moves because we were focused on safety. It involved this sequence of events:
1) Drop down a 4' ledge directly underneath David [white shirt], into a half full pothole separated from the main flow by a large boulder.
2) Climb onto that boulder, and drop over the side of it, to reach another boulder, both of which are extremely slimy from algae.
3) Drop down the side of that boulder to yet another boulder, after which you could reach the safety of a small pool with no current.
4) From there, we had to chimney up between two boulders to reach a ledge, where we could safely jump into the Magic Chamber below, and be passed the crux section.
To add some protection, Logan turned a small rock into a chock-nut and made a handline of some webbing in order to protect against the most exposed move. It helped, but the moves were still quite trying. Penalty points were high. Fall to the left and you ended up in the main flow of the current, and would get taken into the rock pile with the full force of the current pounding on you. Fall to the right and you would bounce about 2 meters down, off several boulders into a pool about 2 inches deep and full of sharp stones. Add in the slipperiness of the boulders and it quickly became a very intense move. However, everyone passed it perfectly and soon enough we were all bobbing along in the Magic Chamber, the narrows and bottomless pool below the crux.
1) Drop down a 4' ledge directly underneath David [white shirt], into a half full pothole separated from the main flow by a large boulder.
2) Climb onto that boulder, and drop over the side of it, to reach another boulder, both of which are extremely slimy from algae.
3) Drop down the side of that boulder to yet another boulder, after which you could reach the safety of a small pool with no current.
4) From there, we had to chimney up between two boulders to reach a ledge, where we could safely jump into the Magic Chamber below, and be passed the crux section.
To add some protection, Logan turned a small rock into a chock-nut and made a handline of some webbing in order to protect against the most exposed move. It helped, but the moves were still quite trying. Penalty points were high. Fall to the left and you ended up in the main flow of the current, and would get taken into the rock pile with the full force of the current pounding on you. Fall to the right and you would bounce about 2 meters down, off several boulders into a pool about 2 inches deep and full of sharp stones. Add in the slipperiness of the boulders and it quickly became a very intense move. However, everyone passed it perfectly and soon enough we were all bobbing along in the Magic Chamber, the narrows and bottomless pool below the crux.
Because of the already-high water levels, and concerned that any rain that would fall in the huge headwaters would raise it even higher, we opted not to stop at all along the way, instead choosing the keep moving and make good progress. However, once we were out of the Magic Chamber, and past the crux, we found a great ledge right across from the massive falls that cascades in below the Ba Na Cable Car, and stopped to enjoy some beers and discuss safety.
However, we weren't quite out of the woods yet. Below this, we made two more downclimbs and swims around/through rapids before we swam across a long pool and got out above the final hurrah. Here, the river pours over a ~40' falls, into a nice swirling cauldron, before winding through a short box. While Logan and David looked at jumping the big falls directly into the pile, they eventually walked away, afraid of the power of the boils at the bottom. Instead, they, Tyler, and Qui, all jumped from a little lower down, into a much calmer section, while Mike and Ben and I jumped from the very end. One last swim across the the base area of Ba Na Hills, and we were out! Made it though unscathed, and while we did make it through the crux section, I don't think I'd want to try any higher water levels. Might just be too scary!
All photos copyright Kit Davidson unless otherwise noted.