PINTAC
PINTAC stands for Pain In The Ass Crack, and the name is the review: eleven miles and eight to twelve hours of high stemming, broken by up-climbs of up to fifty feet that force you back off the canyon floor over and over.
First descended by Steve Allen in 1996 and still one of the most physical XX canyons on the Plateau. Park at the Chimney Rock trailhead for Coyote Gulch; the road in off Hole-in-the-Rock Road turns rough and sandy, comfortable for high clearance 4WD and passable for a carefully driven AWD. From the gulch, hike past the mouth of Big Tony (Sleepy Hollow), scramble north onto the bench, follow the rim of DDI to its head, then cross the saddle into the next major drainage east. The cross joints up there are what eat the day, so carry the track. The first section is R rated and works as an entry exam: if the stemming rattles you or the single up-climb is a fight, bail there, because section two is higher, longer, and committing. Most of the up-climbing is knees to back; where the slot widens enough for feet to back you are exposed to a ground fall. Below the cathedral, a subway shaped chamber with good afternoon light and a spring running drinkable water out of the rock, there are two rappels, the first under 75 feet depending on where you anchor and the second around 50. Water is mostly avoidable even after rain, so a wetsuit is usually dead weight. Sensible work-ups are Glaucoma Canyon on Ticaboo Mesa for the up-climbs and neighboring DDI for the length. The lower X section on its own is a legitimate shorter day approached up Coyote Gulch.
Logistics
| Manager | BLM Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument |
|---|---|
| Permit | No permit required. |
| Distance | 11 mi |
| Technical | 1-2 rappels, longest 75 ft |
| Season | Winter, Spring, Fall, Avoid temps over 70 degrees |
| Vehicle access | 4WD |
| Coordinates | 37.4344, -111.0512 |