Trident Canyon
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 3.9 mi
- Elevation gain
- 328 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Moderate
- Elevation loss
- 1,903 ft
- Max elevation
- 2,519 ft
- TrailRank
-
64
4
- Min elevation
- 899 ft
- Trail type
- One Way
- Time
- 3 hours 58 minutes
- Coordinates
- 14338
- Uploaded
- September 10, 2019
- Recorded
- October 2018
near Shāh, Raʼs al Khaymah (United Arab Emirates)
Viewed 3183 times, downloaded 54 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
The speed we did this route at was pretty average, so this time can be considered that. Depending on group size and speed, it could take from about 2 to 6 hours.
I have graded it as moderate, however this is based on having an understanding of ropes. With this, it is only moderate as every drop has fixed bolts and rigging, and half the drops are a simple scramble. all the other drops could, with some detour, all be skipped, and the canyon is generally not committed. I have not graded it as easy as there is a complete lack of water at any point, and there is a bit of basic scrambling through the boulders at points.
There are two possible start points for this route, on the hairpins on the Jebel Jais road at the top. The top hairpin is the closest and requires least ascent, but access is now only permitted for locals. The hairpin 1 lower down doesn't appear restricted in any way, but has a noticeable extra uphill walk.
There is an extremely short walk-out after the last drop straight to the road, with easy parking. I would suggest doing this with two cars, to avoid the super long walk back up.
There are 6 drops:
1. 7m Drop with rope - Scrambled down this. Super easy.
2. 12m Drop without rope - Split into steps in the rock, and actually sits at a steep angle but not vertical. Easy Scramble
3. 20m Drop - Really clean, with a nice drop in.
4. 40m Drop - Just after drop 3, almost a double drop. Really clean again with a nice drop in. Some of the bolts incorrectly fitted but secure. Spread you bets.
5. 12m Drop - Can be scrambled down through the cave, but is tricky. Can rig up a abseil also without much hassle.
6. 45m Drop - The big one to finish on. A scramble to the rigging, with an assist rope at one point, which is very easy. After this the top of the drop is a very clearly defined edge, with a good, well anchored bolt and chain to drop off.
The abseiling is generally easy, with minimal footwork requirements. There are a few small overhangs on the middle pair of drops, which are enjoyable, but this is a great day out if one of the team can do the rope work and the rest are novice.
I would recommend a helmet due to the looseness of rocks here, as is standard in the region.
I have graded it as moderate, however this is based on having an understanding of ropes. With this, it is only moderate as every drop has fixed bolts and rigging, and half the drops are a simple scramble. all the other drops could, with some detour, all be skipped, and the canyon is generally not committed. I have not graded it as easy as there is a complete lack of water at any point, and there is a bit of basic scrambling through the boulders at points.
There are two possible start points for this route, on the hairpins on the Jebel Jais road at the top. The top hairpin is the closest and requires least ascent, but access is now only permitted for locals. The hairpin 1 lower down doesn't appear restricted in any way, but has a noticeable extra uphill walk.
There is an extremely short walk-out after the last drop straight to the road, with easy parking. I would suggest doing this with two cars, to avoid the super long walk back up.
There are 6 drops:
1. 7m Drop with rope - Scrambled down this. Super easy.
2. 12m Drop without rope - Split into steps in the rock, and actually sits at a steep angle but not vertical. Easy Scramble
3. 20m Drop - Really clean, with a nice drop in.
4. 40m Drop - Just after drop 3, almost a double drop. Really clean again with a nice drop in. Some of the bolts incorrectly fitted but secure. Spread you bets.
5. 12m Drop - Can be scrambled down through the cave, but is tricky. Can rig up a abseil also without much hassle.
6. 45m Drop - The big one to finish on. A scramble to the rigging, with an assist rope at one point, which is very easy. After this the top of the drop is a very clearly defined edge, with a good, well anchored bolt and chain to drop off.
The abseiling is generally easy, with minimal footwork requirements. There are a few small overhangs on the middle pair of drops, which are enjoyable, but this is a great day out if one of the team can do the rope work and the rest are novice.
I would recommend a helmet due to the looseness of rocks here, as is standard in the region.
Waypoints
Waypoint
0 ft
06 - Bend
06 - Bend
Risk
Comments (13)
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thank you for sharing details, I've done this canyon a month ago, and it was my first adventure here in UAE.
I have followed this trail View more
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Moderate
for canyoneers, the trail is not difficult but you can't say it's easy.
rope experience is needed.
do not go in heat.
3 liters of water needed, and depends on temperature
Hi Ben, sorry for my silly question. What length of the rope you had with you, does it have to be min 90m given the high of the longest drop of 45m? As I understand you brought your own rope right? In this case I don't understand what are those orange ropes on your pics. Are they just permanently fixed there?. Thank you.
I think it was 2x60m. Not because I needed that much, but because that's what I had. So the rope set up had two ropes connected for the bigger drops. 2x45 would work. or 90m. You could do a 45m + 45 cord also. Everything except the purple is just fixed rigging. Not required other than for clipping into while you move around the area.
Thank you for information. Do you, by any chance, know or think there's a place in Emirates where it's possible to rent climbing gear including ropes?
I don't. Renting climbing gear I don't think I've ever heard of, as tracking the record of it's use becomes pretty much impossible.
Yeah you're right. Thank you.
I have followed this trail View more
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Difficult
Hi Ben,
Thanks for your suggestions.
I finally did this canyon, with only exception that we parked at the bottom of canyon itself and scrambled our way up along the ridge to the start of the canyon.
Was nice experience, especially on the first 40m drop overhang.
Great to hear. Good idea walking first, and finishing conveniently just yards from the road
Ben, where did you park please?
Hi livestrong22: 2 cars were used, and this gps track goes from one parking spot to the other.
Thanks Ben, I will be trying it out on Monday. Cheers, George
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Easy to follow
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Difficult
Hello. I've done this trail. The beginning was a bit unclear. There is also a sign that forbids hikers from entering. But it's basically as simple as walking up the stars at the hairpin and then following the trail. Then I had to veer off to go up to the saddle, but I ended up finding the canyon.
The rappels were all doable with my single 80 meter rope. But since one of them had a challenging ledge, I marked the trail as difficult. Rope work is required and due to the rocks shifting, there are some downclimbs and scrambles that aren't easy or moderate.