Powell continues to fail, but quickly this time

[futurafree]

When camping below sketchy leaning pillars or overhangs full of cracks, I often wonder if it will fall tonight or in 10,000 years.

If you were ever curious to watch how the rubble slopes we use as ramps out of canyons were formed, here it is in real time. The top comment was "The lake level has risen finally"!

 

[regehr]

Incredible!
One time I saw a big piece of wall flake off in lower Halls Creek, that sort of thing really makes an impression.

 

[futurafree]

Incredible!
One time I saw a big piece of wall flake off in lower Halls Creek, that sort of thing really makes an impression.

What was the sound like? At what distance?
My only crumbling experience was sheer terror in the Sierras shortly after dark while in our tents. Boulders came raining down for a couple of minutes and by the time we figured out what the sound was, I scrambled out from under the vestibule covered in mud and couldn't see anything so I just crouched. My friend just accepted his fate and stayed in the tent and prepared to die! No damage, no injuries, but lasting memories. I thought it was thunder at first.

 

[regehr]

What was the sound like? At what distance?
My only crumbling experience was sheer terror in the Sierras shortly after dark while in our tents. Boulders came raining down for a couple of minutes and by the time we figured out what the sound was, I scrambled out from under the vestibule covered in mud and couldn't see anything so I just crouched. My friend just accepted his fate and stayed in the tent and prepared to die! No damage, no injuries, but lasting memories. I thought it was thunder at first.

it was maybe a half-mile away and sounded like a sustained roar, we heard it before we saw it. the dust cloud remained visible for 5-10 minutes and there was a nice bright scar on the canyon wall afterwards!!!

rockfall in the mountains is super scary too, a while ago I spent a few days at Priord Lake in the Uintas, which has a big rotten wall nearby, and the frequent rockfall was pretty unnerving despite the fact that we were (hopefully) well out of range of any fragments. I would swear that a few times we felt the ground shake.

 

[TheMountainRabbit]

it was maybe a half-mile away and sounded like a sustained roar, we heard it before we saw it. the dust cloud remained visible for 5-10 minutes and there was a nice bright scar on the canyon wall afterwards!!!

rockfall in the mountains is super scary too, a while ago I spent a few days at Priord Lake in the Uintas, which has a big rotten wall nearby, and the frequent rockfall was pretty unnerving despite the fact that we were (hopefully) well out of range of any fragments. I would swear that a few times we felt the ground shake.

I was about half a mile away from a pretty significant collapse in the Gore Range a few years ago - it was like rolling thunder that kept going for way too long. It was a bit around a ridge, so we didn't see it directly - the "scar" was super clear when we hiked through the area the next day though. Pretty humbling even at that distance.

 

[Rockskipper]

I was camped near the Dalton Wells quarry north of Moab one time when I heard a rifle crack and watched a big rock come down. I've also seen some good rockfall come off the Moab Rim.

 

[futurafree]

Clearly, they don't make rocks like they used to.

 

[Janice]

This reminds me of a video from last summer in Michigan's UP (Upper Peninsula) at a part of Pictured Rocks where we've hiked along the edge. If you have little kids and don't want them hearing a four-letter word, put it on mute!

WATCH: 200-foot Pictured Rocks cliff face plummets into Lake Superior

Those watching the cliff face fall from a pontoon boat said resulting waves were at least 10 to 12 feet tall.

www.uppermichiganssource.com

 

[LarryBoy]

Well that's one way to win a cannonball contest...