OverviewSheep Canyon Headwall is a rare sight in the San Gabriels: very steep, high-quality rock that supports technical climbing. This being a canyon, there is still a good amount of scree and other debris in the canyon bottom, which means the leader must take care not to send stuff down on the belayer.
 Overhanging pseudo-chockstone
There is lots of quality rock that can support multiple lines in this canyon. It really is a world away from the majority of the San Gabriels typically crumbling rock.Getting ThereHike up the Icehouse Canyon Trail. After a mile, you will reach the intersection with Chapman Trail. COntinue on Icehouse Trail for a while, until the trail veers hard right and touches the other side of the canyon. From here, you can see a scree ramp above. Take this up a little, then right, into the large and obvious Sheep Canyon. Technical climbing takes place further upcanyon where it narrows.
 First view of things to come
Descending can be done either by rapping back down the route (canyoneering), or taking a few more routefinding-intensive nontechnical descents down neighboring canyons, the easiest being Fir Draw just off to the west. All terrain above Sheep Flat is mind-numbingly nontechnical, and if one chooses to do so, one can go to the summit, and take the trail back to Icehouse Canyon.Route DescriptionRoute is mostly class 4, with technical sections being waterfalls (dry), surmounting many large chockstones, and some small overhangs to spice things up. Route tops out just below and west of Sheep Flat, a large open area northeast of the summit.
Looking down at Marc |
Essential Gear-50M+ rope (mostly short pitches)
-Helmet
-6-12 slings, sewn runners, tape etc.
-Typical trad rack
-Tricams help with strange placements in the local rock
-One may choose to bring some compact aiders to deal with some of the chockstones. The author used a 48" sewn sling to deal with this.
This being a canyon in the San Gabriels, natural protection is often best. We stopped at a point with an overhang when I was unable to safely belay my buddy up to my position, as there were zero good anchors using what I had at my disposal.External LinksChristopher Brennen's Sheep Canyon Canyoneering Page
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Ontario Peak
