Undertaker Canyon

580-foot "Widowmaker" rappel, plus a nice (but short) section of pretty limestone narrows. The price you pay is a LONG hike up and down in washes. The first two descents (2005/2006) were done with a car shuttle driving up Echo Canyon and starting the hike from Inyo Mine (36.49331, -116.70382), which presents an alternate approach option.

Hole-in-the-Wall Road. As of March 2023, the road is easily driven by high clearance vehicles to the end of the road, no 4x4 needed. However, the road isn't always graded past the Hole, so this could change with flash floods. With two high-clearance vehicles, you can park one just after the Hole, and drive the other to the end of the road. Start hiking up the broad wash . . . hike for miles, eventually veering to the left. The entire hike to the saddle is a gentle wash. From saddle, easy walk down into wash and downhill (for a long time) until the canyon narrows up.

Downclimb: about 7 feet, good for partner assist Rap 1: Drops about 50-60 feet from two hexes placed in crack on left wall. Pretty, fluted rappel. You can see the top of Widowmaker from top of rap 1. You should be able to see the large rocks that are Widowmaker's anchor. If not, farm rocks before going down rap 1. Rap 2 (Widowmaker): Approximately 580 feet. A large square rock (farmed previously by Mike Cressman) makes a solid, dependable anchor. With the webbing extended to the edge, it's not that bad to get over to start the rappel because there's a foot/knee hold on the other side. Might consider a courtesy shortening of webbing for all but the last person. Rappel is against vertical wall, then free hanging for at least 100 feet. Then down a polished limestone slope, then the final free hang (at least 150 feet). Other groups have talked about concerns about sharp edges, but we didn't see anything too concerning. We did adjust the rope's wear point after each rappeler. Long wash walk. Canyon slots up into a beautiful curvy limestone narrows that had one easy downclimb. Canyon opens up again. Final exit sequence is a fun boulder jungle gym. All can be climbed or partner assisted, except for final drop. Rap 3: About 30 feet - can be done as simul-rappel over a boulder.