IN THIS MODULE
02 READ THE POTHOLE BEFORE YOU COMMIT
03 SOLVE THE LAST-PERSON PROBLEM FIRST
34 Pothole Escape Techniques & Tools
Potholes are natural depressions carved into the canyon floor. Some are easy to cross. Others hold water, have undercut lips, or are deep enough that climbing out becomes the real obstacle. A keeper pothole earns its name because it can literally “keep” a group inside.
ADVANCED TERRITORY: Keeper-pothole escape is not a beginner trick. The American Canyoneering Association places partner assists, counterweight escapes, and aid-hooking techniques in advanced Class A/B problem-solving skills. Learn these systems hands-on before depending on them in a committed canyon.
THE CONDITIONS MATTER
The same pothole can be completely different from one trip to the next. It might be dry, completely full after a storm, or half-full with no easy way to touch the bottom. Water level, lip shape, temperature, and the exact escape side can completely change the problem.
TOOLS:
• PotShot bags, ropes, ascenders, etriers, pulleys, and carabiners.
• Wetsuits or drysuits when prolonged cold-water exposure is possible.
• Flotation may help in some water-filled potholes, but it does not solve the exit by itself.
TECHNIQUE LADDER
• Avoid or bypass the problem when a safe option exists.
• Use partner assistance when the consequence is manageable.
• Escalate to pack/PotShot counterweights or trained aid techniques only when needed.
BRETT’S OPINION: The goal is not to use the coolest technique. The goal is to use the simplest reliable solution that gets the entire team out — including the last person.
READ THE POTHOLE BEFORE YOU COMMIT
The escape starts before anybody drops into the hole.
A pothole is easier to solve when you can still stand above it, see the exit lip, stage equipment, and talk as a group. Once people and packs are floating below an undercut wall, your options may shrink quickly.
LOOK AT THE OBSTACLE
• How high is the escape lip and is it rounded, sharp, sandy, wet, or undercut?
• Is there a safe stance from which to throw a pack or PotShot before entering?
• Can the pothole be bridged, stemmed, bypassed, or assisted without committing everyone?
LOOK AT THE TEAM
• Who is the strongest climber, best thrower, calmest swimmer, or most efficient ascender?
• Who is already cold, tired, injured, or carrying critical group equipment?
• What will the last person use when the partner-assist option disappears?
SOLVE THE LAST-PERSON PROBLEM FIRST
A technique that gets the first four people out but strands the fifth person is not a complete solution. Before committing, talk through how the final teammate will exit and how ropes, packs, PotShots, hooks, and other tools will be recovered.
REMEMBER: Imlay Canyon Gear specifically notes that effective throwing becomes extremely difficult while treading water. If a counterweight throw is part of the plan, make the throw from a stable position before dropping into the water whenever possible.
A QUICK POTHOLE BRIEF
• Escape side and likely technique.
• Who goes first and why.
• Where the throw/rope will go.
• How the remaining team will be assisted.
• How the last person gets out.
• What makes the group stop, change plans, or retreat.
PARTNER ASSISTS
Often the fastest pothole tool is another person.
These techniques can range from a simple hand pull to using a teammate as a temporary step or providing a controlled boost to reach the lip. They work best when the obstacle is within the team’s movement ability and a slip will not create an unacceptable fall or injury.
PHOTO 1 — ASSESS
Two partners evaluating the exit lip before anyone commits.
PHOTO 2 — BOOST
Low-consequence boost with the upper teammate ready to capture the climber.
A SIMPLE PARTNER-ASSIST SEQUENCE
• Choose a stable stance and agree on exactly what the climber and helper will do.
• Use legs and body position rather than sudden pulling whenever possible.
• Once the first person reaches a secure stance, that person can provide a handline, hand assist, or manage the next technique.
• Sequence the group so smaller, colder, or less-capable teammates receive the most help — without creating a dangerous stack of people below the lip.
PHOTO 3 — CAPTURE
Upper teammate securely captures the climber at the lip.
PHOTO 4 — NEXT PERSON
First person out establishes assistance for the next teammate.
CAUTION: Do not turn a partner assist into an uncontrolled human pyramid beneath a fall hazard. If the consequence of a slip is serious, add an appropriate rope system or choose another method.
PACK TOSS
A simple counterweight can turn an impossible lip into an ascendable exit.
A pack toss uses a rope attached to a canyon pack. The pack is thrown beyond the exit lip so its weight and friction provide something the first canyoneer can pull or ascend against. This is a long-used keeper-pothole strategy and is specifically identified by the ACA as a counterweight escape technique.
PHOTO 5 — ATTACH
Rope securely attached to a suitable canyon pack before the throw.
PHOTO 6 — STAGE
Thrower on stable ground with the rope flaked so it can run cleanly.
BASIC PACK-TOSS STRATEGY
• Make the throw from the best stable position available — ideally before entering the pothole.
• Aim to place the pack well beyond the lip, not barely on the edge where it can slide back in.
• Keep teammates clear of the throw and of the returning pack/rope path.
• Load the system progressively and confirm the pack is actually holding before committing full body weight.
• Once the first person escapes, that person can improve the system for the rest of the team.
PHOTO 7 — TOSS
Pack landed beyond the lip with the rope running cleanly.
PHOTO 8 — TEST
Canyoneer progressively tests the counterweight before ascending.
IMPORTANT: A pack toss is not an anchor in the traditional sense. Its reliability depends on weight, placement, friction, lip shape, rope direction, and the surface beyond the lip. Treat it as a problem-solving counterweight and test it accordingly.
POTSHOTS
Purpose-built throw bags make the counterweight idea more efficient.
Imlay Canyon Gear developed the PotShot specifically for keeper-pothole escape. The bag is filled on-site — typically with sand — and attached to a rope so it can be thrown beyond the exit lip. Compared with throwing a full canyon pack, PotShots are easier to stage, throw, retrieve, and use in multiples.
WHY CARRY THEM
• A purpose-built shape is easier to throw than many loaded canyon packs.
• You can adjust the fill for the required distance and weight.
• Multiple independent bags can provide additional options when one throw is insufficient.
WHAT THEY DO NOT FIX
• A poor throwing stance or a bad landing zone.
• An undercut lip that requires technical ascending or aid skills.
• A team that has never practiced the system before entering the canyon.
PHOTO 9 — FILL
PotShot being filled with clean local sand and closed for the throw.
PHOTO 10 — MULTIPLE LINES
Two PotShots on separate lines staged before entering the pothole.
USE THE MINIMUM COMPLEXITY NEEDED
One well-placed counterweight may be enough. Multiple PotShots and multiple ropes can increase the available weight and options, but they also create more rope management and can make the eventual ascent physically demanding. Imlay notes that climbing multiple ropes out of a pothole can be a substantial athletic challenge.
LEAVE IT CLEAN: Empty and recover the PotShots and remove every rope and piece of equipment. The solution should travel with you, not become new fixed gear in the canyon.
AID HOOKING & ETRIERS
When the wall itself becomes the escape system.
The ACA identifies aid-hooking as another advanced pothole-escape technique. A purpose-built hook can sometimes engage an appropriate rock feature so a trained canyoneer can gain height with an etrier, reposition, and eventually reach the lip. This is not the same thing as creating or drilling a new placement.
ADVANCED SKILL: Hook placements can release suddenly. Soft sandstone, rounded features, wet rock, poor loading direction, and body movement can all reduce reliability. Learn aid hooking from a competent instructor or mentor and practice in a low-consequence environment before relying on it in a keeper pothole.
PHOTO 11 — FEATURE
Purpose-built canyon hook placed on an appropriate existing feature; no rock alteration.
PHOTO 12 — ETRIER
Etrier clipped to the hook with the climber maintaining a controlled body position.
THE CONCEPT — NOT A SHORTCUT
• Inspect the natural feature and use only a placement you have been trained to evaluate.
• Load the placement gradually and keep your body positioned for the possibility that it releases.
• Use the etrier to gain controlled height rather than dynamically bouncing on the hook.
• Reposition only when you have a stable next move or backup option.
• Avoid damaging fragile rock and follow local land-management rules and canyon ethics.
NPS CONTEXT: National Park Service planning documents define rock alteration as intentional drilling, chipping, gluing, or removal of rock. A pothole escape should not become an excuse to modify the canyon.
ASCENDERS, ETRIERS & MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE
Tools are useful only when the group can actually operate them.
Handled ascenders, Etriers, pulleys, and carabiners. These tools remain useful, but each solves a different part of the problem. An ascender helps a person climb a loaded rope. An Etrier creates steps for aid movement. Pulleys can help build mechanical advantage when a team needs to haul gear or assist a person.
HANDLED ASCENDERS
A fast, efficient option when the rope and device are appropriate.
ETRIERS / AID LADDERS
Webbing steps used with trained aid techniques to gain height.
KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
ASCENDING
• Requires a known rope system that is actually holding.
• May be done with handled ascenders or friction-hitch systems.
• See Module 28 for the dedicated ascending progression.
HAULING / MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE
• Useful when the problem is moving a load rather than climbing yourself.
• Adds complexity, rope travel, and more opportunities for poor rigging.
• Practice before expecting it to save a tired group in the canyon.
TEAM SKILL: The tool only helps if the team knows how to use it. A PotShot, hook, ascender, or pulley sitting in the bottom of a pack is not a rescue plan.
WET POTHOLES
Water changes the problem — sometimes dramatically.
A keeper pothole that is easy when full can become difficult when half-empty. The same feature can also become more dangerous when cold water forces the group to tread water while trying to rig, throw, communicate, and climb. The NPS notes that a water-filled keeper pothole can create hypothermia and drowning risk.
BEFORE ENTERING
• Confirm the group’s thermal protection matches the water and air temperature.
• Stage throws, ascenders, and flotation where they can actually be reached.
• Keep critical equipment attached or otherwise controlled so it cannot disappear underwater.
WHILE SOLVING
• Conserve energy and rotate strenuous jobs when possible.
• Get the first capable person to a secure position without exhausting the rest of the group.
• Watch for cold stress, panic, poor coordination, and declining decision quality.
SEQUENCING IS PART OF THE TECHNIQUE
• Send the person whose skills best match the first escape problem — not automatically the biggest or strongest person.
• Move critical gear intentionally. Do not accidentally send every ascender, PotShot, or warm layer with the wrong person.
• Once someone is out, improve the system for the less-capable teammates.
• Keep enough capability on both sides of the obstacle until the last-person plan is ready.
ENERGY IS A RESOURCE: Pothole escapes can be physically exhausting. A technically possible solution can still fail if the group burns all of its strength on repeated bad throws, unsupported climbing attempts, or unnecessary complexity.
A POTHOLE ESCAPE DECISION LADDER
Start simple. Add complexity only when the problem requires it.
1
AVOID / BYPASS
Can the group bridge, stem, use a different line, or avoid committing to the pothole entirely?
2
PARTNER ASSIST
Can a controlled boost, capture, or simple hand assistance solve it with acceptable consequences?
3
COUNTERWEIGHT
Can a pre-staged pack toss or PotShot create a reliable line for the first escape?
4
ASCEND / AID
Does the group have the trained skills for ascenders, etriers, or aid hooking?
5
REASSESS
If the system is not working, stop burning energy. Change the plan, retreat if possible, or escalate appropriately.
THE BIG IDEA: A keeper pothole is a team problem. The best teams arrive with several tools, several techniques, and enough humility to change methods when the first plan is not working.
FIELD CHECKLIST
• ☐ We know the current canyon conditions and expected pothole water levels.
• ☐ We have discussed the first-person and last-person escape plans.
• ☐ Our counterweight equipment is staged before the team commits.
• ☐ At least two people understand the primary escape system.
• ☐ We have adequate thermal protection and a plan for a delayed exit.
• ☐ Nobody is depending on a technique they have only read about.
PRACTICE BEFORE THE KEEPER
Potholes reward creativity — but only after the basics are automatic.
The ACA’s own keeper-pothole training is designed for canyoneers who already have core skills, and its skills checklists recommend practicing technical systems in low-risk conditions with competent mentors. That is the right progression for this material too.
CONTROLLED PRACTICE
• Start dry, close to the ground, with a stable lip and an easy walk-around.
• Practice partner assists, pack/PotShot tosses, and the complete last-person sequence.
• Add ascenders and etriers only after the rope system itself is understood.
• Practice wet only after the dry sequence is boring and predictable.
THEN ADD REALISM
• Vary the throw distance and landing surface.
• Practice with gloves, wet rope, and the actual packs/gear you carry.
• Rotate roles so more than one person can solve the problem.
• Debrief what failed instead of pretending every bad toss was “close enough.”
NOT JUST YOUR SKILL: It is not enough for one person to own the tools and know the trick. Pothole escape works best when the group understands the plan, can communicate clearly, and can keep solving the problem if the first person gets tired, cold, or injured.
FINAL THOUGHT: Keeper potholes are a great example of canyoneering at its best: preparation, teamwork, movement, rope skills, and problem solving all happening at once. Bring the right tools — but practice becoming the person who knows when and how to use them.