Rappel Valley Series - The Penthouse Traditional Cache

This is a series of 12 extremely challenging geocaches, all of which require rappelling to reach safely. All caches require the mandatory use of climbing equipment (rope, harness, helmet, rappel device, anchor material) and rappelling skills, as they are all hidden on various steep cliff faces throughout the valley. This quiet valley lends itself well to rappelling due to the abundance and variety of rocky cliffs. The series consists of everything from short and easy rappels to long and overhanging rappels, all with a geocache prize waiting there for you to find - enjoy the series!

The Penthouse is one of the most difficult rappels in the series. It's a straight vertical and even slightly overhanging 30m rappel down a big cliff located near the top of the ridge (hence the penthouse). Just getting up there will get your heart pumping for sure! The rappel is delightful fun though, apart from the fact that you end up in a bunch of alders at the bottom. I tried to make a flat landing area as best I could. It's quite a striking rappel line down an intimidating cliff! Have fun with this one!

The 12 geocaches in this series and their corresponding rappels have a good range of difficulty, starting from fairly short, slabby and easy rappels to long, overhanging and challenging rappels. There should be something for every rappelling adventurer! Unfortunately, the approach to every cliff in the series is also fairly challenging. Expect 4 star terrain to approach each of the cliffs - including off trail bushwhacking, significant elevation gain (with a heavy pack), navigating through steep and uneven terrain, deadfall and hiking along a heinous reclaimed forestry road. But by battling all of these obstacles, you will get to enjoy a peaceful valley that nobody visits, some interesting cliffs and hopefully some extreme terrain geocache finds!

Note that there is an old reclaimed forestry road that heads west from the parking area towards the Head of the Valley. It is loose, bumpy, dirty and has plenty of logs to dodge. You might be better off just travelling through the trees rather than this road, but I'll leave that up to you.

Please note that the Powderface Trail is closed every year from December 1 to May 14.

All caches in the Rappel Valley Series, listed roughly in order from easiest to hardest, are as follows:
D 1.0 - The Slab
D 1.5 - The Squeeze
D 2.0 - Creekside
D 2.5 - Head of the Valley
D 3.0 - The Sands
D 3.5 - Memories
D 3.5 - The Arrowhead
D 4.0 - Cornerstone
D 4.0 - The Tower
D 4.5 - Valleyview
D 4.5 - The Penthouse
D 5.0 - The Coliseum

All of the geocaches in this series are an extreme challenge as they lie hidden on steep rocky cliffs. You MUST bring and use climbing gear to rappel down and find these caches otherwise you will be risking your life. All anchors are on excellent trees, and all rappels are less than 30m in length. Do not attempt to climb up any of these cliffs as there is absolutely no fixed climbing gear, and the rock is not thoroughly cleaned of loose rock, debris and rat poop. Note that although I tried to clean off all the loose rock that I came across, all of the cliffs do have a significant amount of loose rock. Wear a helmet and do not have onlookers standing in the line of fire. You must have your rappel skills dialed in if you are going to attempt the more difficult (D4+) caches in this series. There are some very steep cliffs and even some free-hanging rappels. If you jam an autoblock above your head and you don't know how to unload it, you could be in big trouble. It's probably wise to practice or at least know some rope ascension skills. Note that there is no cell coverage in this valley and nobody goes up there - you and your group are on your own out there. Consider bringing an emergency communication device such as a Garmin InReach or SPOT.