The Swirling Whirlpool of Death is a bit of a misnomer: it just looks like that from above. Last summer when Joel, Mike and I descended this canyon, we sent Joel down first on this rappel. Upon seeing the Swirling Whirlpool of Death (not visible from the start of the rappel) and convinced he had started a rappel that was not safe under the current flow conditions, he worked for maybe 45 minutes to get himself up on a ledge, then traversed underneath the falls, finally down-climbing some broken rock at the right and making it to the bottom, only to find the Swirling Whirlpool of Death came up to his knees. Maybe it was a little deeper last year, but not by much. Still it was disconcerting to lower yourself into this boiling pool thick with frothy waves and currents. Once it it, I stood there and belayed the other folks.