Erik B
05-11-2015, 07:11 PM
Met up with the usual crew this weekend and last to run some Oregon canyons. Last weekend: Columbia River Gorge, This weekend: Middle Santiam Wilderness. Waterflow was perfect.
For those not familiar with class C work...one thing I've discovered is 1) the beta is lacking up here in the PNW & 2) waterflow can make or break you. Too low...not interesting. Too high...you get dead. I've seen comparison photos used before, however, this seems rather imprecise. As it turns out...50% more water doesn't look like that much in a comparison photo but can have pretty serious consequences.
Enter the creation of waterflow analysis tool on RopeWiki by Luca C. It's genius! A real win for canyon safety. All we we really have besides comparison photos is the USGS water gauges. Of course very few of the creeks we're interested in are measured...but incidentally comparing the waterflow in nearby creeks/rivers to themselves (expressed as a %) is quite useful ESPECIALLY when the last descent is designated as 100% of the flow. At least you now know that SOMEONE descended this creek in similar conditions (i.e. it's compatible with life). Combine this with a few comparison photos so you know what you're getting yourself into and voila! Thanks Luca!
http://ropewiki.com/index.php?title=Waterflow&location=Dog Creek (http://ropewiki.com/index.php?title=Waterflow&location=Dog+Creek)
Dog Creek: Cool place. LOTS of river walking before and after the first rappel. Interestingly...we were walking along in open stream bed only to have the creek close down to tight slot with questionably dangerous hydrolic pools and a fast moving jet stream. See videos:
From Top:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSUelzZ4P0Q
From Bottom: <strong>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cX8p9WKi6U&feature=youtu.be
Looked borderline so we did some sketchy climbing, escaped, and the rappelled back in downstream of the obstacle. ...We cheated...
http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc02431-jpg.8961/ (http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc02431-jpg.8961/)http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc02531-jpg.8962/ (http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc02531-jpg.8962/)
Sardine Creek:
Great little 5-6 hour adventure with one of the easiest approaches i've had in the PNW. The beta was lacking so we werent entirely sure where to start and finish but fortunately we figured it out and didnt miss the Pothole sections. Today I learned that due to hydrolics (churning water) keeper potholes are not just a Class A/B phenomenon.
http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03541-jpg.8965/ (http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03541-jpg.8965/)http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03553-jpg.8966/ (http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03553-jpg.8966/)http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03855-jpg.8967/ (http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03855-jpg.8967/)http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03894-jpg.8968/ (http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03894-jpg.8968/)http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03963-jpg.8970/ (http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03963-jpg.8970/)http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc04016-jpg.8971/ (http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc04016-jpg.8971/)http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc04050-jpg.8972/ (http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc04050-jpg.8972/)
For those not familiar with class C work...one thing I've discovered is 1) the beta is lacking up here in the PNW & 2) waterflow can make or break you. Too low...not interesting. Too high...you get dead. I've seen comparison photos used before, however, this seems rather imprecise. As it turns out...50% more water doesn't look like that much in a comparison photo but can have pretty serious consequences.
Enter the creation of waterflow analysis tool on RopeWiki by Luca C. It's genius! A real win for canyon safety. All we we really have besides comparison photos is the USGS water gauges. Of course very few of the creeks we're interested in are measured...but incidentally comparing the waterflow in nearby creeks/rivers to themselves (expressed as a %) is quite useful ESPECIALLY when the last descent is designated as 100% of the flow. At least you now know that SOMEONE descended this creek in similar conditions (i.e. it's compatible with life). Combine this with a few comparison photos so you know what you're getting yourself into and voila! Thanks Luca!
http://ropewiki.com/index.php?title=Waterflow&location=Dog Creek (http://ropewiki.com/index.php?title=Waterflow&location=Dog+Creek)
Dog Creek: Cool place. LOTS of river walking before and after the first rappel. Interestingly...we were walking along in open stream bed only to have the creek close down to tight slot with questionably dangerous hydrolic pools and a fast moving jet stream. See videos:
From Top:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSUelzZ4P0Q
From Bottom: <strong>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cX8p9WKi6U&feature=youtu.be
Looked borderline so we did some sketchy climbing, escaped, and the rappelled back in downstream of the obstacle. ...We cheated...
http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc02431-jpg.8961/ (http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc02431-jpg.8961/)http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc02531-jpg.8962/ (http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc02531-jpg.8962/)
Sardine Creek:
Great little 5-6 hour adventure with one of the easiest approaches i've had in the PNW. The beta was lacking so we werent entirely sure where to start and finish but fortunately we figured it out and didnt miss the Pothole sections. Today I learned that due to hydrolics (churning water) keeper potholes are not just a Class A/B phenomenon.
http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03541-jpg.8965/ (http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03541-jpg.8965/)http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03553-jpg.8966/ (http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03553-jpg.8966/)http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03855-jpg.8967/ (http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03855-jpg.8967/)http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03894-jpg.8968/ (http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03894-jpg.8968/)http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03963-jpg.8970/ (http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc03963-jpg.8970/)http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc04016-jpg.8971/ (http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc04016-jpg.8971/)http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc04050-jpg.8972/ (http://canyoncollective.com/attachments/dsc04050-jpg.8972/)