# Rapids Above Shoshone?



## islandertek (Apr 4, 2008)

What run are the rapids above Shoshone (approx 1 mile upstream?) part of, and what class are they?? They look really nice from the road, but a bunch of flat water before them!! Just wondering! I'd like to add that to the Shoshone run next time I go!! Thanks!

Cheers!

-Nick


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## Snowhere (Feb 21, 2008)

Um, don't read much hah? That's barrel springs and is mostly class IV with the exception of the waterfall onto a flat ledge with a undercut nearby that at best is a V, and at worst is a VI. Most put in below Kayakers Nightmare. Barrel Springs is considered a V at 2000 cfs, so at 1850 it should be exciting enough.


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## yetigonecrazy (May 23, 2005)

Snowhere said:


> Um, don't read much hah? That's barrel springs and is mostly class IV with the exception of the waterfall onto a flat ledge with a undercut nearby that at best is a V, and at worst is a VI. Most put in below Kayakers Nightmare. Barrel Springs is considered a V at 2000 cfs, so at 1850 it should be exciting enough.


Kayakers Nightmare = Upper Death

Barrel Springs courtesy of EddyFlower


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## kevintee (May 7, 2007)

Hmm, I thought that there were a couple that were below both the powerplant and dam but above the shosho put-in. I should remember this considering we were just there on saturday.


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## lmyers (Jun 10, 2008)

*Colorado below Shoshone dam*

Upper Death-class V:
<a href="Picoodle / 1ashtherockstar photo Image" target="_blank"><img src="http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/3/9/29/f_Photo0158m_85ea5dd.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by Picoodle.com" /></a>
Lower Death-class IV+:
<a href="Picoodle / m_126b3e89724a52810c5351450238 photo Image" target="_blank"><img src="http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/3/9/29/f_Photo0161m_2947542.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by Picoodle.com" /></a>
Life After Death-class IV+:
<a href="Picoodle / tcfc photo Image" target="_blank"><img src="http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/3/9/29/f_Photo0162m_626fa2f.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by Picoodle.com" /></a>
Barrel Springs-solid class IV:
<a href="Picoodle / arri�re photo Image" target="_blank"><img src="http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/3/9/29/f_Photo0166m_1e5b4fe.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by Picoodle.com" /></a>


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## caseybailey (Mar 11, 2008)

kevintee said:


> Hmm, I thought that there were a couple that were below both the powerplant and dam but above the shosho put-in. I should remember this considering we were just there on saturday.


First is the dam...then is kayaker's nightmare (or upper blah, blah, blah) then is barrel springs, then is the riverwide wave (Name?), Then is the shoshone powerplant, followed almost immediately by the boat ramp (thus shoshone boat ramp).


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## Gary E (Oct 27, 2003)

Barrell is considered 4+? Who can up with that rating?


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## bluesky (Sep 11, 2005)

That seems pretty close to me, depending on the water level. Do you think it's easier or harder than that?


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## yetigonecrazy (May 23, 2005)

well, gary's idea of class 4+ is probably a little different than most peoples idea of 4+........


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## COUNT (Jul 5, 2005)

I think even Gary would agree that Barrel was IV+ when it hit 18G's this summer. Upper Death might even be a V, right?


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## Gary E (Oct 27, 2003)

I think Barrell is solid 5 at any level above 2k(never paddled below 2). 4+ seems soft for such a fast, long voilent rapid with possible head rippers lower and flush drownings higher. I think Barrell, is a rapid with a lot going on, in a fast, shallow road blast, rapid that has a lot of gradient for 200yards.

I've only ran barrell at 11k and it was a very big 5, lol. Very big!

Gary


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## yetigonecrazy (May 23, 2005)

now aside from the three big drops and the one smaller drop, its all flatwater between big'uns on that run, so woulldn't it technically be III(V x 2)(V+)?


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## Gary E (Oct 27, 2003)

I would say kayakers nightmare(upper death) is 5+/p

Lower death 4+

Barrell 5/5+

river wide hole/wave 3+

so I would agree with that rating yetti.

I've paddled barrell 100 times and seen some brutal swims, stitches and broken gear many times on that rapid, it's mean.


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## COUNT (Jul 5, 2005)

That's a pretty good breakdown. I would say that under 2G's, it goes something like

UD-V+
LD-IV
Barrel-IV+

How high has Upper Death been run? I've looked at it at a number of flows, seriously considered it a couple (in the 1500-3000 range) and looking at it at 9000 it was one of the most terrifyingly grounding experiences I have ever had. Wish I could have seen it when it was 18 this year.


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## yetigonecrazy (May 23, 2005)

i wouldnt want to swim anywhere in barrel, the ever present sieves everywhere would be terrifying. they sure did a good job of putting an "eco-friendly" I-70 through there but that doesn't help the blast rock that was already there from the railroad and old US 6

http://rfkayakers.blogspot.com/2008/06/high-water-barrel-springs-lower-death.html the RF Kayakers ran it at 11,000, those guys have NUTS!!


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## Gary E (Oct 27, 2003)

Tommy ran upper death at 8g a couple years back. That's the highest it's been paddled. Made it fine, just tuck the bottom hole and hold on. Went fine.


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## yetigonecrazy (May 23, 2005)

damn, tommy is out of hand


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## Snowhere (Feb 21, 2008)

And seriously, the whole run is Barrel Springs. You would not call #4 on the Numbers it's own run, now would you? You can easily just run #4, but it is just a rapid. So calling Kayaker's Nightmare, (or Upper Death, call it what you want) and Lower Death and Barrel and Powerplant each a run on it's self is a bit much. 

So it's been run at 8Gs, that would have been splatecular to have witnessed. Anyone even have pictures of it up high?


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## islandertek (Apr 4, 2008)

I had the feeling it was out of my league when I looked from the road! It went quick! (those road scouts have been painful lately!:mrgreen 
I was just as curious as the rest of them! Thanks for the info though! Now I know that the Shoshone put-in is just fine for me now!! Looked good though!! Maybe someday.........oh, and then I woke up!!:mrgreen:

Cheers!

-Nick


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## yetigonecrazy (May 23, 2005)

honestly, if you portaged Upper Death, Life After Death, and Barrel (easy thanks to the footpath), the run itself would be no harder than Shoshone. like mentioned above, stay in your craft because of all the rocks but subtracting the big drops the rest of the run is way easy


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## Dodgington (Dec 2, 2007)

upper death around 11,000


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## 3d360 (Jul 8, 2008)

yetigonecrazy said:


> honestly, if you portaged Upper Death, Life After Death, and Barrel (easy thanks to the footpath), the run itself would be no harder than Shoshone. like mentioned above, stay in your craft because of all the rocks but subtracting the big drops the rest of the run is way easy


If you port all the drops and seives and holes its easy, mostly flat water. Unless you're there at 11,000cfs, take a look at the photos, yikes


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## yetigonecrazy (May 23, 2005)

:shock:


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## Nathan (Aug 7, 2004)

yetigonecrazy said:


> honestly, if you portaged Upper Death, Life After Death, and Barrel (easy thanks to the footpath), the run itself would be no harder than Shoshone. like mentioned above, stay in your craft because of all the rocks but subtracting the big drops the rest of the run is way easy



Honestly, if you portaged every rapid on every river every run would be easy. Plus if you switch over to a ducky to make getting out of the boat to portage easier/quicker it would be really easy. Why are you even talking about a run that would only make ideal boaterless photo opp for you? You are a tool.


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## yetigonecrazy (May 23, 2005)

Nathan said:


> Honestly, if you portaged every rapid on every river every run would be easy. Plus if you switch over to a ducky to make getting out of the boat to portage easier/quicker it would be really easy. Why are you even talking about a run that would only make ideal boaterless photo opp for you? You are a tool.


"a tool"? laaaaame....c'mon man, thats easily one of the weakest names i've been called, and thats saying something. use your imagination bro! how about "lame-ass pile of tit-meat" or something like that? youre capable of so much more! give it another shot, big guy, i'll wait......


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## Fluid Dreams (Jan 9, 2007)

*Barrel ~ totally runnable*

People make it sound harder than it is. What you were looking at from the road was Barrel. You can't see upper death from the road. Though you have to walk past in to put in, the rapid of Barrel Springs isn't that bad. It's kinda cool! 

1700CFS

There's a great V wave you punch into a giant eddy river left behind a big boulder.

From the eddy, you're looking straight down in to a slanted boulder face below a huge hole with a lateral hitting the boulder face smacking back into the hole. This has the greatest flip potential, so you're gonna want a strong roll. You have plenty of roll time after it. As soon as you get upright, you eddy out on River right, or make it into the sneak on river right. You can also hug left for to slide past a munchy hole with an exposed rock in it. 

To run the top part of Barrel Clean:
Practice leaning into laterals! The last rapid on Shoshone (maneater) has several laterals you can practice this on. Punch them and lean into them taking strong strokes through them. Then, take this technique into Barrel!

Then, there is a good sneak right, and the third lower part, there's a long continuous b-bop section before the river dog legs to the right. Dart right at the dog leg for a smooth tongue to the right of the holes.

You're good...




islandertek said:


> I had the feeling it was out of my league when I looked from the road! It went quick! (those road scouts have been painful lately!:mrgreen
> I was just as curious as the rest of them! Thanks for the info though! Now I know that the Shoshone put-in is just fine for me now!! Looked good though!! Maybe someday.........oh, and then I woke up!!:mrgreen:
> 
> Cheers!
> ...


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## islandertek (Apr 4, 2008)

Dodgington said:


> upper death around 11,000


 
:shock:
Dude, that is some scary looking stuff!! Wow!! I obviously didn't see that from the road!!! Yeah, I don't want a piece of that!!


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## caseybailey (Mar 11, 2008)

If you're gonna bash the prince of portage, it might be more effective to hit his tag line:

every time you eat a steak a hippie's hackey sack goes in the gutter 

...it seems to me that everytime you eat a steak, another hippie would be blessed with a hacky-sack.

So it goes.


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## yetigonecrazy (May 23, 2005)

"prince of portage"? clever- but let us get one thing straight here, i rarely portage anything. i may not be running the class V shit but what I do run i rarely walk. i think i only portaged three drops this year, and each time it was because my head wasnt in the game, and not because i thought the drop was too much. i could care less if you yeti bash on my class III+ ability, but at least yeti bash me for the right thing! :-D


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## 3d360 (Jul 8, 2008)

yetigonecrazy said:


> :shock:


 where do you hide money from a hippy?
under the soap!


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## Gary E (Oct 27, 2003)

Hey that LVM trailer that fish just put up has Tommys run of upper death around 8g. Good timing fish.


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## yetigonecrazy (May 23, 2005)

DAMN, he was going like 30 miles an hour into that hole!! jesus

that looks like a great video, i cant wait to get it. the footage of homestake creek looks really sweet (is that a cable cam?)........the high water yule footage is awesome, plus it looked like maybe some crystal gorge, and was that a flooded NF Slate I saw? damn, looks fantastic!


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## Mut (Dec 2, 2004)

This link is a vid of Jed and Dre paddling barrel on peak day this year in playboats. 

YouTube - Glenwood Springs Kayak

You need to wait until 1:30 into it to see the goods.

Gary,
Sorry there is some gayboating in this vid too.

And here is upper death at 3k.

YouTube - Upper Death

Looks like calss 5 to me. But I have swam lower death 2x's and it was mellow. Does that make it class 4 (or 3)?


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## kayakfreakus (Mar 3, 2006)

(is that a cable cam?)

-I think it was John Grace who was behind the camera, it was a zip line like they set up at Gorilla for one of their episodes, it provides a sweet vantage point.


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

kayakfreakus said:


> (is that a cable cam?)
> 
> it provides a sweet vantage point.


you think????


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## yetigonecrazy (May 23, 2005)

cable cams/zip lines are awesome, theyve been around in ski/snowboard flicks for a few years, glad to see more people utilizing that ability to get such phenomenal footage!


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## COUNT (Jul 5, 2005)

Where is said LVM trailer? I checked out the site and only saw the Southeast trailer and a Linville clip. Did I miss something?


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