Boulder Creek, South,

02. Pinecliffe to Gross Mountain Reservoir (USB)

Usual Difficulty	V+ (may vary with level)
Length	2.6 Miles
Avg. Gradient	229 fpm
Max Gradient	320 fpm

River Description

Craig Irwin 2001-10-10 10:53:36
The Upper South Boulder, an unforgiving, beautiful section of in-your-face class V. The USB has an uncharacteristic section of water at put-in, with a concrete channel piping you straight into the first snaking class V rapid, Trainspotting. There is a 20 foot long steel ibeam pointing upriver in the middle drop of Trainspotting, welcome to USB. The run gets remote quickly, and the water runs directly into a wall on river left at the Gash. Within one mile you have already run two class V rapids with dire consequence. Keep your eyes open on this run, the Puma calls this turf home. The run has few eddies and some must make moves, not a run for anyone less than a seasoned Class V Colorado boater. Take out is a long haul across Gross Reservoir. Expect a busy day on the river, and don't be surprised if somebody looses some gear on this run.

To Get There: The put-in is at Pinecliffe on Highway 72(Coal Creek Canyon). To get to the takeout take Hwy 72 from the metro area, at Crescent Village turn right. Take 77S Road down to the reservoir, and then follow signs to the "Inlet Parking".

See Colorado Rivers and Creeks II, by Banks and Eckardt (The Bible), for info on this and most of the other kewl runs of Colorado.

Lat/longitude coords are approximate, from TopoZone.

The various reaches of Boulder Creek,
Jasper Creek (Class V+/VI),
The Source (Class V),
Upper Boulder Canyon (Class V/V+),
Lower Boulder Canyon (Class IV),
Boulder Town Run (Class II/III),
North Fork Boulder (Class V+/VI),
Alto-Alto (Class IV),
Upper South Boulder (Class V+/VI),
Lower South Boulder (Class IV/V+/VI),
Eldorado Canyon (Class V+).