Ankle Breaker to Beaver Ponds (OBJ)Class V
1 Miles
Avg Gradient 400 fpm
Max Gradient 400 fpm
Super flat landing...ouch!
Super flat landing...ouch! Photo of Brian Adkins by Matt Stiegler taken 06/01/02 @ Low water Gauge Information
Oh Be Joyful Creek
River DescriptionOver the past few years Oh Be Joyful Creek has become the most popular Class V creek run in all of Colorado. The sickening gradient slides down generally smooth flat slate resulting in surprisingly easy lines. Don't take it too lightly though, the swims are few but there is potential for epic carnage. The creek has taken on the nickname "Oh Be Careful". This run gets dramatically easier the more times you've run it. After the 2nd or 3rd time down most competent Class V boaters can bomb it in less than 10 minutes without breaking a sweat.The upper and lower ½?s of the creek are very different, even though the gradient is about the same. The upper 1/2 has the big waterfalls, a 25' fall and two 18' falls. Most boaters put in below the first one, Ankle Breaker, it has rocks in the landing zone. Don't bother boofing either of the 2 big waterfalls below, a hole thrashing at the bottom is a lot less painful than a 2 story drop landed flat. This section is generally a little less frantic than the lower half, as it is much easier to eddy hop your way down. There is very little wood in the upper half, so some boaters take out just above the huge avalanche path that crosses over the creek, the start of the lower half. The lower half is characterized by a big string of amazing long and steep slides interspersed with river-wide logjams climaxing in a shotgun blast over a 12' sliding-waterfall at the very end. The eddies are there, but you get going so fast it’s like a gravity beam pulling you into the big drops. It is generally possible to "wheel-chair" your way over and off the backside of the worst logjams, although some do chose to portage. Don't boat down to the confluence with the Slate, take out river left at the end of the large pool just below the last slide/waterfall. Check out the pics at Mountainbuzz.com, and Ed Hansen's Web Gallery. There are some awesome pics of the US Steep Creek Championships taken in June(Brrr!) at Julie Keller's website., To get there: From the OBJ camprground you will have to cross the Slate River. High clearance vehicles can ford the river, but there are many casualties each year. If you're going to drive across make sure you know that the air intake is high enough that it won't suck up water, and use granny gear to crawl acrss the river very slowly. The put-in is one mile up the road at a flat rocky meadow to your left, it should be obvious that lots of vehicles have been there and the vegetation is getting smooshed badly. If you have strong legs please hike your boats up:-) The Quadruple Crown: Because of the short length and proximity of the Crested Butte creeks all 4 of them can be run in the same day. The East River is the best to start out with; it has the largest flow and the least gradient of the four. Next in line is Daisy Creek. Just continue downstream after Daisy to the confluence with the Slate River; there will be about 1 mile of slack water until the first rapid. The takeout for the Slate River is the same as Oh Be Joyful Creek so just walk or drive up to the OBJ put-in from there. StreamTeam Status: verified
Last Updated: 2002-06-17 14:45:25
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This creek is fed entirely by the days snowmelt so the later you put on the higher the flow will be. Peak flows are at sunset or shortly after.
Before June look for minimum flows of 700 cfs or higher. Early in the season the gauges, located far downstream of the actual reach, are mostly reading snow melt from lower elevations.
Slate River near Crested Butte CO. [ CO ] |
Current Conditions
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| Level Legend: | Running | Below Minimum Recommended Flow | Above Maximum Recommended Flow | Unknown |
| State | River Name/Section | Class | Level | Rel. Level | Updated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO | Daisy Creek— 40' Waterfall to confluence with Slate River | V | cfs | 0/0 0:00 | ||
| CO | North Fork of Slate— North Fork of Slate Drop | V+ | cfs | 0/0 0:00 | ||
| CO | Oh Be Joyful Creek— Ankle Breaker to Beaver Ponds | V | cfs | 0/0 0:00 | ||
| CO | Slate— Beaver Ponds to Oh Be Joyful Campground | V | cfs | 0/0 0:00 |
| AW Gauge ID: | 4166 |
| USGS Station: | 09111500 |
| HUC: | 14020001 |
| Latitude: | 38.8697 |
| Longitude: | -106.9689 |
| Class: | -1 |
User Comments |
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2006-06-28 20:29:51 (752 days ago)
Fremont Shields
This is probably well known, but seems like a lot of injuries happen every year on the 25 footer when people go too far right. If you run this falls you want to be left of center. A big ledge lays just beneath the surface on the right side. Be careful and have fun!
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2002-03-20 15:23:29 (2313 days ago)
Matt Muir
Well, Ed Hansen wanted a name for the rapid in the picture above ("Shotgunblast, photo # 1508). I asked the crowds at rec.boats.paddle and at Boater Talk to "Name that Rapid!" Everyone's got an opinion. Read on!
<br>
<br>
From RBP:
<br>
Last Shot
<br>
Flush lever
<br>
Thundering Tower
<br>
Amen
<br>
Last Dance
<br>
Oh Be Grateful
<br>
Had to Go
<br>
Chiropractor Falls
<br>
<br>
from BT (http://boatertalk.com/forum/BoaterTalk/147717):
<br>
Hallelujah
<br>
Praise God
<br>
Rise up
<br>
Gonna Fly Now
<br>
Nirvana
<br>
Hey you get off of my cloud
<br>
Come Down
<br>
Last Drop
<br>
ER
<br>
Don't Worry, Be Happy
<br>
Ode to Joy
<br>
Hands to Heaven
<br>
White Angel
<br>
Angel Falls
<br>
Smirk
<br>
Angel Hair
<br>
Angel Hair Pasta
<br>
White Chocolate Crunch
<br>
Orgasm--especially since it's the *last* rapid and the *climax* of Oh, Be Joyful Creek
<br>
Cosmic Debris or
<br>
Zero The Hero and if I'd been on the run with them maybe:
<br>
I Walk Alone
<br>
Got Cajones? or
<br>
BYOB (Bring Your Own Balls)
<br>
Men or Mice
<br>
Gummy Bear or
<br>
Cupcake or
<br>
Pansy or
<br>
Mary Poppins....or
<br>
Scared as Hell
<br>
Maybe Next Time
<br>
Mangled Human Remains
<br>
Drift and Die
<br>
Poseidon's Revenge
<br>
Kraken's Spatula
<br>
welcome climax
<br>
Steve
<br>
Reap the Rocket
<br>
Cleanin' House
<br>
Homo-destructus.
<br>
<br>
But "BigHelmet" sez:
<br>
'It has a name many already know, "The last rapid on Oh-Be."'
<br>
<br>
Me, I kinda like the ones like Ode to Joy and Amen. And I like "Cosmic Debris" for the wood-choked rapid (# 1506); Jesse Kodadek suggests "dumber 'n shit" or "big stiff woody" for that one.
<br>
<br>
The decision on the rapids' names will doubtless be up to those who run the crick.
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| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | Ankle Breaker | 5.2 |     |
| 0.1 | Heart Attack | 5.0 | |
| 0.3 | 1st big slide on upper OBJ (name?) | 5.0 | |
| 0.4 | Dead Zone | 5.1 | |
| 0.5 | Last big slide on upper OBJ (name?) | 5.0 |  |
| 0.6 | Avalanche (name?) | 5.1 | |
| 0.7 | Pick-Up Sticks (name?) | 5.0 |  |
| 0.9 | Ode to Joy (name?) | 5.0 | |
| 1.0 | Oh Be Grateful (name?) | 5.0 |  |
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