East
01. Gothic Bridge to above Stupid Falls(Upper East)
| Difficulty | IV |
| Length | 0.7 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 182 fpm |
| Gauge | East River Below Cement Creek Nr Crested Butte, Co |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 518 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | March 26, 2019 |
Projects
Forest Planning in Colorado American Whitewater is closely involved with Colorado’s National Forest Planning efforts. Nearly 68% of Colorado’s forests are Federally owned and managed as public land by the Forest Service (USFS) (47%), Bureau of Land Management (BLM) (17%), and the National Park Service (NPS) (2%) (CSU, 2018) [...]Read More
River Description
In the shadow of spectacular Gothic Mountain, the Upper East is the easiest of the Crested Butte creeks. There are 6 slides that deserve a quick scout. If your a Class V paddler take your play boat and surf every single wave the whole way down. Confident Class III boaters should be able to make it down this run as long as they have good babysitters.
The end of this stretch includes “Stupid Falls”, a spectacular vert to slide waterfall that is 60 feet tall. At moderate flows, the upper stretch provides an unique opportunity for intermediate paddlers to test their skills on slides and moderately sized slides. At high water, this can be the most challenging run in Crested Butte. This segment is set in the Gothic Valley, the wildflower capital of Colorado and provides scenic views of the East River corridor.
To get there: Take Gothic Rd out of Crested Butte until you cross the river. This bridge is the put-in. To get to the takeout continue down the road another 50 yards past the bridge and take the first dirt road on the right. About a mile down that road keep an eye out for a large flat field to the right with the grass next to the road trampled down a bit from parking. Look for a small trail leading to the far corner of the field, this is where to scout Stupid Falls and the takeout.
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 1/2 mile of slack w
...River Features
Put In
Midget Wrestler
The small but potent hole at the bottom is the 'midget', and he is grumpy. There are two lines, left and right. The left line is a bit easier, you start center and work left, just squeeking by the midget on the left. The right line you follow the wave train down the right side and over a stompin' ledge, then slide over the shallow ledge to the right of the midget. This is the only hard rapid that can be seen from Gothic Road.
Slide #2
This is almost a waterfall, it drops about 12' of nearly vertical with no hydraulic. Run it left of center, follow the green water.
Slides #3, 4, & 5
Three short 5' vertical slides that are back-to-back. There is a log on the left in the last slide.
Slide #6
A bony diagonal ledge at top is followed with a large hole on bottom left. Enter center left and work right.
Stupid Falls
This is a 60' stair-stepping incentive to make sure you know where to take out. The falls are actually run quite frequently, by those with rubber spines and/or good chiropractors!
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportHike out
The big one!
not really much of a slide
not really a slide
not really a slide
Beautiful Take out