Roaring Fork
02. Slaughterhouse(Aspen to Upper Woody Creek Bridge)
| Difficulty | IV-V |
| Length | 4.5 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 85 fpm |
| Gauge | Roaring Fork River Blw Maroon Creek Nr Aspen, Co |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 171 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | August 1, 2019 |
River Description
This is one of the juiciest, quality, class 4 runs in the state. It goes on and on, it stays pretty consistent in its difficulty for the full four miles. The general character is technical, channelized 4. You can make it your slalom course, you can create your own more difficult lines, you can pick it apart. In comparison to the Numbers on the Arkansas, its a bit more difficult, a bit more techinical, and much more channelized. Its also a nicely scenic stretch of river.
The first rapid, one of the more difficult, Entrance Exam comes about 100 yards downstream of the put-in. Warm up quickly.
A drop that is out of character with the rest of the run, Slaughterhouse Falls, comes about half a mile below the put-in. Look for a calmer section of river, with a large scree field on the left, and a gently slopping beach/bank on the right. Eddie out at the bank on the right to scout. Slaughterhouse Falls is a river wide 6' ledge. At medium and lower flows the line is center left. Scouting from downstream you will see a spot where the falls form a 'crotch', thats your line. Keep your speed up. Going over the falls to far to the right could be nasty. At higher flows check out a far right line over the falls.
Another drop to pay attention for is 'Triple Drop', that includes a sticky hole at the bottom of the rapid in the center.
General comments for the whole run: There is potential for lots of play. Also, though there is not much, keep your eye out for unexpected, random wood, especially if your taking more interesting lines.
- Sammer Elias
River Features
Put in
There is parking are here providing access to a small green park on the river and a bicycle trail which follows the river. Overflow parking is on the opposite side of the road.
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportFun at 775 cfs. About as much as most packrafts will handle. Very continuous and paddling needed to hit the right lines and navigate the boulder garden. Recommend scouting entrance exam and the falls. Far left was the line on the falls, but a bit scrape-y. Swims can be long. We had a boat go from middle entrance, over the falls, and almost to the next rapid. Play boats in this section had a tough go.
Fun run around 600 on the gage. This is the low side by western standards but a great low side of medium flow by eastern standards. Lots of boofs and fun slalom moves.
7-28-14 G and I ran this at 362 CFS on our own. It was a little slower and a bit more bumps and grabs at tis level, yet still enjoyable and doable. We had no problems on Entrance Exam and Slaughterhouse Falls. We messed up at eye of the needle and could not decide on a plan of which way to go until the last min, which was to late. We went right of the Eye Of The Needle rock and got hung up on it and the rock to the right. G was on high side and I was unable get up from the low side in time, Mini Me flipped and we were swimming between to boulders. G came out the other side of the funnel of water and I was under the boat, I was than able to get a foot hold and flip the raft right side up and climbed in. I saw that G was ok, grabbed the spare paddle and moved to shore. We both came out a little sore and reminded of how quickly things can go wrong. The rest of the river went well, and we realized that its a good idea to have a safety boater with us, even if we feel completely confident with a run.
7-22-2014
G and I ran the whole run with Charlie as our safety at 405 cfs and was still a great level in the Mini Me. We ran Entrance exam and the falls with no problems. This is a great run at low water, lots of technical maneuvers and just the right length. O, and beautiful as well.
7-24-2014
G and I ran the whole section again flawless in the Mini Me with Charlie as our guide. It was flowing at 389 CFS and still a good lower level for the Mini Me. Fun, beautiful and close, just can't get much better.
7-20-14
We ran this at 430cfs in the Mini Me. We skipped Entrance Exam just because it was our first time running this river section. We ran everything else and dropped the falls with no problems. What a great section of river with plenty of boulder fields to keep you on your paddle toes. G and Simon with Charlie as our safety.
11 year old boy dropping the falls
This run is filled with play and consistent rapids including hells half mile, almost in the middle of the run.
We have run it down as far as 61 CFS. It starts getting fun above 250 CFS.
This is the boogie water just below Hawaii 5-O. Its pretty typical of what you'll find on Slaughterhouse at this level.
This surf-n-squirt spot is right next to the treatment plant and under the airport landing pattern. (sigh)
Hawaii 5-O is the best surf wave on Slaughterhouse.
This surf-n-squirt spot is right next to the treatment plant and under the airport landing pattern. I don't think Kirk and Dave even noticed.
If you want to know what to expect from Slaughterhouse, this is it. Lots of boogie water with lots of play.