South Platte, North Fork
01. Bailey to Pine(Bailey, The ATF Box, The Ten Miler)
January 1, 1900
Trip Report
| Reporter | Brian Adkins |
This is the crux move of Super Max. Just a few feet after a severe 90 degree right turn in heavy current, you need to hit a 2 foot wide launch pad. Too far left and you get flushed into the undercut (the big rock bottom left of the picture. Too far right is not quite as bad, but isn't that much fun either. Most likely you will piton on the rock backing up the right side.
This is the 1st drop of Four Falls Rapid. You can see the water pouring into the uncercut cliff on river left. A sieve on the right side of the drop sucks 50% of the river under the boulder the kayakers are launching off of. It is only a Class IV move, but with Class VI consequences, so most people call it a V+ and portage. The drop isn't that big or fun and isn't worth the risk.
Check out the full-sized version of this picture by clicking here.