Yampa

I have read reports of cross mountain at low levels (300's) On a somewhat warm Autumn day 43 degrees forecasted, we decided to go for it. We stopped at the major features to scout, everything looked really good and had pretty clean lines. All in all I was pleasantly suprised how much fun I had in there.

The sand bars in the first mile of flat water were not that bad either.

Cross Mtn at about 1650 cfs on 19-April-2020 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxUDcsfNckU) felt to me like the Numbers at 2400 cfs, but with more maneuvering.

Lower water run on 4-Aug-2019 at about 850 cfs is here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_uyFeLy-GkU&list=UUqu2zhAc3NVAk\_CWVbCtnog&index=12). There's a far left sneak at Osterizer at this lower level.

Best description of this section that I've seen is here (https://www.rigtoflip.org/cross-mountain-canyon).

The proper gauge is Yampa below Maybell:
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/co/nwis/uv/?site\_no=09251000&PARAmeter\_cd=00065,00060

The Deerlodge gauge is below the confluence with Little Snake, which is about 25% of the flow.

I believe there was a death about 1952 or so as we found a canoe made from an airplane tank beat up and abandoned on a sand bank in Deep Park about that time. We did not run Cross mountain but put in below. Clyde Jones

Snake Pit from the canyon rim

Death Ferry, around 1k

Jeff Foster: For river flow through Cross Mountain, use the Yampa River near Maybell gage rather than Yampa River at Deerlodge Park (the Deerlodge gage includes flow from the Little Snake River which comes in downstream of Cross Mountain).

I'm surprised there isn't more info on this run. It's truly a great run. Pretty, lots of action, no flat water.

Note the following:

1. This run changes a lot with the water level.

2. There is some danger--mostly with undercut rocks and possible sieves at Snake Pit.

3. You probably want to scout the top down to Snake Pit. I think it gets easier after Snake Pit.

4. This run is class V only at high water. At 2000 cfs, it's class IV. Hitting the lines at Snake Pit at 2000 cfs are actually pretty easy, but some danger exists.

5. At around 2000 cfs, lots of people come here. You'll always have others to run shuttle on weekends.

I'm curious if anyone has died in this section. So many people run it, even in rafts that have real trouble, that if it were really dangerous, there should be some deaths.

I've heard there is a 'death ferry' in this run, but it wasn't there at 2000 cfs. I'd like more info.

This is the bottom half of the rapid.

Some people will do anything if there's a camera around.
Surprisingly, there's whitewater at the end of this road.