Chelan-againz

Chelan is so good!

If you look on a map, Chelan is pretty much in the middle of WA. The eastern side of Washington's Cascade Mountains hold many whitewater canyons that run every year in the spring. The Cooper and Cle Elum, Icicle Creek and thundering Tumwater Canyon offer bountiful whitewater options. Nason, Ohanepecosh, Robe, Top Tye, Foss...  are all super classic sections and each one will paste a smile on yo face, pretty much every time.

Ohane goods

Totten boofs the crap outta.. whatever - Ohanepecosh

Usually there are a few class V options left by the time Sept rolls around, but you gotta hike. Tumwater maintains boatable flows as fall approaches, but other than this roadside paradise there's nothing, aside from a few obscure intimidating box canyons... well, except for Chelan.

Cascade surprises reward the adventurous

The Chelan Gorge annual releases are part of an agreement involving the Chelan County P.U.D. and American Whitewater. One weekend a year the dam gates open and class V paddlers are welcomed into one of Washington's most dramatic class V canyons.

Well...  ya know how.. when you're looking through the guidebook for some sick new class V run you haven't been on and it winds up being like 7 miles long with 2 hard drops and a bunch of boogie and flat water?? Well.. Chelan just throws out all the in-between and you're left with a half mile of back-to-back steep class V bedrock stouts. 75 degree water temps combined with a 2 mile class II warm-up could be the ingredients that make Chelan the perfect late summer run. It's more fun every time I go, and watching the number of paddlers increase every year, I won't be surprised when we need MORE releases!! Chelan is sick.

Ellie Wheat aces the Entrance Exam

killled it

Once past a handful of class III-IV drops, the main gorge appears abruptly, as the river falls away through the first series of class V hydraulics and ledges known as Entrance Exam. Rock walls soar hundreds of feet above. The only other place I've been that could compare would be one of the side hikes in the Grand Canyon.

in order, going upstream: Boulder Sieve, Pinnacle, Throne

In late spring Chelan P.U.D. releases up to 10,000 cfs through this little miracle canyon scouring it clean all the way down to the bedrock. Sunday is the higher of the two days when kayakers go in there, and it's about 410 cfs. Sat is about 370. This canyon only adds to the desert appeal on the beast side of WA's Cascade Mountains. Sick!

Entrance Exam is the first and largest class V drop, beginning with 2 back-to-back sloping ramps, each driving down into seamy holes, respectively and concurrently! As you emerge from the second hole immediately scramble into a quick eddy on the right before the next back-to-back sequence. After getting the signal from your safety crew that the holes below are free and clean... peel out and boof left off the prominent 12 foot tall green spout. Take a good left stroke and forget about trying to use the shallow right flake that looks so inviting. Boof out to the left, landing forward. Land and get your boat straight for the next 5 foot pourover hole. Aim for center or slightly left and boof straight, downstream, through the hole. The hole will slow you down, but the current immediately turns and puts you into an eddy for the last mooove. As long as you were far enough left. Go off on the right, or (lord help you) sideways?! Well, don't swim. You don't wanna swim there.

Entrance Exam sets the tone for Chelan

After catching the eddy above the final charge, catch your breath... you might be about to get a good hole beating and not know it. I swear this last move is what makes EE so nerve racking. Even if you swim, the water is 75, air temps are somewhere between 90 and 100, and there are at least 6 throw bags that will criss-cross you as you, your boat AND paddle lazily float out of the hole to a small outcropping seemingly designed for self rescue!! Chelan is the SHIT!!!

  vultures..

The canyon is also very portagable and scoutable. Every drop can be portaged with varying degrees of effort. Did I mention how amazing the bedrock is?? You'll probably spend at least an hour at Entrance Exam watching everyone go through, one at a time. Then, the whole group begins to move to the next drop as safety is set up. Double Slide is next, and if Entrance Exam increased your pucker factor, it might be worth portaging.

the Meat

Double Slide is a 20 foot drop, and just as the name implies, has two side-by-side drops. The left side is "the sneak", but not an easy line to get to. First, you have to punch a hole between the left wall and a boulder. The hole is a funny shape and the rock helps to back it up some, making it stickier than it looks as well as a bit depressed, making it very difficult to work out of. Punch that effing hole! Then paddle hard at to get over the final little flake, ahhhh. Mess these moves up and you just bought yourself a one-way ticket down the right chute, into the Meat Locker!!!

Rick Williams was the very first kayaker to ever run the right side of Double Slide. Rick was known for his big-water skills as well as innovative paddling techniques (and catchy names of rapids ;). He named this right slot Chelammy!!  A fitting title, no doubt! Meat Locker, Chelammy... it's a gorge beast sanctuary! Sammy G was the only stud brave enough to run the Meat on Sat. Sam loves utilizing his new bionic prowess.

After the procession, everyone was stoked to fly off Super Boof, a sweet 15 foot boof. If there was an easy way back up, I'd crank boofs off that thing half the day!!! Immediately downstream is Throne. Throne is a 20 foot tall sliding drop with a powerful hole at the bottom. Go too far left and you'll get pushed into the throne-shaped rock on the left. The right half of the hole at the bottom of Throne is a very powerful, possibly backed-up hole that people have fully disappeared in for a 2 count, only to be shot upstream, back out of the hole. Chelan is SICK!

Throne

Ellie gets sick

JP

the Throne rock

Catch an eddy on either side and be quick about it, a 30 foot tall double drop known as Pinnacle is next. Pinnacle was portaged up until the final day of the final flow study in 2011. Rob McKibbon successfully made the first descent to the cheers of all of us mortal paddlers.

Sean Lee peers into Pinnacle while Tpot films at Throne

Throne and the precipice of Pinnacle

rollin' on Pinnacle

As is Chelan's style, there is another loss in gradient just below Pinnacle known simply as The Boulder Sieve. This is a mando portage and it's recommended to have at least one person on the "portage rock" to help paddlers get up and over the sneaky slab rock on the left. If ever there were a situation that a paddler didn't make it over the slab rock, missing the sieve... 95% of the water flows under a big boulder pile. That said, caution should always be taken and appropriate safety set at every drop on this run. Safety is of the utmost importance and it's easy to do in here. It is a privilege to paddle this canyon and many people have put in a lot of their time and many real dollars to achieve the releases we have. Let's not lose this great resource. It is our responsibility to keep everyone safe and these resources open! CHELAN is SICK!!

get some Jah

the Boulder Sieve

Throne

Full Face Andy

Brian Berger gets the bird's eye on Pinnacle

After sliding down the left sneak at Boulder Sieve there are several IV-ish drops before the next sequence starts, Extra Credit, a fun series of small ledges and slides curling around the corner and under the bridge 500 feet above. There are eddies on the left toward the bottom. One eddy marks the beginning of the final boulder garden, Fat Lady. Be careful, there are some tight funky slots in here and a rock siphon makes the very last twisty drop. Set safety at this spot. If things go bad here it'll happen faster than you can get out of your boat.

By now you've exhausted all but the last 2 feet of vertical gradient from the Chelan Gorge. Paddling across the short pool, portage the log jam on the right, continuing down the right channel to the park at the confluence! Consume booty beers, load up and head to the horseshoe pit! The nightlife is but a few hours away. Chelan is one of the sickest weekends all summer, fo sho!

...til next year, y'all!!!

Chelan Gorge Is An East Side Nugget

         Fish, Gordon, and AJ consider Entrance Exam

The road is such a great place to be. Anything can happen and

usually does. Since I first left for Ecuador, I've been

travelling and boating as much as I can handle. It's been a good

run and I see no end in sight. For the inspired and adventurous

'lifestyler', putting in the O T on the passport is a gateway you

might not be able to come back from. All of these great photos are
courtesy of  Creek Sides supporter and fellow 'styler', Danimal
Patrinellis. Thanks, bro!!

                            This boof is super

Adventuring about is a fabulous way to spend one's time. Cruising into canyons you know no one has been in for a while, if ever, is what we're here for. Discovering sick drops and runs so others can explore and so we can come back to these gems is why we do it. Like Ben Stookesbury said, "just getting in there to experience the canyon, even if you never run a single drop, to experience a place few to none have ever seen" is why we do it. 

Not all of these trips strike paydirt. And you can't spend all your time on bunk adventures. I mean, someone who's motivated could spend days and days "discovering" runs that just don't need to be found, if you know what I mean. I get excited about getting into the woods and finding things that NEED finding and I was sure that there was far more whitewater to be found out there than Chelan.

                           Brian Burger stomps it!!

The calls went something like this:

me: what're you thinkin' this weekend?

someone: uhhh.. i dunno.. you?

me: i'm thinkin' about the...  i know it goes.

someone: what about Chelan? i think that's running.

me: uhh, yeah. (try again)

me: you boating this weekend?

someone else: yeah, what's running?

me: well out on the O P...

someone else: the O P? do you have to hike in?

me: well, uhh...

someone else: isn't Chelan going?

me: yep (next)

me: hey man, you boating this weekend?

some other guy: Yeah, bro!!  CHELAN!!!!!!! IT'S GONNA BE SICK!!!

me: isn't Chelan reeeally short?

some other guy: IT'S SIIICK, BRAH!!!!!!!!!!

me: ohh..

some other guy: let's FRICKIN' RALLLLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

me: who's going? (next)

   Fri night (late)

me: yo... boating?

them: thinkin' about it. what are you thinkin?

me: there's this sweet little...

them: isn't Chelan this weekend?

me: yes. (painful grimace)

them: have you done that one? it looks sick. warm water, too!

me: (teeth gnashing) no.

them: i heard a lot of people are going.

me: (gulp) what time should we leave?

And so it came, Chelan was to be my fate. Now Chelan doesn't look like a bad run, but it's real short. Access is easy, you can scout or portage anything not to your liking. AND you can watch all your friends style each rapid (or get hammered). The drive isn't bad from Seattle, but get an early start if leaving in the morning.

We had 10 in our group Sat. A beautiful start with warm temps and water. Paddling in, we found ample warm up that lead us to some fun class III. Then, very quickly we arrived at Entrance Exam. This is the longest drop on the run. Entrance Exam starts with two sloping ledges into holes, followed by a 16 foot ledge with a

powerful seam-hole at the bottom. Paddle hard coming out of that hole because you have to punch a huge hole immediately after on the right. Catch the eddy and catch a breath for the final move. A full-on power drive, uphill across a full jet of current, avoiding the backed-up-beat-it-up right half of the river, punching the strong jet of current coming from the left, entering the 'pinch'. Dropping through the pinch, have as much speed as possible with a good forward position. Drive hard and continue digging in when landing to pull yourself out. Eddy out. 

               Rob drivin' hard through Entrance Exam

                             Rob McKibbin makin' the grade 
                                        at Entrance exam

Welcome to Chelan!! The locals liked seeing us in there paddling the gorge so many of them had hiked when it was dry. One guy was convinced we were all insane, but that he 'understood' and knew that we 'just had

to get it out'. There is something to that. I get a little cagey if I haven't had a good sweaty paddle in a while. Does my body go into adrenaline withdrawl? I think, really, we just crave the abuse. To wrestle, sail on, and stomp a good river is quite a lovely way to spend the day. And folks, we're only at the first drop!!

                                Chelan Gorge is pretty

Double Slide is next. This drop consists of two or three short ledges, eddying center, then drive left hard through a small backed-up hole that will deny you and send you right if you ain't drivin'. Hit that hole HARD and stay way left to squeak through a boat-wide chute on the left bank. It's a shallow one, so drive hard or get denied and go right. Once through this little slot you are home free and bump down a low stress 30 foot slide. 

            Harms styles the left Slide

                                 Kurle slides as Fish watches

Now right goes, but it is not a low stress line. It's tight and requires a cool nerve because there are lots of rocks in and around the boof flake that will screw you. And you want to hit that flake well, trust me. 

                    AJ heads right at Double Slide

                               McKibbin about to drop in
                                     to the Meat Locker

         In-between at Double Slide

Hit that flake hard with some right angle and stay on top of the massive fold trying to blow you all over the left wall before you disappear at the bottom in an explosion of white!!! The right side goes... and is a pretty sensational line, no ego required. Roll up in the monster boils at the bottom and paddle to safety. Weee.

     Fish  lookin' pretty for the cameras

Up for the third drop? Yeah?? Great, it's at the end of this pool. This is Super Boof. The name says it all, so I won't bore you with how dope this drop is. Right stroke, how high can you get your bow above your stern...  BOOOOOOOFFfff..... That was fun!! Right? 

           Gordon airing it out

                                             Matt Kurle

                                             does it right

                                           at Super Boof!!!!

                                               Like buttah

                              AJ cleans up 

"What's next? Let's get this thing!" is what you're feelin', right? Relax. You're getting out of your boat again because Throne, a 20-something sloper into a hole, rolling off into unrun class VI just downstream. Run on the left half of the drop, stay off the "funny rocks" at the bottom. Catch that eddy. Plenty of time to roll, just wait for it and paddle in. Relax, this is the Chelan Gorge. It's dumb, remember.

       

     The "Danimal" smoothes Throne

           In case you didn't know where it was...

What's next? You say your mouth just started watering? Well, we portage around Pinnacle, a sick bloater with a horrible hole at the bottom. That hole is a bloat-pig fer sure. It made my tummy hurt a little, just looking at it. Eww.

                           AJ gittin' some

                          Rob champin' it

                        Mike Harms gets 'er done

                   AJ about to enter the Meat Locker

And at the bottom of Pinnacle, on the other end of the 30 foot moving pool? Death Sieve. Scootch over the wet rock on the left, but be careful not to get stuck in the hole at the bottom. Yep, this sieve is so burly it has a freakin' hole at the bottom!! FACT: Unless you're a total stud, have someone on the rock here cuz it would be real easy to take this one lightly, not get enough speed and get sucked into the sieve. Don't do it!! This is a serious move.

                 AJ takin' it at Entrance Exam

What's that you say? Is there more? More?? Yeah, there's more. Extra Credit is just fun. Boat scout down to Fat Lady and make sure you have good communication through here. Stay left, generally, as several routes pinch down into sieveyness. One sievey spot got somebody in our group Sat and it was almost a really bad scene. Fortunately, Ian was right there, flew out of his boat and made the save. It's tight through here. Be on your toes. Fat Lady doesn't go on for too long before you get to the bottom and the take out.

And we're doing it again this weekend!!!! Stay tuned...

                 Chelan Gorge is a great place to be