JP, Ian, and I  pulled into Lake Chelan friday night to met Brad for beers to discuss the next days run.  There was so much beta on this run, that i felt like i had already done it before.  Pics of every drop, video etc....   When we woke up, we headed to the meeting spot where we were suprised to find and entire security detail awaiting our arrival,  weird thing tho,  we were late,  and were still the only people there... where is everybody i asked?  

Tom O'keefe,  and the other county staff  showed up,  and the "official paperwork process" was underway.  We were all checked in by  very friendly staff at the Chelan PUD,  the dam operator,  and other high ranking county officials , that looked as if they expected hoards more kayakers,  especially given the security presence.

Now the fun part,  the run rocks!   For Beta see the Chelan PUB site or AW, "there is already solid and correct beta listed there.   But i will say this.  Entrance Exam is tougher than it looks in the video and pictures,  the hole at the bottom served  humble pie to some in the "other" group.  Brad had an amazing 45 second hole ride there,  but amazingly held on.  The rest of the rapids like Throne, double slide, super boof and others went really well.  You can portage most everyhting in the gorge, but i'll say this,  some of the drops like throne are very consequential, as classVI Pinacle is directly below.  Though the gorge is short,  our first run down took nearly 4 hours.  Our second run took about 2.5.   If you know the lines,  this run could be completed in 1.5 hrs. 

Regarding water levels.  On Saturdays releases,  the flows will always be lower, between 300-375.  We found flows at 340 cfs to be low but doable.  The big drops are all good, but the stuff at the top and bottom of the gorge needed a lot more water to avoid boat abuse.  On Sunday we had a flow of 420 (not a typo)   This is my opinion was a much better flow as the boulder gardens cleaned up and entrance exam began to flush more :-)   

To those that are thinking of going to the Chealn Gorge for the next upcoming release :

Please understand that these releases are not final.  They are doing a 3 year whitewater boating monitoring study, and what happens in the gorge is very closely watched and recorded.  Any incident could derail all the hard work that has been advocated over the last decade.  They are very concerned about liability issues in there.

That being said,  class V creekers are going to love this run!!!   It's a classic!

Scott

 

What he said (and that was well said, Fish)

I would have been there, if they let 16 year olds do the run...

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After coming back from the gorge this weekend, the first thing I did yesterday was go into work and request off the 25th and 26th for the next release. With how much work I have been taking off lately there is a very real possibility that this could cost me my job and even if it doesn't I may loose my apartment when I can't come up with rent next month. However, there are some things you just have to do and there is no way I am going to miss out on a Chelan Gorge release if there is any possible way for me to make it.

I think JP and Scott already pretty much said it about this run. Everything about it is spectacular: the rocks, the water, the gorge, the drops and the weather. Trust me, this is one of those runs where the pictures do not even come close to doing it justice. What is hard to describe is what an amazing trip all these factors, along with some others, combine to make.

For me what made this weekend so great was not just the white water (which was amazing) but the over all experience. The folks at PUD who ran the event were some of  the nicest people you could imagine and were incredibly supportive. They kept the red tape to a minimum, provided us with all the beta we could need and even had home cooked brownies and cold soft drinks waiting for us at take out. In fact, the entire community was very excited to see us going in there and paddling their gorge. When we came out of the gorge there were 50 people waiting on the bridge to cheer us on and watch us run the last couple of rapids. Later we were told that many of them had been waiting for over two hours in 95+ degree heat to watch us come through. In the town of Chelan, all the locals saw our boats on our car and had all sorts of questions for us. Many had heard about the release and all were excited that we were getting in there and enjoying their gorge. In all my years of kayaking I have never received such a warm reception from a community.

Seriously, only two groups out there the whole weekend?  Hopefully next week has a better turnout.

that is super cool, sounds like an awesome time and some great folks.   

The TR and pictures are great.  What I commend you all on the most is the positive feedback on the organizers and the community of Chelan.  That says a lot for all of you. 

Thanks for the TR Fish & JP.  This post is some of the best beta I've seen here in a long time. 

Did they end up enforcing the no softshell access policy?

This was my first time boating with Brad and that sums it up pretty well. Also, Mad props to him for holding on through a hole ride that was at least 45 seconds long in  Entrance Exam , no exaggeration, then attacking it again the next day!

I talked with Tom, and the PUD about using different craft (IK and Raft).  It seems that through the  3 year evaluation and beyond,  it is going to be hardshell only.  There will be someone from PUD checking out the boaters who signed up, it's a formal process right now. 

JB,   with reagrd to your question about other boaters from the PDX.  The Chelan Gorge release has been a known event for some time, and many of the crews down south knew about the releases.  I've called/emailed many of the creekers down there,  and for some reason people just weren't motivated.  Some complained it was too far, others thought it was too short of a run to justify, others just wanted us to report on what we found, so they could make a decision.   Either way,  this river will soon be on the to do list for every qualified creeker in the future.  Its super high quality!!!    One day this will be a release that no one will miss,  mark my words,  it will grow in popularity as others see what we saw. 


Edited by James - 14 Jul 2009 at 1:56pm

Edited by jP - 14 Jul 2009 at 1:30pm

Thanks for the great trip reports and pics! Looks like some big drops in there!

I just found a great video online of Brad's backwards and upside down descent of the right side of double slide, check it out at:

http://gallery.me.com/snomish#100008