| Class: | III-IV (V/P) | ||
| Flow: | 10-20 cms- easy intro to creeking run. 30 cms is good fun all around level and 40-60cms is stellar 5 star, big water fun, dam release, BCHYDRO website. | ||
| Length: | 8.6 km | ||
| Time: | 2 hours | ||
| Gradient: | Lots of variation along run. Starts steep, levels off, slowly builds to fun 2.5% at last canyon. 135m/8.6km | ||
| Season: | dam release( most common during spring snow melt or fall heavy rains) Can even have a release for fish migration in August and September. | ||
| Put-In: | In the lake or just below the dam depending on flows. 12.7 km of driving | ||
| Take-Out: | First Bridge below the dam | ||
| Link: | Google Directions to Put-In | ||
| Link: | Map Quest |
Interactive map:
Map script: techrageo
Back to: Overview River Map
Run description:
The Upper Ash run is a small step up from the lower run. At reservoir height of 330.71, the dam starts free spilling, and it starts right out of Elsie Lake. You want at least 330.9 for it to have enough going over. There is a HUGE ramp, short pool and a 12 footer to launch off. Just line up on the painted penis or just to the right of the middle concrete crack. Enjoy the ride!
At low flows, there are a couple class 3 drops in the beginning that are fairly tight and may have sticky holes. At flows 25 cms and up, this section gets pushy, sticky and fast. After that, the river mellows out for some time and then goes into a low canyon. The canyon is fairly short but very beautiful with old trees on the sides. Once the canyon starts, there are a number of drops that start as easy class 3 and get harder the farther you go down. Everything is very pool drop at moderate flows.
After, a sharp corner and some busier water for a long strait stretch, you finally get to a horizon line that looks significant and it is worth scouting this one on river left. This is the hardest / most technical drop on the river. The drop is a steep boulder garden with some tight moves. The center feeds into a nasty sieve/slot combo,and that’s where most of the water goes. Easy portage river left. The danger becomes almost gone at 50 cms and higher.
This is a super fun, busy section with water in your face and a few munchy holes. Stay right is the cleaner line all the way. The last drop is classic fun. You can go for the hero boof on left, or plug the hole on right. It is a very sticky thing in the middle. After that the canyon opens up and there are two more drops. First the river goes over a wide slide that has numerous lines. Scout. Just after the slide, the river goes around an island with the right side being an easy 6 feet ledge.
From here the river continues over some long ramps, some easy stuff to the bridge take-out.
Here is a table of flow correlating to river level found at:
http://www.bchydro.com/info/res_hydromet/data/asm.txt
Water / flow (CMS)
level(M)
0.600 4.100
0.700 5.900
0.800 8.200
0.900 10.600
1.000 14.000
1.100 17.500
1.200 21.800
1.300 27.000
1.400 32.500
1.500 39.300
1.600 46.500
1.700 54.500
1.800 63.700
2.000 84.000
2.200 108.000
2.400 136.000
2.600 166.000
2.800 200.000
3.000 236.000
3.200 273.000
3.400 311.000
3.800 397.000
4.000 443.000
Other runs on the Ash River: