Vertigo

Vertigo Gorge on Dipper Creek.

 The story of the first decent is one of the best trip reports I have ever read.  The chance to get in there to see the gorge and imagine what it was like for those who pioneered the run was an opportunity I didn't want to miss.

Heacam shots by Emile and Lucas. Dinsdale photos marked as such.
Scouting the entrance to Vertigo Gorge.

An ambitious crew of 8 turned into 4 when the reality of the trip set in the morning of.

We camped along the Ashlu and were hiking to the put in of Dipper by 10 on Saturday morning.

There are a couple warm up rapids and a couple warm up portages before the entrance drop.  We scouted the entrance for awhile before Willy dropped over with an inspiring line.

 He got out to set safety on the right.  Lucas went deep, resurfacing upright in the bowl on the left.  He was unable to paddle out, so Willy through him his rope, too short...  It had been cut the week before and unfortunately was not able to reach the cave.  Emile tossed Willy another one, who connected with Lucas this time and pulled him across the boil.

The view from the room on the left.

Emile's line was a similar story.  He and Lucas were enjoying the Vertigo pool when I hiked up to my boat and soon joined them in that spectacular spot.


                                                                        Dinsdale photo.

Willy continued to lead the charge over the crack drop into an incredible pool that turned out to be one of my favorite places on any river.

Head-cam of the crack.

Two fun boofs were below here and then a short optional portage. Emile exiting Vertigo Gorge proper.

Dinsdale photo.

 Not long after is the recommended portage. Here Willy describes the line.

The horizon line in the background is Rock Snot and scouting is an involved process.

Lucas, Emile and I roped our boats up a steep gully on the left with assistance from Willy.  Willy had seen the drop the week before and decided to forgo the scout on this trip.  When Lucas, Emile and I reach river level on the other side of the portage Willy came into view after a successful run over Rock Snot.

Rock Snot from the end of the portage.

It's not far below here to the BC Groove tube.  It has very dangerous wood in it and we were able to do a portage on the right that is a bit crumbly.

We ferried across the pool to the left to scout out the shipwreck falls.  I anticipated a painful landing as its not well aerated so decided to get it over with quickly.

 Boofing out next to the ships prow. 

 Willy parted the water in the landing zone on impact after his tail down boof. 

Lucas and Emile went for the nose down entry but took big hits as well.  

Dinsdale photo.

Emile on his way to joining us in the pool.

Taking it in

We then paddled onto the Squamish which is icing on the cake.  This canyon is gorgeous with splashy class IV whitewater.

We did the short hike out and Willy fired up the scooter shuttle sans breaks.  It was now 2PM so we rallied back to the Lyons Bay slide and do that.  Its pretty hard on gear but worth doing once.

It is advisable to try to do this slide at high tide.  There were rocks poking out in the landing zone when we were there. 

The video from our trip.

Dipper Creek from Difficult E on Vimeo.

We did the run on Oct 26.

Squamish Gauge                            

Elaho Gauge

The following video is from the week before we were there when Dan and Jeff did the first raft decent with Willy for safety.

Vertigo Gorge Dipper Creek B.C. from Daniel Mccain on Vimeo.

Vital information for this run can be found here along with links to the story of the first descent.

A quick tidbit about locating the hike out: A good spot to start the hike is the first boulder bar encountered on the left when the Squamish gorge opens up ever so slightly. 

 -jacob

BC Beta

Looking back on my 3 kayaking trips to BC, there is one outstanding part of every trip that I wish I could avoid.  That is driving through Vancouver.

Vancouver is a beautiful town that is reportedly a delightful place to spend time in.  The issue for me is my destination has always been beyond and when nearing the end of a sizable drive, one of the last things I enjoy doing is finding my way through a large city with many stop lights.  Even when conditions are ideal (2:30 in the morning) I find this part of the drive trying on my patience.  5:30 on a Friday afternoon is indescribable.

Fortunately the last time we were up there we received some solid beta from Dan Patrinellis that avoids Vancouver proper altogether.  The first thing to realize is that the sign system appears to make the assumption everyone who travels into BC has the goal of visiting Vancouver, even if they are on their way to Whistler/Squamish or beyond.

The way to circumnavigate this fate is to follow the route indicated on the map below and avoid the Peace Arch border crossing.

Same map zoomed in to show the border crossing.

Driving hwy 15, you will eventually see signs that warm you are about to cross a toll bridge.  While it is indeed a toll bridge, a sign just before you cross will inform you must go online if you wish to pay the small fee.  If you do not, sometimes they will send you a bill in the mail, sometimes nothing comes of it.  For me, it has been 6 trips over the bridge and no fee.

Now that you have arrived at your destination faster than anticipated, maybe you have time for a quick lap on the Box!

Another enjoyable edit by Ryan Cole.  This one of our September 14, 2013 trip to the Ashlu at 21 cms.

TheBox from Ryan C on Vimeo.

* Willy Dinsdale has taken the 543/15 route a number of times.  He said one of the times he received a request in the mail to pay his fee.

* Nate has also received one request in a handful of trips to BC

  -jacob