Gilmans Gorge

I met up with Ross Herr and Tim Kennedy for an afternooner on Gilmans Gorge. Gilmans is the perfect after work for paddlers in the Vail area. We had around 500cfs which was perfect for me personally. Ross and Tim are locals and knew the lines well. There are only two "big" rapids the first is a simple boof that lands left of a big Ross approaching the first boof...

hole and just right of a big rock... no worries.

The next big rapid is called Slurry Pipe. This rapid is ugly and rumor has it that there is a ton of rebar and chunks of metal from an old mine that was up high on river right. The entrance is easy to see on the approach as you are looking for a boof far right under an old bridge. After boofing right the action starts and the visual looking downstream gets very... uh.... unnatural and ominous with an abandoned bridge pylon sticking out as a reminder that humans can build, use and leave a river in a mess. This pylon however is the visual key as to where you run the remainder of the rapid... at 500cfs it left of the pylon and then ad lib the rest.

Slurry Pipe... see what I mean... unnatural looking... if you ever see this rapid with no water run...

Gilmans is more fun than it looks and putting on after work makes for a perfect day