Skeletor's Gorge
Skeletors Gorge Very low water shot of the warm-up below the crux I named this one after a sun-bleached skeleton of a moose or a bear, or something big, I dislodged out of a logjam in the crux prior to my run. This is a pretty hairy and committing run through a steep and narrow stretch of canyon, 200' below the road, portaging is difficult and eddies are rare to nonexistant. If you want to try it, It is absolutely essential that you walk up the whole 1.4 miles with saws and clean everything out first. Bring your arm guards if you have-em, I nearly broke my fore-arm on this one. It is class IV to V at low flows and suicidal when the water is high. The quarter-mile crux drops about 1,000 fpm. If Mr. Skeletor didn't make it out alive, do you think you would?? I did, and discovered three or four 20 to 50 foot long bedrock slides below the put-in, a half mile of ultra low water read and run steep boulder gardens, sharp turns, and congested chutes(after flossing, as of 5/07/09 all free of wood hindering progress down river). But at the core of the crux is a 30'+ cascade which is not fun at minimum flow, and otherwise suicidal. It is approx. found at: 31.213' n. and 36.539' w. It (HAD) a small eddy about a hundred feet above it, at 30 cfs (visual.) The last half mile the gradient decreases, but is a woodfest till Balls to the wall, a steep and very narrow stretch, two hundred feet long with a cliff running along one side and some very pushy currents at higher flows. Take out right after that. The creek continues to be even more of a bonified woodfest for abt the next 1.2 miles until Pulverizer which is described in the run description for the Upper North Fork.
Suggested river levels for paddling this section of the North Fork American Fork are between a bare minimum of 50cfs and a high of 200cfs.
River conditions sourced from USGS 10164500, the American Fk Ab Upper Powerplant Nr American Fk
Remember only watercraft are permitted
at Skeletor's Gorge.
Run Stats
Status | Too Low |
Class Level | IV+ |
Elevation | 5,991 ft |
Run Length | 1.4 Mi |
Gradient | 350 FPM |
Streamflow Discharge | 42.9 cfs |
Gage Height | 6.3 ft |
Air Temperature | 77° |
River | North Fork American Fork |
Reporting Streamgage |
American Fk Ab Upper Powerplant Nr American Fk
USGS 10164500 |
Gauge | Streamflow | Stage |
---|---|---|
Silver Creek Near Silver Creek Junction
USGS 10129900 |
6 cfs | 4.1 ft |
Fish Creek Above Reservoir
USGS 09310500 |
198 cfs | 2.9 ft |
Ogden River Nr Gibson Avenue At Ogden
USGS 10140700 |
76 cfs | 5.7 ft |
Weber River At Echo
USGS 10132000 |
152 cfs | 2.2 ft |
Lost Creek Near Croyden
USGS 10132500 |
5 cfs | 1.1 ft |
Summit Creek Abv Summit Cr Canal Nr Santaquin Ut
USGS 10147100 |
23 cfs | 1.4 ft |
Mud Creek Bl Winter Quarters Canyon At Scofield
USGS 09310700 |
64 cfs | 2.9 ft |
Currant Creek Near Mona
USGS 10146400 |
3 cfs | 4.0 ft |
Weber River Near Wanship
USGS 10129500 |
205 cfs | 2.2 ft |
Little Cottonwood Creek @ Jordan River Nr Slc
USGS 10168000 |
99 cfs | 1.5 ft |
Snotel Site | Snowpack | 24hr Change |
---|---|---|
atwater study plot
SNOTEL ATH20_MADIS |
44" | -5" |
alta
SNOTEL ATAU1 |
26" | -7" |
alta - guard house
SNOTEL AGD |
40.55" | -3.55" |
Campground | Campsites | Reservations | Toilets | Showers | Elevation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nunns Park | None | 4,994 ft | |||
Redman | 40 | 8,318 ft | |||
Utah Lake State Park | 71 | 4,491 ft | |||
Deer Creek State Park | 75 | 5,565 ft | |||
Albion Basin | 18 | 9,444 ft | |||
Little Mill | 36 | 6,035 ft | |||
Cherry | 14 | 5,211 ft | |||
Wasatch Mountain State Park | 139 | 5,999 ft | |||
Hope | 26 | 6,669 ft | |||
Spruces | 105 | 7,363 ft | |||
Whiting | 13 | 5,451 ft | |||
Timpooneke | 27 | 7,546 ft | |||
Granite Flat | 52 | 6,756 ft | |||
Mt. Timpanogos | 27 | 6,985 ft | |||
Warnick | 6 | 6,260 ft | |||
Tanners Flat | 34 | 7,208 ft | |||
Rock Canyon | 4 | 6,901 ft |
Ski Area | Snowpack | Air Temperature | 5 Day Forecast |
---|---|---|---|
Park City Mountain Resort | 40" | 63° | 2.25" |
Deer Valley Resort | 40" | 63° | 2.25" |
DC Shoes Mountain Lab | 24" | 66° | 1.97" |
Alta Ski Area | 66" | 68° | 1.65" |
Sundance | 8" | 72° | 2.03" |
Canyons | 40" | 63° | 2.25" |
Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort | 66" | 68° | 1.65" |
Solitude Mountain Resort | 24" | 66° | 1.97" |
Snowbasin | 0" | 77° | 0.89" |
Brighton Ski Resort | 40" | 63° | 2.25" |
River Run | Streamflow | Length | Class |
---|---|---|---|
Spanish Fork | 148.0cfs | 1.6 Mi | III- |
Park and Ride to Old Mill Catch Pond | 92.3cfs | 1.25 Mi | IV to V |
Scrambled Eggs Bend | 308.0cfs | 4.0 Mi | IV |
Henefer to Taggert | 0.77cfs | 7.0 Mi | II- to III |
Mouth of Weber Canyon to Riverdale | 0.77cfs | 10.0 Mi | III |
South Fork Confluence to Below the Narrows | 76.1cfs | 3.7 Mi | II to II+ |
Bridal Veil (BV) | 1740.0cfs | 4.0 Mi | III to IV |
Round Valley | 0.77cfs | 5.5 Mi | II |
Morgan Waterfall | 0.77cfs | 0.1 Mi | III+ |
Skeletor's Gorge | 11.7cfs | 1.4 Mi | IV+ |
Middle Provo (Jordanelle to Deer Creek) | 239.0cfs | 25.0 Mi | II+ |