Conditions:Fort Creek (Three Falls)-20230831232137

Latest:	31 Aug 2023 (1 yr, 7 mos ago)

Reported by:	Tcarlisle (73 reports)
Quality:	Great
Waterflow:	Moderate Low
Wetsuit:	Thin wetsuit
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Normal
Time: "hours15minutes" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.	5 hours

Team: 3 people with experience level Intermediate to Advanced

Trip report URL:

Comments: -

CONDITIONS

Anchors & Rappels:

• All Anchors in good shape.
• There are recently placed bolts on most anchors, some with two bolts, some with a single bolt.
• There are two bolts in the drainage that are not well seated, though, and they protrude about a 1/4 inch causing movement on the hanger but not the bolt.
• There is a supplemental anchor--rap 4.5--with webbing slung on a tree that was nice to have.
• The last rappel has two stages, both of which have webbing slings on trees. The pull from the bottom is much better setting this up as two raps rather than a two-stage rappel.

Water Exposure:

• Two in our group wore 4/3 full wetsuits, with another wearing a thicker shorty--with long arms--and knee-high leg booties. All were comfortable but one person just had wool socks and their feet did get cold.
• It is the end of August so the flow rate is probably either normal or low. This was our first time through the drainage so we didn't have anything to compare it to.
• Being new to Class C canyons we felt the flow rate was comfortable.

Weather:

• Blues skies with a bit of haze from wildfire smoke. Temps in the 80s

Approach:

• There is a clear enough path to follow up the ridge--especially if one has the GPX track too.
• Once on the top of the ridge, the descent down into the drainage is already starting to get bad. It is taking a lot of abuse and over time will get more sketchy. As canyoneers it would probably be wise to develop a pathway that stays on the ridge and intersects the drainage higher up to reduce erosion and trail damage; and also the minor, but still present, hazard of slipping when descending the current route.

TRIP REPORT

• Group Size: Group of 3
• Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced
• Total Time: 5 hours 15 minutes car to car

We decided to see what everyone has been talking about. Being our first true class C descent--despite a lot of class A and B canyons, we decided this time of year with likely lower water flow was a good time to attempt this. We rigged releasable and were ready for any issues but none occurred. It was smooth sailing and a pleasant descent into a spectacularly beautiful spot right in our backyard. The Wall of Springs delighted us and verified this is a true local gem.

The approach is steep, as was advertised, but was mostly straight forward and easy to follow; though the descent into the drainage from the top of the ridge was steep, slippery, and somewhat unpleasant. Traversing the drainage is very slippery, even with good shoes, which took more time, in general, than anticipated. Our quads and stabilization muscles did get put to work on this one.

Being our first time through I don't have much to compare it with, but it seems now is a great time and flow rate for attempting this if it is on your list.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
4 Aug 2024	Great	Moderate Low	Full wetsuit	Normal	6 hours	4 people Advanced	Tcarlisle (73 reports)
Comment: Group of 4 descended Three Falls. Our approach was slow because one member of our team is still trying to get their lungs back after a recent bout of Covid. Once we topped out in elevation on the approach we made a low-effort attempt at the alternative West Ridge approach but didn't find much in the way of foot traffic and realized we would be bushwhacking so we quickly turned around and went down the standard Erosion Gully approach. We got a little off route but found it eventually. This part of the approach is still loose, steep, and slippery, but less overgrown--now that it is seeing a lot of use--but still requires careful footing. I still think it would be good for the community to establish a more sustainable approach route especially with how popular this has gotten. That is why we were going to attempt the alternative West Ridge approach. Water flow was moderate, which is typical for this time of year. I don't know the cfm but I wouldn't want to descend in flows much higher. Despite good footwear we all encountered a lot of slipping and sliding down the rappels (more so than I remember on last year's descent) but had no really safety issues. Anchors were mostly the mixed bag as described in the beta. Anchor issue we found but were not able to remedy: R2 is supposed to be a 2-bolt anchor; but one bolt while, still in the rock, is missing the hanger. We found the hanger tied to a sling in a tree nearby. I looks like the nut came off the bolt and someone tied the hanger to a sling so it wouldn't wash away and could be replaced later. R3 has an optional V-thread anchor LDC in the watercourse that is missing cordage--just an empty set of holes. One of the single-bolt anchors lower in the canyon has a loose nut--but the bolt does not turn. It is very likely the nut on this bolt could come off taking the hanger with it. This would be catastrophic with a person on rappel. We were only able to hand tighten it. That was sufficient to get us down that drop but this really should be properly addressed.
9 Jun 2024	Amazing	High	Thin wetsuit	Advanced	5 hours	4 people Intermediate to Expert	Mountainmansam (16 reports)
Comment: We descended Fort Creek 3C1 III in Alpine, Utah, during high-flow conditions and had an exhilarating adventure. The existing anchors were in good condition, and we had no issues with rigging or navigating the canyon. Some of the obstacles that are typically downclimbed were more dangerous because of the higher flow conditions, so we needed to be cautious. It took us five hours to complete the descent with our party of four.
23 Sep 2023	Great	Moderate	Thin wetsuit	Normal	10 hours	4 people Intermediate to Advanced	Thegazelle (52 reports)
Comment: Full thing combined with upper. Time for full route. Took it at quite a casual pace
31 Aug 2023	Great	Moderate Low	Thin wetsuit	Normal	5 hours	3 people Intermediate to Advanced	Tcarlisle (73 reports)
Comment: - CONDITIONS Anchors & Rappels: All Anchors in good shape. There are recently placed bolts on most anchors, some with two bolts, some with a single bolt. There are two bolts in the drainage that are not well seated, though, and they protrude about a 1/4 inch causing movement on the hanger but not the bolt. There is a supplemental anchor--rap 4.5--with webbing slung on a tree that was nice to have. The last rappel has two stages, both of which have webbing slings on trees. The pull from the bottom is much better setting this up as two raps rather than a two-stage rappel. Water Exposure: Two in our group wore 4/3 full wetsuits, with another wearing a thicker shorty--with long arms--and knee-high leg booties. All were comfortable but one person just had wool socks and their feet did get cold. It is the end of August so the flow rate is probably either normal or low. This was our first time through the drainage so we didn't have anything to compare it to. Being new to Class C canyons we felt the flow rate was comfortable. Weather: Blues skies with a bit of haze from wildfire smoke. Temps in the 80s Approach: There is a clear enough path to follow up the ridge--especially if one has the GPX track too. Once on the top of the ridge, the descent down into the drainage is already starting to get bad. It is taking a lot of abuse and over time will get more sketchy. As canyoneers it would probably be wise to develop a pathway that stays on the ridge and intersects the drainage higher up to reduce erosion and trail damage; and also the minor, but still present, hazard of slipping when descending the current route. TRIP REPORT Group Size: Group of 3 Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced Total Time: 5 hours 15 minutes car to car We decided to see what everyone has been talking about. Being our first true class C descent--despite a lot of class A and B canyons, we decided this time of year with likely lower water flow was a good time to attempt this. We rigged releasable and were ready for any issues but none occurred. It was smooth sailing and a pleasant descent into a spectacularly beautiful spot right in our backyard. The Wall of Springs delighted us and verified this is a true local gem. The approach is steep, as was advertised, but was mostly straight forward and easy to follow; though the descent into the drainage from the top of the ridge was steep, slippery, and somewhat unpleasant. Traversing the drainage is very slippery, even with good shoes, which took more time, in general, than anticipated. Our quads and stabilization muscles did get put to work on this one. Being our first time through I don't have much to compare it with, but it seems now is a great time and flow rate for attempting this if it is on your list.
25 Jul 2023	Good	Moderate	Thin wetsuit	Normal	6 hours	2 people	Canyon foto (2 reports)
Comment: Great trip to do some Anchor work. First rappel now has 2 Bolts DCR. The sketchy eroded climb to the tree for rappel 2 is no longer necessary with 2 Bolts DCL just before the climb. Rappel 3 has a V thread Anchor is a large boulder DCL. Downclimb/rappel 4 has a single bolt DCL on backside of boulder. Downclimb/rappel 5 has a bolt DCR. Enjoy. Very slippery!
30 Oct 2022	Great	Moderate Low	Full wetsuit	Normal	4 hours	2 people Advanced	Mountainmansam (16 reports)
Comment: We had a great time canyoneering Fort Creek. Approach hike was challenging but the trail was mostly well worn and obvious. Water was freezing with snow and ice throughout the canyon. Wetsuits were a necessity! Natural anchors were all in good condition. Some great rappels and downclimbing.
23 Sep 2022	Great	Moderate	Rain jacket	Normal	6 hours	2 people Intermediate to Advanced	Davidlukewilcox (1 reports)
Comment: Two rappels were set up with anchors. My team used a fiddlestick on a third rappel since there was no anchor set up there. The anchor at R2 had webbing set up on a tree that had a lot of risk to get to. A fall getting to that anchor could've been extremely bad. I was thinking that using a fiddlestick on a log for R2 would be easier, but I didn't try it. We were shivering pretty well after R1 and wishing we had wetsuits then. We were pretty cold and wet by the end of the whole thing, but managed without wetsuits.
19 Sep 2022	Great	Moderate Low	Rain jacket	Easy	3 hours	3 people Advanced to Expert	Austinfarnworth (5 reports)
Comment: Flows have increased due to recent rains but are still very manageable. Expect to get wet up to your neck and to get blasted with water unless you can very carefully rappel. It is probably worth bringing a wetsuit if temps are under 70 degrees. Rain jacket is a must.