Conditions:Thornton Creek-20240821061532

Latest:	31 Jul 2024 (10 mos ago)

Reported by:	Kirbside (98 reports)
Quality:	Great
Waterflow:	Moderate High
Wetsuit:	Full wetsuit
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Special challenges
Time:	10 hours

Team: 3 people with experience level Intermediate to Advanced

Trip report URL:

Comments: Special challenges due to a group member slipping at the beginning of the canyon. Did the far upper section and the old exit midway (as well as some anchor work)

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
17 Sep 2024	Great	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Normal	4 hours	3 people Advanced	Kirbside (98 reports)
Comment: Great day in Thornton! We used the classic approach without a shuttle and hiked up from Highway 20. Time does not include time hiking up to the start of the classic approach (the switchback) from highway 20 on the road. Time is from the switchback and includes the classic approach, the classic / middle section, and the lower section to highway 20. We stashed a 65m rope in a very convenient hole near the road at the end of the middle section to use for the lower section. Overall I think this canyon greatly benefits from having someone who knows the canyon on the crew. All 3 of us were new to these sections of the canyon and so didn't know where to be on the lookout for jumps / slides. This likely decreased our enjoyment of the canyon a bit. Thornton is getting quite cold. Despite the group's pace the member in a CE4Y 5/4 wetsuit and a vest was still quite chilly. Even in a Seland 5+5 and a rain jacket I was shivering at times. The lower section is quite fun and definitely worth doing for groups who don't mind some flowy vertical rappels. The group was in agreement that the bolting is a bit of a mess. The mix of natural anchors & mostly single bolts makes the canyon feel a bit of a hodgepodge at times. Overall lots of fun, definitely worth doing, and a great day out!
15 Sep 2024	Amazing	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Normal	3 hours	3 people Intermediate to Advanced	Canderson (20 reports)
Comment: This was a fun run today! It's been a few years since running this last, and this was a reminder of what a classic Thornton is. We ran only the classic section exiting at the bridge. With a 65+ meter rope, you could combine the 2nd and 3rd raps without sacrificing a clean pull. The water temp seemed a little warmer than previous runs here. There were no real hazards with this level of flow.
31 Jul 2024	Great	Moderate High	Full wetsuit	Special challenges	10 hours	3 people Intermediate to Advanced	Kirbside (98 reports)
Comment: Special challenges due to a group member slipping at the beginning of the canyon. Did the far upper section and the old exit midway (as well as some anchor work)
7 Oct 2023	Good	Moderate	Full wetsuit		6 hours	3 people	Coops (121 reports),Korey (65 reports),AdamOtter (52 reports)
Comment: Unexpected sunny October day (forecasted 80F). From gearing-up in the creek at 9.30am, we ran the upper+classic section to the bridge and exited at 2.30pm (5hrs). A lot of marginal slides, and a few slippery raps. So many small obstacles to navigate makes the beta very hard to follow.
18 Aug 2023	Great	Moderate Low	Full wetsuit	Normal	4 hours	2 people Advanced	Eddyl (76 reports)
Comment: Perfect flow level - exciting and loud but definitely not dangerous or scary. Anchors look great. We had no rappels over 30m, and we didn't use our second rope. I was COLD in a 5mm wetsuit. Plenty of new bolts at most rappels. The existing beta on the Ropewiki page, as of August 2023, might need an update.
1 Oct 2022			Full wetsuit	Normal	6 hours	5 people Intermediate to Expert	Korey (65 reports)
Comment: Beta needs a big update. This canyon is a lot more developed and the number of jumps, slides and rappels is crazy. A beautiful canyon and a full day of fun. Basically a waterpark.
25 Sep 2021	Great	Moderate High		Special challenges	2 hours	5 people Intermediate to Expert	Sri (30 reports)
Comment: We did Thornton from the bridge to the highway today. Took us under 2 hours car to car. The flow was pretty high, our leader said it was at least moderate high. We opted to skip the first 2 short rappels and only did the last 2. The penultimate rappel was out of the flow. The last rappel was pretty challenging as it was mostly in the flow. With the upcoming rains, it's probably end of season for most people for this canyon.
29 Aug 2021	Great	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Normal	5 hours	7 people	K arc (376 reports)
Comment: Standard drop-in and passed under the bridge to run the lower section too. Rooster tail was super fun. Penultimate rappel down a huge crack is probably my favorite -- where you get a good drubbing in the water at the bottom. Water was pushy in places, but not too bad. There's one anchor where you have to be careful climbing up out of the water to reach the bolts. Might be tricky in high flow.
21 Aug 2021	Great	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Special challenges	7 hours	6 people Beginner to Advanced	Logan (60 reports)
Comment: We dropped in at the new drop in point at 1,200 feet where the triple slide is. Very fun triple slide. We were apparently the first group to run it this year based on webbing condition. We replaced most of the webbing but a few more need replacing. Flow was moderate - some of the multi-tier rappels in and out of pools posed some challenge to the newer canyoneers. We had 4 beginners (2nd or 3rd canyon) who did fine. A very slippery route but a very fun day. The new bolts are great. Many thanks to whoever did the bolting.
6 Oct 2020 Trip report	Great	Moderate High		Normal	10 hours	4 people Intermediate to Expert	Coops (121 reports)
Comment: Attempted to do the whole route (upper & lower). Added 3 new bolts. Picked up a couple of injuries on the way slowing us down (twisted ankle & hard thigh knock). Very long day meant we did the last 3 raps before the bridge in the dark, and exited without completing the whole route. Counted 17 rappels before the bridge. Bypassed a black sling with stainless quicklink someone rigged above the triple slide. Entered after changing @11'ish am, exited at the bridge around 9:10pm. In the new beta, the 2nd bolt CR is now the 4th Water flow seems to parallel Dingford. Definitely more flow than a few weeks before.
12 Sep 2020	Amazing	Moderate	Thin wetsuit	Normal	3 hours	8 people Intermediate to Advanced	Mads (61 reports)
Comment: Fantastic trip through Thornton; 2nd in the past week! The creek is action-packed and very vertical with fun rappel after fun rappel in the flow. We entered at the usual drop-in and completed the rappels below the bridge to exit at our cars on the highway. Flow was fun and friendly, somewhere between a4 and a4- with no special swiftwater challenges of note. R10 was a real highlight at this flow. Watch the end of your rope carefully on the 2nd stage of R11 (the last rappel) - even set at water level, the very end of our rope kept getting snagged on a notch in the rock, making it difficult for rappeller to get off rope.
10 Sep 2020	Great	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Normal	6 hours	5 people Beginner to Intermediate	Beccap (47 reports)
Comment: Wow! This canyon is super fun with an outstanding pay-to-play ratio. Rapid fire rappels, most of which are intermittently in full flow or side flow. Nothing dangerous to speak of (hydraulics, pushy pools, etc) at moderate flows, but still a lot of water for folks not comfortable in a4 water. The rooster tail is VERY FUN at this level.
4 Sep 2017	Great	Moderate	Thin wetsuit	Normal	4 hours	3 people Intermediate to Expert	Tiffanie (139 reports)
Comment: Great moderate flow but still very fun! Updated lengths of rappels to be more indicative of actual lengths. Current in pools in minimal or next to nothing. No risk of getting swept over.
11 Sep 2015 Trip report		High	Full wetsuit			2 people	Jesseahouser (14 reports)
Comment: Trip by Rafe Kelley and Dane Vennewitz, video shared on Facebook
18 Aug 2015 Trip report	Amazing	High	Full wetsuit	Advanced	3 hours	5 people Intermediate to Advanced	Mbradley5 (12 reports)
Comment: A video can be viewed at the trip report URL. This canyon was well worth the 17+ hours round trip in the car.

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