Titou Gorge (Upper)
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| | Raps:1-4, max ↨66ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:None Vehicle:Passenger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 11 Dec 2022
"Good flow, some rapids are DEFINITELY a little scary. A few hazards, but doable for experienced canyoneers. Per local guides, today is just about the |
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| Best season: | Any, AVOID rains
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15.3298, -61.3187
15.3291, -61.3270
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Introduction[edit]
Titou Gorge (Upper) is the uppermost part of the famous Titou Slot. As the water in this part comes from the reservoir of Freshwater Lake, the water is colder and often swifter than the lower sections.
Water levels here must be perfect - too high, and the canyon becomes quite dangerous. The way to know is to check the dam at the start of the route/the end of the slot. If the water level is any higher than in the picture below, the canyon is dangerous - class C3+ perhaps, and the last rappel is treacherous.
Do not listen to the local guys at the start, as they will tell you the canyon can be run with high water. This is not true - the slot is very narrow, completely inescapable, and most of the downclimbs/jumps cannot be reversed. ALWAYS CHECK THE DAM BEFORE COMMITTING.
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Approach[edit]
Parking is free and generally pretty easy to find a place.
From the parking area, walk up to the tourist stands at the slot/dam, and start up the trail that is labelled to Boiling Lake. Follow this trail up along the gorge for a few minutes.
The trail will then make a hard right, turning away from the gorge, which is to your left. At this point, there is a small bush trail at the corner or the main trail, which will continue to follow the gorge, which is still on your left.
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Follow this bush trail, using the gpx file on this page. The trail may have some flaggings, and is generally pretty easy to follow, though this may change after each hurricane season. The trail is a trail, and there are no parts where you need to use your hands or take any risks.
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After maybe 20 minutes on the bush trail, you'll reach an obvious point, again marked on the gpx map on this page, where you can walk down into the gorge. This is the first and only point where you can enter the slot on this approach without rope. It's nondescript, but obvious from the trail. Walk into the gorge, going over a short downclimb. Then, suit up!
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Descent[edit]
Head downcanyon! There are a LOT of swmall rapids and downclimbs to negotiate, many with no option but to take a small jump into frothing water that appears deep enough. If in doubt, the worst ones are passable by small traverses just above the water level. A handline may be useful a few times.
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After at least an hour of adrenaline, in an increasingly gorgeous and intense slot, you'll arrive at the first any only rappel, about 7 meters in a frothing, scary, turbulent pool. Apparently there have been several rescues of tourists getting stuck here, as they can swim up this far with canyoneering equipment. The pool, however, is mostly only knee- or waist-deep, and the rappel line is just barely out of the torrent.
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After the rappel, it's an 80-meter swim to the end. If desired, ask the local guys to show you 'The Big Jump' - a 15-meter jump into the slot, just a one-minute walk back upcanyon.
Exit[edit]
From the end of the swim, you'll emerge at the start of the approach, near where you parked. Walk back down the road a few minutes to your car.
Red tape[edit]
No red tape.
Beta sites[edit]
Descente-Canyon.com : Titou gorge (supérieur)- An Kanion La-madinina : Titou Gorge (Upper)
Trip reports and media[edit]
https://www.lukaseddy.com/dominica
Background[edit]
Titou Gorge (Upper) was likely first descended by French canyoneers in the 1990's.
All beta written, however, was invalidated when Hurricane Maria struck in 2017 and radically changed the canyon.
After each hurricane season in Dominica, the first canyoneers down this route should bring a bolt kit and be prepared for alterations to existing beta.
