Quad Crown: Crested Butte Creeking

After 4 summers in Colorado I finally made it to Crested Butte, Colorado to do some creeking. I only had 1 day and wanted to get on all 4 creeks so my co-workers (Josh and Liz) from RMOC and I decided to do the quadruple crown.


When I left Salida at 7am I was wondering why people didn’t do the quad crown very often. I thought that all the creeks are close together and they are short runs so they shouldn’t take long. Then it hit me as I started hiking up Oh Be Joyful with my Rocker on my shoulder. It had been 7 hours since we first put on the Upper East but we only had one creek left so I wasn’t about to back down. At the take out of Oh Be J I checked my watch and it had taken us a full 10 hours to complete the quad crown. Four creeks in one day is exhausting, but well worth it. Not to mention the 2 hour morning drive and the 4 hour drive to Vail I had in front of me.


If you are thinking about the quad crown I would recommend it, but I have some advice. First, bring a buddy with a truck with high clearance so you can make the river crossings. Second, bring a shuttle driver is possible because it will speed up the day. Third, know the lines and wood conditions so you don’t have to scout. And fourth, don’t plan on driving 6 hours that day.


Photos by Josh Oberleas and Liz Block


On the way to the Upper East


Big Wood Falls


The top of Rip Your Head Off


25 footer


Avalanche


The bottom of Avalanche


100 footer

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