CdB Forum
CdB Whitewater Paddling Club Discussions => Paddling => Topic started by: JohnCyr on June 04, 2013, 08:20:43 AM
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Good Morning,
Ran this gem Sunday for the first time. Cant believe people actually drive 3 hours to run the laurentians run when we have this 20 minutes from Gatineau. Good Mix of Class 3 to 6 Rapids..
About 15 rapids, 2 portages (arguable if you feel like it), 1 must scout class 4+ at the end, flats are in between rapids, no long flat water paddle... we scouted the rest from our boats.
Overall this is a nice Class 4 run, good for someone confortable, getting into creeking, like the Hwy 7 runs... Must have a solid roll and brace for this run. Not a beginner/intermediate river.
Aiming to go there Saturday and put in around 9:30 AM or 10:00 am.
Put in is at the bridge on Montee Dambremont and take out is at the bridge on Montee Legault!
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And more pics
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more again
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again
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And last set
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Good job and nice photos! Not being a fan of driving I've definitely had this one on my wish list. Hopefully I'll be able to make it for Saturday.
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The fun thing about this river is it runs all year long!
At high water, some of the big stuff might be walked but the class 3's get more challenging and the 4's become 4+ - 5's..
Ill be running this pretty often now! Many lines, many eddies, many oportunities to step your game up!
People I had in mind for this run were you Dave, Jim, Bill, Christian, Jacques, Daniel, Luc etc etc!
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Sounds like fun but I have promised my wife to spend some time with her at the cottage these next few weeks (I've managed to swing the Kipawa weekend, but that's an exception). So sadly, it will have to wait for me. But pretty neat that this thing is close nearby. I'll definitely be up to checking it out (and obviously scouting everything!).
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J-N: I've wondered about this river...
Think me and some of my open-boater friends could handle it? We're all fine on Highway 7 runs, we ran the Achigan with CDB earlier this year, no problem.
My only concern would be that its not too big and cotinuous to keep an open boat dry enough to be safe, and that those high drops can easily be portaged if necessary...
Dan
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Hey Dan, Yep! Ive paddled with you guys before and I think you guys would be super fine! Its been run before by Open boaters! The 2 portages around the big ones arent super fun but very doable! The other rapids are fine and end in pools! Some of us are going to head out to the du lievre in masson angers afterwards to run some more drops while it still runs!
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Heres an album of Johno Foster running it in Open Boat.
A bit less water than this weekend!
https://picasaweb.google.com/117264492372359156547/BlancheRiverApril262010
Good to go!
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Good job and nice photos! Not being a fan of driving I've definitely had this one on my wish list. Hopefully I'll be able to make it for Saturday.
Whooaa! Dave going paddling? I'll dust off my Villain just to see that! Joke aside, it looks interesting. An opportunity to add some scratches to the full-face and elbow pads...
--C.
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Yep. Elbow pads are enjoyable on this run. :)
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Oh man, I've heard people running this one in the past! Really gnarly! Any maps? Where's the take in/take out? I've gotta try this one for sure!!! ;)
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Put in Montee Dambremont bridge:
https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=thurso&hl=en&ll=45.643913,-75.262656&spn=0.007621,0.013711&safe=images&hnear=Thurso,+Papineau+Regional+County+Municipality,+Quebec&t=h&z=16
Take out Montee Legault Bridge:
https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=thurso&hl=en&ll=45.598771,-75.272913&spn=0.007627,0.013711&safe=images&hnear=Thurso,+Papineau+Regional+County+Municipality,+Quebec&t=h&z=16
Map made by fred at low low water.
http://qcrivers.blogspot.ca/2007/10/blanche-ouataouais.html
Although I do not agree with some of the information on there, it displays the rapids. The ponderation with the Petite Nation is not so much accurate but somewhat ok! The 20 footer he says is unrunnable has been first D'ed by CJ (Chris Juvshik), Second D by Richard Webster and third unsuccesful and almost deadly descent by Adam Chappell. He also says the take out double drop has not been run but it has been sneaked left by Johno Foster in a canoe and fully ran by a whole bunch now.. Rapids also go up or down in class depending on the flow. There is one class 6. one class 5. One 4+, one or two 4's, a couple 3+'s and plenty of 2-3 along the way.
Like I said... Saturday, 10 AM at the put in. So long as you have a roll and a solid low brace or dont mind walking, This river is real fun and worth it!
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I won't be able to this Saturday unfortunately. But if you guys plan to run this river many times this year I would definitely want to join, at least once!!! The pics kind of remind me of some of the rivers I've done in Tennessee and North Carolina this past March! Niiiicccee!!!!
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Yeah! Well be going there pretty much every week! This runs all year long!
Yeah its a pretty interesting river.. some nice "slot" like rapids and such! GReat to have this around and so close to home!
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Sounds interesting!
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I'm really happy to read this because, I, too, can't be there Saturday, I have other plans. I'd be willing next week for an after work run.
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JC,
tu devrais faire ajouter cette rivi?re a la liste de QWW.
Bon, ca pourrait m'int?resser pour samedi.
Les niveaux ? Qu?bec ne sont pas encourageant en ce moment.
LD
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Louis, cest sur mes plans... justement nous sommes en train de creer de quoi pour cela! Dici une couple de semaine! :)
Tu aimerais bien! Avec la pluie des prochains jours, ce sera superbe! Ensuite nous allons sur la Du Lievre, ya quelques drops un peu plus techniques a faire si ca tinteresses! ;)
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Du lievre.. du beau 4+ continu pour 800M! Un step up de la Blanche!!
So.. The big day is tomorrow... dont use the rain as an excuse not to paddle or ill kick you! Youll be getting wet anyways! ;D
Whos in for this... Metting around 10AM in Thurso at the put in? Might be able to give a ride to someone as well.
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I'll be there, and should have at least one other open boater with me. There could be as many as 4 of us.
We'll probably come with you to look at the Lievre on the way back, but not likely to run it.
-Dan
613-853-4151
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Sounds like a plan! My number 819-210-2533
Du lievre is a great little section but a bit more stacked/continuous. Its a 5-10 minute walk upstream and the rapids are scoutable from the walk up. Nice walk even if you dont plan on running it! :)
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I'm going to have to be giving it a pass this time, but I'm certainly looking forward to it in the future. Have a blast!
Dave
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Jim, Jacques and I will be at the put-in of the Blanche around 10:00.
--C.
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Awesome!! :)
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Quelques-uns de Montr?al se joigneront ? moi...
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Sweet! Looks like well be a good crew! :) will be there in between 10-10:30 so dont pannic im not bailing! As for Du lievre went up a foot and its alot pushier class v now! Might even be too big today but who knows! Theres a big 20+ footer weve been looking to run, first d, might go today!
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Awesome time today guys and girls! :) good times!
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Voici quelques vid?os en souvenir de la sortie de ce matin.
Merci ? tous pour la belle sortie.
Jaclin.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOaL-cQYgngfphllttlTIHsrEJDcYeK_K (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOaL-cQYgngfphllttlTIHsrEJDcYeK_K)
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Hi all.
Thanks Jean-Nicholas and CJ for suggesting this run and for being great guides. You were right: no reason to drive far away, there's this gem right here in our backyard!
The photos posted by J-N and the movies posted by Jaclin should give a good idea of the rapids. It's all pool-drop, with lots of flats to catch your breath and catch on on the latest gossips. There are two mandatory portages (til someone else decides to try those drops again). The portage trail for the second one is almost non-existent, but after the twelve paddlers who walked it yesterday, we can hope that it will start to look like a trail. Let's say that next time, I may not wear a dry suit with fleece
under it: almost got heat stroke pulling my heavy boat.
As I say, all pool-drop. It might look strange the first time as there is a long flat after the put-in, to a drop that has to be portaged. Well, the first half only, the second half is a nice narrow steep creek drop. After that there is a mix of Class II to Class IV, with a beautiful (read: magazine cover beautiful) waterfall, but beautiful like a venus flytrap to a fly. That's where Adam Chapell almost bought it. There the portage trail is bad, as this a very narrow and steep canyon.
There is a dam to portage, but it has a fun seal launch. The river ends with a great double drop, the first part Class IV in my opinion, followed by a Class III slide.
Well worth doing, despite the flats and the hard portage (only one is hard, the others are easy). We should go back!
--C.
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Thanks Jean-Nicholas and CJ - great trip - and the beer was good :-)
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To quote the movie Jaws, "I think we're gonna need a bigger boat". Those holes seemed to swallow a few people/boats!
Cheers,
Adam
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https://vimeo.com/68052097
Heres a Gopro snap of Jaclin and one of my swim! :P Nice throw Jacques! Thanks again everyone! :D
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You can split boaters into two classes: those who just swam, and those who will...
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https://vimeo.com/68065235
It was a bad day for blue pyranha boats and their occupants...
PS: Jim is one badass guy!! 8) ???
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Made for an entertaining day.
Nice swim from JN to show off the river.
CJ was laughing the crap out of JN for that swim (once he was out safely). ?!?
And Jim swam!! That is a first for me!
(Jim, Immanuel Braverman is still paddling at 90, so we do have a few more years to go)
Christian,
The first of the double drop looks like a class V to me.
Rocks at the bottom left base, wall on the left side at an angle forcing the water right.
A pencil entry meant a likely pin.
A fallen tree was marking the entrance... mostly for show, but.
Easy when you nail it. World of hurt if:
- you are off more than 20 deg on launch,
- pin,
- get turned around by the step-in tree,
- off the launch pad by more than a 1.5ft,
- and obviously if you flip up side down - before, during or possibly after.
So, class V to me.
(Then again, I do not have Christian's tough Judo skin).
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Christian,
The first of the double drop looks like a class V to me.
Rocks at the bottom left base, wall on the left side at an angle forcing the water right.
A pencil entry meant a likely pin.
A fallen tree was marking the entrance... mostly for show, but.
Easy when you nail it. World of hurt if:
- you are off more than 20 deg on launch,
- pin,
- get turned around by the step-in tree,
- off the launch pad by more than a 1.5ft,
- and obviously if you flip up side down - before, during or possibly after.
So, class V to me.
(Then again, I do not have Christian's tough Judo skin).
Are you talking about the upper part of the last rapid? I didn't run it either, only CJ did it. What do I have to do with this?
--C.
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Oh, I see what you mean, Louis. But after seeing CJ's line, I would still rate it as Class IV at this level since there is a lot of room to roll up if upside down after first drop. Definitely harder at higher levels And a swim there would be unpleasant. So Class IV or V depending on judgement, but certainly above III.
--C.
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Photo was altered to protect sensibilities...
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Hi John,
We did the Du Sourd Last year. If the water level is still ok and you do it again on Sunday I could start negociations with my wife right away.
Luc Potvin
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I could dig a sunday run. Lemme talk to the gf first and get back yo ya!
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For me it seems I've got the ok (yahoo!). I've never done it before so I would go only with experienced boater(s) that have been down it, such as yourself.
So waiting on the official announcement! (which I can transmit to other forums).
Luc
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Calling John!
Hey if it's a go for Sunday I need to know today! If not it's cool! I'll keep my family credits for an other day!
Luc
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Sorry Luc, Was out guiding on the Ottawa river all weekend and didnt get access to internet/mail.
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Hey John,
Not a problem! If there is still water and you want to go back, I'm available next Saturday or Sunday.
Luc