Rafting company ready for hell or high water

One may think the winter’s heightened snowfall and subsequent rising water level would create a headache for Colorado’s rafting companies this summer, but at AVA Rafting and Zipline in Idaho Springs, the guides are more than prepared to take on the challenge.


As of Saturday, Clear Creek was running at 952 cubic feet per second and at a 6.23-foot height near Golden, and flood stage is 7.5 feet. As temperatures continue to rise, the raft guides at AVA believe those numbers will go up in the coming weeks, though they admit that timeline would be hard to predict.

Right now, Lammert estimated that the water level could reach 1,500 cfs, which would make the lower level of the canyon — between Two Bears Tavern and mile marker 260 of Highway 6 — all the more raucous. That part of the creek, he said, was by far the most technical with class 4 and class 5 rapids.

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By Alissa Noe
Tuesday, June 18, 2019