Upper

Grade: 4+

The upper section of the Moriston starts at the Dam and is a very dense and intimidating section of river.


Trip Reports

Upper

Level: 0  |  Date: 02/04/2024

Level: Releasing. It initially seemed lower, but filled in.
Weather: 7 °C, cloudy.
Group: Me, Max, Bill, Alex B., Vi
Time: ~30-45 mins per lap

Vibes

It's the Moriston. Punchy grade 4-4+ and very dense. It's mostly pool drop, so it does allow you to clean up. We got on about midday and it was still rising. Top drop was out of play on arrival.

Features

  1. Top Drop - Go hard left. Signals are possible from the small eddy above. The spotty rock offers a good guide. The right line was apparently open on the low first lap - it was easy, but consequential if you miss the must make line.
  2. Narrows - A nice chute, not challenging
  3. Sticky Hole - It's a sticky hole. Throwline on right bank. Start right and punch left into the eddy. It seemed reasonably flushy at the lower level, not sure about higher.
  4. Cheesegrater The line (left channel, right then track to centre right), is not tooooo difficult, but potentially quite consequential. Slotty left line looked naff, but it was OK when I tried it

Other Notes

Took maybe 1.5 - 2 hours for the river to fill up fully. So if you arrive for the pumps switching on, be prepared to do your first lap starting below top drop. We decided not to do cheesegrate with out group, but instead session sticky hole, which was good, but not the nicest carry.