The Upper Roaring Fork is a super solid and not often run class V section of the Roaring Fork River very close to the town of Aspen. If you do want to undertake the Upper Roaring Fork, know that it has a very short runoff window and can only be caught when roaring Fork is coming up or going down around peak flows. The upper Roaring Fork is divided into two sections, the Upper Upper Roaring Fork (starting below the Weller Lake campground parking lot) and the Lower Upper Roaring Fork. The first section of the run is jammed full of boofs and pin rocks, so be sure to scout well. Also, watch for wood in here as this creek can accumulate strainers really easily. The upper section quickly mellows out into some low volume class III/IV drops with some river wide logs that will need to be portaged in the flats below it.
After the flat stretch through some beautiful Aspen homes, you will find yourself at the beginning of the lower section where the harder whitewater begins. Scout when you see a large fancy house on river right. The lower section begins with a tight entry and is followed by a series of short, steep drops. Wood often shifts in these rapids so be sure to scout well. The run continues in this similar steep, continuous class V character and will end into some mellow class III/IV boogie water to the takeout.
For the put-in, park at the pull-off downstream of the Weller Lake trailhead. Be sure to bring ropes to lower your boats down the steep slope to the river. Se the takeout shuttle at the hikers bridge at Difficult Campground.
See also
Cemetary (Class II+),
Woody Creek (Class III),
Toothache (Class III),
Slaughterhouse (Class IV),
Castle Creek (Class IV+),
Fryingpan (Upper) (Class IV+), and
Fryingpan (Lower) (Class III+).