Gluteal Mash

Gluteal Mash is a big falls that can be a lot of fun but also very dangerous. The pool at the bottom is not very deep and there have been several broken ankles as a result of penciling in. The water at the bottom of the falls is not especially aerated, which has caused several injured vertebrae from landing too flat. It is tricky to find the happy medium here, but let's not get ahead of ourselves--there is the approach slide to deal with first.

The approach slide is best entered in the center heading to the left. The slide is tilted to the right so the left angle will help counter this and keep you centered. The cleanest lip is in the center. The farther right you go, the more junky the lip is with the extreme right side cascading over rock shelves. This falls should not be attempted below 1.5 on the putin gauge. At levels lower than 1.5, the approach slide is tremendously shallow and it is difficult to maintain any sort of speed coming to the lip. The last thing you want to do is come to a complete stop before the lip and fall straight in. At levels higher than 1.5, the slide carries you with good speed towards the lip and it is easier to get an appropriate launch (as well as adding more aeration). Portage on the right if you have any doubts. Click here for the link to a 288k video of Gluteal Mash. (Scroll down, and click above "Glutial on the North Fork.")