Asternomical Canyon
As the name suggests, Asternomical Canyon is a great half-day outing. It also happens to be a great place to teach swift water rigging and retrievable two-ring systems. All rappels are optional and there are no hydraulics. The upper section of the canyon has anchors and the lower section (given the public) will have to be ghosted in flow and with an audience. Rope management is key, but so is a smile. Please ensure to not leave anchors in the second section of the canyon. The first descent team got disappointed remarks from on-lookers despite there being no impact on the canyon. Regardless, Asternomical Canyon is a great way to spend some time in East Glacier. Those looking for a challenge will be disappointed, those looking for a technical waterpark will be rewarded with a good time. Oh and beware of the sheep, you aren’t the only one who enjoys the creek.
Stats:
Technical rating: 3/4 C1 II *** (V2A2II**)
Time needed: 3-5 hours
Number of rappels: 6 - 8
Number of down climbs: 0
Longest Rappel: 130 feet (Horizontal)
Distance round trip: 3 miles
Elevation gain/loss: 473 feet
Significant hydraulics: none!
Special recommendations: Know how to ghost in class C conditions!
Season: July - September
Getting there:
From West Glacier: Zoom on passed the West Glacier entrance and continue on highway US-2 East for a winding 55 miles.
Then bank left onto highway MT-49 North. Follow this straighter road for 4.1 miles.
Finally snag a left onto Two Medicine road. Have your parks pass ready. From the turn, your parking lot is at the end of this road 3 miles down canyon.
Park in the paved or dirt lots at the start of the lake. Also known as the South Shore Trailhead.
The approach:
Grab your gear and start your walk on the South Shore Trail. It is relatively flat and in great condition. Be on the look out for moose!
Truck along for 1.1 miles until you reach a split in the trail. Take a left towards Aster Park Overlook. Follow it until you hear the falls. Go check it out and gauge the water. That is your final rappel.
Then walk back to the trail and continue up towards the look-out. Finding where to leave the trail can be tricky. We suggest taking a left and off the trail around 48.46983, -113.37622. Or you can opt in for the steep but shorter entrance at the top of the long switchback where the trail hits a benching point on the ridge and drop down into the creek.
Both will be brushy and steep. The first option will put you right at the action. The second will give you a bit of a creek walk. The choice is yours, but you should end up at: 48.46927, -113.37479. This is the first drop.
The fun part:
*Depending on the approach it may take longer to run into rap one. Rappel one is indicated by the creek pouring over into a small slot. It is hard to miss. It’s a sizable drop. This is found at: 48.46927, -113.37479. Throw on your gear here if you haven’t already, you are about to get wet.
Rappel 1 (50 feet from a slung tree DCR): Rappel down canyon off the sculpted canyon wall next to the flow. This will drop you into a waist deep pool.
Pull your rope and do a small jump or slide off the next pour over. It is about 2-3 feet tall. This is not a super deep pool. Wade out of the pool and walk down stream about 100 feet. Quickly the stream banks right and slots up. In high flow this slot could prove dangerous. The tightness of the rock walls may make any object washed into it a siphon. Be on the look out, but as of September of 2024, there were no dangers. The slot could be down climbed head on, however taking the ledges DCL into the first pool is easiest.
Follow the rocky corridor to the next restriction, this can be a small slide or jump. Though the pool below is likely neck deep, one may still hit a ledge so please check the depth first. The drop deposits you into a small grotto followed by a more aggressive restriction. In high flow, this may be a vertical recirculating hydraulic. If it appears passable, slide down the restriction into a tight chest deep pool. Clamber out and exit the slot. The canyon then bends left.
Woo! The water course now is completely optional but still fun and a great place to teach Class C rigging, releasing, and non-verbal communication. The next drop is right away.
Rappel 2 (30 feet from a slung rock DCR): Rappel down next to the watercourse and into the recreating pool below. Climb out and down a low angle slide 10 feet into a knee deep pool.
Meander down the slippery sloped watercourse and into the next drop and pool.
Rappel 3 (25 feet from a slung rock DCR): Rappel down, across and then into the flow and into a thigh deep pool.
Stumble out and you will see the next drop about 30 feet downstream. The anchor is DCR in the jumble of rock DCL of the pool for rappel 3. That drop below is Rappel 4.
Rappel 4 (45 feet from a slung rock DCL, webbing will likely need to be replaced): Rappel down into the flow and out the oval shaped pool.
The next drop can be down climbed DCR, and the canyon appears to get more sculpted. The next drop looks like it drops into a slot. This is rappel 5 and indicates the ghosting section of the canyon.
Rappel 5 (35 feet from a dead tree DCR): Ghost this rappel since onlookers often travel up the banks of the canyon to look at this falls. Ghosting can be done easily with proper rope management and experience. This is a great place to teach a two-ring retrievable sling! Rappel over the pour over and down the slippery edge into the shin deep pool below. Enjoy the flow.
Pull your rope. Then your pull cord (and sling). You are at rappel 6.
Rappel 6: (40 feet from a large boulder DCR): You will need a very long sling to wrap around this boulder, we estimate about 11 feet should do the trick after the rings are tied on. Use your trusty ghosting method and rappel into the pushy flow down into the pool below. Hop the lip and descend the next short drop too! There is a deep pool on the other side. Watch out for hidden debris!
Pull your rope and anchor down to yourself! Look down the very temping slide blow. Do not slide this, you will shoot over the next drop! Meat anchor everyone but the last person down it and have the last person slide down to you as slow as they can! Ensure you CATCH them or they will fly over the falls! That is rappel 7.
Rappel 7 requires you to leave the water course and use the tree on the ledge up canyon and to your right. At this point the canyoneering aspect will feel forced. That’s okay, it is the last drop. Plus everyone is watching you from below, so do not mess this up.
Rappel 7 (45 feet from a tree up canyon right! A fiddle stick is a good idea here since you can keep the pull cord out of the flow): Rappel down the water course like a slide and down to the people below. Pull the rope and you are done!
The exit:
Walk back to your car on the trail you came in on! An easy 1.3 miles! Wahoo.
