Pinnacle Falls

RATING - 42.0


VR - 6.0 (Med) HR - 6.0 SR - 6/20

TYPE OF APPROACH - Bushwhack

DIFFICULTY - Difficult

LOCATION - Ptarmigan Ridge

TYPE - Tiered

HEIGHT - 180'

WIDTH - 15'

GPS - N48 50' 23.61" W121 43' 52.85"

ELEVATION - 4280'

DIRECTIONS - No directions provided. Dangerous approach.

Pinnacle Falls occurs where one of the four major branches of Wells Creek drops a total of about 180' in a series of drops. The falls begin with a 25' tall horsetail which is followed immediately by a pretty 30' tall curtain of water. From there, the creek drops over another drop before turning 90 degrees to the left and plunging 42' into a narrow alcove in the cliff. This bottom section can be seen by following the creek upstream to the base.

Due to the way the canyon is shaped, it is impossible to see the entire falls from any one spot. Were it possible to view the entire falls clearly, the rating would go up a bit. The waterfall reminds me a lot of giant Mazama Falls located downstream. It's much smaller and the creek is much lower volume at this point, but the way it twists and turns on its way down the cliff is quite similar. On my first trip to the falls, a solitary mountain goat was munching on the sparse plant life along the cliff walls (see additional pictures below).