Gore Race 2011, Pine Creek Race 2011

This news comes as a little bit of a surprise but their will not be an official Gore Canyon Race this year.
Gore Race announcement    The race was scheduled for August 20th. Flows have been coming down this week and the canyon will be running. Unfortunately not low enough for the race. Today the flow is 1720 and by the end of the week it should be below cut-off for commercial rafting, which is 1300 cfs. This race is always a culmination of a summers worth of conditioning and hard work. There is always an incredible atmosphere at this event and it will be missed. This race was the last of the Rocky Mountain Whitewater Series. Thanks for everyones participation in the race events this year. Thanks to The Adventure Company,  Arkansas Valley Adventures, Timberline Tours, Royal Gorge Rafting, FIBArk, CKS Paddlefest, Creek to the Peak,  and all the volunteers for safety, shuttles and spectators. 

Here is footage from the Pine Creek Rally Race 2011
Pine Creek Rally (race) video 2011

Pine Creek Race 2011

The Pine Creek Race has an official date of August 11th 2011. Registration is at 6 pm @ AVA. The after party is prom @ AVA. So dress to impress. The race was postponed to allow a more suitable flow. Now there isn't an excuse to miss out. Class V river running is upon us, time to crush it!

Pine Creek Race 2010

Wow, Summer 2011, Holy High water

What a summer of runoff. Im sure everyone knows how good its been on the rivers in Colorado this summer. Since the beginning of June we have only dipped below 3,000cfs twice. Although it seems to be coming down the monsoon is going to play a role in our flow fluctuations. We usually see a slide in early July only to rebound a bit at the end of the month. La Nina and the Monsoon   We saw 4,800 cfs last summer and that was incredible. 6 weeks above 3,000 Holy...! Our next race is coming up at the end of the month and thats on Pine Creek through the Numbers. At this point we are unsure of what to expect, but high water Numbers race is one that wouldnt disappoint. This mid summer race is great for everyone, even the less experienced will love this race. So stay tuned for updates about the next race on July 27th.

Royal Gorge Whitewater Festival

This friday is the Royal Gorge Pro Raft Race. This cold storm passing through might allow flows to come down enough to run the gorge. When flows are above cutoff this race is moved upriver into the Parkdale section. Only time will tell. There are many other race events including a rodeo. This is the third race of the Rocky Mountain Whitewater Series. The CKS sprint turned into a great event with 5 teams showing. The Bryan Dreher sprint at FIBArk was fun, but the gorge race never disappoints. Big water, crushing hits, and 7 person teams the norm this event is not to be missed. Here is a link to footage of last years race. Royal Gorge Race Footage 

Royal Gorge Whitewater Festival

FibArk Sprint

If you didnt make it to the Creek to the Peak race on Clear Creek, you missed out. 15 rafts showed up to this timed race. Each team was released at 1 minute intervals. This allowed competitors to race the clock with out the battling in the small creek. It was nice to see. Many races start head to head which is fun but that comes with a different approach.   Creek to Peak Race Results Thanks to all who put this race on it was a great turnout with teams from as far as the Arkansas Valley showing.

This coming week is FibArk and I know all of you will be there. Bring some friends and your rafts to compete and play in the Hooligan, Rodeo, and Sprint.

Pimp in Ho Rodeo in BV

What a great start to Paddlefest weekend with the Pimp and Ho Rodeo in the BV river park. Everyone is welcome in the event. As great as it is to spectate at this event, its even better to participate. Many different water crafts, costumes, and surf styles are recommended. Event starts at 6 pm wednesday May 25th. Don't forget the BV pro sprint raft race is on sunday May 29th.

Paddlefest Raft Race 2011

Pimp and Ho Rodeo in Buena Vista 

AIRE USRA National Championships on the Clackamas

Next weekend is nationals in Oregon! The 28th annual Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival is hosting the 2011 USRA National Championships. If you forgot about this festival call of work, find a dog sitter, water the plants and head to the coast for a guaranteed good time. Don't forget your boats, paddles, pfds, dutch ovens, yoga mats, and your smoothest pick up lines. There will be many on and off water clinics to fill time in between events. And don't worry high water wont be here till June so hit the road!



Aire Boats

Clackamas Festival

Plenty of water up there 132% of average!

Here are some great snotel sites for the upper arkansas river basin. Independence Pass Snotel , Fremont Pass Snotel,  Bromley Snotel .  You can see how the snow water equivelant is still increasing. With a forecasted subtle shift out of la nina we can expect this winters weather patterns to continue a little longer Precip Outlook for April-June  Temp Outlook April-June . Cloudy skies, cool temps, and light winds all contribute to a suspended run off. I will leave out the dreaded four letter word that starts with a "D" and changes the color of the snow.

Ullr loves us!!

and then there was a race....

Do you have racing on the brain? No. How about live music? No. Have you seen some of the worlds best boaters? No. As the nations greatest whitewater festival FIBArk never disappoints. And with the roots firmly planted by folks in the video below, their heritage becomes ours.






FIBArk Race 1949

Raft race paddle training guide

The snow doesn't want to stop up here in the Colorado headwaters. Snowpacks are increasing and spring seems far enough away. But as we all know the water will fill the rivers soon and we will be in a flowing liquidity heaven. There are many teams that are expressing interest in the 2011 Rocky Mountain Whitewater Series and we hope that everyone comes out to the races for fun, competition, and as spectators. Yes it is coming fast, our first scheduled race @ the 2011 CKS Paddlefest is less than 2 months away. So if you have been slacking here is the Un Official Race Training Video from the UK. Take these lessons practice and soon enough we will all be better paddlers than the euros.


Un Official Race Training video

Big Storms bury any worries about early snowmelt.

February and March supplied plenty of sunshine and great ski days. In the valleys, towns thawed out from sheets of ice and snow. This nice break in an above average snow year was welcome, and so was the 4 foot storm at the end of March that covered the head waters of the Arkansas River, Eagle River, Blue River, Ten Mile Creek and Clear Creek. Statewide snow pack percentages are above average. Per basin is varied with the northern part of Colorado well above average and the far southern basins slightly below average. The ski areas throughout Summit and Eagle counties show huge seasonal snowfall totals with solid base depths rarely seen. Time will tell how this snow will melt to the rivers. Will it be another record flow year? Will it sustain through the summer? Will we be rafting past water cutoffs?







Statewide snowpack as of 4/1/2011

Clear Creek on the rise river festival

Another race and river festival! Clear Creek on the rise river festival is June 9th thru 11th 2011. This is a great section of river for racing. Early June snowmelt flowing narrow fast and cold will assure a lot of fun for competitors. This festival will have many events for different types of athletes. Many clinics will be offered for kayakers along with a rodeo in the new Lawson whitewater park. Follow the links for more info.





http://www.clearcreekontherise.com/


http://www.mountainbuzz.com/forums/f38/clear-creek-on-the-rise-river-festival-34690.html

Lowland Urban Class V

Recent flood waters sent the Cuyahoga River to 4700 cfs. This spring rain, snowmelt and city runoff flow into flat areas of the river before it crashes through the gorge dropping 200 feet over 3 or so miles. There have been recent discussions and media coverage from Cuyahoga Falls and Akron Ohio on the idea of a rafting operation. This footage shows incredible potential for urban rafting in a critical natural interface. The dams have been in place since 1912 last needed for coal in 1991 and used for hydro power until 1958. A large portion of the rapids  have been submerged. There is an almost unlimited amount of info regarding the Cuyahoga River and its history. This footage show the sections of river @ 4700cfs on February 28th 2011.
Cuyahoga River
Cuyahoga River I 
Cuyahoga River II
Cuyahoga AWA

Update: Buena Vista Sprint Race

The Buena Vista Sprint Race starts the Rocky Mountain Whitewater Series with some great head to head racing.  This season 6 person teams will battle for the lead position as the boats race through the Buena Vista White Water Park.  The race will start in the flats above the first wave and end at the Lodo wave at South Main.  This is an all out sprint that will be about 3 minutes start to finish.  We will start with a time trial to seat the teams.  Then there will be heats of 2 boats and the winner will advance to the next round, those teams that advance will go head to head again until a winner is determined. A shuttle for the race will be provided by The Adventure Company.

Regisration will be 5-6pm, at South Main on the grass feild outside the Eddyline Brewery.  There is parking down stream of the Brewery.

    

The race will start at 6pm and go until 8:30pm

There will be an entry fee, TBA,  as low as possible

Volunteers are needed for safety. contact john@theadventurecompany.com

Start thinking "world championship"

As the days get longer snowmelt is slowly starting across the western US. Rafting teams should be training in anticipation of the upcoming race season. For many teams out there it is hard to fully understand what the level of competition is. The Rocky Mountain Whitewater Series is a good chance for teams to see what competition is regionally. Same goes for the Western Whitewater Championship Series, it also gives teams a chance to test themselves. There is usually a common goal among teams, besides finishing the race, and that is having fun. For a little taste of the fun at the international level check out the video link below provided by Teva and The International Rafting Federation. This footage is from the world championships in the Netherlands.





Link to World Championships 2010
http://www.wrc2010.nl/

National Championships

Coming up in May 2011 is the Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival. There are many events at the festival, but as part of the Western Whitewater Championship Series, alot of excitement comes with the USRA Nationals. This series of races at the festival will determine the best competitive raft race team in the country and with the chance to represent the US any eligible team should attend. More info coming soon.

For more info

http://www.oregonraftingteam.com/events-2/western-whitewater-championship-series-iv/ 




http://www.usaraftassociation.com/events/

Gore Race

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6fFbTgaEBw 


A great video edit of the Gore Race @ Gore Rapid.  This may be some of the best footage to come out of this race. Thanks to the ones involved in filming and safety.

This link is a race view from Kirschbaum Rapid to the finish line. Thanks Clair!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H11nmmACoY0&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Pine Creek Race

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vueJpYeLzto


This race had an incredible mass start for the different divisions of racers. Each boat had to face upriver while holding onto a suspension bridge and make a 180 degree turn. Great idea, it created an unexpected challenge that each competitor had to consider on the fly. This footage from the race shows Pine Creek Rapid and was provided by The Adventure Company.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vueJpYeLzto

Royal Gorge Down River Race

Here is some footage from the Royal Gorge Down River Raft Race. This race was part of the 2010 Royal Gorge Whitewater Festival. For more info about the 2011 festival go to

http://www.royalgorgewhitewaterfestival.com/events.php. Originally the race was considered a 4 man race but with high water most teams showed with 6 or more. This is a great race that requires endurance for the whitewater and for the long flatwater to the finish. Good battles were had between teams from the mass start through the flatwater to the finish.

Video edit of the race.

 http://vimeo.com/18656815