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