Little Grand Canyon...Westwater Utah

As fall weather slumbers into the Rocky Mountains, all the usual suspects loaded up the KEENmobile and rolled into Westwater Canyon Utah for a 4 day paddling and mountain biking bonanza. Fresh off of my last trip to Seattle to adventure race with the DART gang, it was great to be back on the mountain bike yet again away from endless time in the kayak.  Heather and I started the weekend by hitting all the classic mountain bike rides (and a few we made up as we went!) in Moab. What is better in life than to wake up in the morning from our camping vista overlooking Slickrock followed by frumpy oatmeal and chocolate milk watching the sun rise in my KEEN flippity flops?


ROCK'N VIDEO LINK HERE
PADDLER'S PERSPECTIVE (Same Stretch Looking Downstream)
SIDE PERSPECTIVE (Same as photo)

Skull Rapid, Left Line vs. Right Line

After some epic mountain biking in Moab, we rolled upstream to Westwater Canyon to meet up with Andy Corra and family along with Nelson Oldham/fam for some big water boat'n on one of every wildwater paddlers' favorite stretches of river. Westwater Canyon, sometimes called Little Grand Canyon,  is rich in outlaw history, caves, and bald eagles. It is even richer in the quality of big volume pool drop rapids. The exitless inner gorge is 40 minutes of world class continuous big water rapids. Each drop leads to a guaranteed chest hit at the bottom of the explosive wave trains leading to the crux rapid in the series known as The Skull. To the right you see a photo from 2 years ago on another Westwater river trip with me taking the left line and The Boz taking his raft on the rowdier right line barely squeezing by the munchy massive hole that gives the rapid its namesake. Hitting the swimming pool sized hole almost guarantees a beat down followed by a story worthy dance with The Rock of Shock and then an unpalatable dessert in The Room of Doom. It's actually not such a Room of Doom for kayakers but it can hold a raft for hours if one unlucky soul gets sucked into the recirculating eddy inside the alcove unless they dump truck or bus stop (same as a dump truck but only the guide stays in the raft:) in the Skull Hole. .

Andy Corra and I prepaddled the same 20 mile run the day before in a brisk sub 2 hours on a training run (aka paddle as hard as you can to not lose Andy) but the run you see here is the family run with his talented paddling wife Janet and son Wiley as well as Nelson Oldham and daughter Kate both in kayaks and a support dory. Not blasting down the river in a paper thin 24 lb carbon kelar boat has its own challenges and you see me several times mis time my dory passes in the rapids resulting in a side hit on my stern and a double look to ensure I'm still sea worthy:)

I try to add a swiftwater racing tip on every blog entry and I think a great paddling tip from today's video is to "reach past every wave apex for your next stroke". Doing so centers your balance perfectly on each mega wave hit and boofs/drives the kayak forward trying to reach the next wave before my bow drops into the trough of the wave set (which would slow my speed like a speed bump). Notice the frequency of my paddle strokes matches the frequency of the swell surges...the slower the surges lift me the slower my stroke frequency.  I hear the advice "paddle like hell when a rapid approaches" which I disagree with from a technical perspective as the paddler flails with poor timing. "Never stop paddling and time each stroke to hit each wave apex" is a better paraphrase of that same advice. Notice my paddle is never out of the water except for a millisecond between strokes. That millisecond is the only instant I could get flipped like you see just before the slo mo in Skull Rapid but a few brace strokes prevented a roll. I may slow down my stroke by extending the stroke beyond my hip waiting for the next wave but my paddle is ALWAYS in the water for leverage.  In the notorious words of my favorite movie of all time: TOP GUN..."Maverick, that was some of the best (paddling) I've seen yet right up to the point you got (flipped)...you NEVER EVER leave your (paddle in the air:)


Heather got plenty of flat water time on the SUP paddle board and little 8 year old Wiley Corra really impressed me paddling rowdy class 3 wavetrains with a smile on his face. The US paddling scene will recognize this name in about 10 years as he'll surely go on to match his dad's world record paddling acumen.

As with life, the compression of every canyon brings a lot of rowdiness and uncertainly. Peace finally returns and that same rowdiness passes us by on its way to the next tumultuous canyon. In the early hours of morning on the same day as this video filming I saw the most magnificent shooting star go overhead seen from horizon to horizon with a glorious trail of green. Later that evening, I got a voicemail from my long time hometown friend letting me know the mother of my high school class Linda Griffin had passed. Now I know what it meant. 

Next up....nordic and hot chocolate hut season is upon us! Special thanks to the ever creative Heather for the video editing above!!!

How Not to Take Heather Kayaking...

OK, so only kayakers will appreciate how funny this video truly is. I personally will never take Heather on something she's not comfortable paddling herself but the conversation going on here is just classic among husband and wife/boyfriend girlfriend when paddling a tandem together. Every time we paddle our tandem, we joke with onlookers telling them we're filming a reality tv show called "How to Get Divorced in 2 Weeks or Less".....

This is on a class 6 section of the White Nile in Uganda and I just can't believe a kayaker would take a non kayaker through this without full disclosure but the drama is just priceless...

World's Worst Kayaking Experience

Chasing DART...

Team Dart Nuun Sport Multi: Jeremy Rodgers, Sean Clancy, Mari Chandler, Matt Hayes; 1st Place Trioba Adventure Race

So I've learned from this blogging thing to defer when you've been outblogged and Sean Clancy from Team DART is the blogger of all bloggers. Every photo and detail he captures like a modern day Mark Twain.

Glissading in the rocks...

Even though we won this very challenging race in 25 hours 50 minutes by a several hour margin ahead of second place Team Verve, I came to the realization that being in a kayak for the past 2 years really takes it's toll on leg and hip strength on super long races when a majority of the course is off trail on super steeps. My feet just hadn't seen that type of stimulus for several years and the first 7 hour orienteering section in the Cascade Mountains trashed my feet. Luckily, I had super professional teammates Matt Hayes (on the compass) , Mari Chandler (Ms. Efficiency herself), and Sean Clancy (The Hulk) and we all kept our heads down, made zero mistakes, and focused on the finish line. DART and their entire stable of racers are as good as they get.

Night falls on the Cascades.

Read Sean Clancy's blog summary at http://www.dartadventure.com/index.php/teamnews/95-team-wins-trioba-24-hours-

Make that a Large Pizza...No Make that Supersize.....Leadville...Colorado River Trifecta

View South from 12,200 ft. Hope Pass of Collegiate Peaks Range

Who Throws Motor Oil Bottles  Out OfTheir Window?

What a stunning Colorado weekend! Heather and I loaded up the Sprinter and headed up to the Leadville Trail 100 to pace a few patients and friends of ours. We snuck a quick ride from Leadville up Independence Pass first thing in the morning followed by getting Joy Robertson and John Hill up and over the 12,000 foot Hope Pass.

All was smooth sailing for both of them. Joy arrived into Winfield looking the best she's looked in 4 years of pacing for her. She was celebrating the possible last time she'd complete Leadville for nearly the 6th time after realizing this year she was in need of a hip resurfacing procedure. She started the race with a not so perfect pain in her hip but seemed to have been in control of it. We made it to the top of Hope Pass, mile 60, right on schedule and began the descent. It was quite clear within the first 200 vertical feet of descent that Joy could go uphill all day long but the descent simply caused the cartilage problem in her hip to occur with every step. By the time we'd descended to 11,000 feet she was literally unable to take another step. With night fall upon us and 2,000 feet of descent and 4 miles left back to Twin Lakes,  we made a plan to have her piggy back and ride on my shoulders 5 minutes followed by 2 minutes of her walking. Luckily she's only 115 lbs dripping wet and I never thought in million years I'd be carrying someone on my back scrambling down a drainage ditch but our system worked albeit time consuming. I think we scared other racers more than ourselves with Joy and I combining to be a 10 foot tall hiker:) and the humor in it just offset the misery factor of being at such an altitude unable to ambulate. We made it back to the Twin Lakes aid station in 5 hours instead of the normal 3 and I just felt horrible for this long time ultra runner who just lives and breathes trail running in the Colorado mountains. She's always lands on her feet and I look forward to hearing where she diverts her energy until hip resurfacing technology is at a point that runners can return to running. Currently, the hardware interface fails with the load of running and technology doesn't exist for such an application.

Avoiding wave friction just on the seam...the secret art of swift water racing!

Heather Riding The Wave Train...a little bouncier just left of the seam!

So at 10:30 PM, Heather and repacked the Sprinter and drove over Independence Pass into Aspen just in time to grab a few hours of sleep before the 25th Annual Colorado River Race put on by Jerry Nyre www.canoecolorado.com. In hindsight, I think we were both more bummed we'd missed a thick crust supreme at Leadville Pizza Hut than were about starting a race with 4 hours sleep. Heather really impressed me as she was approx. 5th overall and ran some good rapids in an Epic 18 (ft) that really tests one's ability to line up the boat in tight wave trains that want to push you into the eddies and bridge abutments. I felt surprisingly recovered from the Leadville saga and went on to win the race for the 5th consecutive year. I chose to paddle a "short boat" WakaTwo wildwater racing kayak in the "long boat" unlimited class this year and at 15ft I was very surprised to see me just beat the previous course record of 1 hour 4 minutes I set 3 years ago in my 22 foot JKK Supernova. It just goes to show that hull speed doesn't always win if one considers bow wave resistance (greater in longer boats) when paddling in shallow water ways. Additionally, I'm a mass start racer by nature and the other long boats kept me focused on forward progress for sure.

For those wanting some advice on pacing on longer paddling efforts like 1 hour, I simply break the race into 15 minute intervals and each 15 minute interval into 5 minute sub intervals of increasing intensity ie hard, harder, hardest rising from just below anerobic threshold to just at threshold at the end of the final 5 minute sub interval. I monitor this as well as average pace on my Garmin 305 GPS odo/speedometer. The art of this pacing control I owe to Andy Corra's mentoring last year and it has been the single reason I finished top 5 nationally last year and beating my long boat record that had previously stood for 15 years originally set by a tandem K2 kayak in 1993.

Next week, off to Seattle to adventure race with Team Dart-NUUN-MultiSport who I've respected for years for their consistency in national and international races. They have a stable of swift talented multisporters that gave BPN a run for their money 2 years ago so really looking forward to seeing the Cascades with Sean Clancy, Mari Chandler, and Matt Hayes.

World Championships...Big Water and a Little Cash for the Road

Reeeaaaching for that next catch!

http://www.usawildwater.com/news/2010/100725_Performance_Funding.html

Unleash the new Waka Two from ZBS Sports in Czech Republic custom painted by Tomas Slovak...transparent Signal Blue:) By th e look on my face, I'd say I was 2 heartbeats away from blowing a gasket. Ah...the art of wildwater paddling...go so hard on the flats you almost blow a gasket then survive the rapids! Getting more confident at this balance but I have alot to learn:)

Another year of flooding every June 1st in Europe. This is the sprint course run out in Sort, Spain. The upper course got high enough that the whole river was off limits for 3 days. Flashbacks of Ivrea, Italy in 2008. 

Just another day at the office...just when you ask for big you get too big:)

On break between heats...

Play time for Heather and I...off to find another bakery for a E'Clair! Maybe I already had one in my mouth.

US Wildwater Paddler Andy Corra Sets New World Record On Yukon River!

Excerpts From Story on USA Wildwater.com

Only days after returning to Boulder from World Championships in Sort, Spain, I found myself sitting at Denver International airport yet again waiting for my flight to the Yukon Territory Canada busily checking flow gauges and gathering last minute information on the wilderness that waits.

Just when one thinks you have been dealt an average hand, all variables go in your favor and the impossible happens as the human spirit triumphs against all odds. Not 24 hours after I sent an email out to family and friends on my blog acknowledging the lack of adequate flows for a world record attempt on the 24 distance record, American wildwater paddler Andy Corra, from Durango, Colorado, overtook the current world record of 261 miles on June 28th by paddling 273.5 miles (awaiting certification by Guinness World Records) in 24 hours. The current official record is held by Aussie American adventure racing legend Ian Adamson . While flows were average at best compared to previous record attempts by others, Andy’s paddling and river reading skills, as well as tolerance of sitting in a kayak for 24 hours, were matched with eerily calm skies and the sheer hunger for what was one man’s first chance to attempt this life long goal.

Andy’s attempt was supported by 2 local guides in a flat skiff motor boat and myself alternating in a 2nd surf ski and time spent on the motor boat handling logistics. His attempt started with a simple touch of the reset button on the 2 GPS tracking devices at 12 noon as he pushed away from the flat bottomed guide boat and pointed the bow of his Epic V12 surf ski downriver. Needless to say, he chose against a long warm-up. What ensued in the next 24 hours was simply poetry in motion. Andy kept his signature form throughout the entire 24 hours and his cadence only slowed in the final 2 hours as fatigue and the intolerance of sitting took its toll on his back and shoulders. The river was swift and approximately 5-16 feet deep. The endless braids were challenging to find primary channels and we as a support crew were busy looking ahead with various means, then relying on Andy’s on the fly water reading skills. With moderate flows this year, Andy simply overcame moderate flows with both his paddling skill combined with excellent weather minus several heavy gale force squalls. The difference in Andy’s attempt and previous attempts by other paddlers seemed to be Andy’s dissection of each channels flow to gain maximum current speed advantage obtained from his years of wildwater racing.

We began below Lake Labarge around noon on Saturday and descended Five Fingers and Rink Rapids earlier than expected. In the wee hours of the arctic dusk around 2am, Andy negotiated the cross currents and exploding waves between the immersed rock towers of Five Fingers Rapids with the cautious focus you’d expect from a 6 time wildwater national champion paddling a 21 foot surf ski through short but worthy class 2-3 rapids. Andy had little to say the entire attempt but did muster the defining phrase, “that was anti climactic”, as he passed through the final rapid.

The rest of the night he remained on task only stopping long enough to urinate and exchange food and hydration systems. He did ultimately hit an expected low in the early hours of the next morning, hours 18-21, with only a slight change in cadence but no change in average speed even with dropping current speed. By hour 21, following a quick layer change, he regained his color and signature cadence for the final leg of this enormous human feat.

The entire US paddling community is excited about Andy’s accomplishment. Andy can be reached at corras@riversports.com to offer him congratulations.

Unleash the Yukon....

Just days after the jetlag wore off and the Euros were converted back into USD’s, I find myself sitting again at Denver International airport again waiting for my flight bound for Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. I’m heading to the Yukon to crew/pace for prolific American paddler Andy Corra’s solo attempt on the Guinness 24 Hour Distance Record of 264.2 miles held by my fellow Coloradan and adventure racing legend Ian Adamson. The Yukon River has some attractive qualities that are no secret to the record setter, specifically, its massive flows nearing 110,000 cfs (cubic feet/second) through near arctic northern latitudes which provide 22 hours of daylight during summer solstice and virtually untamed undammed river flows. The river is deep enough that its massive flow produces little turbulence above class 2 rapids compared to what Andy and I are used to in the sport of wildwater racing. In contrast, its massive lower elevation river braids one half mile wide create significant navigational challenges to find the deepest current or simply not run aground in a backwater channel.

The 4 key ingredients in challenging this record are lucid: 1) having the fastest flows/snowpack runoff 2) having favorable winds/weather 3) being the technically best paddler 4) body management i.e. tolerating sitting, eating, urinating, etc in a kayak for 24 hours straight, and finally 5) having solid logistical planning (in order of importance). Flows when the record was reset in 2004 on this same river were 107,000 cfs. This week's flows are 70,000 cfs. Andy and I have no illusion about the challenges this presents and we are staying focused on laying down as many miles as the final 4 of 5 ingredients allow. Many paddlers look at this record and simply salivate on the simple premise it’s simply paddling more efficiently and faster than the next great paddler. In contrast, it’s a chess game of skill, luck, and wit to out jockey those things fitness and paddling skill cannot control.

We have 2 days of logistical jockeying on the ground evaluating flow gauges, weather, and mundane things as simple as battery life of tracking, signaling, and communication devices. Up North Adventures is our local guiding outfit and will provide motorboat support for Andy’s effort as well as assist me finding the fastest current ahead of Andy using stealthy techniques such as steering away from the bears in shallow water.

As I near the age of 35, I’m still not sure how I am magnetically drawn into these outings (no pun intended) nor why my girlfriend Heather still supports these misadventures far from home but, lucky for me, she still does enthusiastically; especially if she’s not the one in the front of our 2 person whitewater kayak otherwise known as the Jackson Dynamic Duo. This trip guarantees an experience of a lifetime with hopeful DISTANT grizzly sightings, endless UP CLOSE mosquitoes, and all the usual “I can’t believe that happened” ingredients that make one appreciate the simpler things in life.

Every adventure locale has its indigenous social, wildlife, and environmental hazards. Patagonia’s poison was instantaneous gale force windstorms and arctic water temperatures (pictured above circa 2005). New Zealand had endless glacial azure rivers, alpine rock fall from the mountain ledges above combined with the prickliest Spanish grass my butt has ever come to know. Nepal had its ruthless leeches in all the wrong places and Maoist extremists lurking in the trees just waiting to take my Nutter Butters. France brought weird accents who spoke at us Americans as if always mad and I’ll never forget the endless shocking by electric fences for cows that could jump houses. Spain introduced amazing rivers and how not to serve dinner until 10pm. My home state of Oklahoma yields tornados and bull riding cowboys. The Yukon Territory brings _________________________ to my Hybrid KEEN life.

Beginning this Saturday or Sunday, I’ll be sending several of you position updates by email via my satellite beacon transmitter so look for the start as the first one, a few updates signals, and 3 in immediate sequence as the end of the 24 hour mark.

My favorite adventure quote resurfaces for this occasion....
"Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success." Sir Ernest Shackleton, Endurance Antarctic Expedition circa 1908 London News classifieds

Adopt A Highway...Fight Back Against the Litterbugs!

So every time I clean my beloved adopted 2 mile highway section on Left Hand Canyon on one of Boulder's premiere cycling routes I feel the need to play a little game. The game is come up with a new way to break my course record cleaning it using any means available. I've cleaned it running only, using my scooter and a jousting pickerupper, rollerblades, jumping out of the back of a truck, one bike ride at a time...you name it, I've tried it. The new Sprinter van is paying off at every turn as this time Heather drove it while I hung out the side door like a hawk looking for it's recyclable prey...just salivating at the sight of every neglected piece of aluminum or glass beverage container anchored needlessly in the riparian tundra otherwise known as Left Hand Canyon.

Here are a few pics of the mornings work, 3 mega bags, 2 tires, 1 construction sign, and 1 box of jelly beans. I will say Bud Light cans are the usual instrument for those that are too lazy to throw away trash in a responsible manner but whiskey is clearly out of favor this tough recession. Imports were also no where to be found although a few high class litterbugs still lurk in the shadows.

Jesse...A+ on the Immersion Research Gertler shorts for functionality while trash collecting. They perform flawlessly in the low crouching positions jumping over trees, treacherous buried glass, and guard rails!

Special thanks to Clif Bar who is hosting a mega highway cleanup this week in Boulder County to do it's

part in promoting responsible trash disposal on Colorado's beloved roadways!

Annual Return to the Roots....Buena Vista Gravity Play Race

So I try to return to adventure racing at least once a year and this year it worked out to do Gravity Play's Buena Vista Adventure Exstream race. Heather is fired up to qualify for the Checkpoint Tracker national series race held in Colorado this year so I tagged along for a race on some top notch wildwater training on the Arkansas from town to Fisherman's Bridge aka Town Run to Milk Run.

The race started on foot with a 10K trail run/orienteering section to the paddle start. I shared the run with 2 military guys named Ryan and John. Ryan was active Army just back from Iraq and just from the cauliflower ear in his right ear called him out as an ex wrestler who shot his single leg with his right leg...sure enough he was an grappler from North Dakota. John was an active Air Force Academy cadet in his last year. Both of them were great company on the brisk run and we had a hoot scrambling down the cliffed out route we chose to descend into the river bed and having a fun time chatting about my Vietnam era Marine Corp dad Super Dave and the trials and tribulations of the career soldier. Army Ryan and I were simply getting punished by fleet footed Air Force John so I called an audible after CP2 and Army Ryan and I vanished into the slot canyons on a strategic evade and elude move after letting Air Force John get 30 seconds ahead of us. If you two guys read my blog this week... I forgot to thank you and all past veterans for your service to our country and the freedoms that service brings. These guys are solid and I wish them the best in the sport of adventure racing.

That was the last I saw of my running mates and I zoned out to let it rip on the paddle and bike to the finish. With really low spring water levels, I really had to stay on top of my line through the constant boulder fields. Sorry Bruce over at Coal Creek Collision Center in Boulder...I finally did some real damage to the bottom of the awesome new paint job you did for me this year.

I forget how much fun adventure racing is when the pressure isn't on for all the hoopla and I just enjoyed being out there with the other racers taking in all the great vistas and roller coaster single track in Buena Vista. The cyclocross setup on the my Gary Fisher Superfly from http://www.universitybikes.com/ in Boulder is just bomber on adventure races with gnarly single track minus big rock hits at 40 mph. You just point the Superfly in the direction of the finish and just her do her magic in the twisty turns. Gary Lacy was on my tail on the water and that guy just is ageless. I guess that's what happens when you race your sons every weekend!

Team KEEN slid in first overall in a smooth 2 hours 37 minutes. Heather won the solo female and is on track to meet her goals. Is it a problem if my own girlfriend may beats me one day? I think it's in the near future. Results at http://www.gravityplay.com/adventureracing/Results/BV10.pdf Adventure racing continues to thrive as does the Gravity Play series with over 250 racers at each race. Maybe next year Team KEEN will expand from 1 soloist to a team of 4;) Keep your eyes peeled racers!

Release…The Sprinter!

In support of our free spirit tendencies, Heather and I teamed up to buy and build the ultimate multisport van this winter. We were looking for a diamond in the rough and we found her in Golden in the form of a 2005 Dodge Sprinter. These Mercedes Turbodiesel driven wonders get 23+mpg at 8500 lbs and 22 feet long. Need I say more? We spent 2 weeks removing the vinyl branding aka burning our finger tips with heat guns on 32 degree nights after work until we had her as white as a baby’s bottom. Her dad, Buck, spent an afternoon laying the tile laminate floating floor as we anticipated some dripping kayak gear and muddy bike tires. We threw 18” alloy wheels from a Mercedes G500 SUV on for bling bling value so we don’t get the cops called on us when bandit camping in high end neighborhoods who mistake it for a passenger Eurovan!

Next stop was a visit to the boys at Vanworks,http://www.vanworks.com/, in Fort Collins, CO who specialize in custom van conversions. In short, these talented craftsmen can make anything out of anything. Dale and crew did the whole customization from the power system to cabinets and everything between. They added a shore line so the vehicle could be plugged in to our trusty friends all over Colorado. When plugged in the heater, home theater system, fridge, microwave, and other high consumption electronics can run directly from shore power. We added a 2 amp solar system to keep the batteries topped off while we’re out frolicking in the mountains. As any vegabond camper knows, a hot shower was first on our list of must haves for our home away from home. Vanworks put a water output from our sink to a external shower system that heats the water before sending it to the shower head mounted to the back door. (photo) This system doubles as our muddy bike washing station and stinky paddle clothing diffuser.

Another key component the promising van camper can’t skimp on is the ceiling vent and mood lights. Colorado, being the high mountain climate it is, made us pass on A/C. The ceiling vent keeps the humidity from building up and temperature down. We went with movie theater style LED mood lights along the perimeter of the ceiling courtesy of Barry from Jersey at Vanworks who gave mood lights two thumbs up. The finishing touch was the fold down toy hauler bed that converts into a dinette and table when necessary. Jim from Vanworks recovered the vintage fabric on the bed and seats with bling bling black neoprene compliments of Prijon Wildwasser kayaks in Boulder.

My high school days clearly resurfaced when it came to the audio system and I didn't want to let my high school friend BJ Rumph down when he came to town. We went with a single 10” sub under the passenger seat but heavy on everything else with around 600 watts pushing the 6 mid and high drivers. With movies like Top Gun and 300 in the DVD collection, Mike from Vanworks couldn’t pass on having the DVD integrate into the audio system or doubling down on the wall insulation to keep the neighbors from calling our cover when we’re camping across the street!  http://www.kustomkaraudio.com/ did the front door panel speakers custom for Sprinters.

The finishing touches were some of our favorites. To the left, Vanworks custom made sweet ceiling cabinets to house the microwave and my endless collection of KEEN's!

We just got the crown jewel.... personalized license plates. As many of my childhood friends will remember, my brother Josh was the king of van travel even as a young 20 year old in Oklahoma with several VW Eurovan restorations going on at one time. Because we just upsized the size of our van compared to his daily driver (photo shown on the right circa 1999...the first adventure race I ever did with some college

friends..silly Team Radical), JOSHUA2 seemed fitting for the tags. One distinct memory I carry forward from his nature is to be passionate about living life and pack it all in to one day as you never know how the next page reads. Even though I never liked to fish as much as he did, I paid attention and reeled when he said reel. (see below)! His spirit lives on one road trip at a time. Heather picked up where he left off and fishes the same Arkansas River from it's headwaters in our beloved Buena Vista, Colorado.

Shot of the Week...Where's the Airport? Shoshone 3000 cfs and rising....

Chicagoland Adventure Racing Camp...and the 6 Lb. Burrito Brothers!

So I spent last weekend near Chicago, Illinois at Gerry Voelliger's Team High Profile Adventure Racing Camp http://thethunderrolls.org/camp.html with 180 adventure racers from 10 states and support staff. It's very real that adventure racing on a grassroots level continues to flourish in the Midwest and Gerry Voelliger is a big part of that success. I tell you this event director and his staff put on an outstanding camp. Gerry's enthusiasm for all things adventure is contagious and this camps stands alone for providing high quality instruction and will jump start any budding adventure racer's knowledge base 100fold in 3 days at a great price. World champion adventure racer Robyn Bennicasa was on staff last year. None of us are sure how Gerry gets his instructors but I'd say it's because if you knew Gerry you just can't turn down a request. He's the fire chief in Bettendorf, Iowa and just has a big brother vibe about him.

I was on staff to provide paddling instruction and all support all other programs related to adventure racing ie navigation, fixed ropes, foot care, in race tactics, etc. KEEN, Clif Bar, and Immersion Research came through for camp participants with the most schwag I've ever seen at an event and the campers loved it all. After 5-6 capsizes in the Mississippi during the field paddling session I'm certain campers found a new appreciation for proper clothing layers. My favorite camp memory was looking on shore and seeing 3 shall I say Rugby'esque campers recently removed from the frigid water (see below) huddled around each other buck naked still pointing fingers at who really tipped the canoe. They came to enjoy the namesake "The 6 LB Burrito Brothers" given to them by Gerry V. These guys traveled all the way from Nebraska and just reminded me of all the human experiences one amasses in the sport of adventure racing. Every second is a screenplay in the making. I enjoyed the racing spirit of these 3 guys, Casey especially, and I look forward to hearing stories of their future success .




Here is a photo of some paddling technique demonstrating how to get maximum power transfer from your body to the kayak/canoe using releasable foot and thigh straps. Note...never do this with straps that don't release instantaneously or you'll have a longer upside down experience than necessary!

Here's a photo of the Wakarusa River that racers honed their paddling skills on. Who knew a class 2 whitewater river runs through these fields surrounding Camp Benson? The river pulses through an otherwise agricultural backdrop and simply carves out some magnificent scenery with surrounding bat caves and high bluffs.

Special thanks to Active Endeavors owner Matt Ostrum who continues to foster the sport of adventure racing in the Chicago market and was an early supporter in my development when I was just a spunky 22 year old who was just learning to paddle on this very stretch of river. Repaying my debt to him working this camp was the least I could do and Gerry V and staff are just simply outstanding. Special thanks also to professional photographer Greg Boll who took all of these action photos. All photos can be viewed online at http://highprofileadventureracing.myphotoalbum.com/myphotoalbum.html?set_albumName=album16















Photos by Greg Boll. Mississippi Pallisades State Park.

Next Up...
1. June 5-13th Wildwater World Championships in Sort, Spain
2. June 23-27th Paddling Solo Support/Navigation for Prolific American paddler Andy Corra's Attempt to Break Ian Adamson's Guiness 24 Hour World Kayak Distance Record on the Yukon River in Yukon Territory (yep, this will be one the story of all stories race fans!)

Hut, Hut!

December snow storms bring on winter cross training...backcountry ski touring and hut trips. This weekend Heather and I joined Brett Landin and Jenny Mac for our 2nd hut trip of the season up to 11,200 foot Eiseman Hut north of Vail Colorado in the pristine backcountry. Colorado's 10th Mountain Division Hut system was created during WWII to train the US Army's elite alpine soldiers to survive the harsh and unpredictable winters of the Italian Alps. What remains of this system is a legacy that all backcountry skiers cherish as a staple of our winter weekends.


Conditions were at a premium following a Christmas Eve storm system that left over 1 foot of fresh powder on top of an outstanding base. Avalanche risk was considerable so we had to keep our glade skiing to sub 30 degree slopes. At the end of the day, it was time for vino and the best sunsets known to man overlooking Mt. Holy Cross Wilderness above Vail Resorts on the horizon. (see video link below). That's Brett and I sitting on the front deck clearly debating whether 10 or 11 powder runs complete with faceshots by simply standin up and hucking the cornice out the front door for the day will suffice.

We shared the hut with 8 hardy college students from Mexico City on our 2nd night which was a treat. They were in the US for a reunion of sorts. We had a great discussion on socialized health care, capitalism and socialism, and illegal immigration which gave us all a better perspective of views of Mexico's government and social programs.

Good times, good friends, and a little espanol!

Hang Kayak, Grab Skis...

You know it's time to hang the kayak and bikes up and grab the skis when your car looks like this eating dinner after a paddle...

Season ender on Shoshone at 38 degrees F with Nelson Oldham...

Colorado River Race 09

Well over 30 kayaks and canoes attended the 2009 Colorado River Race put on by Canoe Colorado from Dotsero, CO to Hanging Lakes just upstream of Glenwood Springs. This year, race organizers started the unlimited class (basically anything super long, skinny, made of paper thin composite, and that you can keep upright goes) in the last wave so we got to spend the whole race chatting it up with the plastic kayaks and fiberglass open canoes as we cruised downstream in our feather weight composite racing kayaks. Special thanks to Jan Kees of Jan Kees Kayaks in New Zealand who express shipped me a rudder pedal replacement from around the globe after Heather and I damaged one paddling on Lake Dillon several weeks ago.

http://www.vimeo.com/6288384

Several wildwater kayaks were placed, by default, into the unlimited category which is hardly fair to them considering they are 15ft long versus my longtime favorite choice for any race up to class 4 of a JKK Supernova (http://race.fit2paddle.com/C1159474119/E20070822215917/index.html) at 22 ft. long and no wider than my buttocks plus 10 millimeters.

Mike Harvey, fellow US Wildwater team member, was present in rare form as always. My favorite memory of this race was about 30 seconds into the race you'll see him in a blue/white kayak on my left wearing his Nascar style Colorado Kayak Supply ball cap that just speaks for itself in this paddler's quiver...where is the porch rocking chair, PBR, and spitoon I say but clearly a classic move for Mike from Salida, Colorado. Mike finished a solid 3rd behind several faster boat designs and only seconds out of 2nd.

This stretch is a class 2- swift but flatwater hammerfest where I kept reminding myself of the less than famous words of my east coast mentor, Chris Hipgrave, who says all you need to know about winning races is simple..."1) Keep it the middle 2) paddle like hell.... and 3) the fastest time wins". I made a poor choice of skirts in that I kept having to lift the skirt after every rapid to keep the skirt full of water from filling the cockpit so 3 seconds to empty it was worth the drag I'd get if the cockpit fills with water but you see me messing with it a bit much and some great one handed balancing thru rapid wave trains.

For any paddlers looking for tips on paddling a 22 ft kayak thru tight class 3-4 rapids in other races, start with flying a Boeing 747 down a one lane bridge and keep it steady I say! Seriously, the key is:

1) stay on the inside edge of flow (you can't make moves against the current, ie from the outside back to the inside, as easy as inside to outside!)
2) time every stroke in just past the wave apex so you're balanced on top of, not on either side of, each wave so the boat tracks straight and you don't flip
3) keep a high angle on your stroke again so long boat doesn't explode left or right as you balance on the wave apex. A low angle stroke makes you zig zag off of every wave followed by a swim!

Watch how my cadence changes up or down depending on the frequency of wave hits in the rapids. The key to going fast thru rapids is avoiding as many wave hits/friction as possible by micronavigating (hence the only reason you see me turn the boat on it's side in the first rapid to avoid a small wave hit) and timing your progress thru the rapid..."keep your skirt dry we say".

The calm home stretch of this canyon this year and Neil Young's song Old Man made me think of my older brother Josh who passed when I was a young 24 just like you hear in the lyrics. I always envision someday he'll be an old man reflecting how similiar our lives were so I added it to the final calm flatwater portion at the end this year for kicks. Hope life is good for you to Josh!

I had a great race in spite of slower flows and a final headwind combined with a bit of fatigue from pacing my patient Joy Robertson in the Leadville 100 Trail run yesterday. While I won this race for the 3rd year, I was unable to improve the course record time of 1:05:08 I set last year finishing in 1:06 but enjoyed seeing the well attended race; especially the recreational canoeist that cheered all on from their wide bottomed craft.

Next up, Cataract Canyon in my wildwater boat Labor Day Weekend!

Little Brothers Need Big Rapids

So my not so little brother Mitch Ford, from my days in Big Brothers Big Sisters outside of Chicago, Illinois, and his 7 family members came out to vacation in Colorado last week. I couldn't have been happier to meet up with this action seeking family of 8 brothers, sisters, parents, and grandparents. I remember the days when Mitch was a spunky 11 year old who could turn a soccer ball on a dime. Mitch has been working up in the Great Lakes last year and is looking forward to potentially starting college next year.
He indirectly taught me alot about growing up that I had forgotten. Number one, even with a solid family, I reflected that growing up is tough between the pressures of being a good student, being a good athlete, and still being a teenager. There is pressure in our young lives from every direction....pressure to go to college, pressure to be popular, pressure to be a good citizen, pressure to become independent, pressure to be a good son....endless pressure buffered by lots of unconditional love from our parents. Just maybe all that pressure works out and we all turn out just right. Mitch sure has and I'm very proud of him even with my short time knowing him as an 11 year old. Let's all take the time with our own siblings to be a good big and little brother to each other hey?

He's grown to over 6 foot tall...so tall I couldn't fit him into the front of my new Jackson Kayak Dynamic Duo tandem whitewater kayak so he jumped in with his brothers and sisters in the mega raft for a run down one of Colorado's classic late summer class 3 runs...Lower Gore Canyon near the headwaters of the legendary Colorado River. This section was packed with late season rafters, duckier's, fly fisherman, drift boats, and my favorite part of this stretch...bald eagles waiting patiently for their next meal.

There is something very human about the lure of rafting and kayaking that sucks us all in. As you see in the video link below, rapids are a metaphor of life...all good things start with a very calm peace with tranquil surroundings in the standing pool above every rapid, your thoughts then rush together as you eye the point of conflict as the pressure converges to one critical point, your pulse quickens and teeth grind. It is then that that peace returns in the crux move of the rapid as you eye your escape. The violent bouncing up and down and side to side lessens and you accelerate choosing each stroke placement (aka word choice) carefully and, if you respect the power of that point of conflict, the rapid rewards you and returns you to the ensuing calm with a sense of accomplishment that is yours and yours alone. The more conflicts we survive, the more unstoppable we all become. In life, it is our choice of words that equate to our choice of each stroke. Even the right stroke at the wrong time proves to be catastrophic.

As my teammate once said it best, gravity and moving water...otherwise known as your judge and jury. This run was all smiles at medium water levels and the Fords/Cuervos and their trusty 1970's throwback guide Mike ran this run like champs.

Adventure runs deep in this family as even Mitch's grandpa was egging for some more big wave hits at the takeout. Next year, they are sure to come back earlier in the summer to take on Brown's Canyon near Salida although that stretch was too low for an August 1 launch. See the action for yourself at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4uYO4yMEh4&feature=channel_page !

All Fibarked Up!

Well, after 5 days of racing, demos, booths, paddlecross, Hooligans, boat thieves, cops and testosterone, I'm grateful to be back in my office this week helping patients.

Fibark in Salida, CO was host to US team trials for the Tasmania World Cups. Over 100 wildwater paddlers descended upon the Arkansas River Valley for the megaevent.

Congrats to Andy Corra and Mike Freeburn from Durango, CO for showing us young pups how experience beats testosterone. These two prolific paddlers, combined with junior phenom Peter Lutter from Bethesda, MD, really set the bar smok'n high in all events. Andy Corra narrowly edged Mike Freeburn for the combined title after both sprint and classic events to become the 2009 national champion. Tierney Osullivan returned to her former dominance as regained the women's national K1 title and we're all happy to see her back in a wildwater boat as a lifetime paddler as she attends college at Georgia University. Mike Harvey, my partner in crime training this spring, won the senior class sprint and really raised some eyebrows that a top level playboater could convert to wildwater and get it done!

My sprint skills are developing but never fast enough now in my second year in a wildwater boat. I had a great first run, running the left side of class 4 Cottonwood Rapid which the field equally split runs on the left line and right line (see warmup video below from helmet cam). Cottonwood is a quirky rapid in that the fastest line requires one to setup left, let the left sided reactionary waves push your left aiming bow to the center while the first hole goes perfectly just under my right armpit followed by trying to skirt to either side of the final hole to avoid stopping my momentum. For those wanting to understand the minutia of paddling a long racing boat thru class 4 rapids, timing is everything as if you hit these holes with your paddle perpendicular and not parallel to your boat you're gonna loose arms followed by a beat down in the hole my friend. You see me pause for 2 seconds in the middle of the rapid when the paddler barely visible in front of me flips combined with not being able to see for 2 seconds from the immersion...not a good place to be upside down buddy but he rolled back up in the calm eddy downstream. My second run resulted in a minor eddy out on the left but all in all a major improvement over my first team trials sprint last year.





After a mediocre sprint race, the classic race was a "day of reconciliation" for me as I joked with Gary Lacy before the race during warm up. I felt really good from warm up to crossing the finish line and hard work paid off in 2009...I moved up from my 6th place finish last year on the senior team to a super solid 2nd place finish just behind multi year national champion Geoff Calhoun and the Corra/Freeburn/Lutter trifecta. Corra, Freeburn, and Lutter won the masters and juniors class as Corra was a man on fire I say with Lutter right on his tail. I was very happy with the heel blocks Chris Hipgrave let me in on 2 weeks ago as they really helped me drive the boat in the constant chop of the class 3 rapids. The top 6 US boats qualify for the national team so we'll see what I decide about heading to the World Cups this year in Tasmania.

The Head to Head Sprint on Saturday was an unexpected good time for all. Wildwater racing is a time trial race historically but we lined up 6 boats at a time for this testosterone heavy noon crowd pleaser and a crowd pleaser it was. I made it to the finals with Peter Lutter and Geoff Calhoun. Just as we hit the first drop, Geoff and Peter got typewriter'ed then tboned into each other by the river wide curler wave followed by Norbury and I bumper car'ing each other into the bridge abutment flipping us both. The combination of Peter and Geoff on top of each others boats and Chris and I having to roll ourselves back upright as we crossed the finish line had the crowd just howling in laughter. Below is a prelim. heat with Peter Lutter winning the heat and myself 2nd followed by Evan Ross and one of the Popp boys neck and neck.

USA Wildwater had a booth right at the main hole where we handed out wildwater technique CD's, Zastera catalogues, spread the KEEN love, and sampled over 300 Clif Mojo Bars. The USA Wildwater Team Demo took place15 minutes before the Hooligan race in front of a maximum capacity crowd of approx 8,000. Geoff Calhoun had the announcer howling as he attacked the main hole pulling off a flat spin in a wildwater boat like Tarzan in the trees. We sampled over 200 Clif Mojo Bars during the demo tossing them from our boats into the crowd from the eddys.




If all that excitement weren't enough, my good friend Shane Sigle's kayaks got stolen by some locals after being hidden roadside. After calling no joy and calling off the search, Shane and Gretchen headed back to their hotel. Heather and I decided to look some more. You won't believe it but the kayak thieves turned right in front of me heading thru downtown with the boats hanging out of the back of their Blazer.

After some sly Dukes of Hazard moves, the thieves were apprehended by the cops in their front yard and Shane got his beloved slalom boat while the thieves got 10 years of bad kharma. In the mean time, Heather and I dialed in our roof rack "Salida Security Package" seen at top of page for our next roadtrip to our favorite paddling town! We've got everything but the Ginsu knives to take on these bad apples!


So July looks to be a month of firstly, a haircut and secondly, reconciliation at the office and personal life (ie remind my friends and Heather I still exist) so the blogs will be more about fun paddling than testosterone so check back soon! O yeah....and 1 month off deserves a beer with Heather riverside!

Teva Games Goes Wild (WATER)!

Thanks to a last minute deal with Nick Rader at Teva Games (http://www.tevagames.com/), USA Wildwater sent a hungry group of 9 wildwater paddlers to do a exhibition race as part of the Bud Light Downriver Race in Vail, Colorado alongside some of the best kayakers in the US including Tao Berman, Pat Keller, Andrew Holcombe, and 100 other fun-having sprint entrants. We were super impressed with the huge number of participants, spectators, and even more impressed with the spot on laser timing system. Perennial wildwater powerhouse Chris Hipgrave (seen below hanging out with Heather and I) of Bryson City, NC won the overall with a solid 15:03 with most of the remaining wildwater field within a tight 20 seconds.

Gore Creek, no wider than a cow's broad side, rages right into Vail Village and was busy with lots of boogie water and channelized drops. Our 14 foot carbon kevlar boats don't exactly turn on a dime so our hearts were pumping harder than ever in what seemed like an alpine luge at 50 mph more than a downriver kayak race. Trees, low bridges, and spectators were coming at us like asteroids as we ducked, dodged, and boofed for our way down the course (see video clip below) in just over 15 minutes. The short boat division winners finished in an impressive 17.50 minutes with the Dagger Green Boat holding it's throne as king of the plastic boat class. Post-race chumming followed with stories of dry heaving in the bushes, low bridge collisions overhead, and lots of eddy outs on the squirrely course. I even caught an eddy overtaking another paddler and gave myself a 30 second/10 point turnabout detour but all is fun on a race like this leading up to team trials.

See the great video footage from the starting line from the HeroCam mounted on kayak bow...crazy perspective and you can see why we love our sport! Yes, we really were having to duck and time our strokes to clear the bridges overhead and get the boat back up to speed immediately past. Great high water this year!

Below, nothing better than a few warmup attainments upstream to get the heart pumping! Can't say enough about how perfect the Immersion Research layers perform in Colorado's freezing spring runoff!



Special thanks to Nick Rader with Teva Games for his special accomodation hosting the wildwater paddlers in Colorado for national team trials in 2 weeks. Teva Games remains king of the whitewater mountain festivals and we look forward to returning formally for a US Wildwater team trials event on the same course in future years!

Buena Vista...Spring Runoff Commences!

Buena Vista Road Trip

Spent this whole weekend in my favorite place in Colorado when the spring runoff has begun! Heather was racing in the Gravity Play Buena Vista race (http://www.gravityplay.com/) where she pulled off a solid 3 place overall while I paddled water safety on behalf of KEEN and Clif Bar for the race thru the class 2-3 rapids south of town. I spent several hours chumming it up with racers as they came thru the rapids and enjoyed the enthusiasm they shared for this great section of the Arkansas River. A few racers were less enthusiastic about the water temperatures and their kayak selection as the section is rowdier than most adventure races offer but all were safe and proud of their accomplishment.

Heather did a great job keeping her kayak upright and I'm super proud of her just learning to kayak. My new Immersion Research long sleeve Thermoskin layers arrived just in time for the spring runoff...perfect combination of warmth and performance...armpits were totally uninhibited and the perfect choice for the cold mountain melt seen above.

I spent the rest weekend scouting the upper half of the FIBARK course with local wildwater paddler Mike Harvey, play park designer extraordinaire. His wildwater paddling is looking solid and we snuck every sneak he knows on the upper course. We'll spend the next 4 weeks dissecting the FIBARK course at rising water levels until she's given us all of her secrets.