2009 National Rafting Championships

The 2009 USRA National Championships was just too much fun. A no consequence artificial course with big holes , staying in a luxury home on a lake in Maryland, and rafting the famous Upper Yak with legends were just a few of the highlights. Also included in our experience were staying with some hard chargers (in more ways than one) from Team River Runner http://www.teamriverrunner.org/, and coaching up a boat load of aspiring raft racers who were just 10 years of age named the “Lucky Dux”.

The week started out by running into some guides in Ohiopyle Pennsylvania. I was then invited to bowling night where I quickly found out that I cant bowl. The next day I was greeted by wet, warm weather as the back roads led me to Immersion Researchhttp://www.immersionresearch.com/. IR is long time supporter of ORT in addition to many other whitewater activities and liquid evolution for that matter. John, Roger, and the crew have been holding up in an old schoolhouse located in Confluence PA trying to make things better by developing practical and durable whitewater apparel that serves a number of paddling styles and climates. No easy task. After driving back up to the Pittsburgh airport I returned with Pork Chop and Fish to Ohiopyle where we ran into Tom from Shredder. In addition to mostly unsolicited but well received opinions Tom also had some colorful things to say about Russian boaters and his attack cows. We then found someone who knew Roger to roll to his house where we engaged in some evening conversation which somehow ended in a “friendly” game of submission wrestling. Team Quest provides us with more than just cool T-shirts to wear…http://www.tqfc.com/gyms/default.aspx?GymID=1

The following day we rumbled in to try out ASCI’s whitewater park http://www.adventuresportscenter.com/ which is ran efficiently by director and race host Matt Taylor. Big props to Matt for setting up a great slalom course and hosting a very smooth multi-disciplinary event. Growing up on rivers, I have to admit that I was quite skeptical in regards to racing on a concrete “river” bed. Turns out it was a hoot as flipping, swimming, and surfing throughout the course dished out really no consequences with the exception of possibly a scrape or two.

The next day we met up with the boys from 8 Ball to run the Upper Yak, an east coast classic! Walter showed us the lines when we could see him past the huge boulders and even Schneider cruised by in his strider and legendary wooden helmet. Suffice to say I had never witnessed quite the plethora of boaters and styles as we did on this run.

On Saturday following the time trials the Oregon Rafting Team (ORT)http://www.oregonraftingteam.com/ was just one second behind defending national champion and 6th finishing team at worlds just a few months prior, Timberline’s “Behind the 8 Ball”. Unfortunately a poor lane selection in the head to head race contributed to a disappointing showing in the head to head sprint as we finished that event in third. Behind 8 Ball and a team of solid guides with race experience from ASCI team “Charlie” led the field. After being the only team to grease our practice run on the slalom course ORT ended up flipping on our first run and then missing a gate on the second which left us in third overall going into the last event.

Sunday morning, competitors lined up across the main channel on the Lower Yak in preparation for a mass start 4 mile downriver race. Team Charlie slipped into the lead with ORT and 8 Ball hot on their tails. ORT then drafted 8 Ball as we charged past Charlie never to look back. At the conclusion of the 4 mile race ORT was just 100 or so feet behind the Timberline Men establishing our strongest downriver finish at a national event in our four year history. “Your guys were tough!” shouted guide Chris Reeder as he, Mike, Todd, and Bishop exchanged hugs with us in appreciation of a solid race and as a gesture of the camaraderie that we developed as raft racers during the course of the week. The raft racing community and the USRA continues to grow! Get your R6 crews ready as the USRA Board is working to hold the 2010 Nationals at the Teva Mountain Games in Vail Colorado near the beginning of June.
Happy paddling,
Tim Brink
President : United States Rafting Association
http://www.usaraftassociation.com/

The Aire Pumashttp://www.aire.com/aire/products/default.aspx?id=200 rocked as R4 race boats!

Women's and Mens' Results !:
http://www.adventuresportscenter.com/images/PDF_Files/2009raftnationalsresults.pdf

Give Us a Fighting Chance!

All you need to do is show up to the fundraiser, enjoy yourself, and try to win something! Oregon rules! Details on our home page.

The Agony of Victory

Photo by Matt King

What has caused the recent rush to go so big? Waterfall records have been dropping as unemployment rates increase. Coincidence? No. Historically crime rates have increased in direct proportion to unemplyoment. People get depressed and anxious when basic biological drives such as physical work and productivity cannot be accomplished. Risks are taken, the sense of fulfillment pursued at nearly any cost. I was raised on a farm and now work in an office. As a youth my R2 partner Dan was unleashed to explore Montana, now he works in a lab all day and studies all night. We have jobs but our physical and emotional freedoms have been shackled.

Such is the plight of the "Alpha" personality in modern society. With no lions to kill, mountains to climb, or other pursuits which trigger the survivalistic instinct we live opressed lives. The anxiety builds, records get shattered, and the Alpha sleeps okay for a few nights until the beast of technology faciltates another challenge. My heart is appeased after banging in the cage. The drive home is tranquil after throwing down with another combatant who is strong in spirit yet weak in coping skills. Following the battle we respect each other and more importantly ourselves for surviving. The self concept is the core of our adaptability.

At 40 years of age my body cant take the hits it used to. Celestial Falls dropped me from it's heaven into the bowels of mortality. The intense pain of a 4 hour dislocated hip hammered home the message that I need to grow up. The volunteer rescue workers that left their farms in the Tygh Valley to help me out were the real heroes. These men looked me in the eye as my clammy hands held on to their warm arms. They were giving and I was taking.

I want to wake up with nothing but love and be happy.

Big Water SF Payette Race

As the spring rains cruised into the Willamette Valley, ORT headed east over the Blue Mountains to the Payette Boise Revival this past weekend. The precipitation followed the team until after just after the mass start race on the “Staircase” run of the South Fork Payette outside of Boise, ID. Catarafts, kayaks, and the two raft teams blasted out from opposite banks at Deer Creek with ORT red close behind the kayak pack. A practice run paid off for ORT as they greased their lines in Staircase and slid past the main hole in Bronco Billy. Charging for the Banks finish, ORT passed kayaks and took 1st place ahead of the Hot Shots fire crew from Boise. Thanks to Sam Drevo and everyone else who helped out with the PBR event and the after party! Great seeing the Aire guys too.

Go hard or Go home in the Gorge

A positive correlational coefficient has developed between our intensity and the temperature. Last weekend as the heat index climbed, ORT’s own internal regulator appeared to follow suit in an apparent attempt to achieve homeostasis within our environment.

A head to head raft race at high water on the White Salmon wasn’t enough, we simultaneously sent an R2 team to Eagle Creek to attempt a first raft descent. Adversity can build you or break you. On Saturday May 30, 2009, ORT grew as paddlers and brothers.

Wet Planet sponsored the race and also provided some very stiff head to head competition in the form of their R4 crew. The event took place in two stages, a timed race from BZ Corner to Husum Falls with the following results:

First Place: Oregon Rafting Team (Red) 29:05
Second Place: Oregon Rafting Team (Grey) 30:31
Third Place: Wet Planet Whitewater 30:39

The head to head race from immediately above Rattlesnake Rapid to Northwestern Lake resulted in the same finishing order yet was full of much more excitement! At the start the ORT Grey Team pinned the Red Team on some rocks as Wet Planet “escaped” through the big hole at Rattlesnake for a commanding initial lead. Two rapids downstream the Grey boys pushed passed Wet Planet for first with our Red squad still following closely behind in third. The Grey Team then went wide on a sweeping right hander as Red dismissed attempting to turn and simply T-boned Grey at full speed into a rock wall and slid by. Wet Planet followed suit with a successive slam keeping what was the first place boat on the mat and sneaking into second. After cleaning up their lines Red eventually began to pull away as we heard shouts from the teams behind us. Wet and Grey literally rammed and scolded each other for a good part of the next mile and a half.

Montana, Dirty, and Young Gun had their own set challenges which started with a 4 mile hike in under the blasting sun. With Ryan Scott, Paul, Hans, George and Jean providing support in the form of film documentation and safety, ORT’s Diabetic Duo of Dirty and Montana fried up the infamous 40 foot Skoonichuk Falls in a 14 foot Aire Raft! The Diabetic Duo were also fortunate enough to land Punchbowl Falls later that evening.
http://vimeo.com/4949609
http://vimeo.com/4965790?pg=embed&sec=

ORT travels to Idaho this weekend to compete in the 3rd Annual Payette Boise River Festival wrapping up the “spring” season which started back in March.

Big thanks to Paul Thomson for his Eagle Creek shots and to the beautiful White Salmon support crew for the race photos!

WWCS Upper Clackamas : A Festival of Champions

70 paddlers awaiting in a large pushy eddy with white knuckle grips on their blades.
15 boats. 70 paddlers.

Wide eyes glancing about in attempt to estimate the surreal situation framed by the sun glistening off the water and the tension that laid on our shoulders and pressed on your skull.

A voice cried out and a swirling melee ensued. Like piranhas devouring their prey paddle blades turned the Clackamas River into a boiling frenzy. The only thought common amongst the combatants was that energy must be unabashedly expended. Muscles recoiled and exploded, cries echoed off the canyon walls, boats bounced and paddles cracked while continuing the deliberate pursuit of a clean line.

The mass start of the Western Whitewater Championship Series downriver race at the 26th Annual Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival was as much a tribute to the strength of the paddling community of the Pacific Northwest as it was endearing to the human spirit and all that is right about competition. We were happy before the race, challenged physically and emotionally during it, and became attenuated to our inner light afterward.

The Divine is not something high above us. It is in heaven, it is in earth, it is inside us.
- Ueshiba

Thank you Bob Mosier, the Northwest Rafters Association, and all event sponsors, volunteers, and participants. You have all had a part in making history this past weekend and establishing a standard that will rewardingly difficult in trying to repeat.

Cal Salmon '09 : Gettin After It!

For the third consecutive year ORT rolled down to the Marble Mountain Wilderness Area in the Trinity Alps of Northern California to test our skills and take on all comers in the 6 mile California Salmon Race. The Nordheimer to Butler Creek section of the Cal Salmon represents one of the most beautiful free flowing river corridors in the world.

Paul Gamache started his monsters vs porn-stars race with an unsuspecting Go! which sent all types of crafts careening and clamoring into the first corner. We had decided to "dress up" as porn stars yet our thongs were hidden beneath our new Immersion Research splash tops and pants http://www.immersionresearch.com/.

This year the race was especially fun as the kayakers started behind the pack and had to try to get past us throughout the entire course. Rubbin is racin as we bounced off two yakkers who had hesitated to see the line dropping into Bloomer. We were finally able to pass a certain "local paddler" just 3 rapids above Freight Train, the finish, after chasing him for at least 2 miles. Next Adventure http://nextadventure.net/had again taken a van load of boaters down south from Portland so they could enjoy yet another great event in the Western Whitewater Championship Series (WWCS) without having to worry about paying for gas.

In the end we were able to defend our title as Pork Chop, Professor, and Skinny Fat Kid proved themselves worthy just their second time as Red Team paddlers. Our R4 finished less then a minute faster than an R5 team of guides from Ashland who had reportedly gotten some good advice and possibly even a little training from a former national team paddler. It's great to see other teams becoming more competitive and enjoying this great sport!

It rained all weekend so on Sunday we bit off the upper section of the South Fork of the Cal Salmon. A stout, tight little Class IV-V gorge just 12 miles or so upstream from the Nordheimer Campground. Portlanders Chris and Paul accompanied us as we dropped an R2 Puma and an R5 Super Duper Puma http://www.aire.com/aire/into this brown watered technical and at times quite ledgy section of water. It became clear by the end of the day that a boat just a few inches wider would not have squeezed through some of the slots. The highlight of the day might have been after we parked midstream just 30 meters or so above a huge horizon line. We backed down through two big boulders were still spinning the boat around as we dropped off a 10 foot ledge just in time to square up to a huge reversal.

The pics above are from scouts only as we had our hands full with safety. Hope to see ya'll soon at the Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival http://upperclackamasfestival.org/ as the Western Whitewater Championship Series makes it's next stop before heading to the Middle White Salmon http://www.sundanceriver.com/white-salmon/