Winter / Spring 2010

Winter having never fully shown up, I spent an excessive amount of time dreaming about kayaking this winter. Although a few really good days of skiing did occur this winter, in comparison to a typical Jackson Hole winter, this one stunk.  

 

 One of the few, really good days on Cody Peak this winter

Finally in late February the winter flows of the Snake rose enough to bring in a low-water surf spot that only sees action from the most water-hungry of paddlers. Typically the "winter wave" as it's called, is surfed by die-hard kayakers in the late fall and early spring. Fed-up with the marginal skiing, Matt Domeland, Elliot Bucholz, Sam Lowenthal and myself (Austin Rathmann) all began making multiple trips a week down to winter wave. We were rewarded with "marginal" kayaking  at best, but as any die-hard kayaker knows, "marginal" kayaking, beats just about any other pastime on it's best day.

                      Austin R. surfin it up early season

Matt Domeland, practicing some freestyle

Elliot Bucholz,  Mcnasty anyone?

After a few weeks of mediocre surfing and one miserable road trip to the Casper, WY, playpark for more mediocre surfing, our brains started to seek out other whitewater thrills. The idea soon developed to find a way to get in to run the Henry's Fork River, and Mesa Falls. Our first attempt resulted in an hour and a half hike in through the snow to Lower Mesa Falls. A Huck-Fest ensued and we all felt slightly satiated but were hungry for more. We returned home and the plan to find a friend with a snowmobile began. Sam had a friend with a snowmobile who was more than excited to tow three kayakers several miles up the Henry's Fork so that we could get a little more action, and of course the always classic huck at Lower Mesa one more time. 

After driving to Ashton early in the morning, Elliot, Sam and myself tied three throw ropes to the snowmobile and tossed around a few jokes as to how this was going to work. Despite all the skepticism, the snowmobile towed the three of us perfectly and speeds on the straightaways, ultimately reached 45 miles/hour. With several feet of snow still blanketing the area and all roads under snow, I had some difficulty finding the put-in and ultimately had us put on about 2 miles below the good whitewater. Despite my failures as a guide, we had a fun paddle down to Upper Mesa falls and a fairly painless portage around the unrunnable upper falls.

We continued downstream to Lower Mesa and enjoyed our second huck-fest in as many weeks. Seeing as it wasn't even March 15, yet we were stoked to have had such a fruitful pre-season.

Austin R. on Lower Mesa's first drop

All tied in one line for the "tight" spots, snowmobile kayaking is SUPER FUN!

An odd site if I might say so myself

Hiking through the snow, Mesa trip 1

Austin R. Sailing off the Diving board, February 2010

The Weather in Jackson never came around to let boating season truly begin, so two weekend trips occured in April. Trip one, to the Black Canyon of the Bear in Southeast Idaho, Trip two, The North Fork of the Payette, Banks, Idaho. The Bear was releasing on a Sunday only, so we made the trip down and had an incredibly fun time running our first class IV/V of the year with about 100 other boaters from Utah Idaho and Wyoming. 

A week later, Matt, Elliot and I all decided to escape the J-Hole weather again and drive to the North Fork of the Payette. Matt and Elliot were North Fork newbies and I was super stoked to take them down. We arrived at the Payette late one thursday afternoon and immediately put-on. Mat and Elliot were super fired up on the upper 5 and both had incredible lines through Nutcracker. We met up with my friend Micah Kneidl on the Middle 5 and good lines continued all the way through Bouncer down the Middle, but at Pec fate stepped in. Fatigued from the drive and 7 miles of non-stop whitewater Matt, flipped in Pec and got beat up by some rocks on the river-bottom. after several roll attempts Matt swam and felt first hand why people say you don't want to flip, much less swim on the North Fork.

We scooped matt from the river quickly(quickly in North Fork Standards) but his boat and paddle were moving downstream. Matt was feeling beat up but no worse-for-the-ware and Micah and I continued downstream after the boat/paddle. I quickly found/recovered matt's paddle and as I went downstream, saw Micah had retreived the kayak. both were in perfect shape miraculously, so we continued down to Jake's to take out and regroup with the crew.

All tired from driving/paddling we opted to take off for the day and tackle a top-to-bottom the next day.

After a relaxing night of Hot-Springs, Elliot and I put on the next morning for a full top to bottom. Matt's shoulder was feeling off so he opted to take photos/drive shuttle. The next 3  hours were a sweet sweet welcome back to one of my favorite rivers on the planet and an incredible introduction for Elliot. We paddled all 15 miles with Elliot walking Jake's and myself choosing to give 'er a go. At the bottom  my soul was refreshed and Elliot looked like a kid who'd just been to his first amusement park. It was a perfect day, and we would return home the next morning all smiles and excitedly anticipating the whitewater waiting around the corner.

Austin R. returns to the Maw that is Jacobs Ladder after 2 long years away

Austin R. Rock Drop, Jacobs Ladder, NF Payette

Elliot and Austin, buried in the business, NF Payette

 

Elliot and Austin workin their way down the North Fork

On a side-note, the following photo popped up on the GYGK Facebook page the other day, definately some Guerrilla Goodness...

WCKA Chile 2010

       Junior year is the worst year of high school. This is what I had been repeatedly been told by older and wiser students who had attended Jackson Hole High School in years prior. With the combined pressure of impressing colleges and dealing with high caliber classes, students often dread the third year of their highschool career. This was not my case. This winter I had the extreme privilege to leave the snowy dregs of Jackson to go paddle in Chile with World Class Kayak Academy.

       Flying Out of Salt Lake

   January 15th, Eric Parker and I arrived at the SLC international airport with nothing more than our bills bags and boarding passes, after passing through security and customs we were on our way to Santiago where our Chilean tour would begin. We met with the eight other students and four teachers and were off to our first destination, the Rio Maipo.

The Yaso, a tributary to the Maipo 

WCKA Cabaneros.

 Photo: Ben Kinsella

      The Maipo's dark muddy waters, big water, and scatterd play made it a perfect way to start our semester in Chile. We lodged in a small mountain town called Banos Morales, nestled need in the heat of the Ande's and paddled scattered sections of the Maipo every evening for nearly two weeks. After those long weeks in the hot Chilean sun we were all ready for a change in scenery. Packing up the van once again we were headed south to the Rio Claro. 

        

Eric Parker lining it up.
 photo: Ben Kinsella

        The Claro is home to the world renown Siete Taza's section (RIP) and the Veintedos Tazas sections of whitewater. Although Veintedos was too low to be run, our crew was eager to fire up the classic waterfalls. The Seite Taza's section contains three real drops all of which are between 15 and 20 feet. The low water made for some green landings that had peoples backs aching, but the run was everything it was made up to be. 

Eric After The Run

                              

  Eric Sending the First Drop. 

photo: Ben Kinsella

          

           Moving further south from the Claro we headed to one of the most anticipated destinations of the trip, Pucon. The quaint ski town feel of Pucon combined with the world class kayaking, beautiful women and the breathtaking landscapes make it a must visit destination. We roosted at a campsite just outside of town for two weeks; happily enjoying our time. Our bread and butter section in Pucon was undoubtedly the Upper Palguin. The upper section is a classic pool drop style waterfall run that never gets old. Along with the upper we also ventured to the Lower Palguin (a more creek style run), the Rio Trancura, and the Rio Maichin. Low flows prevented us from running other nearby classics like the Turbio, Ojos de Cubergo, and many other of the close options but, with the Palguin flowing strong we were satisfied beyond belief. 

Myself sending the second drop on the upper.  

photo: Eric Parker

Volcan Villarica 

Olin Wimburg Boofing Huge

Seal launching into the Upper Palguin

      After two of the most enjoyable weeks of our trip so far, the group was sad to leave Pucon. We cleaned up camp and headed out to the Fuy.  I had heard allot about the Fuy before i had come to Chile, and now it was finally my time to get on the waters i had been told so much about. On the Upper Fuy for the first time i was hestiant on what to expect. The run started off with fun class IV- creeking with some larger drops and plenty of boofs. Two thirds of the way down you come upon Salto De La Leona this is where the run really starts to pick up.

Ben at the bottom of the Falls

Myself spotting my landing

photo: Conner Jackson

          Salto De La Leona is a clean 20-25 foot drop with multiple lines that can beat you down if you hit it wrong. After the falls lies what I can easily say is the most fun stretch of white water i have run to this day. The next 3 rapids are all signifigantly larger. The first is a must hit boof turn off a 5 foot ledge, then you move to a very steep slide rapid that leads into a riverwide pourover that would send you to china if you were unlucky enough to get caught in the center of it. The final drop is a small chunky rapid leading straight into a 15 foot boof. All combined these drops make the Fuy a run to come back to. 

Seth Stoenner boofing the corner of the pourover. 

photo: Evan Garcia

       Once we got our fill on the Fuy, we boarded a ferry and left the rainy town of Puerto Fuy to continue our pilgrimage south to the Futaleufu. After 36 hours of travel and two boarder crossings we arrived at Cara del Indio, the classic kayakers campground on the banks of the Futa.

Our van boarding the ferry

Every student got their own ewok cabin.

The Cara Del Indo (Face of the Indian)

       Since the start of my kayaking career I have known the name of the Futaleufu. Countless paddlers recite their personal memories of the crystalline blue water and the behemoth waves that compose the Futa. The puente a puente section (bridge to bridge) is the most run section of the Futa, a fun and forgiving class III-IV big water run with world class play spots scattered throughout. 

Seth throwing down on Pistola

 photo: Conner Jackson

        Along with the bridge to bridge section the A-Team got to run the todo futa. From Inferno Canyon to Casa De Piedra the 50 kilometer trek has contains everything the Futa has to offer. Inferno Canyon was the stretch of white water I had looked forward to most coming into the trip. The steep canyon walls and high gradient create a daunting and rewarding section of textbook class V big water. 

The water at the put in for Inferno Canyon

Entrada, the first rapid of inferno

Taking a break before the stouts

          Coming out of Inferno only a few kilometers of flatwater takes you to Zeta and Throne Room, the two most anticipated rapids on the river. As we arrive to Zeta we quickly saw why it is generally a portage. The swiss cheese rock, large boils, undercut ledges, and pushy eddylines make the consequence of Zeta overwhelming. Although the line through the rapid is not much harder than class IV the risk of being caught in an undercut and drowning make it a V+ and clear portage to nearly everyone. 

Todd, Olin and Myself Scouting Zeta.

photo: Ben Kinsella

        Five minuets away from Zeta lies Throne Room, a huge class V that will intimidate even the most seasoned paddlers. Starting river right of the monster rapid you must push left while punching two pushy lateral holes, assuming you stay upright you then must catch the pillow and surf it river left, ferrying around the end hole. If you mess up on any of these moves you run the risk of being shot into the toaster, a pour over seam hole on the river right of the throne that will send you 20,000 leagues under the sea. 

Jorge Taking the Lead

Seth working to keep it together on the pillow.

      After Throne room yet spirits were high as we paddled the Wild Mile, a class "fun" series of rapids and wave trains that take you to the Terminator section. Terminator, if run in the center, is the hardest rapid on the Futa, the sheer length and magnitude of the rapid will disorientate you, while the scattered pourovers, ledge holes, and waveholes, make missing your line a mistake that you don't want to make. We decided to take the far left line in which you run a small slot on the river bank then thread two large pourovers to make it into the bottom eddy river left. 

 The whole group compition at the bottom of Terminator

photo: Eric Parker

     After our Todo Futa day, the group was riled up and ready for Futa Fest, the annual kayak festival on the Futaleufu. In the boater cross WCKA dominated with two students (myself and Todd Wells) making it into the final. Todd Wells took gold in the final heat bringing in a win for World Class. Day two of Futa Fest was the Downriver race on the bridge to bridge section. In the play boat division our very own Eric Parker took home third place in a photo finish fighting for second. 

Futafest 2010

photo: Eric Parker

       Rather than staying for the Rodeo in Futafest the group took a vote and decided to travel north to Picculamu to help with earthquake and tsunami relief. Unfortunately on our drive up we were notified that the entire Chilean coast was being evacuated due to tsunami warnings and we could no longer go to help. Instead we headed back to the Maipo and relaxed poolside for the last two days of the trip, dreaming of the West Coast adventures we are sure to have.

                                                                                               - RISTO

The crew snaggin some rays.

A Pucon Segment edited by yours truly and a Futa Segment edited by Conner Jackson and Josh Larson

Chile!!!

C

In the cold winter months of december and january the average joe from jackson usually sits around and skis. This year however, I got an opportunity to go to Chile to paddle. Before long myself and about 8 kids from boise were in the Santiago airport testin our spanish on flight atendents. But thats a whole different story... We arrived in Pucon on the 28 and were pleasantly suprised with high flows. After a day and a half of warming up and all that shinanigans on the liacura river, we went to the Trancura. High flows made this run big and pushy.  Super fun big water with one HUGE hole that one girl in our group happened to float into. After a bit of a beatdown and some laughs we continued exploring the lines of the Trancura for about two more days. After a crazy new year celebration we set off to explore the rest of chile. Our coaches Jakub Sedivy, Tren Long, Keneth Long, and Christian had the pleasure of ridin in a van with ten teenagers for the long haul up to Pichilemu. Being chilean beach, it was sure to offer good waves and hot girls. Luckily, our expectations were met fast. Imediately after arriving we paddled out to the break. Being all of our first times surfing the ocean we all got crushed pretty hard on the first day. After a sunset session filled with trashings and air-blunts we turned in for the night. The next day we awoke to beautiful swells all the way down the beach. Although amazing and fun, catching waves in the ocean is uber scary for the average kid. After some carnage on both the coaches and students sides Tren peer pressured me into tryin airscrews. After multiple attemps resulting in 3/4th screws to face, I resumed blunts and trashings. After some good times in the break with Peter, Andrew, and Tren it was time to hea d in. Last words... "Peter is about to have the ride of his life... and were all gonna get wrecked!"And yes we did all get wrecked.. me and andrew had quite a ride on that one. Then we went discotecking...nuff said.Next day we rallied up to Los Quanes. After an amazing run on the Teno , a class III+ IV- run filled with rock splats and boofs, we continued back to the lodge with great hospitality curtesy of Mike Coglin and Tod something. After being stalked by the village tranny all night we awoke the next day to great weather. A good run on the Claro to start the day and another run on the Teno proved why Chile really is paradise. A few swims and nightmares were  the worst Los Quanes could do to us to take the grins of our faces . Next day, Siete Tazas! Absolute funnest run in the world. Some carnage on the first drop, getting lost, acidentel kickflips/free wheels, and giant spiders made this day one for the history books. Relatively good lines from the crew made for good talk on the 8 hour rally back to pucon. Next day we paddled the upper Trancura which is an amazingly fun class IV run. Big drops, fun boofs, big hits, and great views make this run spectacular. For the next week or so we ran this multiple times, everytime it gets better! We also rocked the Discos again! Fuy !!!! days later Andrew Roan, Coleman Roan, Peter, And myself were drivin to the Fuy. After spendin hours fixin the trailerr we finally got on. Trent then informed us that that day was expidition training. So our coaches kinda just floated down the side leaving us to descend/ scout the river alone. After a few arguments from the roans, and a brief carnage session, we got our system figured out and safely descended the fuy. We all go stuck in a gnarly eddie against a wall for a bit but that was just one incedent... On the second run tren explained it as " hit training, were gonna punch all the biggest holes we can find to see if we can get you young suckas swimming!" and we pretty much did exactly that. No swims but some good surfs and hits provided us all with worthy entertainment. We then drove back to pucon to enjoy our last night in paradise. The Fuy might be my favorite river to this day. Bonfires, jokes, cake, butterfly knives, and good friends made our last nite a one to remember. The next day we flew home. Marking the end to the trip of a lifetime.

(I would describe the discotecs and our experience in Los Quanes with more detail but some of my teachers might read this)

Teague