Raft Waterfall Hucking 101, 201.

This course will be offered to participants who wish to successfully drop waterfalls in a non-traditional manner as their selected craft was originally designed to rescue sailors at sea after their ship had sunk. Past graduates of this course have gone on to survive dropping waterfalls and/or vertical drops ranging from (15-125) feet.

Life threatening injuries will likely not be sustained, however mental faculties essential to normal life functioning have been noted to be severely compromised.  The onset of this concern may likely have occurred to the onset of Waterfall Fever, an addictive disorder characterized by traits associated with Narcissism such as: a grandiose sense of self importance, preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success, belief that he or she is special or unique, the individual requires excessive admiration, interpersonally exploitive or takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends, lacks empathy, is often envious of others, and shows arrogant, haughty behaviors and attitudes.

Given the aforementioned concerns inherent to running waterfalls, course attendees may/will also; swim these drops, rig their boats in preparation for a car crash like impact, brace their bodies in an attempt to limit space which facilitates limb acceleration, adjust angle of boat entry, and re-board their craft should the resulting impact of landing become unmanageable.

201 level participants.

101 level participant.

Drop zone.

MMA cross training (optional), testosterone level dependent.

The final exam for this course will consist of successfully completing the East Fork of the Lewis River Race held annually in April.  Graduates are highly encouraged to continue developing their boating and interpersonal skills by attending the remainder of the events offered under the structure of the Western Whitewater Championship Series as these events will facilitate communication, connections with others, and the healthy development of the whitewater soul.

Thank you everyone who came out and supported our 2010 season kickoff fundraiser!

We packed the place but most importantly everyone had a blast!

ORT is especially thankful for our donors who were so very generous in donating around $2,400 worth of goods and services.  These supporters of our whitewater community included;

http://www.whitewaterdesigns.com/

http://www.riverconnection.com/

http://nextadventure.net/

http://www.thebuffalogap.com/

http://www.usoutdoorstore.com/

http://aquabound.com/

http://www.tqfc.com/gyms/default.aspx?GymID=1

http://www.lvmvideo.com/

http://www.enrgkayaking.com/

http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/Locations/portland-oregon/portland-oregon/sw12thave.aspx

Through the silent auction and raffle, we were able to convert donations into dollars which will cover most of our spring expenses which include; event permits and insurance, GAS, website and gear maintenance, event shuttle, misc. event costs, etc.

The very next night we rallied down to Team Quest off of Stark.  Pro fighters put us through a comprehensive FIT class designed to synthesize every muscle group in the body.  Early the next morning we engaged in our own unique workout at the Upper Wind which consisted of cardio, flexibility, river survival, paddle technique, and of course some head to head racin!

We hope to see you all at the 3^rd Annual Upper Wind Festival March 20-21^st!

http://oregonraftingteam.com/events/upper-wind-festival/

Finish line for the Wind Race.

Eddy at the finish line.

“Intestinal Fortitude”

That’s what the mission hardened Navy SEAL used to say back in my Navy days.  I was a BUDS (Basic Underwater Demolition School/SEAL) training dropout yet I learned a lot of valuable lessons that continue to pay off.  While ORT training is about 1/80^th as difficult as what SEALs do, the basic message of performing under adverse circumstances is one which is communicated during our races and missions.

Last Saturday we decided to crank it up a notch and will continue to do so.  Following our warm up jog which consisted of jogging and plyometrics, we implemented a race survival conditioning circuit.  The 1^st phase consisted of running down the bank, swimming across stream into an eddy, swimming back across and climbing into a boat, running back up the bank, and then performing push ups, flutter kicks, split squats, crunches, and then doing this two more times without a break.

After a quick water break the 2nd phase of training focused on crew communication. An R5 and R4 crew had to either seal launch or swim out to their boat while another member bagged the paddle-less crew in from the shore.  Bagger duties were switched as the rest of the crew carried the boat back to the top of the course for another lap without a break.

The boys had a few minutes to catch their breath as we split up into R2 crews.  We then did a 5 boat mass start head to head race from the put in on the Upper Wind to about 1 mile below Climax.  After some, well maybe a lot of bumping, yelling, pushing, tree boofing, and drafting my boat finally settled into second place behind Dr. Frankenstein and Professor.  They maintained their lead by styling nice lines right up to Rams Horn where for some reason they went right and got rodeoed out in the meat allowing us to pass on the left.  Now that’s whitewater  racin!

Ox and No Karl graciously bumped them out of the hole (we weren’t going to stop!).  These two crews battled for the next mile and a half with Ox’s boat edging them by literally one second at the finish!

For the R4 stage of training we rolled up the Aire Pumas and used them as dead weight in the middle of our Aire D Series boats which were then each loaded with two R4 crews.  This “race” consisted of trying to move one’s arms and shoulders as lactic acid wreaked havoc on their ability to stay focused.

After rolling the boats we ran up the take out hill to the to the parking area and peeled off our gear.  Drysuits?  Not.  Cant wait until next time!  What kind of course can we come up with next…wonder if we can find someone with a helicopter?

Our vertical assault unit was back in action hucking and ducking the steepest-sikkest drops in the region.

http://www.mthoodh2o.blogspot.com/

Meanwhile our boats stayed horizontal as the North Santiam River provided numerous opportunities to practice flatwater paddling.

In a constant pursuit of improvement….
http://oregonraftingteam.com/

12 souls gathered in silence on the bank of the West Fork of the Hood River. Together,
we grasped the wooden shaft of a paddle and listened as the rushing water spoke to us.

“For we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction”.

We were all kings on this day, abundantly wealthy and at peace with the river.

http://www.youtube.com/user/nwrafting
http://www.nwrafting.com/

Quartzville Creek

Team River Runner New Years Day Float

501c3

So much more than just paddling these days.
A few weeks ago 12 of us paddled down Quartzville Creek, a pristine little drainage deep in the woods outside of Sweet Home Oregon. It wasn’t that long ago when I worried about getting 4 ORT boats down a class IV run safely. So nice to have a polished and experienced crew…for the most part, well at least on the water anyway!

A significantly more rewarding experience occurred on New Years Day as we joined the Northwest Rafters Association, the Oregon Whitewater Association, and most importantly Team River Runner for a float and picnic on the Sandy River. We were honored to guide some of our veterans down the river! It is just too easy to take for granted the privileged lifestyles we lead as Americans. Supreme sacrifices are made everyday which allow us to enjoy the highest standard of living in the world.

God bless our veterans.

Additionally, Dr. Frankenstein had been at work in his lab creating a formula to get ORT officially approved as a non profit 501c3 organization! We hope that this will allow us to generate a resource base which will facilitate the continued development of our entire river communities through whitewater festivals which of course include raft racing.

The challenge for all of us in 2010 will be to tirelessly continue our relentless pursuit of self actualization as we improve ourselves psychologically, spiritually, and athletically by riding the souls of the earth also known as a rivers and their ecosystems.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonraftingteam/

The 1st day of training for 2010 happened on December 6th of 2009 following a team meeting at the boathouse. The boys braved ice and 33 degree weather by paddling the Sandy Gorge. Things should be heating up soon!