This boat seems small...

Ox and Timber enjoying the Bruno Mountain run of the North Santiam.

Big boat. Aire D Series.

Portage #1 on the Bush, just below the Slot.

Portage #2. Holdin onto the paddles this time!

Portage #3. Long rapid, not much for eddies on the approach.

The crew after an awesome day!

Boaters must have interesting weather discussions at work.  While others are complaining about the rain, we simply smile and sneak back into the office to check flows.  Personally I have quit trying to explain the benefits of rain to those who have chosen to reside in a traditionally wet climate. Take your glass that is half full and watch golf on TV in your shelter, were goin boatin!

The Bruno Mountain run of the North Santiam was free of wood and full of big surf.  After completing this jolly session of splashing around, the take-out conversation turned to a nearby run of a treacherous nature. No one had been down the notorious for wood Breitenbush River since this last, or, current high water event much less a solo raft…

It was about 5:30pm when we put in at Cleator Bend with the level at about 1800cfs.  The flows were on the way down as evidenced by the water turning back to blue and no longer being brown as it was when we passed earlier in the day.  I was the only paddler in our R5 who had ever seen this run and that was 4 years ago in a kayak at 300cfs.  One of the benefits of training racing teams is that when you try something like this everyone is strong, dialed in, and will not hesitate when given commands.

Minus the 3 mandatory portages and 2 tight moves to miss wood, the run was Class IV.  However, throw in the unknown status of a twisty, narrow, woody river in addition to the 2 must make small portage eddies and it was game on!  We obviously made it with the only incidents being losing a paddle during the 1st portage (we should have known better!) and me getting blasted out of the boat by what had to be a hole as I’m fairly certain there were no linebackers in the river.  My paddle even stayed in the boat, ever seen those macabre pictures of someone that got hit by a train and their shoes are still on the ground where they were standing?

At any rate, all the major drops were clean “at this time”.  The wood was at the bottom of (3) Class III drops and appeared as though when the level does drop a kayak can likely limbo underneath of them. We don’t care if it is June, rain=water=life.

Boat to boat at the top of Class IV+ Caldera

Bart and Paul from Noahs battling ORT

Amazing head to head racing!

Teams fall into line at the bottom of Caldera.

Enlighten

Transcending the long drive; gas costs, hours of event coordination, asking of favors, tweeking of blogs, monitoring of websites, levels, weather, filing for permits, insurance, experiencing humility by constantly asking for help…we had a wonderful weekend.

Enlightening were the hugs and casual affirmations of old friends.  The sunshine nurtured our spirit and warmed our souls.  New relationships were formed as a river ran through it.

It seemed rather subordinate that a race occurred during this experience, a competition.  Yet the challenges provided by the racers and the big water of the incomparable Upper Klamath may have indeed facilitated this diatribe of reflection, or maybe I’m just growing up.

The earthly recollection exists as amazing sunny weather, bright yellow rafts crashing at once through the chaos of Caldera, and some darn good head to head racing for 6 miles!  Conveniently a forgiving surf wave is located at the finish line with complimentary eddy service.  Drifting and laughing allowed for closure following the tremendous challenge each of the participants had just successfully negotiated.  Or, in the words of my R2 partner Matt Lindland, “This is a great way to get a good workout while your sitting down having a chew” (which was all over his face after Hells Corner).  The Western Whitewater Championship Series rolls on.

Why do we do this?

Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, nations, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources… It arises whenever two or more parties strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For example, animals compete over water supplies, food, and mates, etc. Humans compete for water, food, and mates, though when these needs are met deep rivalries often arise over the pursuit of wealth, prestige, and fame. Business is often associated with competition as most companies are in competition with at least one other firm over the same group of customers.

Competition may give incentives for self-improvement…. For example, if two watchmakers are competing for business, they will hopefully improve their products and service to increase sales. If one watchmaker is more responsive to the needs of consumers, this watchmaker will flourish. If birds compete for a limited water supply during a drought, the more suited birds will survive to reproduce and improve the population.

Rivals (similarly matched competitors well known to each other) will often refer to their competitors as “the competition”. This is especially true of archrivals (primary, longstanding rivals, often the best in their segment). The term “competition” can also be used to refer to the contest or tournament itself.

How can we self reflect and better ourselves and others?

Moral character or character is an evaluation of a particular individual’s moral qualities. The concept of character can imply a variety of attributes including the existence or lack of virtues such as integrity, courage, fortitude, honesty, and loyalty, or of good behaviors or habits-

Former Olympian and Strikeforce fighter Matt Lindland of Team Quest battles the opposition with ORT.

Moral character primarily refers to the assemblage of qualities that distinguish one individual from another – although on a cultural level, the set of moral behaviors to which a social group adheres can be said to unite and define it culturally as distinct from others. Psychologist Lawrence Pervin defines moral character as “a disposition to behave expressing itself in consistent patterns of functioning across a range of situations” (Pervin 1994, p. 108).

Shred Ready Beat Down Mass Start Kayak footage courtesy of David Pool.

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?