Man, those AIRE boats are shiny! 4 pro men and 4 pro women teams competed in this year’s USRA Rafting Nationals on the Upper Clackamas. Add in 5 recreational teams to the mix and we had one heck of a good time! ORT took 3rd overall behind the Ark Sharks (CO) and the USRA winners Team Teva (CO).

Some local press:
Oregonian article on UCWWF featuring Dr.F
Oregonian article on USRA Nationals featuring Timber

Team Teva leads the pack out of Fish Creek during the mass start downriver race to Memaloose.

AIRE graciously provided race boats for all the pro men and women teams during Nationals, and even built them in ORT red, thanks!

ORT Red peels out of upriver gate B above Carter Falls.

Law (left) and Ox (right) punch their way through the holes in Carter Falls rapid during the Slalom run.

A big thanks to the UCWWF organizers, event staff, USRA, and all ORT sponsors who continue to support our endeavors into bringing whitewater raft racing mainstream.

This weekend’s Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival outside of Portland, OR will play host to the most competitive whitewater event in the US. Teams from across the country are competing in this 4 event race, comprised of sprint, downriver, slalom, and head-to-head disciplines.

A recent article in the Oregonian featuring ORT paddler Trey Knollman.

For more information, please visit the Upper Clackamas Festival website.

The UCWWF is an event open to all boaters (kayaks, driftboats, riverboards, IKs, cats, etc) and attracts hundreds of people from the Northwest. Come and join the action as a participant or spectator!

Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival 2009 from CRG Video on Vimeo.

Big rains=big water=BIG FUN in the Pacific Northwest!

Sunset Falls

Horseshoe Falls

ORT had 3 boats finish in the top 4 at the East Fork Lewis/Northwest Creek Comp event.  9 boats entered the mass start race just a half mile above Sunset Falls. After plunging over Sunset the rafters then ran together in the gorge below which was determined to be too burly for kayaks according to safety personnel. After a safe run through the big water gorge the rafters restarted the race and finished just above Horseshoe Falls with ORT taking the top spot (click on the image below for complete results).

Sunday’s Canyon Creek Race was canceled due to high water yet 9 rafts showed up anyway this time running together and working as a team as every boat that ran all the drops had carnage at some point.  Only 3 of the 9 boats that ran Big Kahuna were successful! Downstream, 5 paddlers stuffed themselves into an AIRE Puma after getting worked at Champagne and then successfully ran Hammering Spot just to get out of the Canyon!

The river gods blessed all of us attending the Upper Klamath Festival this year (4/9-10) with a gracious 2 turbine flow. 7mi of stout class IV+! Big waves trains and fast water.

Klamth @ Boyle

The scout and R6 race start- Caldera Rapid

After floating down to Caldera and a thorough scout of our planned lines, the safety boaters made their way down. Kayak’s followed the popular right line around mushroom rock, with the R6 raft crews taking mixed lines around and over the big stuff!

Kayaks dropping into Caldera

Bart and crew

Racing action was fast down to State line rapid, and we all soon arrived at the takeout. A great day on the UK was followed by an “after-party” and BBQ at our host, Noah’s River Adventures place in Ashland. While we enjoyed the Next Adventure BBQ, ORT threw on some 2011 season videos, Wildwater, and a few LVM classics.

Rogue put-in

On Sunday, R2 raft teams and kayaks ran the Nugget/Powerhouse run on the Upper Rogue. Flows were high, and after a mass start above Nugget the R2 teams spread out in the flatwater with ORT taking 1st after a pass at the boat ramp below the right line (Mugger’s Alley) in Powerhouse Rapid.

A huge thanks to the event sponsors: Noah’s River Adventures, Immersion Research, Whitewater Designs (now known as Oregon Paddle Sports), Orange Torpedo Trips, and Keen.

Back to back racing weekends- killer! The Upper Klamath Festival April 9-10 and the NW Creeking Comp (Washington) April 16-17. This year’s UK Festival will be on the Upper Klamath (John C Boyle to State Line Falls) on Saturday and then the Upper Rogue (Nugget/Powerhouse) on Sunday. $30 covers insurance, shuttles, t-shirt, race photos, camping at Noah’s River Adventures in Ashland, and the Next Adventure BBQ on Saturday night! Race prizes from Next Adventure, Whitewater Designs, Keen, IR, Sotar and more. For more event details please visit: http://ukfestival.blogspot.com/.

The 4th Annual Upper Wind Whitewater Festival was, again, another success! High flows allowed for interesting races with lots of carnage throughout the weekend. Extra thanks to Next Adventure for providing 1st place prizes as well as the BBQ, Sierra Nevada for the Beer and Immersion Research and Keen for additional support and prizes.

Race Results can be seen here. Photos can be viewed and downloaded here! Thanks to all that came out and participated- whether spectating, running safety or racing!

Looking forward to the Upper Klamath Festival in 2 weeks!

Scheduled practice.. nope. But that didn’t stop the dedicated from driving into Washington this Saturday to run the Wind River. I guess you could call it a scouting mission in preparation for our first race of the season. One boat, one team, one river. And we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day. The sun sent scattered beams of light over the crest of the east bank. Hit, hit, hit.. was the sound of our paddles entering the river and guiding us successfully down. We needed to have a conversation with Ram’s Horn, because the last time down it didn’t treat us so nicely. Can you say Dump Truck. Yeah, two boats in a row. This time it was more kind, and we appreciated it. Heck, we even hiked back up to take a picture of its glory. Not that there hasn’t been pictures of it before.. more because we wanted a picture of it today. Just because. It is something of beauty to make your lines, smile and laugh, and say “nice run buddy.” We’ll see you again next week, and actually the one after that too.

And that was our weekend… wait, not quite. Just to prove to ourselves that we wanted to improve as a team, a trio of us took a boat out onto the mighty Willamette River. Mighty. It was a cool Sunday morning. We chuckled to our selves as runners on the waterfront gawked at our big red boat.. wondering what we were up to. “Hey, do you think that pump will inflate the wheel of this stroller?” Um, no. There, in front of the fire station, we geared up the boat, and launched it 30 feet into the murky water. There is something to be said of the downtown Portland cityscape. Almost skyscrapers, multiple bridges, and a hazy morning make for quite a sight. Put it on a postcard, but make sure you get the red boat in it! It is not a site our boats normally see, but it was refreshing to focus on paddling in a city environment. Aim for the bridge, the OMSI submarine, the Spirit! A nice jog, and an hour and a half of flat water training was an amazing start to the morning.