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.

Thank you all for your tremendous turnout, enthusiasm, and support at Portland’s WildWater film premier. ORT wasproud to host the event and your energy and involvement made it a huge success. In Forge Motion Picture’s “Wildwater“, we were treated to a kayak film that took us to the soul of whitewater paddling and reminded us of the personal spiritual magic of the river. An eye-opening surprise viewing of Andy Maser’s “Spoil” took us into the passionate battle to save the Great Bear Rainforest in BC from the oil industry. And we got to see some awesome local whitewater and conservation films including Jacob Cruser’s “Balance” and Sam Drevo’s “Trout on the Wind”.

Special thanks to Next Adventure, eNRG Kayaking, Snapdragon, Team Quest, and Whitewater Designs for donating raffle and auction items.
Thank you to Sierra Nevada for donating beer.

And finally, we are very grateful to Forge Motion Pictures, Kokatat, Andy Maser, Jacob Cruser, Sam Drevo, and Trey Knollman for creating and sharing their awesome films.

It is truly an honor to be apart of this supportive, adventurous, and conscientious community. You guys are a darn good time!

Most Sincerely,
The Oregon Rafting Team

2011 is a big year for ORT. A packed training schedule and the Whitewater Championship Series IV races- starting in March in the Northwest- will test our dedication, teamwork, and fitness.

Setting our sights on the AIRE National’s race at the Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival in May, ORT began circuit training this past weekend riverside on the Clackamas.

It goes a little something like this. Burpees- run – jump ups – run – push ups – run - repeat - repeat - repeat. Well, you get the jiist. R6 paddling, technique work, and a couple H2H races wrapped up the day.

None of our kayaking friends wanted to join us on an exploratory float through the “war zone” aka the Upper Sandy above Lolo Pass Road that just got cleansed. Mom Nature did a tremendous job of hydro blasting out old wood and scrubbing the river banks in a biblical and fastidious manner. The air smelled like freshly cut wood. Home owners were penalized for building so close to a stream just a few miles from a snow pack that lasts year round in a region known for torrential rain. The event just a few weeks ago was good for the river, good for the economy, and great for boaters. Skiing is another story…

We put in at the closed bridge leading to McNeil Campground thus missing the first mile or so of the run. In regard to navigating expect; 4 portages,  2 log limbos, 2 more real sketchy log limbos, scout all blind corners, and make your first run down at a low level or you just might wind up in a debris pile. Oh and of course there is the potential for a heavy equipment hazard when you get towards the bottom of the run:)

Special thanks to our following supporters: Next Adventure, Aire Rafts, Shred Ready Helmets, Whitewater Designs, Team Quest, Immersion Research, and OS Systems.