Summer 2011 Wrap-Up

The Montana summer is fading into fall. Leaves slowly are changing colors while the crisp mornings herald the cold weather, hidden just around the corner. Fortunately, we are heading south, chasing the summer into the southern hemisphere where the water will be running cold and clear, beckoning to wandering souls such as ourselves.

The last few months have been a whirlwind of activity for me and my new wife. Yup, I said it. The "W" word. This September 10, we (Rosalynn and I) were married out at the Montana River Guides Ranch, under a warm sun and big Montana sky. The summer itself was busy enough, with having to keep a rafting company afloat, but on top of that we had a wedding to plan and a ranch to clean. Fortunately, everything went off without a hitch, and good times were had by all. The dance party after the wedding was one for the record books, rivaling even the infamous Thunder Storm part in Banks last year. Those of you who were there know what I'm talking about. Those of you who weren't, well I guess you missed out.

Since the wedding, we did a week on the Wild and Scenic Salmon River, and are now road tripping down to Cali for the BRG Race, some more boating, and then to Phoenix to catch a flight to Santiago, where we are meeting up with Orion and Emily Meredith for some good springtime kayaking action in Chile.

Not the best lighting, but still a sweet drop on Boulder Creek, North Idaho.

The First big drop on Boulder Creek.

Nick Bandy, North Idaho local, about to get some goods on Boulder Creek.

Summertime Lochsa fun.

Grim-Reaper rapid on the Lochsa. My friend Drew and I went over to the Lochsa this past weekend and ran the Fish creek to Split creek section at a stomping 410 cfs! Haha. It was pretty neat to see the river at such a low level, with crystal clear water and huge fish swirling in the shadows.

Drunken South Fork Payette Bachelor Party Debauchery.

Apparently this is a good idea...

Searching for the hot-springs near our camp on the S.F.

Emily Meredith, Houndstooth on the N.F. Payette.

Will Parham, Orion Meredith and Myself, giggling somewhere on the North Fork.

Boulder Creek Video

Here is a short clip that I put together from last weekend on Boulder creek in Northern Idaho. Boulder creek is an awesome, and often overlooked classic in the panhandle, featuring beautiful deep gorges, fun boulder gardens and two nice drops in the 20-25 foot range. This creek is currently under threat from a proposed hydro-electric project that would wipe this great run off the maps. Head to American Whitewater for a trip report on this run, and good shuttle options.

Unfortunately, youtube disabled my audio track, so I had to replace it with a less appropriate song. Regardless, it is still an awesome creek, and the video does not quite do it justice.

Photos of the run to come soon!!

Big thanks to Nick Bandy for the beta on the run, and for leading the charge.

The Long Over-Due Update

This spring has been a whirlwind of driving and paddling, camping in the snow, and teaching Swiftwater Rescue classes in frozen drysuits. Since leaving the balmy northwest in mid May, I have been on the road constantly. Most of the drives have been to and from rescue courses on various rivers around Montana, with one common theme, floods and snow.

I have been working with WRI (Whitewater Rescue Institute) to help put on these courses for raft companies, search and rescue teams, local agencies such as fire and police, and private boaters. WRI started up a few years back, headed up by Cody Harris, formerly my manager at Montana River Guides, and Mike Johnston, the owner of MRG. Since forming the company, it has become quite successful, with course offerings across Montana, the Northwest, and even Costa Rica. For information on classes and scheduling please visit www.whitewaterrescue.com.

The flows across the state have been the highest in years, and the snow just keeps lingering, clinging onto the last threads of its frozen life. Finally, on the official first day of summer, we had our nice weather delivered. Hopefully soon, the snow will recede and the glistening creeks of western Montana will be in their prime. With flows being so high, the rivers of the area have been surging beyond their banks and creating some of the best big water paddling I have seen. We were able to run the Alberton Gorge section of the Clark Fork River at 50,000 cfs, and the Lochsa in northern Idaho at a sweet 10 feet.

This one's for you Parham... I learned everything I know about blunts from you, the master. Maybe next time I will actually be looking at the camera, or showing a nipple...

Possible side effects of surfing Lochsa's Pipeline wave may include uncontrollable giggling, and wetting your pants.

Running some big water Lochsa. Grim Reaper rapid.

Clark Fork River, just upstream of the gorge at around 40,000 cfs. Definitely some of the hardest to read water I have ever been in. Some of the eddy lines in the gorge were 5-6 feet tall, and at one point a 10 foot wave surged out of a seemingly calm area and munched me and my Jefe in one swoop.

Feeling very, very small...

Sunshine and Big Water, one of the worlds most glorious offerings.

Drew Hossel finding his mojo on the Lochsa.

Rosalynn and Martin. Lochsa River, 9 feet. As you might have noticed by this point, we have logged many a day in Northern Idaho. Absolutely one of my favorite stretches of river.

Getting buried somewhere on the Lower Lochsa.

Evening surf session at Brennan's Wave in Downtown Missoula.

Brennan's Wave cartwheels.

And some more surfing. I really love the lighting in these shots.

Wrangler dog likes surfing too... It's unfortunate that he is a little big to sit on my sprayskirt.

Running the put-in falls on the E.F. Lewis.

Rosalynn running her first waterfall! Sick line.

Orion Meredith on the Cal-Salmon during race weekend. I wish I had some more shots From

our Cali Trip. The North Trinity and Salmon drainages were beautiful and as fun as ever.

Soon, I think, I will be returning to the land of endless boating, and rid myself of this silly

snowy bs.

Stay posted for more updates from the now sunny northern latitudes, and good lines!!

Little White Salmon Goodies!!!

It had been four months to the day since I had sat in a kayak. My last time paddling had been in Chile, on the Rio Palguin, drunk as a skunk, and soaking up the summer sun. I was now in a drysuit, frantically stuffing makeshift hip pads into a broken Jefe which had been graciously given to me by my good friend Orion Meredith. The clouds overhead threatened rain, and a cool breeze rustled the trees. The Green Truss, the site of our evening paddle, was running at a juicy 4 feet, the highest I had seen it. Putting the butterflies aside, I strapped on my balls, and headed for put-in. All I could think about on the way down was, "What if I forgot how to kayak?". Four months is a long time, plenty of time to forget. I slowly tightened my backband and slid on my skirt, then pushed off into the silky green water. Immediately, I felt great. We rallied on downstream, Orion calling out beta over his shoulder, and routing me through the run. Two days later, we found ourselves at the put-in for the Little White Salmon, a juicy 3.8 on the gauge. Once again, Orion led the charge, bombing away through the goods. It was a perfect sunny day, with the perfect flow. Enjoy the pics of Boulder Sluice and Wishbone.

Orion Meredith portaging around an all to scary looking Spirit Falls.

O-Face, Boulder Sluice boofin.

Martin Belden Boulder Sluice.

Wishbone falls.

Martin hittin the boof at Wishbone.

Tomorrow we leave for Northern California on what promises to be another epic trip. Three people, one dog, enough margaritas for an entire Mexican village, and all the shit talking a person could ever hope for. Hope to see you all out there!

Rio Nevados

With its crystal clear waters, clean granite bedrock, and steep gorges, the Rio Nevados, near Pucon, Chile, is reminiscent of California creeking in the Sierra Nevada range. The glaring difference between the two however, is the lack of any sort of hike-in, and the fact that you can lap the Nevados in about 20 minutes once you know the lines. Hell, even if someone doesn't know the lines, it is possible to bomb through them in less than half an hour, with minimal amounts of carnage.

During the month I spent in Chile, we ran the Nevados at a variety of water levels, from boat breaking low, to hold onto your balls high water. The guidebook, which by the way, contains very marginal, at best, shuttle directions and information, says that the rapid above the put-in bridge should appear barely runnable and bony for an optimal flow downstream. At our highest water level, the rapid above the bridge looked juicy, and the normally dry protrusions of rock were lost underwater. Undaunted by the sight, our fearless leader, Xavier, told us to sack up and headed back to the truck, drysuit in tow, and an ear to ear grin plastered on his face. Even at this high flow, the run downstream was all good to go, with the exception of one spot, where the move is to ferry from an eddy on river left, into the curtain/hydraulic of the previous drop and then turn and burn into a mini gorge containing two drops, the latter of which has a rather sticky hole. At the high flow, the move from the eddy became an all out charge into the falls, only to be rejected harder than a nerd at a middle school dance. Eventually, we all decided to tuck tail and strike out overland in true team semi-marginal fashion.

The Rio Nevados is also home to the notorious Demshitz Drop, one of the rowdier drops I have run, and also maybe one of the most beautiful. (I have a video of the drop on the blog, but unfortunately, no photos.)

Xavier the Grizzly Man dropping into the Slide lead-in. That, by the way, is "Mr. Steve's" boat. Seriously, it says so on the sticker. It is also rumored to have super powers, and if you don't believe it then, well, you betta jus watch yaself bru.

Max Fisher running the first slide.

Mike Kobzik droppin into the must run at good juicy flow.

Frenchie gettin some steez on the wall boof.

Martin about to go deep off the must run during a low water run.

The Nevados is a must run creek for anyone spending time in the Pucon area, and with its proximity to town, and ease of access, lends itself readily to multiple laps during the day. Just remember your elbow pads.

Here is a short trailer I put together from the last month in Chile. It features the Rio Palguin and Rio Nevados. Stay tuned for more updates and video from the Salto Palguin!!!

Demshitz Drop Video

This is a short clip from the Demshitz drop on the Rio Nevados near Pucon, Chile.

Christmas Stout

Well, here we are, sitting in the Santiago airport as the days in Chile draw to a close. My goal of paddling until my gear, and myself fell to pieces has been met, and I am left with a feeling of immense satisfaction, and a slightly sore back.

Christmas Day dawned bright and sunny, promising to hold some stouts in the near future, and we greeted the sun with a huge breakfast and a round of Bochi ball. Afterwards it was time to roll up to the Palguin, for my most anticipated day of the trip. Two weeks previously, we had scouted out the Salto Palguin and spent about 3 hours pulling out a massive log that blocked the entire falls. That day, lacking proper safety, and with the day growing late, we bagged out and decided that we would return. It turned out that on Christmas would be just that day. This time we returned, boats on shoulders, and tromped up to the put in. After a quick scout, I decided it looked good to go, and with safety and cameras in place, I hopped in my boat, and ferried into the river left eddy. Looking downstream, I felt surprisingly calm, maybe a bit naively, as I stared into the chaos downstream. I peeled out, charged the pillow, took the scariest boof stroke of my life, and began my plunge down 90 feet of whiteout. The hit at the bottom was somewhere between Muhammud Ali in his prime, and a speeding freight train. I basically exploded in the base of the falls, having my helmet and both elbow pads ripped off, as I simultaneously ejected from my boat, nearly losing my sprayskirt in the process. I went straight to the bottom of the river, where I had time to contemplate the immense pressure of the falls, as well as the very smooth stones that made up the river bed. It was in this moment that I knew my shit talking karma from weeks previous had finally caught up to bite me in the ass, and set things right in the world once again. But, all is well that ends well, and I would say despite the miniature Chernobyl incident at the base of the falls, that everything went pretty damn well. I owe a huge thanks to Mike and Ben at the bottom of the falls for pulling my gear out of the water, and Dave for a hand up onto shore, as well as Dave Hughes for the photos. After witnessing the meltdown, Seth decided to hold off, and wait for another day to run this drop. I can't say I blame him either...

We paddled down from the Salto to enjoy a nice lap on the upper Palguin, and then headed off to the Medio for some more Christmas treats. Seth fired off the stout ten, and then stuck the smoothest line I have seen off the 70, and Dusty fired off the stout for his first time since his arrival in Pucon. Good lines were had by all, well mostly good lines, as Kiwi Ben boofed the living hell out of the 70 and gave his back some grief. Fortunately, no serious damage.

Now, what everyone is waiting for...

Thanks to Emily Meredith and Dave Hughes for the photography!

Martin Belden and Seth Stoenner contemplating the lead in to Salto Palguin.

Salto Palguin.

Martin gettin ready to boof the right pillow.

A nice post-carnage shot. If you look close, you will notice that I am not wearing a helmet... but hey, who wears helmets anyways? It's more of just a fashion thing right?

Seth givin' 'er on the stout 10.

...And rollin off the 70 footer. Props to Emily on this photo angle.

Dustin Stoenner running the 70 footer for his first time, and of course, styling it.

Boofing the second drop of the first rapid on the upper Palguin.

Emily and Martin above the second drop, upper Palguin.

Coming soon...

Chile Video Teasers!

Huckin...

I thought that I would, in the spirit of kayak porn lovers worldwide, post some more pics from the first week of the Huck-Fest here in Pucon. Enjoy!

The boys celebrating another lap on the Middle Palguin stout.

Tzak the kangaroo master about to blow his skirt off...

...and the fist pump with a boat full of water.

Looking downstream from the 70 footer, into the lower section. Ya, it's paradise.

Xavier about to go deep. The day before he fired up the stout 10 above the 70, and stuck it beautifully, then decided to go with the seal launch on this lap, and flipped right above the big one. Haha. go figure.

Tzak running the park-n-huck on the Rio Coilaco.

Until next time...

Buenas Lineas!