On the first of November, I woke up in Truckee, CA, looked at the thermometer, and it read 29 degrees. Four days later, I landed in San Jose, Costa Rica, somehow made it through customs, and was greeted by a wave of humidity and 85 degree weather. Needless to say, it's gonna be another rough winter!
I was greeted by our driver, Miguel Morrera VEGA (badass), and DJ Daniel "Mohawk" Young (not so much), and off we went to Turrialba. Turrialba is the jumping point for 3 Costa Rican gems: The Rio Pacuare, Reventazon, and Pejibaye. We arrived at the Hotel Wagelia, grabbed a casado (typical Costa Rican grub) and a few Imperial's, and hit the hay (not to be confused with "there is/there are").
Every year, in anticipation of our trips, we spend a week scouting out the rivers we will be paddling with our groups. Unlike rivers in the U.S., the rivers in Costa Rica are constantly changing, due to the weather and geological activity. This year was no exception, most recently the regions we paddle in recieved 2 weeks of heavy rain in October. I was excited to see the changes in these rivers I have grown to know very well.
Day 1: Rio Orosi y Pejibaye. ~15 miles. Class III/IV.
We had a mellow first day, starting with the Class III/IV Orosi. We put in above the conventional put-in, on La Macha, and paddled in to the Orosi. A short, yet fun section of Class III/IV boogie, with no real changes from last year. From the town of Orosi, we head to the Pejibaye, which is the typical starting point for our class III/IV trips and above. The Upper section of the Pejibaye consists of a few steep, class IV rapids, which had changed for the better this year. The rest of run is class III, and eventually runs in to the Reventazon which becomes a lake just a few miles downstream. The Pejibaye is a gorgeous run, and one of my favorites.
La Macha meets the Orosi just downstream.
Photo: Daniel Young
Rio Orosi.
Photo: Daniel Young
Looking upstream at the Upper Pejibaye.
Full Face: Daniel Young
Day 2: Rio Reventazon: Pascua - Below Florida. ~20 miles. Class IV+, becoming Class III.
We were happy to find out that the dam project was not far enough along to prevent us from running this section one final time and I feel very fortunate to have gotten to know this section over the years, as it is truly world class. The water level was medium/high, and the difficulty had decreased since my last run in 2010. Daniel and I had a great time making our way down, until we were reminded that in an undetermined period of time this section will be gone. Bummer dude...
The Reventazon looms in the distance.
Photo: Daniel Young
Day 3: Rio Pacuare: Upper, Middle Section (from new put-in), and Lower. ~30 mi. Class III/IV/V.
Making the long voyage to the put-in for the Upper (Upper) section, we routed down, beating Miguel to the takeout, and jumped back in the van in order to find the new access, carved in for the rafting world championships just a few weeks before. This proved to be more difficult than expected, as the road was not much of a road at all, and Miguel could only make it so far before we had to start hiking down. After a nice 45 minute hike, we arrived at the river, just below the Class V+ Bobo Canyon. We paddled downstream to the next canyon, which started out with a big Class V drop that left both Daniel and I wide-eyed. The water level was definitely on the high side. We made it through the rest of the class IV/V canyon, and completed the final 20+ miles to the takeout at Siquires before sunset. Stoked brah!
The Bridge at the Takeout for the Upper Upper Pacaure.
Photo: Daniel Young
On our hike, we had a great view of Steve's Ledge, below the Bobo Canyon.
Dos Montanas Canyon.
Daniel paddling out of the Dos Montanas Canyon.
Day 4: Rio Sarapiqui. ~15 miles, Class III/IV.
After 4 rivers and almost 70 miles of paddling in 3 days, we enjoyed an easier day on the Sarapiqui. We arrived at our put-in on the Volcan, a beautiful creek that feeds in to the Sarapiqui just a few hundred yards downstream, but the water from the dam just upstream had not arrived yet. We waited for a bit, geared up, and headed down. The water was low, but we still enjoyed this run, which hasn't changed much since last season.
Volcan Put-In.
Photo: Daniel Young
Beautiful.
Photo: Daniel Young
Day 5:Rio Balsa y San Lorenzo. ~ 15 miles, Class II/III/IV+
Finding the Toro a bit too high to scout, we headed west to San Carlos to check out the Balsa and San Lorenzo. The class IV+ Upper Balsa was full of water and full on! Dropping in to the gorgeous, tight gorge, we ran steep boulder drop after steep boulder drop, and when it was over, Daniel told me he had found his new favorite run in CR, shortly followed by the Pejibaye. The middle section was a bit too braided and de-channelized for our taste, but the lower section had not changed a bit, and remains a great class III section. The Balsa and the San Lorenzo meet a mile or so above the takeout, and after finishing the Balsa we headed to run it's counterpart. Due to the rain, the Balsa was quite brown, but the San Lorenzo was running clear and beautiful. This year, the majority of the trees had been swept away, leaving the San Lorenzo much less hazardous than in previous seasons. After the river, we had some delicious Costa Rican pizza in Cuidad Quesada, and found a nice hotel (not to be confused with motel).
Near the put-in for the Upper Balsa.
Photo: Daniel Young
Daniel on the Upper Balsa.
Day 6: Rio Toro. Upper Section. ~5 miles, Class III/IV.
Fortunately for us, the Toro dropped out just in time for our final day. This is one of my favorite runs in Costa Rica. Similar to the Upper Balsa, the Toro drops through a steep walled gorge, and features some really fun class III and IV rapids. A short run, perfect for Friday's, this was a great way to end a great week. We finished up by finding a new takeout, and headed back to San Jose. Juliet greeted us with beer and rum, and we de-briefed, excited for our first trip of the 2011 Costa Rica season.
Rio Toro.
Photo: Daniel Young
These guys were all over the takeout of the Toro.
Photo: Daniel Young
This summer, when I wasn't working for the greatest company in the world (Endless River Adventures), or attending Phish shows, I was on The Green. The Green River Narrows is probably the most famous section of whitewater in the world, at least among whitewater enthusiasts. Thanks to the SMAX Bro's for some awesome shots. Enjoy (I did).
Zwicks.
Photo: Sam Smax.
Steven Augustine. The Notch.
Photo: Max Smax.
Dropping in to the Veil. Gorilla.
Photo: Max Smax.
Steven Augustine. Sunshine. Photo: Max Smax.
Sam Smax runs the boof at Hammer Factor. Photo: Max Smax.
R.I.P. Stephen Forster. Stomping out A.C. Slater Falls.
Enjoy the remainder of my shots from Colorado. Included are Slurry Pipe rapid on The Gilman Gorge, Teva Mountain Game Finals, Bailey (North Fork of The South Platte), the Glenwood Wave at ~18,000 cfs, and Clear Creek of The Ark. Enjoy.
Huge: applies to anything so big as to be astonishing or to inspire awe. Enormous, Immense, Tremendous.
After running the Poudre Narrows, Chris Wing and I headed west to Steamboat Springs. We received some beta from a local who told us about a few runs that had plenty of water, and were plenty hard enough, if we were in to that sort of thing. Our first day in Steamboat consisted of a failed mission to Slater Creek, due to the exceptionally low clearance of my car, after which we returned to town and went playboating on the Yampa. The day started poorly, but ended well.
Waking up on Tuesday, we decided the best option was Cross Mtn. Gorge of The Yampa, about 1.5 hours west of Steamboat, near Dinosaur National Monument. According to some locals, the guidebook, and the internet, this run consisted of Class V+ big water. Perfect. After Brad McMillan rolled in to town all the way from North Cackilack, we met up with Stephen Forester and Chase Simmons, and headed to the river.
Arriving at the put-in, we found approximately 12,000 cfs flowing very quickly downstream toward a massive gorge. For those who don't already know: 12,000 cfs is a lot of water. We geared up, and headed toward the vertical walls of Cross Canyon.
The Put-In.
As we paddled in to the gorge, I found myself out in front amidst some pretty big waves. I eddied out on the right, above a huge horizon line, and beyond the horizon line: total chaos. Oh boy. We all hopped out to scout, climbed about 100 feet up and looked down in to the first rapid: Osterizer. The horizon line turned out to be one of the biggest holes I had ever seen in my life, and that was just the beginning. Below the big one, the river opened up and was littered with massive boulders, waves, and holes. Any doubt that this was going to be a mellow day left all of our minds, and we mentally prepared ourselves for some of the most full on whitewater any of us had ever seen. We walked around the hole, put in, took a deep breath, and ferried out in to the maelstrom.
If the first glimpse of the canyon didn't convince us completely, the feeling of peeling out in to the current certainly did. The power of the this water was unbelievable. We all made the move from river right to left, ferrying above some massive, massive ledges, through massive, massive waves, in to a massive eddy. At one point, Wing found himself barreled in one the waves (so pitted), yet somehow maintained control and composure. Well done brah. This ended up being a serious team effort, with everyone jumping out at some point and scouting for the rest of the group.
The next rapid featured a huge ledge extending from the left out to the middle of the river. Stephen gave me the go ahead, and I dropped in just to the right of the ledge, in to a massive breaking wave, which broke right on top of me. Fortunately, I stayed upright, and moved left through huge waves while avoiding a few nasty ledges in the process. I eddied out and watched everyone else run this rapid with little trouble.
Feeling small amidst the chaos.
Photo: Stephen Forster.
Hangin' on.
Photo: Stephen Forster.
Chris Wing.
Photo: Stephen Forster.
Wing being tossed by a massive wave.
Photo: Stephen Forster.
Brad looking in to the madness.
Photo: Stephen Forster
We moved downstream, scouted, and ran the next rapid straight down the middle, through a big wave train, and dropped in to another huge breaking wave. Stephen got some amazing shots of this rapid.
That's me, about to get crushed.
Photo: Stephen Forster.
Crushed.
Photo: Stephen Forster.
Chase paddling hard.
Photo: Chris Wing.
An amazing shot of Chase.
Photo: Stephen Forster.
We ran a few more massive rapids, made up of more of the same, with no issues. One rapid required us to hike way up to get a full view, after which I decided to run the meat. I paddled down the center, and tried to move right through the corner of a HUGE hole; however, I was unsuccessful. I got chundered for a few seconds, as visions of swimming flashed through my brain, but fortunately flushed out and rolled up just downstream. Phew! (Video to come)
Stephen spotting his line.
Photo: Chris Wing.
Photo: Chris Wing.
As we exited the canyon, we all breathed a serious sigh of relief, stoked on our day. I honestly don't remember being that scared in a long while. It was incredible. Thanks goes to Stephen and Wing for some amazing photos, and to the rest of the crew for being solid.
Some people think it's not good to be stoked. I am not one of those people. I'll be in Colorado for 3 weeks, with Chris Wing, looking to get on a bunch of new runs. Needless to say, I am very stoked. Brah.
Arriving in Denver on Saturday, we woke up and checked the gauges. The majority of Colorado is frozen right now, with many areas at 200% of average snow pack. Basically, we need warm weather. Not such a bad thing to hope for I suppose. Anyway, we decided the best option was The Narrows section of The Cache Le Poudre, a section I had heard was ultra-classic. Suh-weet. North we go.
We figured this was a perfect warm up. The Poudre Narrows is located west of Ft. Collins, in a tight, beautiful gorge. The entire run is roadside, and, according to the New Testament, is made up of three sections: The Upper (V), Middle (IV), and Lower (V). From where we put-in, the run is approximately 2.5 miles, and is considered the local "after work run." This was an awesome intro to Colorado whitewater.
We caught this run on the low end of good, which I was very impressed with and would love to see it higher. We put on just above the first rapid on the Upper: Supercollider.
Wing boofin' Supercollider.
Just below Supercollider is a super narrow steep rapid. I dropped down and had a super clean line, but my friend Chris Wing wasn't quite as smooth. He took a short beating in a hole right up against a wall, but kept his composure and rolled up just below, ran the next drop backwards (on purpose), and eddied out. We hiked back up and ran the Upper again, and Wing got his redemption with a nice line on the 2nd rapid.
View from the top.
2nd rapid of the Upper.
That's me airin' out the boof at the bottom.
Photo: Chris Wing.
Some super fun class IV on the middle section lead us below a bridge to the Lower. This is a steep, bouldery, holey section, with boofs of all shapes and sizes.
That's me boofin' the first drop of the Lower.
Photo: Chris Wing.
Cool angle.
Photo: Chris Wing.
Wing running the end of the Lower.
We took a few laps on this super fun section and called it a day. Awesome first day of paddling in Colorado. Stoked.
