Whorefish Productions

Utah April 2011 - Day 1

2011-05-11T19:43:00.000-06:00

I could go on and on with pages and pages of text for this trip, but I will spare all of you that in favor of a nice clean photo essay. If you do want further info about any of the pictures, let me know. yetigonecrazy@hotmail.com.

the truck on top of Slickrock Hill

the La Sal mountains from Slickrock Hill

western Colorado

the Abajo Mountains, with Monticello just visible below it

prosperous and bustling Blanding, UT

looking through Comb Ridge

the Bear's Ears, a well known southern Utah landmark

the Frylette, a small slot we tried to get into last year but it was full of water

White Canyon, one of the premiere slot canyons of Utah

our camp at the unofficial Sandthrax Campground

Jess on the sandstone

looking up at Sandthrax Canyon

its tight

see?

my fat ass trying to get in

pk

navajo sandstone is very photogenic

kaya on the rocks

coming soon, day 2. Leprechaun and Hog Springs

THE EXPERIENCE- trailer

2010-05-25T11:33:00.002-06:00

This really needs no explanation. Be ready for it to drop in fall of 2010.

The Experience Teaser from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Big Changes are coming...

2010-05-25T11:17:00.001-06:00

So after a long hiatus of ridiculous proportions, the bro-chachos were gettin' on me to update my blog more than once every five or six months, so it's time to do some work. In the coming days the whole site will be updated, with a brand new look and lots of new features. So stay tuned and we'll get you some updates a comin'!

LOOK AT M Y SANDALS

2009-10-22T15:55:00.001-06:00

Without further ado.....

Look At My Sandals! from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

LAMS done, Kanufilm coming soon.....

2009-09-21T16:26:00.002-06:00

Just a brief update to say that Look At My Sandals is now completed, and on it's tour. After making the rounds for a couple of weeks I will render it and web-i-size it, so all of you in interweb nation can view it. I will also then begin making copies on DVD for anyone that wants one. If you do want one, contact me on Facebook, or via email, and we will work out arrangements.

Kanufilm is coming along nicely, and hopefully with the addition of some last minute footage this upcoming weekend, it should be ready in a couple of weeks. I didn't anticipate making such a lengthy boating film in the planning stages, but I have lately realized that I have much more footage than I thought! So, this could turn out to be a good thing. Keep checking back and soon I will have more info.

SOON

2009-08-21T14:24:00.000-06:00

Not having internet in this day and age is a lot like living under a rock. You kinda know that the sun rises and sets every day and that somewhere, something is probably happening, but you're not going to hear about it and unless you are right there, you're pretty much in the dark. Welcome to my life these days!

I have however, been HARD at work on my film, and I expect it to premiere very soon, like within the next month. It will of course make the tour for a few weeks as I let everyone see it and critique it, but sooner or later I will add it to the site for all to see. Stay tuned because it promises to be a good time!

Moving Sucks

2009-06-13T15:24:00.002-06:00

So I've been moving lately as well as dealing with a vacation and some shitty weather, and really I've just not been getting the job done. However, I do have lots and lots of content that is finished and waiting posting, so I will hopefully get to that soon. I'll have updates from the following soon:
+ Paddlefest
+ More Gunny Boating
+ Alex Sponsor Video
+ Taylor Action

I'll get it up soon, I promise, stay tuned.....

MEGA Update!

2009-05-07T22:49:00.002-06:00

Topix
+ General Updates
+ Plateau Creek
+ Gunny Boating
+ Quartz Creek Scout
+ Upcoming Plans

- General Updates -

While it may seem like little is going on due to the lack of posts in the past couple of weeks, the truth has been quite the opposite. The water has started to rise and spring is here in full force, and times are a changin'. Here's a recap of what's been going on.
First I had to go through an exhausting ordeal to get my new video camera. I got my tax refund in early April, did a whole bunch of research regarding camcorders and bought a Panasonic camera from BestBuy.com. The one feature I was unable to research from a 3rd party perspective was whether or not the camera would be compatible with my system and programs. Unfortunately the only way to tell this was to use the camera and then try to interface it. Long story short, it didn't work, and I had to go through the run around from Panasonic only to discover that my new camera was indeed incompatibile. After getting into a heated discussion with the woman on BestBuy's phone line, I learned I couldn't return my camera to a BestBuy without a major restock fee, and my only hope lie in the store manager. Well, after all that, the return and purchase of a new one took about 10 minutes, no penalties. Easily the best Best Buy experience I've ever had.
That was Wednesday. I was planning on returning to Junction over the weekend, but learned on Friday that I had to be out of my house by Sunday, and with no place to go I ended up stuffing my life into a storage unit while shacking up on my parents extra bed for a week. Sounds bad, but there is lots of free food, and the end result has been way more boating opportunities for me this week, which what I've been doing lately. I move into my new place in a matter of days, so hopefully some balance will return to the chaos that is life around here right now.

- Plateau Creek -

My dad just happened to be going to a service school in Grand Junction on April 29th, a mere day after the events described above, and I used this opportunity to go and get on Plateau Creek, a fun little creek that drains the north slope of Grand Mesa. It was a dirty little stream, with a lot of sleepers and a fairly continuous gradient, and the last half mile or so was near continuous rapids, all roadside. After picking up my cousin Luke, we headed east and found the put in. The run is a blast, I scraped numerous rocks and bounced off the same number as well, and it was fun as hell. The crux involved squirting between two large pourovers, and then shooting off a small boof immediately below. One shitty rapid right above the takeout drop could have used a little bit more water but I was surprised how the clean the rest of the run was at 419 cfs. I took two laps with my pops running shuttle, who was also kind enough to shoot this video for me while I used the headcam. The first lap took 8 and half minutes and the second one was just over that. I hear they run this thing up to 1000 cfs or more, that sounds like a really fun time!

I put together a few choice clips for now; as well as some images, but I will post the raw headcam footage down the road a little later on.

the first pic ever with my camera- patterson road in Junction

friendly looking sign at the bottom of plateau creek. the dam is actually gone now

me on plateau creek

me on plateau again

grand river

greenery in the grand valley

more grand valley green

Plateau Creek from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

- Gunny Boating -

The past week I have been boating a whole bunch. After boating Friday, and then failing to find people to go boating with all day Sunday, I more than made up for it by going the next three days with different folks. On Monday it was Aaron and Hooper, on Tuesday it was Paul and Dave, and Wednesday it was Jess. I had my camera on the Friday before, and then Monday as well, so I was able to get a few random shots in. The Gunny is really starting to come up big too, so be prepared for high water soon....

Gunny Boating from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

- Quartz Creek Scout -

Quartz Creek flows from the mountains south of Taylor Park, through Pitkin, and into a flat bottomed valley that eventually joins with the Tomichi Creek Valley and ultimately the Gunnison Valley. The creek is small, manky, and classic Rocky Mountain. While I am sure someone has boated this creek before, it hasn't been talked about and there is no information regarding it at all. So I've had to go and scout a lot of it, and based on what I've looked at, it looks like it good be a fun adventure.
The upper section would entail putting in at the road to the Middle Fork of Quartz Creek, and boating down to a pull off just above the town of Pitkin. This would be mostly class III, likely with a spice of III+ or IV- thrown in, and always shallow. There are also several log jams in this section, a couple of which could likely be cut beforehand to ensure safe passage. I'll be checking back in later this year after trying to get down it.

The only run through Pitkin itself would be to put in at Fourth Street, and boat down to the last eddy that has the road on river left, right above a fun looking irrigation drop. This would be more channelized but still manky and continuous.

A few miles below the fish hatchery, the canyon noticeably tightens up and the creek becomes fairly channelized. While narrow and confining, the creek is most certainly boatable, and near continuous low flow class III would be the standard through here. The only danger here would be log jams, as the creek has relatively no eddies and it would be a nightmare to stop in time in front of one. The put in is vague on this one, simply look for the best pull out, but the takeout is noticeable as it is the first private property that you will see after multiple miles of public land. In addition to this we will be scouting the upper forks on Quartz Creek in a (likely vain) attempt to find anything fun as well.

- Upcoming Plans -

In the immediate future is a trip to Lake City on Sunday to do the run from town down to the Pre-Box put in, and potentially something on Saturday as well, although that is undecided right now. In a week or two hopefully Saguache Creek will come into a runnable window and we can finally get down there and have a look. After that the only thing on the horizon is multiple Taylor laps, potentially Quartz Creek, and just waiting for Anthracite Creek to come into a runnable level. Stay tuned and I'll keep posting the shit as it happens!

Rio Chama Mis-Adventure

2009-04-14T20:47:00.002-06:00

After getting skunked last week trying to go to the Rio Chama, we were not going to let it skunk us again. We pushed back the date, re-arranged our schedules accordingly, and sat down and hoped and waited. Thursday came around sunny and cold, and we were still game to head out. Unfortunately Zach and Jeremy backed out at the last minute, dropping our number to just PK, Jess and myself. Undeterred, we set off east with high hopes. We made good time down to New Mexico, opting to go west across US 64 from Tres Piedras to Tierra Amarilla as Jess and I had never been that way before, and PK had only done it once. The east side climbs pretty benignly but the west side drops very dramatically and offers some amazing views of both the Brazos cliffs and the land west of Tierra Amarilla. The west side is very similar to Grand Mesa in that you drop a long ways down from a large plateau, crossing from one ecological zone into another as you drop. Soon enough we were in Tierra Amarilla, a classic New Mexico town.

looking southwest from US 84

tierra amarilla

the brazos cliffs from yellow land
We traveled south to the Chama Canyon, where we found ourselves a nice little campsite and set up shop. Thursday night was the only clear night of the trip, and it was fairly cold as well. But we built a white man's fire and kept the chill away as best we could.

our fire - pk photo

a nightshot plus™ view of our camp - pk photo
Friday dawned hazy but mostly clear, and cold. We got up slowly and lazily made some breakfast, before gearing up and heading up canyon. Our goal was to explore the canyon as much as possible before deciding where we wanted to boat. Driving up the canyon we were awed by the beauty and majesty of the place. Relatively unknown to most folks outside of New Mexico, the Chama Canyon would easily be a national park or monument if it were anywhere else. There is wilderness on the southern side of the river, but it's relatively small and hard to access. As it is relatively unknown there is rarely anybody around, and you can count on being relatively isolated while in the canyon.
At the end of the road there is a monastery, called the Church of Christ in the Desert, which is run and occupied by mysterious folks who really love their desert. Apparently they also offer open prayer during the day. We didn't know that at first, and were extremely perplexed by the constant parade of cars heading up canyon as we were scouting the river. The funny thing was, none of the cars had any gear whatsoever, and none of the folks in those cars looked like they were going camping, but rather dressed up nicely and old timey. It wasn't until later that we found out about the open prayer, which made sense immediately! The monastery has a beautiful setting, right across from the Rio Gallina, a side canyon of the Chama.

the monastery

the rio gallina

the canyon from the dirt gorge we.....explored

ojitos canyon, another tributary
Coming back down we stopped at the Rio Chama Campground, which is a beautiful campground run by the Santa Fe National Forest. The river-side campground has lots of spaced out sites with fire rings, tent pads, and flat camper slabs. When we come back we will be staying here!
We kept going back down the canyon, stopping at an eddy on the river where there stood a huge old cottonwood tree. This was easily the most massive cottonwood tree I have ever seen, with a diameter of at least six feet. A great grandfather of a tree.

the big old tree

scouting screaming right hand
We scouted one more rapid on the way down, which was the biggie of our run. Cruising back to camp, we had a leisurely lunch and finally got ready to go boating. Driving up we decided that we were best off putting in at the Skull Bridge, which is a few miles up from the takeout. This was decided by the fact that a) most of the good whitewater is below here, and b) we didnt want to sit in the cold water for a full 9 miles. There were some rather unfriendly city folk at the put in, but we swiftly dismissed them and strutted our stuff before putting on.
The run is fun, with lots of small riffles coming every few hundred yards or so, and actual rapids coming fairly evenly space apart. The first drop we ran was called Island Rapid, where the river splits around a large sand island. We followed some good advice and went left, finding the most action and a nice wave at the bottom of that channel. A ways below this was Screaming Right Hand, which is a big and fun rapid a couple of miles above the takeout. Lots of rocks to dodge and holes to plow into. There are a couple more small rapids, below one of which there is a nice erosional feature that you can paddle under. Below this is Big Eddy, the takeout, and a rapid just below. Wegert and I ran it, and then hiked back upstream around the drop, paddled across Big Eddy and took out. I thought it was worth it, but Jess didn't have as much fun doing it as I did. I made a detailed write up about this run that can be found here. After boating we rallied back to camp to warm up by the fire.

skull bridge - pk photo

the rapid we couldnt run (private property issues) directly above the bridge

jess getting ready - pk photo

taken from skull bridge - pk photo

the bridge leading to ojitos canyon- you can walk across this but not drive - pk photo

a rapid towards the bottom

big eddy rapid
That night the wind started blowing pretty bad. I woke up at one point to see the wall of my tent like a foot above my face. And then as if that wasnt enough, the rain started up around 5 on Saturday morning, and got pretty heavy right away. We woke up late and watched the depressing rain over a big ole plate of biscuits and gravy, and discussed our options. PK and Jess wanted to pack up camp and move elsewhere, but I was against this, arguing that packing up wet shit and then setting it back up would be a nightmare. The idea of a pay campground in Espanola came up, but PK vetoed that and we opted for a day of driving to figure it out.
The goal was to go back to Abiquiu Resevoir, drive west through Coyote and Gallina, take NM SH 112 north and then past El Vado Resevoir to Chama, and thence back to camp. Seemed simple enough talking about it and looking on the map, so off we went, with little idea of what we were getting into. Our first stop was the stretch of the Rio Chama just below Abiquiu Dam, which we would have been running if not for the rain and snow. I'm glad we didn't, as the run was LOW QUALITY at best.

the pinnacles of the ghost ranch on our way out

the lonely rapid below the dam

its a pretty canyon at least

friendly looking low head dam

fence strung across the river right below the low head dam
After taking pictures here we headed west, taking NM SH 96 west through the towns of Youngsville, Coyote, and Gallina. At this point it was a driving blizzard, with huge, dollar sized flakes and occasional whiteout gusts. The road wasn't too bad though so we weren't overly concerned. We stopped for supplies and gas in Coyote, where we laughed and talked briefly with the locals, who were blown away I was wearing shorts and sandals in a driving snowstorm. After informing them we were from Colorado, they laughed and said we brought the snow with us.

canones creek, a tributary of the Chama
After reaching the junction of NM 96 & NM 112, we drove north for 20 some miles, until we came to several signs warning us that travel on the road ahead was "Discouraged" if it was wet. Now, it had been raining and snowing for a few days so it was pretty juicy. We should have listened to the signs, but we reasoned that it was a New Mexico state highway, and that there would be enough traffic that we would be alright. Well, we drove onto it and immediately noticed how slippery it was. Cautiously optimistic we kept going along slowly, at one point almost sliding into a tree on a very sloppy corner. Continuing on another couple of miles, we soon crossed into a large basin composed of nothing but clay with the road cutting right across it. At this point we were essentially fishtailing back and forth on the road, with only PK's many years of driving experience keep us on the road. When we finally had enough we decided we were going to turn it around and peace the fuck out. Well, we start to turn around, and sure enough as we got about halfway around, another truck appeared on the road, headed the same direction we were originally going (to Chama), so we hurriedly got back to our original path and started driving again. Ahead of us was a hill that if dry, wouldn't have been noticeable. But since it was extremely muddy, it was all we could do to press up it. We made it just to the crest before the truck behind us finally reached us. We tried to pull over, only to end up in the ditch. The truck at this point came by, it looked like a coal/gas company truck, although the mud was splattered on the side and we couldn't see a company name. Thinking they would stop and help, we watched them approach......only to watch as they flew by at about 45 mph, fishtailing down the road. As we sat, stunned, we tried to figure out what to do. I hopped out to survey the scene, and no sooner had I done that then PK fires it up and starts backing up furiously. There was a small pullout a short distance behind him, and he was able to go wheelin out of the ditch and onto that. I hurried back over and climbed in, and that began a harrowing, twenty tense minutes of getting back to paved road. It was certainly not an experience I want to repeat.

it just doesnt look that bad.......

the truck was clean an hour before this
After making back to civilization, we weighed our options and beat it down the road to Cuba, where we settled on a nice place for lunch called Del Prado. I made the comment before exiting the vehicle that "we're going to stand out big time here", and when we walked in, sure enough, we were immediately given the once over by everyone in the place. Inevitably they opened up and again, the question was asked about my shorts and sandals, and us bringing the snow. But, the folks were friendly and the food was great. We left a nice tip and headed out, back to camp. When we got there the question was raied about what to do next. The options were tossed around and ultimately the decision was made to head back. The snow and rain, and the prospect of another night in the cold was just more than we could bear, so we packed up and left, tail firmly between our legs.

this is the other side of the storm that hit us on the way across NM 96

the same pinnacles, but in the afternoon

ute mountain
Coming back proved to be tense as well, but for different reasons. Our first problem was getting back across the plateau to US 285. We had three options: a) drive down to nearly Espanola and back up 285, b) US 64/Brazos Pass, and c) Cumbres Pass. Each had their advantages and disadvantages, but we opted for Cumbres, thinking it would have the best maintenence, but upon reaching Tierra Amarilla, and seeing the giant socked-in white hanging over Cumbres, we opted for US 64, which was in a clear spot, but doesn't get maintenized after 6 pm, and the time was currently 6:11 pm. Luckily it was clear most of the way, and we saw three snowplows to boot, and ended up making 285, and then Alamosa in good time. After dinner at KFC it was off to Saguache, again, uneventful.
But here the fun started. We had made maybe five or six miles outside of Saguache before the snow finally caught up to us. The snow started falling lightly at first but was soon blizzarding extremely hard, with whiteout gusts and quarter sized snow. The road was covered in snow between two inches and six inches deep, and only one or two vehicles had driven over it before us. Reduced to a crawl, it took nearly thirty agonizing minutes to drive a stretch of highway that normally takes less than fifteen. Strangely enough, after crawling all the way up the Saguache Creek valley, we started up the big hill, only to find that a few hundred feet above the valley bottom the snow nearly abated completely. Puzzled but stoked at the same time, we chugged up the pass, only encountering snow just below the summit of North Pass, and again on the other side, but found that most of the Cochetopa Park area was dry and clear. Our elation soon turned to tension as we again entered the snow, right as we entered Cochetopa Canyon. It took us another thirty minutes to travel the length of the canyon, crawling around corners at 15 mph or less. Luckily PK knew the road very well, and we made good time despite the weather. When we finally pulled into Gunny at 10:30, I had never been more glad to see the lights of town. I went home immediately but could not sleep, and had to unwind for about an hour before I could finally drift off into an enjoyable sleep. It was a good trip but the driving was very fraught with tension, and combined with the weather, certainly made this a trip to remember!

Here is video of the kayaking portion.

Rio Chama - Apr 10 2009 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Teaser!

2009-04-07T07:31:00.001-06:00

This is the same video that I did up to post on Facebook, but the jerkbags that run it wouldn't let me post. So I rearranged some text and added some new text, and now it looks great as a teaser for my as of yet unnamed project releasing this fall. Enjoy.

Teaser Time from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

CB Closing Day 09

2009-04-06T07:27:00.002-06:00

If you journey back 358 (not a full week, thanks to CBMR's closing one week earlier policy) days to last year's Closing Day, you will remember that it was a day filled with drunken debauchery and fun. Sadly, thanks to some less than friendly weather, and the lack of apparent festive functions happening across the mountain (other than some super lame "fireworks" at Paradise) pretty much spelt out a day of shredding for us. Luckily, other than being mashed potato-ey and kinda slushy, the snow was pretty good. It was soft, and coverage was pretty decent, especially for being April 5th.
I met up with Ben early in the morning, and we went and picked up our buddy Forrest and Ben's buddy Mike, who turns out is a pretty good snowboarder. Forrest is still learning but is game enough to follow us around the mountain and try it at least! I don't know Mike's last name yet, but rest assured I will post as soon as I do......

mike and ben on headwall

Mike- Box Rock (1) from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Mike- The Waterfall from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Ben- Waterfall from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

lots of folks on the peak today

alex at........work

mike above box rock

Mike- Box Rock (2) from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

classic

Mike- Fredo's from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

mike checkin out the scene

Captain Hans Krengel- Fredo's from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Ben- Fredo's from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

forrest

Alex Cab 5 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

And now with ski season on its way out (its not over yet, as there is still a trip or two to Loveland up my sleeve.....) the kayak filming should hopefully begin in earnest, so stay tuned!

Alex Vs Snowmass

2009-03-30T15:37:00.001-06:00

It's been a while since I've posted, but it's really because I haven't been doin' much. I've been skiing a few times but I didn't take the camera so you don't get anything. Alex and Liz Norton traveled to Snowmass a couple of weekends ago for some Pipeline action, and this is quick edit of what they filmed. On another note, I've already been kayaking once, and the season is just around the corner, so boating action should be coming in soon!

Alex Vs Snowmass from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

CB Extremes - Day 2 (partial)

2009-02-24T20:57:00.003-07:00

A write up is coming soon, but here are Alex's lines....

Superfinals- Alex Else from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Day 3- Alex Else Run 1 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Day 2- Ryan Hoynacki from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Day 2- Pete Manley from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Day 2- Arne Backstrom from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Day 2- Aaron Schmidt from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

stay tuned for a full update, including both of Alex's runs...

CB Extremes - Day 1

2009-02-20T19:50:00.007-07:00

This is a lengthy post, so bear with me.

Day 1 was the first day of actual competition. The venue was moved to Staircase, which includes the ever popular Dead End Chutes, Body Bag Glades, Dead Bob's Chute, Staircase proper, and of course Slot Rocks. The snow seemed to be somewhat decent for most of the day, but towards the end it started to get chunky, and riders started blowing up here and there. There was some sick skiing being thrown down left and right, too, people going super huge and people running lines that leave you open mouthed in astonishment. It truly was an Extreme comp! For Day 1, everyone was sent in a random order, so there was no pecking order. However, Alex Else (6th), Arne Backstrom (12th), Ryan Hoynacki (16th), Aaron Schmidt (23rd), and Pete Manley (32nd) all advanced to the Finals for Day 2.

The pictures in here are all from the various party footage that was shot over the comp; I will get that video edited and loaded sometime soon, and then you can enjoy that too.

chad loving life before the comp even begins

nate's buddy dylan & wespiser

Day 1 - Alex Else from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Day 1- Alex Post Race from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Day 1- Ryan Hoynacki from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Day 1- Pete Manley from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Day 1- Scott McBrayer from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Day 1- Travis Miller from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Day 1- Ed Dujardin from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Day 1- Will Dujardin from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

corey extreme hartman

Day 1- Aaron Estrada from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Day 1- Aaron Schmidt from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Day 1- Arne Backstrom from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

brian wespiser, angry freeskiier part 3

Day 2 (Finals & Super Finals) coming soon......

CB Extremes - qualifiers

2009-02-19T22:04:00.006-07:00

Day 1 of the 18th Annual Extreme Freeskiing Championships (whew) went down today on Headwall, the fearsome rock riddled face that ever so dutifully looms over the mortals on Paradise. I had to work today, but Corey was cool enough to take my camera and get some shots for me. Between him and Westpiser, they managed to get clips of Pete Manley, Westpiser, and Else. While Manley and Else moved on to the next round, unfortunately Westpiser couldn't muster enough to impress the judges, and will be watching Round 1 tomorrow with us in the bunker! Enjoy.

Qualifier venue - Headwall

Pete Manley - qualifier from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Brian Westpiser - qualifier from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Alex Else - qualifier from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

The mini park, there is more footage to come....

Stay tuned, Day 1 of the action is tomorrow!

Lookout, Gapers!

2009-02-14T16:54:00.001-07:00

The people asked, and here it is: raw, hardcore gaper footage. Enjoy!

Lookout, Gapers! from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Telluride Day 3

2009-02-12T18:20:00.010-07:00

Day 3 saw Finals/Day 2 of the Telluride Comp go down. Alex skied well, doing a nice technical line up top, and then dropping through a micro chute and then eventually off a cliff into another chute. For his efforts he placed 11th. Ryan Hoynacki, another CB'r, took a similar line, and placed 23rd. The team then busted down the hill, taking a few shots, and then headed for the Awards and after party. The aftermath of the after party is some of the funniest party footage I have ever seen, stay tuned as it will be posted soon.

The boys also shot much more footage than what I've posted; I wanted to get the highlights out but ultimately the rest of the footage is going to have to wait until the movie comes out this fall. Big thanks need to go out to Corey Hartman and Chad Else, for being cool enough to take my camera and film in my absence!

chad thinks its pretty fuckin funny

telluride mini park

the venue for day 2: palmyra peak

can you spot hoynacki?

Alex Extremes Run 2 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

telluride: home of rocks and more rocks

Alex Being A Sketchball from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Alex Drop on Day 3 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

this chair 7 download brought to you by the letter "S"

top placings:
1st mark welgos
2nd arne backstrom
3rd chason russell

Stay tuned, because we've got good things on tap for the future:
+ Gaper segment
+ Telluride party footage
+ BURRITO
+ CB Extremes Feb 18-21

Telluride Day 2

2009-02-11T16:59:00.010-07:00

Day 2 was the start of real competition, with the skieurs sending themselves merrily down into the nooks and crannies of "Genevieve". Brian had a good line, but couldn't dial the runout down and crashed. I am still waiting on footage of that, so stay tuned. Alex had a good line and worked his way down through a section of the course that few others wanted a piece of, and ended up in 11th place at the end of the day.

brian on course

brian post-crash

judges

Alex Run 1 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

this is what skiers do when they dont ski: they dig a foxhole and get down

"i can provide you with a lotta shit for y'all, aight? a LOTTA shit...."

great shot of the telluride park with the san mig valley in the background, brought to you by corey

Alex Park 2 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Alex Hip 1 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Day 3 coming real soon.

Else on FWT.com

2009-02-10T18:11:00.005-07:00

The boys at MSI put together a video of the Telluride comp, that they then put on www.FWT.com, and our boy Alex took the time out of his busy day to give them a soundbite. It's about a minute or so in, and overall it's a pretty well put together video. Enjoy!

Telluride - Day 1

2009-02-10T09:34:00.009-07:00

Day 1 was kind of a goof-up for the team, but it paid off for them. They burned out of here really hurriedly on Wednesday night, throwing shit together in a flurry of activity, all the while (im)patiently waiting for Alex's brother Chad to finally get back from the ski area. Thinking they were behind schedule, they hauled ass to T-Ride, sacked out, and woke up early only to find out Thursday was course inspection and practice. Relieved and stoked, the boys went and scoped their lines, and then went on the shred the mountain for the rest of the day.

brian westpiser, angry freeskier

alex and brian at the top

the venue for day 1: genevieve

Alex Park 1 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.
alex in the park

Mini Park 1 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.
alex and brian in the mini park

Alex Drop 2 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.
alex droppin

Gelande Jumping from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.
gelande jumping

Brian 1 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.
brian doing something

Alex Drop 1 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.
alex droppin something else

A Pillow of Fun from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.
pillow!

brian westpiser, angry freeskier, take 2

Mini Park 2 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.
alex and brian in the mini park again

Alex Tree 1 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.
alex almost meets a tree

stay tuned, day 2 (day 1 of the comp) will be posted soon.....

Telluride Extremes Update

2009-02-07T21:59:00.004-07:00

The team has been down in Telluride since Wednesday night so Alex could compete in the Extremes comp that took place Friday and today, and while I was unable to make it Corey was gracious enough to take the camera and film in my absence.

Alex called me a little while ago to fill me in on placings: he placed 11th yesterday, out of 105 riders, and they took the top 35 for today. He placed 10th today, and just missed qualifying for the tour by less than a point. He said they also nabbed a few shots outside the comp, so when my camera comes back to me, I will get it uploaded as soon as possible!

Those shots were all posted on the FWT Homepage, I am not sure whether they want me to use them or not; in any case, Eben Wright was the photographer, and they are great shots of Alex in action!

Those three shots are obviously Alex, I think he is hiking up in this pic, just inside the shade on the ridge. What do you think?

Monarch Yumping

2009-02-02T16:34:00.001-07:00

Alex, Corey & I went to Monarch on Jan 31, for a day of shreddin', but the crowds turned out to be so bad that we ended up building a jump on Shagnasty for the better part of the day. We managed to sneak in a few shots elsewhere, so overall it was a pretty fun day, I don't think I've had this much fun skiing since Closing Day last year. Enjoy!

Monarch Yumping from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Monarch Dogs

2009-01-20T20:30:00.003-07:00

On 15JAN09 Alex and I traveled to Monarch Ski Area, and captured a whole bunch of damn good shots in the process. Alex was going off, but honestly I was just badass behind the camera and made him look better than he actually is. It was like, 80% me, and like 20% him out there. Now let me further explain why you may be confused; the "Corey Loves Monarch" clip was short, and only half a song, so I just finished up the song with some of the new footage and it looks much better. I didn't give you all the footage yet because it isn't time for you jerks to see it, so wait your turn! It will come out soon enough. It's all Corey and Alex, minus one shot of Wegert fallin' down. Music is (full song this time) "War Dogs" by Juno Reactor.

Stay tuned for a totally bitchin' gaper segment in the near future.

Monarch Dogs from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

OMG GUYS

2009-01-17T22:19:00.001-07:00

Alex Else and I went to Monarch today, Jan 17th, and Alex was going off. I got a bunch of great shots and will disperse those once I get them done, but I wanted to give you guys a tease first. This is Alex going mega-big on the Curecanti windlip, enjoy!

Alex Else from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Two Days at Monarch

2008-12-29T20:53:00.003-07:00

I shot all of this over the course of two days at Monarch, specifically the 9th and the 14th. Snow was great and deep, but early season conditions did exist. Riders are Logan Myers, Glenn, Kevin Brooks, Marcus Elich, myself, and some random dude. Music is FC Kahuna, "Hayling".

Two Days at Monarch from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

CBMR - December 6th, 2008

2008-12-23T07:25:00.002-07:00

Met up with Alex for a day of shreddin' at CBMR, the same day the mountain had a jib contest scheduled for the base area. It was still early season at this point so there wasn't much to film, but I did manage to snag a few shots. We met up with T-Money early in the day, and while he doesn't ski with poles, he's still mostly a cool kid, so we rode with him until he had to work. The Jib Jam went down in the afternoon, but honestly it was kind of boring unless you were in it. So I snapped a few shots of the homies and called it good.

CBMR 12-6 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Jib Jam! from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

The Long Road Home

2008-12-10T07:42:00.003-07:00

About halfway through last season I came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to be able to put out a full movie this season. Access issues at CBMR, coupled with camera problems, and a lack of availability to go anywhere cool led to a sharp downturn in filming this year. However, I was able to squeeze out a few segments, and ultimately looking back a few weeks ago I realized that with some minor work, and the addition of an intro and credits, that a movie could indeed be had. So I set to work, and this is the end result. I have to say, I am pretty satisfied with it, too. It may not be as neatly made as The Elevation Revelation but I do feel that overall, the cinematography and videography is much better in this one. Enjoy.

The Long Road Home from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Thanksgiving Business

2008-11-30T15:52:00.003-07:00

Thanksgiving went down as planned, and skiing did at Loveland, but unfortunately both were rather anti-climatic. The skiing was decent with 4'' of soft new, but there just wasn't anything worth filming. We had a good time though, and the season is just getting started!

Kevo & Vittles

Loveland Base and Chair 2

Updates ARE Coming......

2008-11-22T07:23:00.002-07:00

It's been almost a full month since my last post, and while I feel bummed about it, really and truly, there just hasn't been much going on here in the past 30 days.. We had a fun mission to get firewood last week, and aside from that it's been mostly work and sleep while we wait for the snow to finally arrive.

Unfortunately the snow picture has been somewhat grim since our initial dustings last month. The Webcams @ CBMR reveal a startling picture of the much dreaded white ribbon of death that will rear it's ugly head next Wednesday for Opening Day 2008. There isn't any snow on the forseeable horizon as well, so everyone is playing the waiting game now. Will it keep on sucking like 2006-2007? Or will it surprise us and snow a bunch like 2007-2008? Just have to wait and see......

On a last note, a few of us will be heading to Loveland Ski Area the day after Thanksjibbing for a day of skiing on my 24th birthday, so with that leading it off, the updates should start increasing here as the season finally arrives!

PK's Rio Chama Pics

2008-10-23T15:37:00.002-06:00

PK and Gail went to Santa Fe, NM last weekend, for a weekend of fun and sun with some family, but more importantly, to eat at Maria's Kitchen, which is a top notch Mexican food restaurant in town that has hooked many, many people over the years. It's pretty remarkeable, because you will be talking to somebody completely random that you don't know and if Santa Fe gets brought up 9 times out of 10 they know what it is, and are hooked themselves. Bottom line, eat there if you get a chance.

On Saturday PK and my uncle Tom went fishing on the Rio Chama, first ending up at the tailwater below Abiquiu Dam, northwest of Espanola, NM. This is host to a short, easy stretch of water that is more popular with the fishermen more than the paddlers. The fish were not biting, so they headed upstream to the Day Run of the Chama Canyon, which is where we are heading next spring for our annual beginning of the season New Mexico trip. PK took some pictures to pre scout where we will be next year, and I gotta say, it looks pretty fun. Can't wait.

abiquiu dam

below Abiquiu Dam

more below Abiquiu

looking up into Chama Canyon

the rio chama

the rio chama again

class II+ overdose

big and brown

can't wait

As always, the more people we can get to come next spring, the better this trip will be....

Team Profile: Ben Wright

2008-10-19T18:51:00.001-06:00

Benjamin Wright
aka Ben-jammin, Benjamanover, Ben-gina
"I like freshmen......"

person->
Profession: Furniture Placement Consultant
Hometown: Carbondale, CO
Hair: Short
Ride: Toyota 4Runner
Riding Since: 1998

gear->
Board: Burton Ronin 164
Boots: Burton Ronin
Poles: he doesn't use poles, DUH
Jacket: Quicksilver
Pants: Special Blend

extraneous->
When I grow up I want to be........a ROCKER
The soundtrack of my life is composed by.........Iron Maiden
My favorite food is........anything as long as it's meat and potatoes
My beverage of choice is.......New Castle Ale OR Chocolate Milk

Ben- Fredo's from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Team Profile: Alex Else

2008-10-17T21:16:00.004-06:00

Alex Else
"NH BOI!"

person->
Profession: skier
Hometown: North Conway, NH
Hair: spikey
Ride: no ride, he's a bum
Riding Since: 1990

gear->
Skis: High Society FR 187
Boots: Dalbello Krypton Pro
Poles: Leki customs
Jacket: 4 Square
Pants: 686

extraneous->
When I grow up I want to be........a pushaman
The soundtrack of my life is composed by.........DMX & Journey (together)
My favorite food is........shepard's pie
My beverage of choice is.......BEER

appearances->
Alex Vs Snowmass
Alex Superfinals CB Extremes
Alex Finals Run 1 CB Extremes
Alex Day 1 CB Extremes
Alex Else qualifier CB Extremes
Telluride Extremes (Album)
Monarch Yumping
Monarch Dogs
CBMR 12-6
The Long Road Home
The Elevation Revelation

freebies->

Alex 540 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Alex Else from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

eben wright photo

Team Profile: Kevin Brooks

2008-10-17T14:12:00.004-06:00

Kevin Brooks
"Right meow?"

person->
Profession: lift ops/tar junkie
Hometown: Gunnison, CO
Hair: unkempt
Ride: '93 Ford Explorer
Riding Since: 1993

gear->
Skis: Rossignol Scratch Brigade 178
Boots: Lange CRL 170
Poles: Scott
Jacket: The North Face
Pants: The North Face

extraneous->
When I grow up I want to be........geologist by day, gynecologist by night
The soundtrack of my life is composed by.........Rammstein
My favorite food is........Bacon Cassarole
My beverage of choice is.......Bitburger

appearing->

Two Days At Monarch
The Long Road Home
The Elevation Revelation

Kevin on the Taylor from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Kevin @ Monarch from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Team Profile: Corey Hartman

2008-10-15T21:00:00.006-06:00

Corey R Hartman
"Live every day to the EXTREME!"

person->
Profession: lift ops
Hometown: Carbondale, CO
Hair: Mullet
Ride: '92 Subaru Legacy wagon
Riding Since: 1986

gear->
Skis: Rossignol Scratch BC WRS 181
Boots: Scarpa T2X
Poles: Leki
Jacket: Obermeyer
Pants: Obermeyer

extraneous->
When I grow up I want to be........an eXtReMe mountain man
The soundtrack of my life is composed by.........Rush
My favorite food is........5B's Tatornator
My beverage of choice is.......Extra Gold Lager

appearing->

Monarch Yumping
Monarch Dogs
The Long Road Home
The Elevation Revelation

Corey @ Cranor from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Corey Powderhorn from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Corey Tearing Monarch A New One from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Season Recap

2008-10-13T16:37:00.002-06:00

The paddling season is officially over, and it's time to recap on the glorious season we had here in Gunnison. With the water high all year, there was plenty of paddling to go around, and we saw to it that we got as much possible in this year. All told, I personally logged 48 separate trips, and accumulated 288.5 river miles. I had somewhere around 350 going into this summer, which brings my career total to somewhere over 600. I have the official mileage somewhere, I just need to find it, and when I do I will bring that information to light.

With this year firmly behind us, its time to honor some folks with some awards for this season.

Swim Team Captain: Kevin Brooks
Kevin racked up an incredible EIGHT swims this summer. A few on the Taylor, a few on the Gunny, some his fault and some not his fault, Kevin showed this year that he is NOT afraid of the Gunnison River, even when it's freight-training at 3350 cfs.
Honorable Mention: Gerilyn Williamson

Dead Man Walking: Ben Hendy
After flipping his cataraft in the flood-swollen Psychadelic Falls, without a life vest, Ben nearly became the state's 4th high water victim after the runoff laden river sucked the life out of him and made him a rag doll. If not for the timely assistance of Marcus, we might have lost our portly but beloved companion.
Honorable Mention: Nikki Williamson

Boofmaster 2008: Aaron the Old Man
In true Aaron fashion, he launched his sturdy Wavesport of every rock in sight, sometimes with positive, and sometimes with negative, but always with comical results. On the few times he pulled them off it was pretty rad; watching him sail off the last ledge on Farmer's Bridge is one of my prize days from this year.
Honorable Mention: Nate Hardy

Rookie of the Year: Corey Hartman
Corey only went once with us this year, and the day he chose to go the Gunnison hit 4750 cfs, three days before it's peak of 5100 cfs. It was the highest I ran the Gunny all summer, and Corey betrayed no ounce of fear otr trepidation, and instead tore it up and did great.

Freestyle Award: Paul Muirhead
Whether he's surfing, splatting, cartwheeling, or spinning, Paul is a blast to watch on the river. He plays in any wave he can find, wave wheels and cartwheels downstream through wave trains, splats or spins on any rock he can find, and just generally has the best time possible on the water. It's fun watching Paul because he really shows how versatile a kayak can be!

Bitch Award: Marcus Elich
Marcus started the season strong, going 8 for 10 to start the season. Then, he randomly decided the family motorboat was more worth his time, and his battered craft, in need of simple repairs, sat unused for the rest of the summer. What happened Marcus? Where'd ya go??

Here is my total log from this season. Every trip has it's details but I will spare you those in favor of this simple list:

4/05 Rio Grande R- Orilla Verde
4/06 Rio Grande R- Orilla Verde
4/19 Gunnison R- Middle + Lower
4/20 Gunnison R- Middle + Lower
4/26 Taylor R- Upper
4/27 Gunnison R- Middle + Lower
5/03 Gunnison R- Middle
5/11 Gunnison R- Middle + Lower
5/19 Gunnison R- Middle
5/21 Gunnison R- Middle
5/25 Gunnison R- Middle + Lower
5/29 Gunnison R- Middle
5/30 Gunnison R- Middle
5/31 Gunnison R- Middle + Lower
6/01 Gunnison R- Extended Lower
6/14 Arkansas R- Big Bend - Salida
6/15 Taylor R- Middle + Lower
6/21 Gunnison R- Middle + Lower
6/22 Taylor R- Park Run
6/27 Gunnison R- Middle + Lower
6/28 Taylor R- Park Run
6/28 Taylor R- Lower
6/29 Gunnison R- Middle + Lower
7/03 Gunnison R- Extended Lower
7/04 Taylor R- Lower
7/12 Taylor R- Lower
7/12 Gunnison R- Extended Lower
7/13 Taylor R- Park Run
7/24 Gunnison R- Middle + Lower
7/25 Taylor R- Lower
7/26 Gunnison R- Upper
7/27 Taylor R- The Slot + Upper
7/30 Gunnison R- Middle + Lower
8/01 Taylor R- The Slot + Upper
8/02 Taylor & Gunnison Rs- Scouts Honor to Lost Canyon Resort
8-03 Taylor R- The Slot + Upper
8/09 Taylor R- The Slot + Upper
8/10 Gunnison R- Rockey River to McCabe's
8/14 Taylor R- The Slot + Upper
8/15 Taylor R- The Slot/Upper + Middle
8/18 Taylor R- The Slot + Upper
8/21 Gunnison R- Middle
9/13 Taylor R- Upper
9/20 S Fork South Platte R- Chutes x2
9/20 South Platte R- Waterton Canyon
9/27 Taylor R- Upper

So there ya go! Looking forward to another great year next year.

Oct. 11, 2008 - First Snow Of The Year!

2008-10-12T07:27:00.003-06:00

If you live anywhere in the west or in Colorado, then you likely woke up this morning to the same thing I did: SNOW! That's right, a wonderful fall storm came rolling through yesterday, leaving snow over a large portion of Colorado, and the west. It's likely this snow will all be gone in a matter of hours and days, but it's the first piece of the puzzle to fall into place for this winter. Skiing is coming soon, I promise!

keep those skis handy!

It's Coming....

2008-10-06T16:55:00.001-06:00

Taken 10/05/08

Upper Taylor In The Fall

2008-09-28T21:06:00.000-06:00

As the season has been winding down slowly, it's been a challenge to find people to go boating with. Last Wednesday I called Vito, the friendly head guide at Three Rivers Resor t and he was kind enough to let me know Taylor Dam would be spewing 250 cubic feet per second into the river below it until October 1st. With this information in hand I attempted to find paddling partners for this weekend, hoping to pull off at least one, but hopefully two (or more) trips.

My plans were clearly shot after calling through my phonebook. Between people leaving town, not "feeling" paddling anymore, people out with injuries, and others just too lazy to go, it was soon looking grim for even going at all. I had resigned myself to a couple of solo missions on the Gunny until I was saved by my buddy Paul "Studmuffin" Muirhead, who I boat with on the Taylor every once in a while. We met up in Gunny with blue skies and found our way north to the Taylor, where dark blue clouds and the occasional rain shower greeted us.

The Taylor at this level is a blast. Everything is fun and defined, and the drops tend to be large with more vertical to them, but nothing on the river is too pushy at this level. Sneaks are everywhere and it is hard not to have a great time. Unfortunately it was raining off and on so we were making progress downstream and not worrying much about video. Still, I managed to fire off some jerky, out of breath clips here and there. Enjoy.

It's hard to tell in this picture but at this moment it was raining really hard. Two minutes later it just quit. Welcome to Colorado!

Paul in the Slot from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Paul in the Slot

Initiation, the first drop on the commerical Upper. Its a fun mess of rocks and holes and waves oh my!

Paul in Initiation from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

I was too jerky with the camera to effectively get the top half of the rapid. Still, he does the lower half nicely I feel.

Paul in Upper Tombstone from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Paul in the upper half of Tombstone, running through Toilet Bowl, No Parking, and the Goalposts.

Paul in Boogie Water from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Paul in some typical Taylor boogie water. Check out Paul's fresh freestyle action in the end of the clip. Normally he's much better than that.

Paul in Lower Deadmans from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Paul in the lower half of Deadman's Rapid.

Some more leaf-peepin' on the way back to town. With the rain and wind this weekend I think the leaves are pretty much done, so I hope ya saw em when ya had the chance!

2009 Projects

2008-09-25T15:10:00.000-06:00

As the 2008 boating season wraps up, it's time to dig back out that list that we all made back in the spring, the list of runs that we wanted to get on this summer. Some were a success and some were not. My biggest shutdowns this year were Texas Creek and Muddy Creek. We got chased off Texas Creek by some lightning, and Muddy Creek never ran, except for some multiple-thousand cfs flooding in August. So as always, its time to add to that list, and get some runs on it for next year. Although I have a lot of desired runs on my personal list, I have come across four runs in particular that look especially delicious for next year. The first one, Texas Creek, has been on the radar for a couple of years, but the other three I believe to be relatively unknown, and I'm almost certain all are perfectly ready for that initial first descent. Of course what kind of kayaker would I be if I spilled the beans prematurely, so I will give you just a taste and you'll have to wait until next year to see what it holds......

Texas Creek. There is a two mile long shallow gorge on the bottom of this creek just as it spills into Taylor Reservoir. It's mostly shallow, boulder bed with a consistent gradient. There are several small but notable drops in the upper half, but the lower half is almost all continuous cobble stoned rapids. We were ready earlier this summer, boats in hand and ready to drop in, but then the lightning started up......

Don't look now, but this one has already been featured in my Webshots galleries. There is a gorge proper on this creek that looks marginally runnable- in the class V/V+ range with some portages around logs thrown in to the already steep gradient. Still, the rock is lava bedrock and the water does get high, so gnar-fiends look no further. The two miles above the gorge, however, contains a long series of class II and III rapids ultimately leading up to the above drop- which ends up in the takeout campground directly above the gorge.

The longest of the top projects, this one looks to be about a three to four mile trip through a shallow class III canyon. The beavers have been in here, and this stretch is quite popular with the fishermen. Still, it looks fun and the flows are more than enough. I will be surprised if this is a first d, considering a section of the Colorado Trail runs right alongside it. The only downside to this run will be access- the bottom of it's canyon is located on private land, requiring either a hike back up the creek after we're done boating, or a steep bushwhack directly up and out of the canyon onto some sketchy forest roads that may or may not be there.

The one showing the most potential, this one is a shallow class III high mountain desert creek that drops through some lava rock rapids in a shallow gorge. I originally had intended to look at the creek below here, and much to my surprise there is a significant looking patch of white in amongst the meanders visible from Google Earth, but a lack of suitable access has me stymied. Like the above creek, the bottom of the canyon is located on private land and thus downstream exiting is not an option. So with a brutal hike in (6 mi to the goods), an unknown section of whitewater, and shitty exit options, the main stem will remain shrouded for a little while longer. However, in my lookings I stumbled across some photos of a feeder stream to the one I was looking at, and they look mighty fine. This creek is number one on my list, so stay tuned because it will likely go first!

I have other projects on my mind too, but none as good as the above. As I attempt to garner more information this winter I will post it, but for now the wait begins....

Leaf Peeping

2008-09-24T17:11:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I really love my job.

We got dispatched to do a job in Lake City today, and with Whirlpool paying us 3x normal rate to go, it seemed worthwhile to go. It also happened to be the perfect time to go for the aspen trees as well- multitudes of reds, yellows, and browns were all around, mixed in amongst the greenery. While not the full on peak, it was definitely a very beautiful drive. We went down 149 but came back up Cebolla Creek, where we stopped in and I checked on a little project for next year.........

We forgot the still camera AGAIN, so y'all get a good round of vidcaps again. I'm still surprised how well this camera does with them.

Low Water Lake Fork @ The Gate C.G.

Grassy Mountain

Wetterhorn & Uncompahgre Peaks

Williams Peak

View From Slumgullion

Slumgullion Slide (it's technically an earthflow)

Cebolla Creek Headwaters

Upstream from this mess lies a potential beauty....

So there ya go. Get out there quick if you want to see some because it will be nothing but sticks in a couple of weeks!

South Fork South Platte + Waterton Canyon

2008-09-22T12:33:00.000-06:00

First off, let me apologize for the photos. Between the three of us we all managed to forget a still camera, so the few stills I have were captured off video. They ain't bad but they could be much better.......

With the flows dwindling to "low" & "too low" across the state, and a trip to Denver on the agenda, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get some last minute boating in, even if it was some easy, short lived class II action. Any day being in a boat is better than being inside. With my mom & sister attending a play, my dad was game to come along and either boat with us, or run shuttle for us, depending on how scary it looked. I called my cousins, Jeremy Allen & Zach Allen to see if they wanted to go. They were both interested when I brought it up, but Jeremy unfortunately wasn't able to make it due to his work schedule. Still, Zach was not to be deterred and came on down. We met up at the new Safeway between Conifer & Aspen park, loaded up the boats in the back of the truck and took off. It's a pretty drive down into the South Platte Canyon, the Reynolds Park Open Space is very scenic, as is the winding dirt road the parallels the North Fork of the South Platte on your way to the confluence. The confluence itself is a very beautiful place, with two beautiful, meandering Rocky Mountain streams converge and then plunge into the forbidding depths of Waterton Canyon.

This creepy looking hotel sits overlooking the confluence; contrary to popular myth it is NOT haunted. It is an old hotel from when then the Denver South Park & Pacific Railroad went through here.

The Chutes. There are two kayakers on river left below it (not members of our party). As you can see there is lots of granite. A much better picture can be found here thanks to Flickr member PaulMeisburger.

We headed up first to run the South Fork of the South Platte, also known as the "Chutes" or "Deckers". It's a class II+ at most, although I would rate the Chute itself as a class III, due to some awkward but fun hydraulics that you encounter while in the granite hallway. The Chutes themselves are actually a multi-stage drop, with a small easy rapid up top that leads into a small ledge that drops you into the granite hallway. From here you plunge through the Chute, into a large flat pool around a corner, and then you pop through the Lower Chute, which has a fun ledge/wave on the left side to boof. There whole area is supposedly "off limits", so PK was unable to get any video of us in this section. We put in about a half a mile above the Chutes and ended up floating about 2.5 miles down. I should mention at this point Zach suffered a perfect case of "insta-karma" on the river. Not 50 yards below the put in, he lines up for a sleeper in the river, looks at me and says "Watch This!" amd goes tearin' ass for the rock. He goes jarring up onto it, immediately gets stuck, tries to wriggle his way off, flips, and then proceeds to swim in chest deep flatwater. Fortunately he self resuced, gear and all, but we did get some laughs from the fishermen that were just below us. Zach laughed it off and we soon were moving downstream.

Zach & Kit 1 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo. I think this is called "Eagle Rock Rapid" but I am not sure.

Zach & Kit 2 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo. A fun rapid just below there. I don't know this one's name.

Approximately a half a mile above the confluence there is a bridge over the South Fork where the Colorado Trail crosses it and proceeds on it's way to Denver. The bridge is named in honor of Gudy Gaskill, who was a strong advocate of the trail in it's early days. The bridge made for a goode filming platform for PK, and a great takeout for us to avoid the landowners just downstream. Apparently there used to be an old man who lived just above the confluence and used to regularly threaten boaters with guns and lots of threats. While the cantankerous old coot is gone, the new landowners (while nowhere near as crazy) are still unfriendly to boaters so it's best to avoid them altogether.

Gudy Gaskill Bridge

Zach said he saw a snake on the hike out but I failed to. I believe him, I guess.

Just completed.

Walking to the cars.

Kit & Zach From Bridge from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

From The Bridge

Our plan was to then drive downstream and have a look at Waterton Canyon, which is one of the few standard off-season runs for Denver and Front Range-area boaters. Boasting an incredibly long season and at least a basement flow, Waterton is about as standard as class III+ gets. We were stoked to go down, but unfortunately about halfway down in started pouring rain on us. We ran a couple of drops and went about a half a mile but ultimately decided to hike back to the safety and warmth of the truck.

Zach Waterton 1 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Zach On Waterton

Zach Waterton 2 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Zach still on Waterton

Kit Waterton 1 from Whorefish Productions on Vimeo.

Me on Waterton

Waterton Canyon in the rain. By the time we got back to the truck, it had of course stopped raining. Not wanting to hike back out the same shit we had just hiked out, we decided for another quick run down the Chutes. We sat around at the confluence for a while, warming up and just generally enjoying the outdoors. You could see evidence from the Hayman Forest Fire, which was still fresh seven years later.

The burn area. There are large splotches like this everywhere.

A map of the area

After running the Chutes again we headed back out to the Safeway, where we reunited Zach with his Subaru, and we rallied out, making it to my cousin James' house in record time. Despite the fact that it is a class II, the Chutes are still supremely enjoyable. The canyon is very scenic, with large granite domes popping up in between the large swaths of ponderose pine. The water is mostly flat and burbly, but there are a few class II rapids to keep the beginner on their toes. The rock is all granite, so the rocks in the riverbed tend to be sharp and unfriendly. Zach cut his hand pretty badly early on and will likely be sporting a fresh scar from it before too long. All things considered, a great way to spend September 20th!