Epic Kettle Day

Wow, that was fun! There were a whole bunch of us that met up at the Kettle yesterday. Though it was cool, overcast, and became rainy, I don't think I've ever had a better day on the river. The level was about 1800 cfs (3.4 feet bridge gauge) and just about every feature on the river was awesome. We had big waves in Blueberry, great hole action at Teacher's pet, and 4' wave trains through Mother's, Dragon's tooth, and Hell's gate.

To make it even better, I think just about everyone hit some sort of milestone today. Aaron and Caleb were really putting Teacher's Pet through it's paces, surfing, spinning, and nearly making their cartwheels. Props to both of them for throwing it down like that. Kim, who was making his second descent of the Kettle ever, not only rocked in the big water, but proved that he actually has a scuba tank tucked somewhere beneath his PFD. He definitely gets the award for absolutely refusing to swim. It was cool to watch him fight it out and come out rightside up! Nora was looking great in the big water and came through the whole day without even getting flipped. Nate had some sweet flatwater moves and laid down some sweet video commentary - can't wait to see it. Bill was rockin in the Flip-stick; surfing up everything and working on flatwater ends.

As for me, I had what was quite possibly my best paddling yet. Everything was just working. I hit a couple ends in Teacher's, managed my first successful wavewheels, and managed to get locked into an inadvertant bow stall that went on all the way through the lower portion of Hell's gate.

Between the water level, the amazing luck I was having on the water, and the awesome company I was with, I really can't think of a better day on the river. Can't wait to get out again.

These pics are all from warm up wave and Blueberry, but Nora's got some great ones on her blog from further down so check 'em out!

Mini-Expo

Midwest Mountaineering put on their spring Mini-Expo yesterday down at the Verm. There were tons of paddlers, grilled brats and dogs, loads of boats to demo, and enough water to make the play features a really good time.

Graeme made Railroad look like his second home, spinning endlessly and working into low and mid-angle cartwheels, I managed to hit a couple of single and 2-end wheels as entry moves from the top of the foam pile, and just about everybody got some good rides down in the trough.

Donut was it's usual awesome self and people were rippin' it up. It also proved to be a great level for bodysurfing, so I took the opportunity of getting in the first couple of bodysurfs of the year.

I didn't get any pics with my camera, but I did steal Nora's for a few minutes and took some with hers. The ones you see here were taken off of her blog, but she's got more good ones on there so check it out!

Verm II: Vermilicious

Went back for more vermilicious fun today with Nora, Caleb, Andy (Mac), Dennis, and Aaron. This time, however, we had one heck of a good photographer along with us (huge thanks Lisa) who got some great shots. Lisa also brought along her really great son, who we're trying to brainwash into being a future paddler.

We had another great day down there, but I think I wrote enough about it on yesterday's entry that I won't make you read it all again. The notable differences were 1) Andy made a an awesome addition to the crew today, 2) Huck and another guy whose name I didn't catch were also on the river, though they kind of did their own thing. Unfortunately, that included Huck trying to paddle under the ice bridge, getting hung up, and luckily being able to swim out. He lost his paddle in the process, but considering what could have happened it's a small price to pay, and 3) We've got tons more pictures, both from Lisa and Nora's camera.


Here's the pics from top to bottom:
1) The Hike
2) The ice bridge (Also our put-in)
3) D-Rad
4) Triple Drop
5) Caleb and I
6) Caleb in Railroad
7) Dennis Wheeling out of Railroad
8) Huck with his substitute paddles
9) Nora, Andy, and Aaron
10)Aaron

Season Opener!

WooHoo! Paddling season has officially begun. Today Nora, Dennis, Graeme, Aaron, Caleb and myself made the first Verm descent of the year. There was still a big ice bridge above triple drop, so we technically couldn't run the whole thing, but anybody who knows the river knows there isn't really anything above there anyway. Plus, that ice bridge made an awesome put-in!

Nora and Dennis started off in the pool below railroad and paddled up, but Caleb, Graeme, Aaron and I hiked up to see if we could put in above the Triple Drop. As it turned out, there was a great route down the cliff that, though steep and zig-zagging, had good footing and led us right to the ice bridge. The bridge formed from the ice shelves on either side of the river and spanned right across. The ice was still a couple feet thick, so we decided to use the bridge as our put in. Because the top of the ice was about 4' above the water, and the water below was only a few inches deep, we had to push each other along the ice, then ski-jump off the edge so that we wouldn't just nosedive into the bottom. It worked great - possibly my favorite put-in yet on the Verm.

Triple was decently sized and really splashy, which gave everybody a wake-up as the ice water hit our faces. Because of the huge ice ledges that lined the river, there were no eddies and no route except down the center.

At the bottom, Railroad hole was rockin'. It was at just the right level - big and retentive enough to keep things interesting and allow some tricks, but not so huge that you couldn't get out. There was some spin-o-matic action on the River Left shoulder, a couple of ends thrown in the pile (mostly by Graeme, who showed no rustiness at all), and a variety of interesting exit moves.

The ice really narrowed the channel through S-bend and forced you to ride right over the rocky area, but nobody got hung up too bad and everyone avoided the overhangs. The wave at the bottom was silky smooth and even allowed a couple slow spins.

That was in perfect contrast to Donut, which was raging. Because of the restricted flow from the ice shelves and the lack of plant growth and algae this early in the season, the water speed at Donut was unreal. I don't think that I've ever surfed faster moving water. To make it better, the foam pile was almost shoulder high and punchy. It would toss you around and pop you up in between your spins. Speaking of spins, wow. If you got into the right groove, you could get motion sick you were spinning so fast. The water on the shoulder was going fast enough that it would grab you ends and twirl you like a top. It was really a riot. The problem was that the river right eddy was largely blocked by an ice bridge, so if you couldn't catch the left one you were in Fisherman's before you knew it.

After that it was more ice-shelve dodging down to the take out, where nature had mercifully collapsed the shelf at the take out. Thanks to that, we could climb out pretty easily. The best news, however, was that our stairs at the top of the hill held up perfectly over the winter, making and area that normally required ropes to climb an easy walk.

All in all, it was an amazing day. Warm temps, good water, and good friends. Tough to beat. Check out Graeme's new British flag helmet! I'll try to get some on-river pics tomorrow. Until then, I think Nora should have some posted on her blog, so check it out!