Pick a side. Whether it’s New York vs. San Francisco, Puffy against Dre, Irons vs. Slater or sunrise against sunset, the battle of East vs. West is an argument for the ages. And Colorado is at the heart of it.
With the spine of the Continental Divide running down the middle of the state, Colorado finds itself in the unusual position of qualifying as both East and West when it comes to whitewater. Paddle the Platte and you’re headed toward the Atlantic. Kayak the Colorado and you’re off to the Pacific. And no matter on which side of the Divide you reside, if you’re a paddler, you’ve probably got a preference.
For some, it’s Poudre Falls near Fort Collins. For others, it’s Oh Be Joyful Creek at Crested Butte. The “U” Hole is the place to play for Denver boaters, while the “D” Hole is the spot in Steamboat. And while many Coloradans might see the squabble as small scale, for some, it’s a big deal indeed.
“It kind of makes me laugh that people from Denver think they’re from Colorado,” said Ken Hoeve, a professional kayaker from Gypsum. “Colorado is really the mountains. As soon as you cross over the Continental Divide, that’s when you’re really in Colorado. Denver is just another city. It might as well be Cincinnati, as far as I’m concerned.”
Hoeve’s stance in the East vs. West argument is partially in jest. As a competitor in the East vs. West kayak rodeo at the Teva Mountain Games in Vail this month, it’s practically his job to spray slurs against opponents from the East. Just know the other side can sling it right back.
“Just look at the Vail whitewater park versus what we have in Golden and along the Front Range,” said Gary Mullins, co-founder of the Golden Community Kayak Rodeo Series. “I don’t think so.”
More than 80 percent of Colorado’s water drains on the west side of the Continental Divide. Meanwhile, almost 90 percent of the state’s population lives along the Front Range, including a sizeable chunk of Colorado’s kayaking community that often relies on diversions across the Divide and seemingly erratic reservoir releases to supply its recreational demands. The question remains: Who’s got the best H2O?
“We have all their water anyway,” said Reed Koeneke of Arvada. “We already stole it all.”
Koeneke, 19, was among the three finalists representing the East at the Teva Games competition, and perhaps the team’s most vocal supporter of Front Range whitewater. He earned his spot during competition at Mullins’ rodeo series in Golden, and like many Colorado kayakers, he calls the Clear Creek whitewater park in Golden his favorite man-made feature in the state.
While the idea behind the East/West rodeo in Vail is to determine which side produces the top amateur freestyle kayakers in Colorado (the West won), for many there is an underlying contest over where the best wave or freestyle play features are found.
Front Rangers are proud of the whitewater parks they flock to. Whether it’s the Clear Creek park in Golden, Confluence Park or Union Avenue in Denver, Boulder Creek or a new park on the St. Vrain River in Lyons, the Front Range has some of the top man-made whitewater features in the state, if not the nation.
“I wish I spent more time on the river than in the play park, but it’s so convenient you can’t beat it after work or whatever,” said Koeneke, adding the Front Range offers its share of worthy river runs, when there’s water.
“We have a lot of great creeks on the east side that are really close, but the runoff happens really early in the season,” he said. “I mean, 15 minutes from Denver there’s everything from beginner stuff to Class V. My favorites are Bear Creek right out by Red Rocks or just about anything on Clear Creek. There’s some steep stuff up there.”
Ben Guska, representing the West from Glenwood Springs, isn’t buying what Koeneke’s selling.
“We have our own thing; they have theirs. It’s just that ours is better,” Guska said. “We have bigger rivers, a lot more play and the west side just rocks. That’s how we roll.”
Guska, 19, prefers the steep drops of Oh Be Joyful (falling an impressive 400 vertical feet over one mile) and the Crystal River Gorge (220 and 475 feet per mile over two miles) upstream from Carbondale. For big thrills, his top choice is a high-water run down the Barrel Springs section of the Colorado River through Glenwood Canyon, beginning with a raging rapid ominously named “Upper Death.”
For many of the competitors at the East/West rodeo, the top choice for whitewater fell into a bit of gray area. The Arkansas River, while technically flowing east from the Continental Divide, originates on Tennessee Pass near Leadville, far enough from the Front Range that it earns its own designation in a nod to the “719ers.” The whitewater parks at Salida and Buena Vista are favorites for paddlers East and West.
“I’d have to say the West has better rivers,” said Eric Bissel of Arvada. “My personal favorite is the Arkansas. I really like the playhole in Salida.”
“I like the Arkansas for its variety,” said Kasey Ankney of Vail. “The Pine Creek/Numbers section is one of my favorites, and Salida has an awesome whitewater park. One thing I will say about the whole state of Colorado is that we do build whitewater parks, we do build our community and we are growing the sport.
“We should utilize the rivers for our communities, and that’s what we do here. You can’t say enough about whitewater parks and what they do to promote the sport.”
They also do a pretty good job of promoting a good-natured rivalry.
Staff writer Scott Willoughby can be reached at 303-820-1993 or swilloughby@denverpost.com.
