Buena Vista – The gladiators of a new age in whitewater competition have arrived.
On the burliest stretch of the Arkansas River – a constricted jumble of rocks and river known as Pine Creek rapids – a new contest has arrived to the often tedious but initially spectacular freestyle and downriver races that have long characterized kayaking.
Tapping the wildly popular skiercross movement that has revitalized a tired ski racing scene, kayak race organizers now are hosting group races through often merciless whitewater. The padded paddlers jostle one another through carnivorous holes that punish anyone who falls into their foaming maw. They flop over waterfalls while jousting with other paddlers. As the daredevil boaters furiously push their boats through crowds, holes and drops, they are pushing the sport of kayaking into a new realm.
“A spectator who knows nothing about kayaking can watch and be amazed,” says Mark Olson, a Buena Vista kayaker who organized the first paddlecross race down Pine Creek rapids as a part of the Arkansas Valley’s 57- year-old FIBArk festival. “If we want our sport to get any mainstream attention, it takes a race like this. This is definitely where it’s at.”
About 30 expert kayakers drew more than 100 spectators to the rocks lining the Class IV-V Pine Creek stretch of the Arkansas River last weekend. The spectators got their fill of nasty swims through the famous Pine Creek hole – a river-wide keeper that rarely releases boaters intact and took the life of a swimming rafter this season.
“The whole feeling up there was just nervousness. The kayakers were scared, and that’s how we know it was top-notch,” says Chad Hixon, a Salida paddler who worked with Olson to stage the dangerous race.
Paddlecross races are emerging across the country and staging the race on the most difficult water is the hot new trend.
“It’s got a great future. It scares me silly,” says Tennessee professional kayaker Clay Wright, who aced the qualifying round of the Pine Creek race but opted not to compete in the four-at-a-time race. “If someone else messes, up, they can hurt you.”
The winner of the race, Oregon kayaker Andy Maser, nudged the first-place paddler into the super-sticky Pine Creek hole to take the lead and the top finish.
“It’s way more fun to compete like that,” he says. “It’s up close and personal.”
The spectators love it, too. The hundred rock-perched spectators at Pine Creek were genuinely frightened for the many off-line paddlers who fell into the stickiest hole on the river.
“The carnage factor is really high in this race,” Durango paddler Aaron Riggert says. “The spectators love that.”
Jason Blevins can be reached at 303-820-1374 or jblevins@denverpost.com.
