Gorgehits.com

Tshletshy Creek - Video

2011-09-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

Tshletshy Creek, WA

2011-07-08T17:30:00.001-07:00

Click on the image for the full Trip Report

Salmon River Gorge 2011

2011-06-29T01:02:00.000-07:00

Nuclear Flume 2011

2011-04-06T20:25:00.000-07:00

Click. Pay. Watch. Online Video Streaming

2011-02-04T21:31:00.001-08:00

Pay to View has just launched with instant access to whitewater Feature Films and access to the Northwest Video Scrapbook Series. Watch Instantly! Click Here for more..

Major Creek (West Fork Gorge), WA

2010-11-11T18:18:00.000-08:00

More info at gorgehits.com

Summit Creek, WA

2010-10-23T18:11:00.000-07:00

..more at gorgehits.com

West Fork Gorge

2010-04-13T23:16:00.000-07:00

Click HERE for the Video Update

NWVS #8 Bend, Oregon

2009-11-03T13:00:00.000-08:00

NWVS #8 – At Home in the Gorge – Final Big Screen Premiere
coming to Bend, Oregon November 19th. Get your copy of NWVS #8 – CLICK HERE Premiere details on the flyer..

Brought to you by Alder Creek, Bend
and Pyranha Kayaks

Exploring the Lava Tubes

2009-09-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

The Little White Salmon has always had a mysterious flow pattern during the winter months as the headwaters fill up and explode into the river. The lava flows in the headwaters have a lot to do with this pattern. Here is a short video from down in the hole..

The Next Chapter

2009-07-28T21:24:00.000-07:00

More at www.gorgehits.com

A Special Place

2009-07-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

Paddlers keep progressing and old runs are being paddled in new ways.

In this video Keel Brightman shows a place that few have been..

Music
Band: Scull Soup
Song: Toe Jam
www.myspace.com/scullsoup

Pyranha Karnali L

2009-07-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

The Karnali was released this season and rounds out the River Runner Series from Pyranha Kayak's whitewater range. Check out the Large Karnali in action on the Salmon River Gorge.

Music by: Sequence
Song: Turn me up
Album: Sample is as sample does
www.myspace.com/sequence1013

More Videos, Trip Reports, and local whitewater updates at www.gorgehits.com

2008-12-13T18:55:00.000-08:00

Local Video Premiere News

2008-12-03T15:35:00.000-08:00

This just in from Erik Boomer..
The latest edition to the State Series from LVM Video Premieres Friday December 5th at Everybody's Brewing in White Salmon, WA. details on the poster below

Hey everyone,
Just wanted to invite you all to have a good time at Everybody's Brewing
this Friday Night @ 9:00. There will be music, drinking, Video
(Including great carnage), drinking, Slideshow and did I mention the
booze?
The video covers two Quebec expeditions I was fortunate to go on this
fall, we ran big rapids on the oldest granite on earth! These two rivers
will be gone soon. It is such a crazy place!
The other half of the video focuses on California, Pat Kellers
chronicles and the boys at cali product served up a great segment.
Hope to see you all there.

Erik Boomer

Premieres - Past & Present

2008-11-25T14:11:00.000-08:00

On November 18th Idaho River Sports hosted Northwest Video Scrapbook #7 at the Sun Ray Cafe in Boise, ID. Thanks to Thule, NRS, Salamander Paddle Gear, Level Six, Ruff Wear, New River Gear, Crumpler, EveryWear, IRS, & B-Real for helping out with the raffle and helping to make an awesome show.

Thanks to Geoff Frank & Alder Creek Bend for all the help hosting the Northwest Video Scrapbook #7 premiere in Bend, OR on November 20th.

We are going to take a break from premieres for the holiday season and start the tour again in 2009 at Hopworks Urban Brewery
Portland, Oregon January 15th
Hosted by Next Adventure
No Cover / Show starts at 9pm
more details coming soon.

Enjoy the rivers and the Holiday Season!

#7 DVD's are in! / Stebbins Creek, WA Post Flood

2008-11-14T09:31:00.000-08:00

Northwest Video Scrapbook #7 DVD's are available. If your in or around Hood River stop by the The Kayak Shed and pick up your copy of the DVD while supplies last.

Enjoy and check out some recent NW action from the post flood on Stebbins Creek Washington below.

Stebbins Creek, Washington Post November Flash Flood 2008
This past week in the PNW was a phenomenal couple days of rain and water run off down the creeks and rivers! Mother nature kicked in and dumped rain for two days straight sending the rivers and creeks out of their banks, but it wasn't going to last long. Watching water levels during this was tough! I waited up until 1am to see the gauge refresh and it was still the same, everything was going straight up! The next morning at 5am, to my disbelief, the water was dropping very fast and had dropped almost as much as it came up.

For example:Literally, overnight we went from having only the White Salmon and other low water options to paddle to having too much water in the lower elevations! This takes most creek boaters back to dusting off their list and heading into the hills in search of the best option since the freezing level went above 7,000 feet. We had two in mind, but the first went way too high and that left us driving into the Upper reaches of the Washougal drainage to see if the water had dropped enough to run Stebbins Creek. At the take out we were pretty apprehensive seeing Mad Dog Falls pretty well covered with brown water rushing down the creek. Luke Spencer, who was the only previous Stebbins padder here said, "this looks like twice the flow that I've seen in here before!" Thinking back to the photos I had seen of Tsunami Falls, that sounded about right so optimism prevailed and we headed to the put in. We were 7 strong with 6 first timers and lots of water! This usually makes for an Epic day!

Staring into our creek from the top of the ridgeMy hat is off to the first explorers in this drainage. It's not often that I get so turned around on logistics that I feel totally lost, but I did here. After finding the trail we knocked out the 2 mile hike in about an hour and the water level looked a little more reasonable at the N.F. put in.

Dropping in on the NF with the confluence with the SF just down streamThe first half mile was great read and run boogie with one portage due to wood and then we came to the first big one. We scouted a beefy ledge drop, on river left, that had a long run out through some big fluffy reaction waves that lead directly into Jet boat Falls. We all had good lines here down to Jet boat. I gave Keel, Luke, & Tony verbal directions and they routed off the right side of the falls. We even had enough water that a few people ran the far left side of Jet Boat.

Tony on one of the bigger boulder gardens in the top section
photo by Luke Spencer
Dave Hoffman at the end of the bigger boulder garden
More eddy hopping and fun rapids later we had one more scout on a random rapid and then we arrived at the top of Lethal Injection. I knew it as soon as I peered over the horizon, sharp drop off with an extended wrap around wall on the right creating a pinched run out on the left that is blocked by huge old growth logs. (Note: these logs are half the size they were in previous photos taken here and it looks like they would get blown out in the next few years) We hiked up and over the left wall which dropped us on top of Tsunami Falls.

Deep in the portage around LI
"Now this is why we came here", Keel said, as I got fired up to drop in. Tsunami looked pretty stout, but the line looked fluffy and fast! The crux was making the turn behind the entry rock so you would miss the log in the first drop and keep going into the second, third, and fourth part.

Punching the hole on the first drop with the log on my right side

Heading into part 3 & 4 of Tsunami Falls

Scott Baker on Tsunami Falls
A few more followed the left lead in and then Luke decided to try his luck with the right side lead in line.

Luke Spencer dropping into the pit on the right side of Tsunami Falls
photo by TonyFrom where I was he dropped out of site long enough to get very concerned. Eveyone started to scramble for their ropes and then he came flying down the slide and back into a more hospitable place. Apparently the hole on the right side had stopped him when he dropped in and he was going into battle with with a very sticky whirlpool.

Luke exiting the first drop & heading downstream as fast as possible
Dan embracing the feelings we all had after Tsunami Falls
a day well spent!Everyone else ran Tsunami and we moved downstream at a quick pace. Our last scout was at the Zoom Tube. With an almost certain line into a seived out pile of wood in the center, Keel was the only taker on this one and he took the small amount of flow going far right past the mess of wood. The next section was some of the best read and run boogie water. We had picked up a little more flow below Tsunami and the already full creek was getting better. We came around the corner at the take out went off Mad Dog Falls and dropped into the swollen Washougal Rvier. This was one of the best days of paddling an exploratory creek in the gorge for me. The weather, flow, crew, and quality of rapids was a great mix on the Stebbins Creek Post Flood Mission 2008. Check out the video below.

Directions: For directions to this creek, as well as many others, check out the best source for exploratory creeks in the Pacific Northwest at Oregonkayaking.net

Flows: We had 12,000 cfs on the Washougal River when I left for the creek, we took off with the Washougal at 6,000 cfs. However, Stebbins did not seem to lose much water while we were on the creek.

*Photos Provided by Keel Brightman & Luke Spencer

Middle Kings Expedition 2008

2008-10-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

Rob Bart, Ethan Smith, Ryan Scott, & Keel Brightman took on the Middle Kings River in California in the summer of 2008 for an unforgettable 6 day self support paddling trip in some of the toughest whitewater that Cali has to offer. Check out the video below.

Music by:
I-MC
Way to Real
Cali Soul
www.inevitablemc.com
myspace.com/theinevitablemc

Click here for the full Trip Report on the Middle Kings

Stebbins Creek Teaser

2008-10-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

Stebbins Creek, WA at a high flow.
more of Stebbins Creek in Northwest Video Scrapbook #8

Check out the full Trip Report - click here

CRG Winter update 2008

2008-10-21T18:01:00.000-07:00

From Northwest Video Scrapbook #VI, the CRG Winter Update in 2008 features the Little White, Green Truss, Hagen Gorge, & the Condit Dam during the harsh winter conditions in the Columbia River Gorge.

Music by:
Sandpeople
Real Estate
www.sandpeople.com

True expedition style!

2008-10-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

Salmon River Canyon - Blitz Mission

It's always a treat when you return home from a big mission and have your local expedition come into play. Word spread that the Salmon River Canyon was a bit high last week and with that knowledge the mission was forming. The Seattle boys consisting of Paul Gamache, Scott Waidelich, Ben Hawthorne, & new B-ham resident Cody Howard rolled into town Friday night in proper form and saturday morning I woke up with a yard full of kayakers including Austin Rathmann and Rob Bart ready to get into the mission. After debating on how to run the shuttle, the logical idea was to load up 7 paddlers and boats into my rig, drive to the take out, and hike 6 miles up to the put in. The other option was to take two cars to the take out, drive a 3 hour shuttle (one way), run the river, drive another 3 hours in to get the put in car and a couple hours out and go home. With a 6 mile hike under our belts we had the car waiting at the bottom and 7 very excited paddlers scouting Split Falls. Highlights of the trip are different for everyone in this canyon for me the scenery, once again, was Epic, the waterfalls Epic, and two bros bombin Final Falls, EPIC!

Ben Hawthorne half way through the hike in

Scott Waidelich taking the first paddle strokes on the Salmon, dropping in above Split Falls

Paul Gamache on Split Falls

Rob Bart on the put in falls

Austin Rathmann left at Lil Niagra

Cody Howard charging Vanishing Falls

Paul exiting Vanishing Gorge

Cody on the only true rapid in the Canyon

Austin on Frustration part one
*Cody ran this shortly after and moved the new pice of wood in the LZ

Austin on Frustration part two

Scott dropping off Frustration part three

Austin running a new line on In Between

Paul Gamache decided that he had nothing better to do that day than have lunch at the top of Final and as EG would say, "run the stout". He was a bit too far right and corrected as he fell, but his boat didn't fully cooperate. Cody Howard watched Paul's line from above and decided to give it a go. The next thing I witnessed was the biggest dry hair line ever! Personally I like to run a waterfall, no matter how big, and not even get my face wet. This is why I don't run BIG waterfalls, I like to stay in front of the waterfall and stomp it, but the impact always has to go somewhere. Cody pulled that line on Final Falls and upon impact I think we all had a slight heart attack as we watched him land flat and float away upright. The next couple seconds were crucial....fist pumps and a paddle being thrown to the sky relieved us of our worst thoughts. Cody and Paul were fired up!!! After the disbelief wore off a bit we rallied to the take out and made it back to Hood before the sun went down.

Paul leading the charge on Final Falls

Cody Howard Huckin Huge

The final piece of the Salmon Canyon puzzle, the elusive gauge rock

*The flow was on the low side of good and I don't think it will hold much longer!
The next day we were all beat down, but we couldn't let Cody go home without seeing the L-Dub. After all his first paddle strokes in the PNW were off of the waterfalls of the SRC and he left no runnable drop unrun.

Props to Paul and Cody for steppin' it up on Final Falls and thanks to Paul & Ben for the use of the photos!

FINAL FALLS UPDATE August 30, 2008
On July 30th, Keel Brightman & I went back into the Salmon River Canyon. Both of us have been there a few times each and were confident that we could make this a quick day mission, but this also requires leaving the climbing rope behind due to weight on the 6 mile hike in & dealing with it at Final. The first time I was in this canyon this is how we did it, but committing to a 70 foot cliff jump takes a little acceptance. Acceptance that once your in that position, you have no choice but to jump or run Final Falls. To keep things moving along on this trip we committed to jumping Final Falls. The run went smooth as we ran most of the falls blind since I had been in there 4 days before.

Once at the top of Final Keel & I were stoked there was only one more major obstacle in our way. I walked over to the lone tree on river right and spotted my landing in the whitewater below. Now I know that Luke Spencer & Mike Northrop had hit bottom the previous year, but after reviewing the video it appeared that they just stepped off and didn't make it into the LZ of the falls. So that was my plan, take one big step, and land in the whitewater coming out of the falls as I had a few years earlier. I stepped out, had good free fall, and spotted my landing all the way to the bottom, braced for impact, went under, and spread my body to slow my descent. Just before I went all the way down I hit the sandy floor below the falls, maybe 8-10 feet underwater.

Once I swam to the side I warned Keel, but he was in a position to take news like that and put it in the back of his mind because that couldn't get him down any easier. He jumped and landed just left of where I did (a little closer to the Falls) and said he hit bottom pretty hard. Luckily, we both have a tendency to scollop our body's under water after a cliff jump to slow ourselves down as soon as we hit water. So after the last 4 people to jump Final Falls have hit bottom in various spots in the pool we decide we will never jump from river right again. River left may still be good, but it is much more intimidating than the right side. Needless to say, If you go into the SRC take a climbing rope, you will need it!

Let the Games Begin!

2008-10-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

The game we were after was expedition kayaking at its finest.

*Rule one of any game - you can only get better by playing an better opponent.

Our opponent was completing a run down the infamous Middle Fork of the Kings River in California. Now we were not exactly planning this mission or training day after day for this particular run, but with two days notice Keel Brightman and I found ourselves on a trip with Ethan Smith and Rob Bart after the rest of the crew had gone in a few days before. Rob was at the take out so Keel, Ethan, and I set out on Phase one - Drive all day long to Kings Canyon (our take out).

Rob Bart and our fearless shuttle driver, Becca
Soon we were in Phase two - Drive our 7.5 hour shuttle to the trail head at Bishop Pass and start the hike. As we soon found out, you do not want to hike in with all your gear and no overnight permits. Team Raw Dawg had some trouble with the permit system and had to walk all the way back down from the top of the pass. It was late in the day so this also meant that we had to wait until the next day to get permits and hike in. With the opponent throwing sucker punches we set up camp and started our hike at 9am the next morning.

Phase 3 proved to be the toughest as we had to hike 12 miles in, over Bishop Pass, and descend into the Middle Fork of the Kings River. A couple recommendations for Phase 3 - *Take bug spray, trust me! I hate the stuff, but not as bad as I hate being swollen for 3 days due to the attack efforts of the little flying demon skeet's, they're not too bad below 7,000ft. *Test your back pack system way in advance, the longer you have to deal with it there, the longer you have to look up at Bishop Pass. also, make sure the plastic buckles on your carrying system can hold up to 80+lbs. without breaking. *Train for the hike, once again, trust me! I trained for the whitewater and not really the hike, and it was a little worse than I thought.

Phase 4 - Take the river one day at a time and one rapid at a time, but this phase will last for days on end and is not negotiable no matter how much you plead, the river gods can't hear you in this canyon. 43 miles of non stop whitewater dropping over 7,000 vertical feet after you hike over 12,000 ft. Bishop Pass to access the river.

This was my first High Sierra run and words can't fully describe the trip or the place. We were on the river for 5 long days before we made it to the bottom of Kings Canyon and it was the toughest experience in my life in many ways. No carnage to speak of, but plenty challenging and intense moments for everyone. Thanks to Todd Anderson of Team Pyranha for the use of the Everest, sick expedition boat! I'll let the pics tell the story from here on out, enjoy.

Photos Courtesy of Keel Brightman Photography - and Willy

L-Dub In Depth - Summer 1993

2008-10-01T22:04:00.000-07:00

With the low water blues going on in the Pacific Northwest I decided to post some classic low water footage from back in the day when the Little White was fresh on the creek boating scene. Here is part of the L-Dub In Depth that will be released in Northwest Video Scrapbook #7 on November 1st.

Paddlers in this video include:
Ron Reynier, Jeff Bennett,
Cal Diller, Scott Downey,
Eric Grimm, Charles Kersch,
David Krick, Roger Stewart,
Elizabeth Tarr, Scott Timmer,
Phil Unsworth, Shewn Wichstrom,
Tom Wolfe, & Mark

*The Local Hero Tour Dates will be released soon!

Northwest Video Scrapbook 7 Trailer

2008-10-01T14:34:00.000-07:00

Northwest Video Scrapbook 7 coming out November 1, 2008
A few notable trips this summer that will be included in the disc are: *3 days on the Middle Feather, CA *2 trips to the Salmon River Canyon, OR *5 days on the Middle Kings, CA *Succor Creek, OR *New adventures on Eagle Creek, OR *Big air at the Upper Clack Fest *Part One of the L-Dub In Depth *The boys at the Beaver Lodge have been keeping the Gorge exciting this summer with Kenobi, Lewis, Silver, UpperUpper, multiple sheriff calls at the L-Dub and much more.. Check out the preview below. Northwest Video Scrapbook 7 releasing November 1, 2008!

Contents Include:
CRG Summer Update 2008
Middle Feather, CA (Devil's Canyon)
Cali Summer by Chris Korbulic
Middle Kings River, CA
Succor Creek, OR
LNF Clearwater, ID
L-Dub In Depth Summer 1993 & 2008
some carnage
and much more..

Music - I have had the pleasure of working with quite a few great local musicians over the past year, here are a few that will be featured in Northwest Video Scrapbook #7

I-MC - Bay Area, CA - www.inevitablemc.com
www.myspace.com/theinevitablemc

Quandry - Salem/Portland OR - www.quandryband.com

Everyday Prophets - Portland, OR - www.everydayprophets.com

The Crafty Bastards - Bellingham, WA

Richard Tillinghast , White Salmon, WA - www.richardtillinghast.com

CRG Productions News

2008-09-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

We at Columbia River Gorge Productions are pleased to announce our new project with CGN-7, a new show titled 'Out There', which highlights various adventure sports in and around the Columbia River Gorge. You can check out Out There Episode One at columbiagorge.com (click on CGN-7 and look for 'Out There') featuring Bungee Jumping over Canyon Creek, WA, Kiteboarding on the Columbia River, and kayaking in Oregon's Salmon River Gorge. Check back each month for a new episode and new adventures.

The PDX Kayaker Film Festival is back for 2008 continuing the growth and excitement of whitewater paddlers in and around the Portland, Oregon area. The Film Fest will also include a 15 minute sneak peak of CRG Production's Northwest Video Scrapbook #7 before the main feature as well as event coverage from one of the most active years for whitewater racing in the Northwest. The PDX Film Fest will be held on Friday Oct. 10th, more info go to www.pdxkayaker.org

*Northwest Video Scrapbook 7 Tour Info coming soon..

Toxic Waters Weekend in Hood River

2008-09-21T17:15:00.000-07:00

Nate Herbeck's 2nd white water release Toxic Waters had the World Premiere in Hood River, OR. Here is a glimpse of some of the action and premiere highlights from another great weekend in the Gorge.

Music by: Jesse Becker &

Son of Rust
Falling Down
Vicious Cycles
www.sonofrust.com

Missing Chapter from VI

2008-09-15T20:02:00.000-07:00

Early on in Northwest Video Scrapbook VI there is a short edit on Nate Herbeck's recent release, Toxic Waters. It shows the weekend fun on the local rivers with the friends that were in town during that time, but little of the premiere was cut into the final copy of the video. So here, for your viewing pleasure is the missing raffle segment from the Toxic Waters HR Premiere.

If you haven't seen Toxic Waters yet, check out Liquidkayak.com for more info.

Pacific Coast

2008-07-06T13:25:00.000-07:00

Photo Drop

L-Dub In Depth

2008-07-03T11:55:00.001-07:00

It's July 3rd and the Little White is still holding at 3.6 Feet! There has been some wood moving around below Spirit the last few days, here's a short video of what it's been doing... The right channel of the rapid below Chaos, right after the portage, is blocked off by a log, same log that was in Chaos..

The video below is the start of a Little White video series, L-Dub In Depth, that will be part of Northwest Video Scrapbook 7, coming in November 2008. L-Dub In Depth will show the locals favorite & not so favorite lines on the many rapids on the Little White Salmon. Here's the first, starting with Master Blaster, enjoy and look for more from this video series in the near future.

*Check back soon for the Scary Ferry

Little White Salmon Update 7/1

2008-07-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

New wood in Chaos!
There has been random trees falling in the lower section of the river for the past couple months. Some of the debri has scattered and we found one piece in a bad spot yesterday! Think you need anything else to worry about with running this section, here's more intimidation factor....

Check out this video from last year, June 26-30, 2007, with the Little White Running at 2.4 Feet
*This was our last good rally down the L-Dub last season.

*Check back in a couple days for more updates on the Little White

CRG Spring/Summer Update

2008-06-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

*L-Dub - June 22 - 3.8 Feet
It's June 22 and the Little White is still running at 3.8 feet and holding strong! It's been a long time, if ever, since the local paddlers here in the gorge have had this much water in mid June to help float through the summer and fall. There is a new log just above Spirit that has fallen into the river. It broke just enough to leave an entrance to the falls, but stay far left to get around to the normal protage.

* FR 23, Randal to Trout Lake is still closed due to snow - Gail Falls at HIGH water
June 15th 2008, a small group from the CRG made the long drive to Portland, around Mt St. Helens ,and into the Cisup drainage to attempt a run down McCoy Creek. The higher flow drove us away and turned us into the classic tourist traveler. We scouted Gail Falls since with the Cispus river flowing at 2,900cfs. When Nate and I scouted this last fall it was running at 500cfs, needless to say, no one was willing to try it today, but it was impressive to see what the logs would do when we threw them off the falls. We decided to look at FR 23 to see if we could cut a couple hours off of the drive home, unfortunately we were blocked off by snow at about 3,000 feet before the short cut around the land slide. We also found a few more tourists stuck due to the snow covered road. We helped push out their truck and started our drive back around St. Helens and into the Gorge returning 4 hours later.

Gail Falls running @ 2,900 cfs
30 miles from home and still 4 hours away...

*Kenobi Gorge, WA - FR 88 - 6 bolts showing on the culvert gauge
June 1, 2008 - LJ Groth, Lane Jacobs, Michael, Max, Matt Gaudette, & Marshal dropped into Kenobi Gorge at the 40 ft. slide (Kessel Run) and ran through Beggars canyon which had some new wood in it off the right bank and made the exit from Sarlacc Falls and into Suppercollider a much harder line than on previous trips that I've seen. Scout before you drop into the lower canyon! You can check out OregonKayaking.net for more info on Kenobi Gorge.

Matt Gaudette running Sarlacc Falls in Beggars canyon

Lane Jacobs in the middle of the Kessel Run

*North Fork of Green Point Creek of the West Fork of the Hood River Update
Since my last trip on this run the Cascade Mt.'s had a tough winter. Keel & I decided that this creek needed another look at a higher level to determin if this could be a run over and over. It's not very far away, you can drop in on the WF of the Hood and take out at the normal take out if you want to continue down Green Point, and there is no flat water anywhere in the NF. That combined with what harsh winter conditions can do to a small creek made our trip on June 6, a mile long portage through dense undergrowth consisting from small vines, nettles, devils club, and soft loose ground providing little footing. I ran one rapid and was so gripped because of the log jam below my last chance, must make eddy that I decided trying to run this creek was stupid at this point. I hiked the rest of the creek passing by many more logs in bad spots for a kayaker. Bruised and beaten down, Keel & I called it quites, hiked up an unknown road from the confluence with the NF and Green Point, and back up to the put in car 4 miles away. I lost count of the log portages we had, but we only went less than a mile, I paddled one scary rapid, then we hike 4 miles out. A big change from last year where we had two portages and paddled everything else on the NF...maybe this one will clean out sometime, but I won't be returning anytime soon.

Trying to clear out the lead in to the steeps on the NF..

Here are a couple more pics from the past few weeks...

Hiking around Tunnel Falls on Eagle Creek

Rattlesnake over 4 ft, perfect!

*Check out the new video, Spring Update, and enjoy the water, it's a rare year here in the Pacific Northwest

M.F. Feather, CA - Day 3 (Devil's Canyon)

2008-06-12T16:54:00.000-07:00

That morning I woke up to the Cali weather I had been dreaming of since we put on the river. We took advantage of the hot rocks to dry our gear and had a mellow morning getting ready. On the previous day the river seemed to be picking up more flow and getting on the 'filled in' side. Our first scout in the canyon was a recommended portage, but there was a good line. Zack showed us how it was done and a few of us followed. We continued downstream and found many more rapids as Devil's Canyon built into a big cascade below Pyramid rapid.

Boof in Slide day 3

The scenery was starting to change

Matt Gaudette running the double drop on day 3

...Pyramid Rapid

Rod Bart (top) & Shawn Lonin (below) at Pyramid Rapid

After Pyramid the river dropped over a ledge with a dangerous house sized rock in mid flow with water going under it. Most of us jumped on the portage trail on river right and walked the entire cascade of whitewater we saw downstream. Keel decided to hang back and roll through it with the R2 crew. We hiked down below, had lunch, and waited on the boys to paddle through. Everything worked out for them in the final drop, however, Keel underestimated the gradient loss at the bottom and finished up the line with positive beta from Jay who was a good distance downstream.

Looking down into the portage

Ethan Smith dropping in after the portage

The only mandatory rapid on day 3 - Helecotpter

Helecopter was our last scout and everyone bombed through this one after another. We paddled more great read & run, including Grande Finale rapid, down to the take out bridge and caught our shuttle out of the canyon. This take out is also the put in for Bald Rock Canyon, the hardest section on the MF, and it was hard to leave this river knowing that it would be possible to drop in right now. The shuttle logistics on the other hand would have to be dealt with so we reluctantly gave in and saved this one for another day. Part of the crew headed south and the rest of us went north, both in search of the same thing!

*Check back next week for a CRG Spring Update...
L-Dub * Kenobi * NF Greenpoint and more..

M.F. Feather, CA - Day 2 (Franklin Canyon)

2008-06-07T16:36:00.000-07:00

Day two started out with the crew trying to dry out paddling and sleeping gear in the rain by the fire. Once we had boats loaded our first big rapid was right around the corner from camp. We scouted Franklin Falls, fired it up, and made our way deeper into the canyon.

Jay Gifford at the entrance to Franklin Canyon

Dropping in on Franklin Falls - wake up rapid, day 2

Matt Gaudette & Rob Bart scouting in the middle of the canyon

The rapids seemed to get bigger as we moved further downstream and every scout revealed a clean line through these classic pool drop rapids.

Rob Bart dropping in on the day 2 double drop

Jay Gifford cleaning up day 2 double drop

Duck the rock ledge and try to boof....

Jay on one of the many read & run rapids on day 2

Dan & Dave cleaning lines and lovin life

Having this many paddlers on a self support trip is entertaining to say the least. I've paddled with all but 3 of the paddlers in our group before this trip. The 3 paddlers that I had just met were obviously very skilled and even on day 1 everyone in the group felt good about our overall crew. The second night at camp I listened to Rob and Zack talk about some of the rapids that we would come across on our final day in the canyon. Words like: Pyramid Rapid, mandatory portage, a mandatory run through Helecopter Rapid, Double drop with a BIG hole at the bottom, a good step up in whitewater... these were enough to stir some mixed feelings when your faced with the inevitable. The fact that no matter what we are waking up in the morning, putting on the river, and dealing with all of these features that wait downstream, personally I was in heaven. Camped on a sandy beach on the side of the Pacific Crest Trail at the top of Devil's Canyon proper on the Middle Fork of the Feather, fueled by the two previous days of challenging but fun whitewater in a fully loaded boat, and everything I needed would fit neatly into my craft for one final day on my first Cali overnighter.....It really doesn't get much better than that!

*check back next week for Day 3 in Devils Canyon proper.

M. F. Feather, CA - Day 1

2008-06-03T16:28:00.001-07:00

Middle Fork of the Feather, California (Devils Canyon section - 32.5 mile self support in 3 days)
Last minute plans always seem to work themselves out...Memorial Day weekend was a good time to celebrate and California was the place to be. We ended up on the M.F. of the Feather River and even with rain in the forecast for most of the trip it turned out to be 3 perfect days of kayaking on an amazing self support trip. Rob Bart & Zack were the two veterans of this run and informed us that almost everything was read & run and high quality!

Part of the crew getting ready at the put in
John Boone on one of the many rapids like this on day 1
We had a couple scouts on day one in the first canyon, but mostly just great read and run whitewater all the way to camp. The run is broken down into three seprate canyons with Devils Canyon proper on day 3. We paddled an estimated 11 miles on day one and anticipated a step up in whitewater the following day dropping into Franklin Canyon.

Dan & Dave from Tahoe getting into the goods

Richard running one of 3 lines on this rapid

Boone, Jay, Dave, Dan, Zack,& Ethan at camp

all photos courtesy of Keel Brightman Photography

*check back next week for the action on day 2

Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival 2008

2008-05-28T17:47:00.000-07:00

The Upper Clackamas River Festival has been going for 25 action packed years and this year proved that the Festival is still rolling strong. With a record high water level, 7,800cfs on saturday quickly rising over 9,000cfs on sunday, all the compeditors were excited to say the least. Day one was packed full of events starting with the Mass start Playboat Race...

and rolling into the IK Mass Start, Drift Boat Slalom, Oar Boat Slalom, High School Cup, and the Sotar West Coast Downriver Championship.

The last event of the day got the crowd going again at the Big Air Ramp. We took a few practice runs and then had two chances to 'wow' the crowd and make it to the final round where one trick could take the win.

There were varieties of tricks and styles with many paddlers huckin off this ramp. I took first in the Big Air Comp and fellow Hood River local, Todd Anderson dominated the Mass start Playboat Race and the Boater X the following morning. After the events on Saturday everyone took a break at Lockaby Campground courtesy of Next Adventure's Famous BBQ and the entertainment started with Year of the Cat, some adventurous local catarafters, followed by Northwest Video Scrapbook VI, more info on that here, and the festivities continued with David Elliott and Surefire. Other events followed that evening that were not part of the festival, such as how to plastic weld a boat by headlamp....

The next morning the events started with the Boater X, 4 paddlers at once had to navigate through set gates in the middle of Carter's Rapid flowing @9,500cfs. Shortly after the Catarafts, Ik's and Pro-Guides Slalom Race battled it out for top spots.

Once again Thank You to all the Volunteers, Organizers, and Sponsors for the 2008 Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival. Check upperclackamasfestival.org for 2008 race results and more on next years events.

*I've had a few close answers on the Free video give away, one more week left...

*What's better than dreamin of California boating?
Dreaming in California, on a sandy beach, 22 miles into a 32 mile multi day.....check back next week for an update.

Win a free video * Upper Clack Fest Brief

2008-05-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

With every video I put out I do a free video giveaway with a local trivia question. The last one was a L-Dub Spirit Falls history question back in December.

This one is a 'guess this waterfall question'. There is more than one copy up for grabs so send in you best guess!
Below is a picture from a recent expedition in the Pacific Northwest. We were in there for 2 days and ended up above this big waterfall that is listed on NW waterfall web sites and local trail maps, so if you can name this waterfall you will receive a free copy of Northwest Video Scrapbook VI shipped directly to you.

*also, check out the video here for more hintsPost in the comments with your best guess or email crgproductions@gmail.com
This giveaway will go until June 2nd. I will post the location of this waterfall as well as a TR on the expedition on June 3rd.

In other local news....
The Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival was bigger and better than ever! Thanks to all the organizer's & volunteer's for the hard work to make it an outstanding event!

Mass start through Carter's Rapid with the water level on the rise

Luke Spencer testing out the Big Air Ramp just before the competition

*Check back next week for a full report on the Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival 2008

Succor Creek, Oregon

2008-05-12T09:53:00.000-07:00

We got up the morning after the Northwest Video Scrapbook VI premiere feeling good and ready for an adventure and luckily Succor creek was running at 110 cfs. Mike said that he had been there at this flow and lower so we were all in for a new creek. Little did we know at the time, but we were in for a LONG day! We headed to Homedale and were right on the OR & ID border as we drove into Succor Creek Canyon. Once we turned onto the gravel road we could see the walls way ahead that we would be driving through and following the creek. 15 miles later we were at the take out wondering if the 110cfs that we saw under the bridge was enough to get us through the day. At about that time, I remembered that I forgot to ask a very important question for paddling in this area, "How long is this shuttle?"
Mike answered quickly, "we just drive up the road 7 miles and put on."
We loaded up and drove up the gravel road, getting a quick view of the creek in one spot and running into a heard of wild horses taking their time to cross the road. We parked beside a barb wire fence and got dressed in the warm weather. We couldn't see the creek and Jesse asked Mike, "How far are we hiking in, 1 mile or so?"Mike gave a grin and said, "no, It's right over there. We don't hike in Idaho!" Good to hear! We crossed the fence and made our way over to the ditch with water in it. The view downstream looked amazing, once we tured the first corner everyone bailed out to grab their cameras. The walls ross hundreds of feet over head with the classic Eastern OR, western ID scenery. It reminded me of the canyon on the Jarbridge/Bruneau as we approached the walls.

Mike Copeland entering the canyon

The rapids started quick once we were in. Many boat width wide slots and blind corners kept us scouting at every drop. The rapids were not big, but the constant presents of sieves and ongoing horizon lines made it interesting to say the least. We made it down to a rapid called Swisher Sweets that Mike said has been run once. Tricky, but doable. Keel stuck it first,
Jesse made it through..
and I tried a different approach....
Not pretty, but I made it. We all laughed about the mank and headed downstream. We came to a pinched off area that Mike called the Italian Pinch. I gave Keel verbal directions after a quick scout and jumped in to follow.
We made it into an eddy on the left above what looked like a nasty drop with a huge rock slab in the landing with water going under and around it. There was one place to possibly run the drop with out getting mangled. (Keep in mind that we put in on 110 cfs and said line is in one of three seprate channels) We all saw this line, but no one was willing to give it except Keel. He dropped in slow and made the move from left to right, subbed out at the bottom of a 8 foot spout just long enough to make us wonder what was going on and then popped up in the boat width wide channel on the right.We took a break and talked about the line. Apparently he was the first to run this drop and we all asked, "What's the name of it now?" Keel was reluctant to name this rapid being the humble guy that he is, but later in the trip he called it 'Mojo'. We continued downstream at a slow pace. Many, many, many slots and pinch turns later we came to another steep section. I got out to scout on the left and saw a very tight, long lead in to a bigger horizon line. I ran back up to give verbal directions, but was unsure what was on the downstream side of the horizon.

Lost in the read and runI caught an eddy just above it and took awhile scouting this one. So far the scout and portage options had been great and at the bigger rapids half of the group would scout from one side of the creek and the other half would get out on the other side. Keel & I ended up on creek left and after a long look we decided to walk it. The line on this one was pretty thin and landing on top of a sieve and riding it out did not seem like a fun option.

We put back on and headed downstream. At this point we had been on the creek for hours. We were all starting to feel the long day and I personally was ready to be out of the canyon since we had a 6 hour drive back home that night. We came to yet another scout and made the call to take a lunch break. Mike informed us that we were about half way through the run...

Once the lunch break was over we had a few miles of boogie water and read and run rapids. One rapid in particular tighened up and I decide to keep rolling with it, it turned to the left and all of a sudden I came to move that I've never had to do before...There was a huge patch of weeds growing in mid creek, no where else to go or stop, boof through the weed patch! I came out the other side laughing as I looked back a saw Jesse have to make the same move....only on Succor I though to myself. We had a series of ledges after this and I was starting to get into the serious read and run stage. I boat scouted the top and dropped in, they were all pretty straight forward. I later found out that was Triple drop. A few miles of mellow whitewater lead us to the final canyon. This was a highlight of the trip, no hard whitewater, but unbelivable scenery! Classic high desert canyon with caves in the walls, rock spires rising high over head, and with all the great scenery the take out bridge came sooner than I thought. As soon as you round the final bend and the canyon walls are in the background, your at the take out.

We ended up taking 8 hours geeking out on scenery...we're not used to the dry desert canyons (big change in scenery from say the LW or Eagle Creek). At the take out we were all stoked on our decision with Succor Creek that day and agreed that if we see the gauge at 300cfs, we're driving back to this corner of the state. We loaded everything up and started our long drive home making it back in the wee hours of the morning.

Premiere in Bellingham, WA

2008-05-10T08:32:00.000-07:00

A weekend in Boise, ID

2008-05-05T11:26:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the World Premiere of Northwest Video Scrapbook VI in Boise, Idaho. We rolled into the state late after a long drive from Hood River. We woke the next morning to the Climax wave and after an hour long session Mike Copeland arrived with more whitewater options.
We slowly made our way up to Banks for lunch then drove up to look at the N.F., and decided to have a stress free day on the S.F. of the Payette with about 3,400 cfs of great playboating.

Playing on the S.F of the Payette, ID

We made it to the take out just in time to load up and rally to the premiere held at O'Michaels Pub and Grill. It was great to see the crowd of Boise locals show up, everyone had a good time and we started making plans for the next day.
Some of the options included: Put in on the N.F. Payette running at 3,200 cfs, see if Succor creek is running in the morning, or go for a possible first D on a small ID creek that may or may not have water in it.

The drive into Succor Creek Canyon the next day

Succor Creek, Oregon

Check back next week for the full Trip Report on Succor Creek, Oregon.
Thanks to Mike Copeland for getting the Idaho crew together for the premiere.

Also, your next chance to see Nothwest Video Scrapbook VI on the big screen is in Bellingham, Washington, May 14th. Details are on the poster below

Northwest Video Scrapbook VI - World Premiere

2008-04-29T13:28:00.000-07:00

O.k. after days, weeks, months, & years of work, Northwest Video Scrapbook VI will be premiering in Boise, ID this weekend, Saturday May 3rd. details below...

Just to give you an idea on where Northwest Video Scrapbook from, I have been kayaking and exploring here in the Columbia River Gorge for over 9 years now and I have met so many paddlers and friends along the way. Northwest Video Scrapbook was developed just for those people, the paddlers and friends that I have been lucky enough to paddle with, explore new adventures, and run some amazing whitewater with. There are so many paddlers in the Pacific Northwest and most tend to stay in local groups as most paddlers have their favorite stretches of whitewater close by, but when flows and conditions are right these paddlers venture out and cross over into other paddlers backyard runs. I have consistantly explored this area and after 9 years I still feel as if I haven't even scratched the surface of exploring the rivers and creeks here.

The reason this release is called VI is because it is the sixth disc I have put together. The first five were given away to friends as they were made just for fun (These chapters can be seen on Oregonkayaking.net under 'Video Journals of Ryan Scott'), this disc picks up where those left off and I have included editing and cinematography from a few local paddlers, Jacob Cruser has edited a chapter from his recent adventures & Austin Rathmann has edited an Eagle Creek mission and his monumental Charlie Munsey Interview is a must see! I also brought in music from our local bands, and I've made the step toward premiering this video so more local paddlers can enjoy. I have no sponsors for this film, just the help of a few friends along the way and this will become an ongoing local series for you, the local PNW paddlers. enjoy.

I have decided to make a small quantity of this video to see how the interest goes, I am still in the process of setting up the 'buy now' feature on the site. If you would like a copy of the video before then you can contact me at crgproductions@gmail.com.

$15 per video and the contents include:

Intro-your PNW paddlers
Sullivan Creek, Washington
6 Mile Creek, Alaska
Hoffstadt Creek, Washington
Jacob Cruser's PNW missions
Toxic Waters Weekend in Hood River
Vancouver Island's very own, Gordon River
CRG Winter Update - It's been cold this winter
Wind River Race 2008
Canyon Creek Race 2008
Sunset Freestyle 2008
Charlie Munsey Interview - brought to you by Humbled by Water
CRG Spring Classics - Hike n Huck on Eagle Creek, Oregon
Working on plan B - Carnage reel
and more...

Extras include:
SOP - How to save your broken boat
SOP - 'The Bolen'
Jacob Cruser and crew on Eagle Creek, OR
B.C. main land Trip Report
Slide Show by Keel Brightman Photography
Litte White Celebration Day - April 27th, 2008

Music by: A band called L.I.F.E., Scull Soup, Quandry, Sandpeople, Silversafe, Son of Rust, Jesse Becker, Ari Lessser, & the infamous Fred Mackintire.

This weekend kicks it off and more premiere dates and details can be seen here on the Premieres page.
If you have any questions, comments, or if you would like a copy of Northwest Video Scrapbook VI contact me at crgproductions@gmail.com

A brief look at the Little White Race 2008

2008-04-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

The Little White Race 2008 was a tough 2 days of racing! Saturday was the down river race from the top of Gettin Busy to the pool below Wishbone Falls. Sunday was the Giant Slalom at Boulder Sluice Rapid. 7 Gates set up by John Grace, Austin Rathmann, and Erik Boomer made up a very tricky section! Two runs totaled together, and combined with the previous days time made up the overall score. Here are a few shots from the weekend courtesy of Keel Brightman Photography.

Lana Young at the starting line

Geoff Calhoun leaving the starting line, more than 15 minutes of racing from here to the end!

Jono Ramsey making the move at gate # 4

Todd Anderson making his way through the last few gates

Todd taking a post race free fall while Geoff watches from below

Nick Urquhart on Spirit Falls

Joe Stumpfel airing it out, C-1 style!

John ended up with most of the video so keep checking LVM TV for results, more on the Little White Race 2008, and more of the Giant Slalom Races.

Events and Deadlines...

2008-04-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

The Canyon Creek Race on Saturday was a blast! It was great to see so many people show up for the event and a HUGE thanks to all the organizers for setting it up and bumping the event back about a month for better flows, as well as Mike Olsen for hosting the big party!

The crew at the finish line

Brian Little taking home 1st in Men's K-1 Advanced

Paul Gamache and Scott Waidelich cleaning up the R2 class

A small group of us went up for a run on Copper Creek early Sunday morning and made it back just in time for the freestyle event at Sunset Falls, which was very entertaining!

Todd Baker dropping the big falls on Copper Creek

Josh McKeown in the final five canyon

Highlights from the freestyle event include Paul Gamache and Jim Busse attempting a freewheel in the R2, Todd Anderson dropping from the river left into the main falls (seal launch to free fall to plug), and the under age crew, Devin M., Rob V., and many others, running all the lines every which way you can think of off of Sunset Falls. Todd Anderson took home the gold in this event and you can see all the action in Northwest Video Scrapbook VI.

Jim Busse's first try at the open boat

One of the many raft lines off Sunset

After the events we stopped by Big Tree Falls on the way out to see if the warm weather had brought up the flow for this nice park n huck. It looked a little low, but we did have one paddler in the group give it a go, twice.

Devin Morton running Big Tree Falls

Devin on the exit drop

Now from one great race and on to another! We are anxiously awaiting the Little White Race this coming weekend with a slight bump up in the level this past weekend it's sitting at 3.5 feet right now and everyone seems to be pretty fired up! The downriver section of the race will be held on Saturday the 19th and it will start from just below the entry rapid in Gettin Busy to the pool below Wishbone Falls. Get out there and find the race lines, there are many on this section of the river!For more details on the Little White Race check out the latest post from LVM TV

I have updated the contents for Northwest Video Scrapbook VI to include the Canyon Creek Race 2008 & Sunset Freestyle 2008 as well as these contents:

Intro-your PNW paddlers
Sullivan Creek, Washington
6 Mile Creek, Alaska
Hoffstadt Creek, Washington
Jacob Cruser's PNW missions
Toxic Waters Weekend in Hood River
Vancouver Island's very own, Gordon River
CRG Winter Update - It's been cold this winter
Events - Wind River Race 2008, Canyon Creek Race 2008, & Sunset freestyle 2008
Charlie Munsey Interview brought to you by Humbled by Water
CRG Spring Classics - Hike n Huck on Eagle Creek, Oregon
Working on plan B - Carnage reel
Slide Show by Keel Brightman Photography
and much more...

Music includes: A band called L.I.F.E., Scull Soup, Quandry, Sandpeople, Silversafe, Son of Rust, Jesse Becker, & the infamous Fred Mackintire.

Northwest Video Scrapbook Disc VI will be premiering at the Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival on May 17th, as well as other venues and dates throughout the Pacific Northwest in May and June. Check the premieres page here for shows in your local area.

Gordon River, Vancouver Island, B.C.

2008-04-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a trip up north before finishing up the final stages of N.W.V.S. VI. Here is an update from our trip to Vancouver Island.

One of the many waterfalls hidden on Vancouver Island

Our first stop on the trip was the Gordon River which lies on the west side of Vancouver Island tucked away in a maze of logging roads and coastal mountains. At the end of the road on the west side of Van Island sits the small fishing town of Port Renfrew. This town was our base for four days as we battled the winter time conditons on the island. The crew cosisted of Kim and Christina Russell, Todd Baker, Josh Mckeown, Austin Rathmann, Christie Glissmeyer, Jay Gifford, Rob Bart, Jono Ramsey, and I.

Day One, Monday March 24, 2008

Take out for the lower section on the Gordon River
*Photo Jay Gifford

The put in for the upper section
*Photo Jay Gifford

Day two - Tuesday
Tuesday morning started off rough for a few members of the group as we decided to close down the local bar, it wasn't too hard since last call was at 9:45pm, and the fresh inch or two of snow in town was enough to slow the pace that morning.

The crew, trying to motivate

Take out for the middle Gordon and put in for the lower section

Once at the put in and in gear, it was all smiles as we made our way through the upper Gordon. That section of the river was an amazing, classic class IV+, B.C. box canyon. We had a few scouts and a few interesting lines before we dropped into the middle section. The Middle Gordon started out with a bang. The first rapid came right around the corner from the put in and split into three seprate channels, each with its own risks. A few of us decided to run the far left and we all had similar lines off the center.

Austin on the first rapid
*Photo Josh Mckeown

Todd Baker first rapid
*Josh Mckeown

Jay, same
*Photo Josh Mckeown

Austin, Todd, and Jay Below the first rapid
*Photo Kim Russell

The author on the first rapid
*Photo by Kim Russell

We came across many fun small boulder gardens and the river began to build into the final set of rapids. At this point everthing had been pool drop nature. We all ran Terminator and worked our way to the Funnel.

Rob Bart working his way through the in-between rapids as Jay looks on

The author in the midst of Terminator

Once we were on the downstream side of the Funnel, Austin City Limits was our last big contender. Only Austin and Todd were fired up to run this one.

Austin, at home on his City Limits
*Photos Josh Mckeown

Todd Baker running Austin City Limits, Middle Gordon River
*Photos Josh Mckeown

We ended the run with the perfect blind eight foot exit drop. A steep hike up lead up to the Boogaboo creek bridge and our take out rigs.

Day Three - Wensday

Back on the Middle Gordon, Jay testing the weather

*Photo Kim Russell

Jay, first rapid with winter conditions

Todd, first rapid

Christie G. walled in above the Funnel

Josh Mckeown running the run out of the exit drop on the Middle Gordon

Our views on the ferry ride home
*Photo Jay Gifford
Thanks to Jonothan Ramsey, Kim Russell, Jay Gifford, and Josh Mckeown for the use of the photos.

Action packed weekend...

2008-03-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

Austin Rathmann scouting Skoonichuck Falls, Eagle Creek, OR

Last weekend was quite an adventure here in the gorge. Saturday started out with a large crew including a small group from Seattle and no one backing down from the surprising 3.9 feet on the Little White when we arrived at the put in. The day ended with the LVM 25 premiere in Hood River, thanks to Stacey Johnson for organizing the event, and the next day a large group including Nick Hinds, Scott Waidelich, Ben Hawthorne, Paul Gamache, Jesse Becker, Jason Schroeder, Christie Glissmeyer, Austin Rathmann, and Ryan Scott hiked up Eagle Creek for a high water huck fest. There was plenty of action, broken paddles, and humbled paddlers. At the end of the day everyone involved was more than happy to be at the take out...here are a couple still images taken by Paul Gamache and Jesse Becker...video coming in Northwest Video Scrapbook VI.

Austin dropping in

Austin, free fall

Christie Glissmeyer steppin up to Skoonichuck

Christie from the bottom

Austin and Scott Waidelich taking a break below the warm up drop

Skoonichuck proved once again to be one of the toughest put in rapids here in the gorge and recieved a 50/50 rating by those who dropped in at this flow. The still cameras didn't come out much below this drop, but look for the video in Northwest Video Scrapbook VI, releasing May 1st.

check back next week and find out what's new at
Columbia Gorge Video Productions...

Random Photos...

2008-03-02T19:35:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of Lana Young Photography

Heather Herbeck, Swift Creek, WA
Keel Brightman, West Fork Hood River, OR

Ryan Scott, Green Truss, WA

Nate Herbeck & Todd Anderson contemplating 30ft. Money Drop, Rock Creek, WA

Todd Anderson, Mt. Hood, OR

Brad Coleman, Lava Creek, WA

Lane Jacobs, Little White Salmon, WA

Keel, Don, Jason, Chaos, WA

All Photos ©Lana Young Photography

Check back for an Eagle Creek, OR update coming soon...

New white water videos!

2008-02-20T10:02:00.001-08:00

The Toxic Waters Premiere this past weekend turned out great! Tons of boater in town from all over the NW. If you missed getting your copy of Toxic Waters go get one at Liquidkayak.com.

Now we have another premiere to look forward to in March...

LVM 25 Hood River Premiere will be on March 1st

LVM 25 "Things Ain't The Same For Gangsters" includes trip reports from Mexico, Peru, and China, Tommy's Top 10, 87 Seconds, event coverage of the Green Race and Moosefest, NW update, plus so much more.
Don't miss out, March 1st. in Hood River, OR at the Horse and Hound British Pub, 403 Oak St.

for more info check out LVMvideo.com

L-Dub with ice & UUCispus waterfalls

2008-02-07T14:12:00.000-08:00

Late January of this year was almost too cold to go kayaking here in the gorge. For those of you who are familiar with the Little White, we came up on the entry to Gettin Busy and the right channel was blocked by a wall of ice hanging from the overhead tree. We even had one shuttle (usually 25 minutes) take 4 hours due to the weather conditions!
Video footage coming in Northwest Video Scrapbook VI of Rob Bart, Austin Rathmann, Joe Stumpfel, Jay Gifford, and Andy Round who were willing to brave the conditions and go kayaking.

Here are a few photos from an Upper Upper Cispus River trip last fall. Copyright Lana Young Photography

Jesse Becker, first day in town, First Falls

Ryan Scott, First Falls

Nate Herbeck, Gail Falls

Video footage of Gail Falls can be seen in Nate Herbecks new release Toxic Waters
Premiere February 16th at the River City in Hood River, OR

Hoffstadt Creek, Washington

2008-01-12T20:56:00.000-08:00

I was among 5 lucky paddlers that explored Hoffstadt Creek on Saturday, January 12, 2008. Jesse, Heather, Lana, Jason, and I had 6,300cfs on the Toutle gage and an almost perfect flow on Hoffstadt. The day went very smooth for an exporatory run. We hiked in with a few inches of snow on the ground, scouted and ran many quality rapids, had our fair share of portages, and made the grueling hike out before dark.

Split Falls at a great flow

Gnargasm in full effect

According those who had been there before the crux move on this run was suppost to be getting into the eddy above Gnargasm and on this day it was sketchy at best! We all took out way above this drop and portaged down to it on river left to avoid the must make or get mangled line to reach the eddy. The eddy was a one boat moving eddy with a guardian rock just behind the eddy line, so even if you did make it to the eddy, you still might get rejected by the guardian rock. Needless to say, check out your next move carefully before proceeding downstream on this creek until you get past Gnargasm.
I only took these two photos from our trip, but there were many many more rapids in there. Video Trip Report coming in Disc VI.

you can also check out more photos from this trip on Jesse Becker's blog click here.

Little White Salmon River, Washington

2007-12-24T10:39:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Ron Reynier and Jeff Bennett for the correct answer on the local Little White trivia question. There were two answers I was accepting, read below for a little history and the second answer.

The Little White Salmon River, located in Skamania County in south central Washington, drains approximately 134 square miles and flows out of the Monte Cristo Range. It originates in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and drops south for 19 miles into Drano Lake in the Columbia River Gorge. The section of river between The Willard National Fish Hatchery and Drano Lake is arguably one of the best class V day runs in the country. In the late 1980's Bob Coombs was among the first to explore the river and as the interest with the Little White grew more paddlers put on and picked their way down the run. The next year, 1990, paddlers such as Ron Reynier, Bill Bowey, Jeff Bennett, Phil Unsworth, and Bill Pooley were running it on a regular basis and picking off the unrun rapids one by one. By 1992-93 other paddlers such as Charlie Kirsch, Cal Diller, Elizabeth Tarr, Roger Stewart, Ron Blanchett, Jed Weingarten, and others were getting the run dialed in while Bowey, Weingarten, and Unsworth were pushing the limits of higher water levels. By mid 1993 all the rapids had been run with the exception of Stovepipe and The Big Falls. Stovepipe was run by early 1994 and that just left the 'The Big Falls'. At this point paddlers were starting to refer to it as 'The Altar' :an elevated place or structure, as a mound or platform, at which religious rites are performed or on which sacrifices are offered to gods, ancestors, etc. Since no one ran drops that big back then 'The Altar' fit the final drop on this run as paddlers would take in the beauty and make their way around it on each trip, but that reference didn't last long. Weingarten had broken his boat on the run and stuffed a log in the cockpit and sent it off as a probe. It had a great line off the Altar, then one week later local paddler Jens Mullen decided to solve the last piece of the puzzle and after running it he named the big drop Spirit Falls and it properly fit.

At this point the paddlers who have seen Spirit Falls in person are fortunate individuals as Spirit was the site for the proposed dam on the Little White Salmon River. They passed it by since they had a maximum depth of 800 feet for any proposed dam sites in the tributaries of the Columbia Gorge, the canyon depth at Spirit is just under 1000 feet. This awe inspiring lower canyon on the Little White has been declared eligible for the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, but never put on that list. The review done by the Forest Service states that "Opportunities for solitude are excellent with very few signs of humans to distract the recreationist. Due to difficult access, this extremely interesting area exists today in much the same condition as when Lewis and Clarck passed through the Columbia River Gorge."

Roger Stewart in the Gorge @ 1992
Photo Ron Reynier
*notable comments from the early days:
Ron Reynier: "It was that following year, 1990, that we figured it out top to bottom. I can vividly remember how we got beat down figuring out Getting Busy before finally understanding the run."
Jeff Bennett: "To put all that in perspective, I learned to paddle the LWS in a 12' long Prijon T-Slalom, then a Dancer XT.... and those were cutting edge."
Jed Weingarten: When I got back to my boat, it had a big crack in the hull. So, I found a big log, stuck in the cockpit, and sent the boat off to see what would happen. It had a sweet line off of the Altar, but broke into 3 separated pieces in Chaos (which hadn't been named yet either!).

*and according to early sources, Wishbone Falls was run down the right channel during the first few times that paddlers decided to drop into the lower gorge. Since then paddlers have stuck with the left channel.

The crew below Stovepipe, summer 2007
Photo Keel Brightman

Jay Gifford running Stovepipe in early 2007

Keel Brightman running Spirit Falls, summer 2007
Photo Lana Young

Tristan McCleran running Chaos at 3.6 feet early 2007
Photo Erik Boomer

*a few recent notable descents:
*Todd Anderson and Tommy Fredricks running the right channel at Wishbone Falls in early 2006.
*Ross Henry and Todd Anderson throwing some of the biggest free-wheels I've seen off of Boulder Sluice Rapid in early 2007.
*Frequent runs at 4.8feet by the local crew in 2006-07'
*Todd Anderson free-wheeling Stovepipe in 2007.
*L.J Groth's free-wheel off Spirit Falls in 2006 - same day as the race.
*Locals runing car (put-in) to car (take-out) in under 40 minutes.
*Highest known complete descent by Erik Boomer in 2006 at 5.0 feet.

Thanks to Ron Reynier, Jeff Bennett, and Jed Weingarten for the early history and all the Photographers for the photos.

Check out this video of Todd Anderson and Ross Henry killin it!

Free video...

2007-12-14T08:32:00.000-08:00

I have a random question and the first person who can post the answer in the comments will receive a free dvd copy of The Collections from CRG Productions. (only 3 copies of this disc were made due to a print error)
This disc includes previously released chapters,
2003 Green River Narrows, NC Road Trip
2004 Lacamas Creek TR
Rattlesnake Sessions 2007
Keel's First Time
not yet released chapters,
The best of the L-Dub 'every rapid'
Sullivan Creek 2007 TR (coming in Disc VI)
One bad ass carnage segment, and more....

The question is: What was Spirit Falls on the Little White Salmon River, WA called before the first descent of this drop? One person ran it and the name Spirit stuck, what was it before this?

If you don't want to post in the comments send you answer to CRGProductions@gmail.com

Copyright Lana Young Photography

Try and try again...

2007-12-12T08:42:00.000-08:00

Last week I convinced a few paddlers that Hagen gorge would be good, possibly even high water! I have tried to get on Hagen at higher flows a # of times, but it always seems to be the same flow in there. I think the peak flash flood day is the only way to see this run at high flows. After this run I have come to one conclusion...the water level on Hagen can never be too high!
*All photos by Keel Brightman Photography

The first waterfall...Hagen Daaz
Austin Rathmann dropping into Euphoria

A rare dry boof off of Teakettle Falls

Austin givin it at Double Falls

Jarred Jackman second drop in Double Falls

The take-out

Directions: You can find directions for this creek and many other exploratory runs in the Pacific Northwest at OregonKayaking.net

Flows: No lower than 7,000 on the Washougal River, however this drainage seems to act on its own, and is only at a med/high level at peak rain and a high freezing level.

Photos by Keel Brightman Photography

Condit Dam

2007-12-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

The Condit Dam has blocked the free flow of the White Salmon River since 1913, creating Northwestern Lake 3.4 miles upstream of the mouth of the river, and has been in debate for removal for years. American Whitewater has been working for its removal and it is scheduled for the beginning of October 2008.

December 4, 2007. Austin Rathmann scouting the dam at high water.

moments after his run... Keel Brightman Photography

Check out Austin's blog for more of his BIG line from this day.
humbledbywater.blogspot.com

Video coverage coming in Disc VI...

Upper Siouxon Creek, WA

2007-11-19T14:24:00.000-08:00

On Saturday November 17, 2007 Nate Herbeck, Jesse Becker, Jarred Jackman, Chris Bolken and I made the early morning drive leaving Hood River at 5am to run Upper Siouxon Creek. The water levels appeared to be leveling off that morning, but as it poured rain all day on us that was not the case. We put on with 1,450cfs on the E.F. Lewis gauge and it rose to 2,000 by the time we took off. We had a two and half mile hike in and were pressed for time. The unknown of what lie downstream hit us around each corner. Jarred ran this big 30+ footer, Middle Siouxon Falls, as we thought our day was coming to an end.

Middle Siouxon Falls
In the begining we all thought we had 2 miles of creek to complete the entire run. After about 3 miles we came to a 40+ foot, knarly drop and started questioning if we had missed our take out. As we paddled downstream the entire crew was feeling the day. You know that feeling where just pushing yourself up out of your boat in the eddy is painful and you pray that all you have left is read and run downsteam all the way to the take-out? That is where we all were, but we still had another couple miles and a few portages to go. We made it to the take out right at dark. We hiked up the 1/4 mile trail to the parking area to find two other kayak rigs parked there. My first thought...."Damn, I feel sorry for those guys." They made it out shortly after we did. More info for this run can be found on Oregonkayaking.net.

The next day I arrived at the LW with a low, 2.7 feet, but fun flow! Austin, Keel, and I managed to catch the TA eddy in the middle of Backender, it's not an easy one to catch...A great finish to an epic weekend!

check back for an update on the TA eddy soon....

Sullivan Creek, WA 11/3/07

2007-11-07T07:22:00.000-08:00

*All Photos courtesy of Keel Brightman Photography

Palouse Falls, Washington, on the way to Sullivan Creek

Brian Vogt running Thumper

Scott Waidelich at the bottom of Zig Zag

The crux move above The Tooth

Dave Moroles in the middle of Itchy & Scratchy

James Amandus finishing up Itchy & Scratchy

Keep checking Oregonkayaking.net for a full Trip Report on Sullivan Creek.
As well as a video feature in Northwest Video Scrapbook Disc VI

Rained out of B.C.!

2007-10-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

Jay Gifford and I had planned a trip to B.C. the first week of October. Sources were saying that everything was too low to go, but we had a week off and that was the only logical direction to start driving. The day we left it started raining and well, it never really stopped.

We made it to B.C. late Friday and the next day we set off to run Fear Canyon of the Elaho with local boys Steve Rogers and Corry Boux. Huge thanks to both of them for all the local info on flows and logistics! I'm not sure what the level was this day on the Elaho, but it was good and on the rise.

Steve and Jay at the first scout/portage

Steve and Jay at the last rapid on Fear Canyon, Elaho River, B.C.
Jay and I planned on running the Box on the Ashlu the next day. We arived at camp in the rain and hoped to have a good flow the next day. It was running on the low end of good and so far the water seemed to be helping us out since everything had been way too low just before we arrived, however once I awoke at camp beside 50/50 it was clear that the roar I heard the night before was rocking The Box twice as hard. I bailed out of my tent fast to get a look at 50/50 and sure enough The Box was too high! We drove around the Ashlu drainage that day checking out the new construction and trying to get a feel for where Tatlow was. Toward the end of the day we decided to head to the Cheakamus River to camp that night.

50/50 and the entrance to the Box, Ashlu River, B.C.

Painful to watch...construction below the Mine run, Ashlu River
The next morning we put on the Cheakamus half way up the upper run. It turned out to be a good class 4 warm up and after we hiked the shuttle with boats and all of our gear we set off to run Callaghan, but not before dealing with a dead battery and getting one of the locals to help jump the truck...then we were off to Callaghan Creek.

Camp on the Cheakamus River, B.C.
Stuck on the Cheakamus.
I didn't get any photos from Callaghan this day, but look for video soon. We kept up a good pace on Callaghan with a med/high flow and finished a couple hours before dark and once again we hiked our shuttle back to the top. The next morning we planned on running a couple more laps on Callaghan, but it never stopped raining so over night Callaghan jumped to a scarry high level. We decided to head into Vancouver and see what our options were for the next few days. We thought about going to Skook, but being in B.C. with this much water that seemed like we would be missing some epic creekboating. We decided to head a little further south back into Washington and hit a creek that was just recently added to my hit list in the North Cascades. We camped at Diablo Lake and took a full day to scout around the next day. We hiked up Thunder ridge on the opposite side of the lake, then went up into Thunder Creek to gage the flow. The forest was full of huge old groth cedar trees.

Jay hiking up to Thunder Creek

The next morning we decide to hike in and put on. We hiked forever and our only info for the creek was to hike up 4 miles to the second bridge and work our way down from there.

Ready for a long, tough hike
We arrived at the second bridge that crossed a tributary on creek right. As soon as i dropped my boat off my shoulders there was a huge, violent crash less than a 1/4 mile ahead of me. I watched in disbelief as a monster old growth cedar came crashing down through the forest. Unsure if this was our put in, but beat down and ready to put on, we made our way down to the creek. We ended up running a few scarry, sieved out rapids, nothing worth hiking that far for and soon we arrived at the lower bridge. After the bridge we ended up in the middle of one of the biggest log jams I've seen. A long and painful portage later we were on the lake and paddled back to camp. There may be some great rapids upstream, but the character of what I saw in the lower stretch makes it hard to believe it's worth that much effort to run this creek, but I may be wrong.

Looking downstream at the end of Thunder and into Diablo Lake, WA
Beat down, humbled, and excited to have a few more runs checked off our personal lists Jay and I left the North Cascades after 6 nights of camping in the pouring rain.

*Check back for a preview video of B.C. soon...

Looking forward to the L-Dub...

2007-10-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

I've been kicking around the idea of a weekly Little White water level update and with the encouragement from Austin Rathmann it's been flipped from an idea to reality.
As the season starts on the L-Dub, as many L-Dub paddlers know, It goes from as low as it gets to questioning wheather it's too high for the first run of the season. Just like the first rapid on the run, when the LW is back in it's in your face and full on from the start. I'm predicting early Dec. for the first run, but that is just a guess on my part. Right now it's still holding at??? well I would say about 1.1ft.

Billy Jones in the middle of Island Rapid @ 3.5ft.
*taken in 05' notice no wood downstream of Island.

I have re-marked the stick gage at the put in since it was only reading at the 4ft. mark and everything below this was washed away and hard to read. I didn't change any markings, I only added the lines back where the paint has been washed away. I will post every Tuesday and Friday with a L-Dub water level update as the season continues. Enjoy and hope for a long season on one of the best all around class V day runs in the world!

*Check back for a B.C. photo update soon...

fall update

2007-09-05T20:05:00.000-07:00

Since I've been back from AK I've tried my best to get up to B.C. however real life issues keep getting in the way! The water is low here at home so I have been editing on the AK footage and I have recieved a lot of good local music.

Lana Young on Ingram Creek, AK
*Check back for an AK preview video soon...

The work begins....a little history...

2007-08-10T15:23:00.000-07:00

The idea behind Northwest Video Scrapbook came in 2002 after a cross country road trip. Previous edits can be seen on Oregonkayaking.net. Those lead up to Disc VI which will be released May of 2008.

Northwest Video Scrapbook has refined over the past couple years and is more of a collaboration between local Paddlers, Photographers, Musicians, and Videographers brought to you by CRG Productions. Northwest Video Scrapbook is released two times annually. CRG Productions site is in the works and will be up soon....

If you would like to submit Video, Photos, Music, or just exchange links. Email crgproductions@gmail.com

Disc VI will be out early May 2008
The deadline for submissions on Disc VI, February 2, 2008

check back for previews and contents of Disc VI, coming soon....

VI - "no eddies here" Premiere Dates

2007-02-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

May 3, 2008
Boise, Idaho
O'Michaels Pub and Grill at 7:00pm
2433 N Bogus Basin Road

Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Bellingham, Washington
WWU Comm Building room 125
WWU Students -free, general public-$1
The Show starts @ 7:30

Saturday, May 17, 2008
Clackams River, Oregon
Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival
Saturday night after the Big Air event

Seattle, Washington
TBA

Hood River, Oregon
TBA

More dates coming soon....

2007-01-28T18:30:00.000-08:00

VI - contents include: Sullivan Creek, WA * CRG Winter 2008 * Hoffstadt Creek, WA *Eagle Creek, OR * Six Mile Creek, AK * Gordon River, Vancouver Island * Jacob Cruser's PNW Missions * Charley Munsey interview * Canyon Creek Race 2008 * Sunset Freestyle * Wind Race 2008 * Toxic Water's Weekend in Hood River OR * and much more...

Produced by Columbia River Gorge Video Productions
Principle Cinematography & Editing- Ryan Scott
Additional Cinematographers and Editing - Austin Rathmann, Steve Munk, Brian Vogt, & Jacob Cruser

Photography - Lana Young, Keel Brightman & David Gridley

Music - Sandpeople, Quandry, Scull Soup, Ari Lesser, SilverSafe, BNR, A band called L.I.F.E., Jesse Becker

email - crgproductions@gmail.com for a copy of Northwest VIdeo Scrapbook VI for only $15