Sanded and blown silly on the Yampa

By Kyle McCutchen

March is a rough month for kayakers in Colorado. The snow is beginning to fade away (especially this year), the temperatures are almost warm, and the rivers trickle away in a tease. Fortunately that tease can occasionally deliver a nice early season melt for a river that you know you want to run, yet won’t make time for once the season hits. For us, the free-flowing Yampa River through Dinosaur National Park was exactly that run, and early season flows (largely contributed by the Little Snake River) gave us an ample 2500cfs to make a quick 3-day self-support kayak descent over the weekend of March 16^th.

Mike Pagel exploring.

Stretching the legs with a side hike.

Having recently completed a 13-day self-support, packing for two nights was almost too easy, and my Pyranha Fusion delivered again. I pulled an unopened 12 pack out of the hatch on night two, prompting Dave to look over and say, “Nice work.”

Paul, Kevin, Mike, Dave, John and I maximizing river time at Big Joe.

Day one started out a bit breezy, and the winds sandblasted our camp at Big Joe. Three friendly river otters made the days highlight reel, along with a quick side hike.

Walls and flatwater.

Paul Marusak, John Baker, and Mike Pagel try to find the current.

Day two started out nice until the afternoon gusts and grey-bird sky dropped the temperature and increased the paddling. By the time we reached the wide-open Green River the beaches were engulfed in miniature sandstorms… a magnificent experience, and one that unintentionally kept my camera in its bag. Whirlpool Canyon gave us a spectacular display of weather, which is good since the whitewater is unimpressive.

Dave Frank trying the Jackson touring boat.

Stealth drysuit ninja Tina.

Elk crossing the river near Harding Hole.

Paddling 75 miles of flatwater in three days was not easy, but it was a nice way to warm-up for the season. The wind kicked into hurricane gust mode, complete with sandstorms for our day 3 paddle out through Split Mountain. I’ve experienced some crazy windstorms on the river before, though nothing as heinous as the gusts that pounded us on Sunday afternoon. It would have been a layover day in a raft… but the precipitation was coming, and a little wind doesn’t stop kayakers. Despite the long flat miles, paddling uphill both ways, into the wind, we were all smiles at the takeout.

Getting some much needed tiger blood energy from the Tiger Wall.

A week later I asked a friend if he had any big trips planned.

“Ah, man, we are doing the Yampa!”

Check.

Stomper Styles the Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Hi my name is Josh Oberleas; I am a kayak instructor at Rocky Mountain Outdoor Center and a member of the CKS squad. I was given the opportunity to use the newest boat from Liquidlogic, the Stomper (90 gallons), for a 4 night 5 day trip through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison near Montrose, CO, and then also paddled 2 days on the Gunnison Gorge. After this experience, I would have to say I am thoroughly impressed!! The Stomper, in my opinion, is one of the best creek boats ever made!

Lead in to Ball Crusher (V+)

Photographer: Greg Grahlmann

I have paddled many boats throughout my years of instructing in Colorado, and the Stomper is like the Jefe and the Remix put together. The speed of the Stomper is comparable to that of the Remix but what is also great is it has the rocker and the volume of the Jefe for ease of boofing. One thing that makes the Stomper excel over all of the other boats out there, is the fact that it is almost unstoppable when it comes to crashing through waves or blasting through holes. The whole entire time I was in that boat I never had one moment where a wave slowed me down. In fact, when I landed a boof my speed would almost increase as though there was a rocket on my stern blasting me past the hole and off the foam pile for my next move.

Double Drop (V)

Photographer: Zach Simon

The Stomper was a great ride filled with grace and style. It was soft like a cloud as it rode nice and high on the water even with 30 pounds of gear and a 195 pound paddler. There was not a single moment where I had my stern caught, or I was endered backwards because of all the weight in the back. The momentum was always forward.

Handling: The Stomper was great at holding a straight line, even at top speed. It precisely carved on its edges without resistance or spinning out which made for quick S –turns and technical moves during rapids. This truly is a high performance craft, Ferrari of creek boats, with speed, style and great handling.

Run out of Ball Crusher boofing over the hole on the left, and blasting away from it

Photographer: Greg Grahlmann

Rolling: Even fully loaded, the boat had a really nice snap to it, and it rolled very easily. Granted, I had no combat roll situation in the canyon, I did roll it a few times to get the feel, and it was really snappy and rolled with ease. However, I did have two awesome kick flips that snapped around really fast. It’s a great boat to roll even for beginners!!

Boofing: WOW!! One stroke boof every time, and again it held its momentum so well on the landing that I just blasted off. The speed of the Stomper combined with its ability to pass through any feature without out losing speed is just unmatched for a creek boat. It takes just two strokes and this boat is at top speed every time blasting off like a torpedo, ready to STOMP!!

Fun one stroke boofing to stomping!!

Photographer: Zach Simon

The Edging: The primary stability is great, very well balanced and it locks you in to place. When you want to catch an eddy it turns on a dime and you’re in. If you need just a little more edge, the secondary edge is well balanced as it also locks you into place. It was amazing how long I could hold a 5 edge or how hard I could edge and not fall over. The edge to edge transition is very smooth and fast, when I went to switch my edges on flat water or during a rapid it was smooth like a hot knife slicing through butter!

Storage space: Lots of space in the back of the boat for all of my gear, and there were great spots to put random things and still have everything rigged so that if I did swim I wouldn’t lose it. For this expedition, there is a grueling mile long portage over nasty scree fields and massive poison ivy, and it’s not an easy place to hike a boat. Fortunately, I had time and was able to hike my gear to the cave camp and then hiked back for the boat. I shouldered the Stomper, and I was pleased that the weight of the kayak felt lighter than the Jefe Grande. Even though I still had some gear in the Stomper, I was able to shoulder it practically the entire way.

Lots of space for your gear

The Back band: It is awesome how I can get my stuff out of the stern so quickly because the back band just lifts up. As a safety kayaker and instructor, it is very important that I have access to my dry bag so I can get my first aid kit or rope quickly and without damaging my bag or straining to hold the back band up. In the Stomper, it’s a breeze. The only issue I found with the back band was that when you tighten it, the side bars slightly squeeze in. Honestly, I did not even notice that the sides were slightly inward. Actually, to me it made for a better, snugger fit.

Easy access with the back band lifting up like this

The Outfitting: Well, what can I say? It has Liquidlogic’s signature lazy boy comfort, and the outfitting is nice, durable, and super simple.

Something that I did notice that can catch paddlers off guard is if you get lazy and you are sitting back looking up at the amazing canyon walls or watching your buddy run the rapid and a little side current comes along it has been known to window shape people. I felt it grab me a few times, but that is a minimal problem to have considering how smooth, fast, and easy this boat is to handle. Besides, stay in the moment and you won’t get thrown around.

Nice Work!!

Photographer: Greg Grahlmann

To finish up, Shane, in creating the Stomper you gave the kayaking world a great thing. This boat will give paddlers the confidence to run rapids that they might not have considered running, I know it gave me the confidence to run Ball Crusher (V+) in the Black Canyon, even with the Stomper fully loaded. The Stomper is a great step up from any creek boat out there, and switching up from the Jefe Grande to the Stomper has been a drastic improvement for me. So to all paddlers, get out there and try one out! I guarantee that you will instantly fall in love with the Stomper.

Photographer: Zach Simon

Teaching your friends to paddle....so they don't quit in their first season!

One of the best ways for someone to get into kayaking is to have a friend teach them. Many of the boaters we know never took a lesson from a kayak instructor, they just tagged along with friends. I've taught lot's of my friends to kayak, some who became as addicted to the sport as I am, and others who quit their first season. I learned a lot from those friends. Before I became a kayak instructor and learned how to teach, I had trouble remembering what is was like to be a beginner. So when I took friends out, I thought they would pick things up easier. After years of teaching kayaking professionally, I learned the value of gradual progressions. Start with the most basic concepts and gradually add complexity as they master the basics. Just because I am excited to have another friend get into kayaking, doesn't mean they should start their learning on whitewater. I see this all the time in our playparks and popular rivers. Kayakers think of a particular run as "easy", so it should be no problem for a beginner to paddle, and they take their newbie friend down an "easy" class 3 run and he swims the whole thing. Some people think this is awesome and they become great kayakers, but most quit after the first day. So here are some of the important pieces of advice that I learned the hard way.

1. Always, always get your friend paddling around in a lake or pool to start. Don't start on a river, unless you have a nice BIG pool to use that is basically like paddling in a lake. The first thing they should do is flip over and wet exit. Everyone has a fear of being trapped upside down in the boat before they actually try it, and realize it's no big deal.

2. Teaching someone to roll is not the same as teaching them to kayak. This is one of the most common mistakes I see. A beginner learns to roll, then hits the river and they don't even know how to paddle a kayak. Also, most beginners who learn a pool roll can't combat roll yet anyway. So when they are on the river, it's as if they've never even been in a kayak. their roll is useless and they have no other skills to get them down the river. I teach the roll AFTER I've taught them the other basic strokes, braces, t-rescues, etc. Once they've done all that, they are more comfortable in the boat, and rolling is much easier to learn.

3. We all know how hard it is to get a whitewater kayak to go straight when you are a beginner. Let's face it, these things are designed to turn easily. So I always start by teaching them to balance the boat and sit with the proper posture. Then I start teaching turning and corrective strokes like sweeps and stern draws. Then when you get to the forward stroke, they already know how to correct their direction when they veer off course. I also don't emphasize perfecting the forward stroke as a beginner. I think it develops over time. Think about it. In a whitewater rapid, how far do you generally need to paddle in a straight line? maybe 10-15 feet or less at a time. Whitewater paddling is basically connecting short bursts of forward strokes and turns to link all the moves you need. Rarely does a whitewater kayaker need to paddle in straight line for a long distance in a rapid. Mastering turning and correcting strokes as well as balance and bracing is more important for a beginner than having a beautiful forward stroke. Not that a good forward stroke isn't important, it's just something that they need to work on over their first couple of seasons.
4. Teach the sweep roll. It's easier to learn and more reliable in aerated water.
5. Once your friend is ready to hit the river, choose the river wisely. Class 2 rivers with lot's of eddies are best. Class 2 rivers that are lined with strainers and bushes are not very good. Class 3 rivers are never suitable for the first time on the river. Fast learners may be able to move up to class 3 after a few runs on class 2. The point isn't to make our friends swim, the point is for them to learn how to maneuver on a river so they are safe and have fun. To a newbie, class 2 is a complete adrenaline rush. It may be boring to you, but not to them. Also, it may not be possible, but try to choose a section of river that you are familiar with. That way you know where the good "learning" eddies are. The three main skills that you should focus on for beginners are ferrying across the river, peeling out of eddies, and catching eddies. Those three things are the foundation for most other skills we learn on the river.
6. As your friend progresses, let them lead you down rapids from time to time. So many beginners and intermediates have done nothing but follow everyone else down rivers. They never learn how to read water and choose their own lines. Also, have them scout rapids and use hand signals to explain to you how to run the rapid. This helps build the foundations for scouting and communicating with a group. I've met paddlers who are 5 years into the sport and have never picked their own line down a rapid. That's not cool.
7. Teach your friend about safety from the beginning. Teach them about throw ropes and rescue vests, and how to swim in rapids. This stuff seems simple to us, but it's important for beginners to know about it.
8. Boat selection. Maybe I should have mentioned this earlier, but the proper gear for a beginner is crucial. Usually it's best for beginners to be in river running boat such as a Remix or Mamba or something similar. Creek boats are okay too. Playboats are usually not the best choice unless the novice is super athletic and gung-ho to learn, and they don't mind swimming a bit more. I've had some good luck with students starting in playboats, and also some bad experiences. Make sure the boat is the right size and volume for the person's weight.
9. Once they are pretty comforatable on class 2, get them surfing waves and hitting harder ferries and eddies on class 2. In my opinion, a paddler shouldn't move up a class of whitewater until they can hit EVERY eddy on a river of the class they are currently comfortable on. Just because you can float down a class 3 river without incident doesn't mean you are ready for class 4. You should be able to hit every eddy, surf every wave, and nail every ferry on your favorite class 3 run before moving up to class 4. Same goes for moving from class 2 to 3 or class 4 to 5.

If you follow all of this advice, teaching friends should be easier and safer, and I can guarantee that more of your friends will stick with the sport instead of quitting in their first season. Of course some will probably still quit in the first season, but hey, kayaking isn't for everyone.

-Nick Wigston