Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25127
Warm up on the Lower Gauley's Class IV big water, then move upstream for more technical and equally powerful Class V rapids. Don't miss the Gauley Festival on 16 September, it's the biggest party on the whitewater circuit. Riverboarding in the United States was conceived in the late 1970s when a California river rat named Bob Carlson, inspired by the surf breaks south of San Francisco and the potential to swim rivers, not just raft them, built a foam riverboard. He then added fins to his feet and protective gear borrowed from skateboarding,. motocross and kayaking. Soon Bob and his friends were riding six-foot river waves, run- ning waterfalls and flirting with boat-swallowing holes. While Bob and his cohorts were learning to shred California's rivers, French river runners were already fine-tuning their own version of the sport, which was evolving independently in Europe. Calling themselves "Swimmers of the Impossible," Claude Puch, Pierre Simon and Maurice Tiveron stuffed mail sacks with life jackets and rode them through some of the most harrowing whitewater in the Alps. By 1978, the jerry-rigged floats had given way to a molded plastic riverboard dubbed the Hydrospeed. European outfitters were quick to capitalize on the new sport. The boards were equally at home on high and low water allowing outfitters to run trips during Europe's low-water months when the more profitable rafts are idle. By the early 1990s, a new breed of neoprene-clad daredevils was crowding Alpine rivers. Whitewater outfitters in Italy, France and Switzerland now count on riverboards for as much as 30 percent of their business, and the sport has recently exploded in New Zealand. Riverboards are still a rare sight on American waters, but that's starting to change. Last year Carlson sold more than 300 boards, and his orders are on the increase. Europeans typically pilot their boards down steep, low-volume creeks and waterfalls. "Most of their kicks are from squeaking down these narrow chutes," Carlson says. "They like to go headfirst over the waterfalls." North America's high-volume rivers nurture a style of riverboarding closer to ocean surfing. Rivers like the Arkansas, American, Gauley and Ottawa serve up a steady diet of huge, standing waves that river- boarders ride in much the same way waveboarders shred ocean surf. But river waves rarely roll in smoothly; they surge and buck with the torrent's pulsating flow. The bigger the wave, the wilder the ride becomes. "It's like doing motocross on your belly," Carlson says. For most boarders, the close-quarters exposure to the river's sound and fury merely fuels the desire for bigger, wilder whitewater. The search has taken boarders down the Colorado through the Grand Canyon and to the mother of all big-water rivers, Africa's Zambezi. Although surprisingly simple to learn, riverboarding attracts people who thrive on close-quarters exposure to violent whitewater. Boarders spend hours in icy water, and maneuvering with the fins burns legs and lungs alike. "You have to get wet, work hard and it can get scary, so it doesn't appeal to everyone," Bolling says. "But that's the same reason some of us can't get enough. "-Jeffrey Moag LEARN MORE, CHECK OUT: Shane Bolling, Ripboard rental , sales and instruction. Denver, CO, www.ripboard.com. 303-904-8367. Pacific River Supply, Carlson River Board sales. EI Sobrante, CA, www.pacificriversupply.com. 510-223-3675. Wildwasser Sports, Prijon Riverboard sales. Boulder, CO, www.wildnet.com. 303-444-2336. Go Big Whitewater, rental and instruction. Seattle, WA, www.gobigwhitewater.com. 888-979-9600. Esprit Rafting Adventures, rental and instruction. Davidson, Quebec, www.espritrafting.com. 800-596-RAFT. :::> Vl 0: ~ :::> "- 0: o o o ~ o o z 26 ~ ~ ~ 5 Vi :I: "-