Whitewater Rafting

For most people, kayaking the Grand Canyon is challenge enough. Try running it blind. That’s what adventure Erik Weihenmayer is attempting, freshly back from a 12-day practice run he took part in to assess whether kayaking all 225 miles in another year is a real possibility or just a pipedream. “Now that I’m back and have had some time to reflect, I feel I have a good shot at pulling this off…” he says.

The Garrett County, Maryland Board of Commissioners announced the approval of one million dollars in state funding to support the 2014 Canoe Slalom World Championships at the Adventure Sports Center International (ASCI). This news comes as organizers prepare to host the 2013 USA Canoe/Kayak Slalom Team Trials and Deep Creek Open on May 17-19.

It’s springtime. You’re on an early season, cold-water rafting trip, paddling hard, when the raft hits a huge wave and you’re swimming in the middle of a rapid. A little preparation and good technique can go a long way towards minimizing risk and even making it fun...

Don’t let the scores in the finals of the U.S. Freestyle Team Trials sway your thoughts as to the caliber of today’s top freestyle kayakers. With two inches of rain falling in three hours, on top of a scheduled water release and another surprise Cascade release, the hole was a little flushy by day’s end.

Rerun the Production Mold. That could well be what Dagger’s RPM, at one-time the world’s best-selling kayak, stands for as the company brings back one of its most popular whitewater models, whose mold has been gathering cobwebs for 17 years...

Sheri Griffith, founder of Moab, Utah, rafting outfitter Sheri Griffith Expeditions, is celebrating more than 30 years of getting people out into the wilderness, which she cherishes as her company’s most important role. But her own role in the industry has been even bigger, from establishing one of the country’s first river guide training programs to testifying in D.C. to preserve our nation’s wild places. We caught up with her -- 60 and single save for her dogs and four horses – for a peak inside the paddling pioneer...

American Rivers today announced its annual list of America’s Most Endangered Rivers for 2013, naming the Colorado River--which runs through seven states and is canoed, kayaked and rafted by thousands each year--the nation’s most endangered due to outdated management practices.

Some of the world’s best creek racers are expected to descend on Steamboat Springs, Colo., on Monday, June 3, for the eighth annual Paddling Life Creek Race -- to be held on Class IV-V Fish Creek -- wrapping up a weekend of fun-filled events and races at the 2013 Yampa River Festival...

Top freestyle kayakers from around the country will converge on the Nantahala River April 26-28 to paddle for a spot on Team USA and to compete again at the World Championships in September.

Okay, boating photogs…got a great paddling shot you think can win a contest against some of the world’s best? Here’s your chance: Red Bull just extended its deadline for its Illume 2013 Image Quest Photo Contest until the end of April…

Just when you thought the genetic lineage for freestyle kayaking couldn’t get any better – with Eric Jackson’s offspring Dane and Emily ripping it up on the world circuit – now it has, with former World Champions Emily and Nick Troutman seven months into making EJ a grandpa (now you young bucks will feel even worse losing to him). A few thoughts from Emily’s boating-and-birthing blog as she readies for the Team Trials at NOC…

Finally, a beer that all paddlers can feel good about drinking (and one you can;t go wrong with bringing to the take-out). Underlining the importance of brewery’s namesake waterway, Oregon's Deschutes Brewery has unveiled a new "River" beer that's at home in every canoeist's and kayaker's cooler...

Lovers of river running now have a chance to crack beers and swap stories with legendary rafting pioneer John Yost on a worldwide tour of nine of the world’s best rafting rivers, celebrating the 40th anniversary of renowned adventure guides Mountain Travel Sobek.

Paddling Life (www.paddlnglife.net) and Playak (www.playak.com) have reached an agreement to share content, bringing their collective reach and news from the paddling world to more readers than ever.

Employees are on the rise at Confluence Watersports, which recently announced eight key internal promotions across the organization...

The stars aligned for both organizers and longtime competitor Sean Morley at this year's Santa Cruz Kayak Surf Festival, with Morley pocketing his first-ever, prestigious high-performance win and organizers getting 10- to 15-foot swells and bluebird skies the entire weekend…

Paddlers have plenty of reason to celebrate with President Barack Obama recently designating five new national monuments encompassing more than 240,000 acres, including several of keen interest to kayakers and canoeists. Among the new paddling-friendly monuments are…

As so many of you know by now, Rick Franken, founder and designer of Bomber Gear passed away this past weekend. We wanted to let you know that Rick’s family has confirmed that he died in his sleep due to respiratory failure while at the Alabama Mountain Games. His family is planning a celebration of life that will take place at the Animas River Days in Durango in June. They have also established the Franken Children’s Education Fund—please see how you can contribute at the end of this post. For now, we wanted to take a minute to remember the man that we all loved and valued. Click here for more...

The International Whitewater Hall of Fame recently announced its 2013 class of honorees, bestowing kudos on everyone from explorers to boat builders and even a Czech slalom racer who defected to the U.S. and brought along a popular paddling stroke with him....

The paddling community was deeply saddened this weekend when hit by the bombshell of the death of Bomber Gear founder Rick Franken, who reportedly passed away in his sleep this past weekend while camping on a kayaking trip to Alabama with his son, Kai. Franken reportedly died in his sleep due to respiratory failure...

A bill introduced by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) would remove long-standing Wild and Scenic River protections from a section of California’s Merced River, inundating almost a mile of one of California’s last, best, free-flowing rivers. The bill would also mark the first time a Wild and Scenic River is essentially de-designated.

This summer four female whitewater paddlers look to understand, document and enjoy the world’s third-longest free flowing river with their wide reaching Nobody’s River Project.

Like two kayakers dropping onto the same wave, it was tie at this year’s 30th annual 2013 National Paddling Film Festival in Frankfort, Ky., for Best Professional Documentary between Steve Fisher’s hair-raising Congo: The Grand Inga Project and The Nomad by Anson Fogel and Skip Armstrong. Congo also was awarded Best of Show…

Okay, okay. We know you’d rather read about boating than business. But all that good weather we had in 2012? While it might have wreaked havoc on ski resorts, the balmy conditions proved a boon for boating business. Read on to see to how the year fared according to Leisure Trends Group…