The Robe Race '08

I. The Story, In 250 Words or Less
II. The Results
III. The Photo Dump
IV. The Robe Gnome


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I. The Story, In 250 Words or Less

The 1st annual Robe Canyon Downriver Race! All the elements came together & conspired to make our inaugural race successful. 18 racers & scads of volunteers & spectators gathered at Granite Falls under bluebird skies to make it happen. Watching the flow from 5.3 ft to 4.low the day before the race was a bit of a nail-biter .. but Fri/Sat's warm temps helped to stabilize the flow right at a low, but worthy, 5 ft. The day's events went off without a hitch -- no carnage, no terror, fast times, & plenty of sunburn, good times & beer for all. The Robe Gnomes remained more or less at bay. We started out of a eddy at the lip of Tunnel rapid & didn’t stop til after Conversation, on a beach where our timekeepers awaited -- a length of about 5 miles.

Once we'd all made it to the take-out & shuttles had been completed, about 30 people crammed into the back room at Omega Pizza for the after-party. Amanda B. & the timekeeping crew had kept course times a secret, opting to announce times & crown the champeens at the party.

The winners would each walk away with a super cool satin Boxing Robe (robe, get it?), as well as bragging rights for a year. The robes will be embroidered with the winners' names, & next year, will be passed on to the winners of The Robe Race '09. A new tradition is born!

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II. The Results

The spread between 1st & last place was but 10 minutes. The winning time, posted by McKibbin & Hawthorne, was 33 minutes, 10 seconds! Congrats dudes & savor the sweet taste of sweet sweetness!

Rob McKibbin & Ben Hawthorne 33:10
Chris Tretwold & Ryan Bradley 34:08
John Minerich & Shane Robinson 34:43
Scott Waidelich & Nick Hinds 36:01
Erik Schertzl & Bryan Smith 36:10
Todd Gillman & Andrew Oberhardt 36:39
Jon Dufay & Brad Xanthopoulos 38:30
Ryan Terry & Matt Thomas 42:37
Jeff Bowman & Morgan Hutchings 43:46 (Robe Gnome Award)

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III. The Photo Dump

Many friends have submitted photos. Due to space & time constraints, I had to just kind of pick a handful from each. Still though, there's a LOT of pics!


Andrew Oberhardt & Shane Robinson, stoked.


Organizing the shore support & timekeeping detail pre-race


Building out the team list


Most of the racers posing for group portrait at the start line


McKibbin, confident


Brad X. & Jon Dufay, not as confident as McKibbin .. but pretty sure


Devin & Hale, exhuberant


JP running Tunnel rapid


The winning team outta the gate


Glory Boof #1


Bottom of Tunnel rapid, with GB1 in foreground


GB1


3rd place finishers, Robe regulars, Shane Robinson & Johnny Utard


If there's a radar in the area, this guy's probably way under it, stompin' shit out. There's no vision like Schertlvision.


Ben H., impervious shoulders @ Little Miss Sunshine


Nick Hinds' 2nd time on The Robe




BradX @ Lil Miss


Matt "Effigy" Thomas made the trip up from Medford, OR .. & that's cool. Lise-Anne's shot of him ...


& Owen's shot of him ...


Awesome shot of 2nd place finisher Ryan Bradley on the newly-opened right line on Lil Miss


Shane Robinson, globetrotter


Me on Lil Miss (thanks Owen)


Me & Drew in the runout


boogie water


boogie water


Utah & Shane in the boogie water leading into Hotel California


Sequence of me in the manky river-right channel of Hotel Cali lead-in


Love this backlit shot of B.Smith & Schertzl in the main ledge of Hotel Cali .. nice one, Kennet.


Doof Boof


Effigy running the meat @ Catcher's Mitt


Utah, backender


"The 20-foot Waterfall" is neither


Effingham @ takeout


Then we drank beer!




Kyle Kovalick, the voice of Robe Race '08, doing emcee duty at Omega Pizza


Ammen & Stephanie Jordan .. finish line timekeepers. thanks guys!!!


Hilary N. caught in the act.


Wayrad!


Half of winning team, Ben H., donning The Robe. His partner had to take off before the awards ceremony. This robe (& Rob's) will be embroidered with the winners' names & will be passed onto the next winners each year.

For even more stories/photos from our contributors, please follow the links below! Plunge Pool from Owen Callahan; EJ Etherington's Flickr Set; Chris Joosse's blog; Chris Tretwold & B'ham Whitewater.

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IV. The Robe Gnome

Our crew is ruthless about giving each other shit. It's an equal opportunity kind of thing, but when it comes to talkin' smack about kayaking, hiking out of runs, getting destroyed in rapids, being nancies, etc., certain friends tend to take more than they actually dish out. On Robe in particular, any time someone has a bad line or swims, somehow it ends up always being blamed on the pranksterish "Robe Gnomes" that presumably lurk around some of the more notorious rapids waiting for unsuspecting victims. I don't remember exactly how the term got coined or by whom, but it definitely had something to do with Shertzl & me. It was always "Hey Shertl, beware, I hear the Robe Gnomes are feisty today!" .. or "Whoa man! That was UGLY!" "Shut it Gillman, the Robe Gnome got a hold of my stern & pulled me back into the Mitt .." something along those lines.

So, while at the post-race party, that brilliant, inebriated Ryan Terry ("RT") produced a great idea -- A prize in honor of The Robe Gnomes who get the better of the DFL team, and, of course, in honor of the DFL team itself.

So, starting with Jeff & Morgan, each year, Newt The Robe Gnome will go home with the DFL team, will spend the year with the team, & will hopefully become better friends by this time next year. The DFL team will have to take a "family portrait" & have it printed for inclusion in the photo album that will accompany the Gnome to the Race each year.

Yes, we are serious.

Ladies & gentlemen, meet Newt The Robe Gnome.

Updater! ::: Spring 08 Stuff

I. Baby Dotcom
II. Big Weekend, Little White
III. The Main Event -- Robe Race 08
IV. Pounds All Around


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I. Baby Dotcom

Poudre Posse stalwart .. Co-creator of one of the most celebrated websites in the whole history of the World Wides of Web .. Co-author of the river guidebook that redefined river guidebooks .. Proud wearer of the Yamika & observer of the Passover .. Mr. Evan Stafford, along with his lovely wife Nicole, are the elated new parents of little Kaija Michelle Stafford. Congrats & much love from your BFF in the PNW.




II. Big Weekend, Little White

The first ever official downriver race (& slalom event) on the LWS was, by all accounts, a huge success & a good time. Hood River loc Todd Anderson took the top honors. Congrats amigo! And nice work to Austin for actually pulling this off. Info & pics Here and also Here


III. The Main Event

And speaking of downriver races ...



Nowhere near as glam as some other PNW classics, The Robe Canyon of the South Fork of the Stillaguamish River humbly lurks in the North Cascade foothills an hour north of Sea-town. But for those who've been bitten by the bug, The Robe has become a bit of an obsession.

With somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 complex class V rapids & at least that many more class IV's, nearly all of which contain soaring big-water boofs, multiple lines, hungry holes & tons of "personality", this 5-mile canyon stretch is hoisting the "quality" flag high for the PNW. And at its best runnable flows, from +/- 800 cfs to double that, it's not really "creekin'", although there are plenty of creek lines to explore if you're so inclined. All of the rapids, except one, are remarkably clean, perfectly spaced, pool-drop style in a relatively remote, densely vegetated, basalt canyon. The gray glacial water is frequently pinched between polished vertical walls, & with ever present overcast skies, Robe can have an eerie vibe -- especially given the carnage this run has been known to dish out. But the more you get to know the canyon, the more you come to appreciate its dark beauty .. & in its current condition, the quality of the whitewater may be among the best you'll ever paddle.

This coming Saturday -- levels permitting -- we will be hosting the first ever Robe Canyon downriver endurance race. Teams of 2 will launch at 5-minute intervals to see who can make it through the length of the canyon the fastest. The race will begin just above Tunnel rapid, at the start of the canyon, & will include a mandatory portage at Landslide (cuz that's just a part of kayaking), & will finish at the cobble beach at the terminus of Lime Kiln Trail, just below the last big rapid, Conversation. With continuous class V from start to finish, it will be a pretty grueling race. I'd look for winning times to be somewhere around 35 min's. As such, emphasis will be placed on combining downriver efficiency with safety .. hence teams of two & a strong volunteer safety crew.

This is a NON-event -- there are no sponsors, no entry fees, no cash purse (though I did spring for some sweet prizes for the winners!), no red tape, no gapers, no celebs, & no attitudes. The day will be 1 part See-Who-Can-Make-It-Down-The-Fastest, & 1 part community celebration of this awesome resource. Then we'll eat pizza & drink beer.

If you're in the neighborhood, please come out & be a part of our little one-day circus -- For spectating, you can access one of the most action-packed parts of the river super easily from The Old Robe Trail, off the Mountain Loop Hwy east of Granite Falls. We'll be meeting Saturday at the Granite Falls parking turnout / Robe take-out at 9 a.m. for competitors/safety meeting. After party will be at Omega Pizza in cosmopolitan downtown Granite Falls, WA. If flows don't cooperate, we'll shoot for Sunday .. but I have a good feeling about Saturday. If you are interested in racing, please email me your team info asap so I can add you to the list.

To get you stoked, here's a short Vimeo piece on THE ROBE, shot & edited by our good friend Chris Tretwold of Bellingham Whitewater

Robe Canyon from CHRIST on Vimeo.


IV. Pounds All Around

For several days last week, drivers on I-5 seemed a lot less erratic. Bartenders & servers at Capitol Hill hipster hangouts & restaurants replaced their usual sneering or sardonic smirking with legitimate friendly smiles. Passersby on the sidewalks of downtown looked up from their fixed downward gaze & said hello to one another. And the sun even made a cameo appearance for about half a day.


His Holiness The Dalai Lama visited our fair city. Here he is seen showing Adult Contemporary heartthrob / Seattleite, Dave Matthews, the proper way to bump knucks. You'll start seeing this hot new style in all the gossip rags at the grocery store checkout .. but you saw it here first .. unless you actually saw it in the Seattle Times first.

Make Hay While the Sun Shines

I love living in Cascadia, but it is not without problems. Often one of the most challenging aspects of life in the Northwest - on a daily and weekly basis - is choosing your recreation du jour. This is especially challenging in the spring as longer and warmer days bring life to the flora and waterways of this region. Of course, there is always something to paddle throughout the year up here, but when the flowers start coming up, you know that the plethora of choices is about to explode like a tulip bloom on a sunny spring day.

Of course spring is also a time of year when people start looking to get on their bikes with more frequency, or head for the east side to soak up some vitamin D at their favorite crag. Additionally, spring storms often remind us that winter does not want to fade into the past as huge swell pounds the coast and snow continues to blanket the mountains. Finally, the ocean is always there offering up some of the world's best sea kayaking. On any given day, the choices of how to go play in the wilderness can create a sort of paralysis - sometimes referred to as the Seattle Disease.

In the past I have dealt with this decision making process in two ways: keeping the number of activities I participate in low and placing quality above quantity. This year I might be breaking rule #1 as I feel tempted to dust off the rock climbing equipment and "pull down" whereas in the past I would simply keep my garage filled with only ski and kayak gear. We'll see how that goes. I am also being tempted by friends to buy a surfboard and sea kayak. Pretty soon I'll need a yakima rack with so many accessories that I can't actually put anything on it.

Skiing has the unique aspect of powder, which is finite in both quantity and quality. When it's good, it's only good for a short time - especially here in the lower elevations of the cascades - and can be enjoyed by others before you get the chance to indulge. Thus, I usually let powder skiing trump kayaking as I know that Robe will be running for several more months this year and the forest roads will soon melt out allowing access to all the other local delights. And, the highest quality of snow will quickly be a thing to only look forward to for next year.

As the forecast calls for yet another winter storm (with possible snow in Seattle!) this weekend, I am looking forward to another lap in my newest favorite tour: The Slot Couloir. Below are a few pics from some recent trips. Enjoy.

Dale dropping in


Dr. Timmy taking his turn

Photo by Jason Salvo

Our token splitboarder and resident dirtbag


Dr. Daniels fills her powder prescription


Exiting the couloir and opening up some speed for the apron


Tim coming in hawt!


Becca goes for more


One of the finest lines I have ever skied!


Time to go home

Photo by Tim Holmberg