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14th Annual Cache la Poudre River Cleanup

Down Town Cache la Poudre River Cleanup

Join Mountain Whitewater Descents for their annual Cache la Poudre River Clean-up. With help from our co-sponsors Save the Poudre and the City of Fort Collins Natural Areas Program, we will clean all along the Poudre trail from Shields Street to Lemay Avenue, possibly further.

Clean-up meets Saturday, May 25, 2013 @ 9am and will last until noon. All you need is gloves, sunscreen & the desire to make a difference in our community. Meet @ Lee Martinez Park in the main parking lot. Any and all volunteers are welcome; please register at the check-in table prior to the cleanup.

New World Sports will provide bike trailers to haul the trash bags off the trail, and Gallegos Sanitation is donating trash & recycling bins for the event.

Please try to carpool or ride bikes to reduce parking congestion and to reduce the event’s carbon footprint. Also, make sure to dress for the weather. We will clean the river rain or shine!!

To say thanks to anyone who volunteers during the event, there will be a volunteer appreciation event held at Mountain Whitewater Descents after the cleanup. The event is going to begin at 12:30pm and will last until around 5:00pm. There will be FREE beer provided by Odell Brewing Company and FREE food provided by Backcountry Delicatessen, Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant and LaPorte Pizza. Other refreshments will also be provided for those who are not of legal drinking age. This event is only open to those who volunteer, so make sure you register at the cleanup before you start.

Clean the Poudre 2013 Flyer

Why we paddle…

“Upstream, winter seemed immovable and eternal. Unbroken ice stretched northward; solid, silent, enduring. downstream, spring beckoned with motion, music and change. We turned our boats toward spring, chasing winter downstream.”- S.L. Reinke

“There is something you get out of paddling that you can’t get in any other sport. It’s finding the happy balance with an always changing force of nature, and it makes you feel very small yet powerful at the same time.” -Shannon Carroll

“Rivers have a way of enchanting us, of somehow prying into a nebulous pleasure center in our souls. I think it is a matter, largely, of earning the right to be enchanted. We care most deeply about rivers when we have invested a great deal of effort in working on them or have spent much time canoeing, kayaking, rafting, fishing, exploring, or observing them. As in any love affair, you get back only as much as you put in.” -Jerry Dennis

“Looking into a lake, an ocean, or a river is like looking into the night sky. Both water and sky are filled with mysteries, and when we stare deeply into them we connect with every man and woman who has ever sensed the tugging vitality of the universe” - Jerry Dennis

“No matter how good you are, and no matter how well you know a river, the river is always in control. All we can do is play as safely and responsibly as possible with the awesome and humbling power of whitewater.” -Ken Whiting

Closed for the 2012 Season

See you next year!

Thanks to all of our guests and employees for making this strange season a good one. Despite the fires, floods, drought and mudslides, we managed to make it until August 25 and were able to salvage a rafting season. Let’s all hope and prey for a big snow winter in the Colorado high country and we are excited to see everyone on the river during the 2013 season.

Our office will remain open until the end of August, but will close for the month of September. Please email ben@raftmwd.com if you require assistance or need to ask questions during this time. We will open again on Monday, October 1 to begin preparations for the 2013 season.

Thanks again for choosing Mountain Whitewater Descents!

Change in Office Hours

Office Hours for August, 2012

Mountain Whitewater Descents will be changing our office hours for the rest of the 2012 season. Starting on August 7, 2012 our office will be open from 7am to 5pm MST. We will be available by phone after 5pm, but the office will close. All rentals will be due in by 5pm the day of the rental or back by 8am the next day. Please call 888-855-8874 with any questions.

Guides Lending a Helping Hand

High Park Wildfire

300 foot tall flames race up the hill side near Stove Praire Road in the Poudre Canyon. Photo taken by Josh Randall.

On June 9th a bolt of lightning started the High Park Fire near Fort Collins, Colorado. Within 24 hours the fire had grown to 10,000 acres. The fire would rage on for three weeks covering 87,284 acres and briefly held the distinction for the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history. 257 homes were lost, but more than four times that remain.

The fire spread quickly over the Cache La Poudre river canyon causing Mountain Whitewater Descents to be closed the entire duration of the fire. Most of the employees were out of work, but we did find some temporary work for some of them around Fort Collins and several others were able to help fight the fire by shuttling firefighters across the river.

Josh Randall rows firefighters accross the Poudre river.

Raft Guide Josh Randall rows firefighters across the Poudre river during the HIgh Park fire. Photo taken by Bryan Holman.

We were able to take our guests rafting yesterday for the first time in weeks and the canyon is still spectacular. Pockets of cottonwood stands glow green against hills of blackened pines. Homes surrounded by fire stand majestically erect, showing the work of those 2000 firefighters.

Hillsides of completely burnt trees sit next to untouched ones. Patches of green stand in the patches of black. Patches of black stand in the patches of green. The way fire moves through a canyon can be seen at every bend in the river. Guests and guides alike cheered happily for what remains of this canyon treasure.

Our canyon is still a beautiful, sparkling jewel of Colorado rivers. Still the only “Wild and Scenic” river in Colorado. Still the best!

The Cache la Poudre River canyon after the High Park Fire.

The Poudre Canyon after the High Park Fire, still a beautiful gem. Photo taken by Micah O'gan, Mountain Whitewater Descents.

Guide Bryan Holman waits to ferry fighterfighters back across the river. Photo taken by Josh Randall.

Cass Eriksen guides guests down the Cache la Poudre River on July 1, 2012. Photo taken by Micah O'gan, Mountain Whitewater Descents.

THANK YOU FIREFIGHTERS

High Park Wildfire

First and foremost, THANK YOU FIREFIGHTERS!!! Today, they reported to have the High Park Fire at 100% containment, and it is all due the hard work of over 2,000 men and women who have been battling the fire since June 9th. These past few weeks have been incredibly emotional and tough, but the Fort Collins and surrounding communities have shown how amazing they truly are. From the beginning people in the community have opened up their homes and donated their time as well as necessary supplies for evacuees. There is still a long road ahead, but together we can rebuild!

Equally Challenged with Special Guests

Friday evening music series at Mountain Whitewater Descents

Another great night of music at the Paddler’s Pub was had by all on Friday! The band Equally Challenged performed live with some help of some special guests from the Honey Gitters, Bourbon Toothpaste and the Holler!.

Concert goers enjoyed the music while playing volleyball, drinking local Colorado beers and enjoying the fantastic view of the foothills at Mountain Whitewater Descents.

It was a great night for the members of the Fort Collins community to get together and create some happier moments during these tougher times.

Members of the community shared beers and stories about the High Park Fire. All firefighters enjoyed their first beer for free as a thank you! They are working extremely hard to protect the Poudre Canyon which many of us call home.

Thanks to all who came out to join us! We look forward to next Friday when The Seers will join us for another night of great music! (from 5-8pm)

Swiftwater Training

“Our Guides Make The Difference”

‘Swiftwater’ is an intense three-day course that teaches whitewater rescue techniques.

Here at Mountain Whitewater Descents we pride ourselves for having the most experienced and well trained whitewater rafting guides on the Cache la Poudre River. Because safety is our number one priority, swiftwater rescue training is a minimum requirement for each guide (in addition to CPR and First Aid). We also highly encourage all of our guides to pursue advanced medical training as well.

Our guides gathered at Mountain Whitewater Descents on Sunday June 3rd for a swift water training refresher course. The class keeps guides updated on swiftwater rescue techniques and prepared for swiftwater rescue situations on the river. Together the guides re-learned, reviewed and practiced tying river knots, enacted mock boat rescues using rope rescue techniques (such as vector pulls and z-drags) for recovering rafts from the river.

In the afternoon the rookie guide training class ventured to McMurry pond for an exciting afternoon full of raft flip drills. The new guides experienced swimming underneath a raft (both right side up as well as upside down), worked on climbing themselves back into a raft from the water, practiced pulling each other into the raft and also took turns flipping boats, to prepare themselves for real life river scenarios.

Monday June 4th: Our rookie guide training class taking the plunge!

Our rafting guide trainees headed up to the river for one of their most realistic river training days. In a controlled river rescue environment, the rookie guides dove in to experience swimming class III rapids. The drills immerse guide trainees in river currents, provides insight into the panic felt by guests dumped out of the raft and therefore motivates the guides in training to keep people in the raft.

While completing a total of 18 hours of swiftwater training, the soon to be whitewater rafting guides practiced throwing rope bags to rescue swimmers and teamed up to trail crossing the river in small groups. As a result of this extensive training, we feel confident our guide trainees will be prepared to handle emergency river situations. We are proud of our crew, and are dedicated to making the best possible experience for our guests.

Great Night with the Honey Gitters

Friday night music series at Mountain Whitewater Descents

Friday, June 1st kicked off the first night of our Paddler’s Pub summer concert series with The Honey Gitters, a local Fort Collins progressive bluegrass band. The high energy of the music was truly infectious, along with the warm weather and incredibly vibrant sunset. It was a evening unlike any other.

Our neighbors popped in to see what the commotion was all about. They exclaimed how much fun they had, and said they can’t wait to tell their friends and will definitely be back next Friday! All of the attendees were ecstatic that we will be hosting shows all summer long.

Our five acre park provides an exceptional atmosphere with the majestic mountains in the background, a sand volleyball court, BBQ grill and picnic area, a play area for children, small outdoor amphitheater, nature trail and not to mention the only real outdoor Pub in Fort Collins! Feel free to bring your dog!

Next Friday June 8th, we will be continuing our summer concert series with Shaefer Welch, a folk artist originally from Nashville, Tennessee. Shaefer Welch has relocated to Fort Collins in order to further explore his music career in the duo, Rosewood Divine. Be sure to come check out his smooth folk acoustic style, kick back, meet new people and enjoy refreshingly cold beer!

There will be a show featured at the Paddler’s Pub every Friday until August from 5-8 pm. The complete lineup is available on our website and Facebook page with links to the artist’s reverbnation music page.

For more questions or comments visit our Facebook page, Mountain Whitewater Descents give us a call at (970)-419-0917 or send an e-mail to ben@raftmwd.com

The Honey Gitters open up the Paddler’s Pub Summer Music Lineup

Friday evening music series at Mountain Whitewater Descents

On Friday, June 1 The Paddler’s Pub, at Mountain Whitewater Descents, will be hosting the first band for their Summer Music Series. The Honey Gitters are a local Fort Collins band who will be playing progressive bluegrass music, incorporating new and old bluegrass sounds. This dynamic group is just returning from a southwest Colorado tour and will be kicking off at 5pm this Friday. It is a free event open to the public and we invite you to enjoy local Colorado beer, sand volleyball and some great music against the backdrop of the beautiful foothills.

Please check out their website at honeygitters.com and come help us kick off the 2012 Summer Music Series at Mountain Whitewater Descents and the Paddler’s Pub. Located at 1329 N. US Hwy 287 Fort Collins, CO 80524

For any questions please call us at 970-419-0917