Thrills and Spills

Gearing up for the rafting season with a video of some of last years fun. Enjoy!

Looking forward to a season of playing on the river.

Happy Earth Day

Every day should be Earth Day, not just one day a year.

Living and working in the outdoors provides the constant wonder of nature and the appreciation of the changing of it. It is interesting to watch the river slowly release the ice and begin to build in volume. The trees are always late in sprouting their leaves in the foothills, so traveling from the Rafting Center to the river is like changing a season in the early spring. It is always several weeks behind.

The leaves on the trees bud, the grasses green up along the rivers edge and slowly the river valley does a catch up. As you drive up to the raft launch site, it is like going back in time to an earlier stage of the arrival of spring. One week, you can see the wildflowers blooming at the rafting take out point and a week later they are blooming at the rafting put in point.

Over the years of taking people out onto the river and guiding a raft, there is one point on the river, an actual location, that a lot of people have commented on how beautiful the area is. It is so stunning that it over-rides the excitement of being on the river and temporarily makes you stop and just look around. Then as the river carries the raft further downstream, it’s back to paddling and the adventure of the next rapid continues.

Happy earth day is just like that – we take a breath , and look around at what we have.

Now to learn how to look and appreciate every day.

Rafting Prediction Report for Mid-April

Following along with the monitoring station at Skoki Lodge, the main source of the Red Deer River, the trend is still up. The snow is still accumulating in the mountains (and around here once again).    I'm sure more snow will accumulate in the next few weeks looking at the temperature trends.

You Otter be Rafting!!

More Snow is Coming

Here in Sundre and the foothills we have a snowfall warning. The Red Deer River valley is due to get another 10 to 15 cm overnight. This is truly wonderful. Check the snow pack monitoring station at Skoki Lodge. In a few days come back and check the chart and see how the snow depth has changed.

We are in for a wild ride on the Red Deer River this year. I’m sure we’ll end up with some spectacular photos and exciting videos. I’ll be sure to share them here when they start coming.

Here’s a photo you won’t forget – you see it is important to paddle when you are told.

Plenty of Snow

After the heavy snow this last weekend, the monitoring station indicated that the snow pack has increased even more. The snow is in the higher range of the average levels (makes sense?? check out the chart). At this time of year the snow has more moisture in it so it contributes more to the runoff than a loose fluffy snow.

Hearing from some trappers working in the Red Deer River valley, they are having difficulties getting into their cabins. So not only is there lot’s of snow in the mountains but it is also in the valleys. This will help with the early season flow rates since it melts at the lower elevations first.

It’s looking like it will be a solid flow rate lasting through the summer.