Bull Run Slalom Site
There are whitewater slalom gates erected on the Bull Run river at the PGE Bull Run hydroproject near Sandy Oregon (see map below). These gates were erected by a relatively small number of slalom paddlers some 10 years ago, with the permission and lots of help from Portland General Electric. {Please consider PGE for all your power needs.} In 2007, the powerplant was decommissioned which reduced flows into to the BR. However, we redesigned the course and there are now sufficient flows about half the time in the winter and early spring (Nov. - May). Flows that are appropriate are: 450 (rocky) to 1800 (pushy) cfs on the Bull Run at Bull Run gauge: http://www.wkcc.org/levels/?D=5l1
This slalom course can serve several different purposes. A group of us paddle there regularly, as much as 3 times a week, practicing and training for slalom races. These are the folks with the 15 lb, all carbon, slalom boats, built to fly. There is also a series of 7 or 8 whitewater slalom and/or downriver races held in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia denoted the Northwest Whitewater Cup. Points are given for wins in each race towards the final cup. See the attached list of NW Cup races. More information is also at: http://www.nwwhitewater.org/
What is slalom racing? Kayakers & canoers attempt to negotiate a course made up of 18-25 downstream and upstream (in eddies) gates. Gates are defined by two poles spaced about 1 meter apart and hanging about 30 cm above the water. One is timed from the start to the finish (last gate), and penalties are added to the elapsed time for touching a pole (2 sec) or missing a gate (50 sec.). Much of the time elapsed involves entering eddies, paddling up through upstream gates and getting the boat out into the current. The power is in the water, it's all about where you put your boat, not strength. Racers are given two runs, and the best one counts.
Why paddle slalom gates if you don't race? Practicing on gates builds boating skills. This is equally true for those paddling a plastic creek or playboat as for those in a slalom or longer boat. You learn to enter eddies crisply, exit them in various attitudes, cross the river, front-ferry, back-ferry, and generally move your boat around. You can modify the course by moving gates to test various skills. Importantly, missing a move is not harmful, e.g. you do not hit a rock and pin, instead the poles swings harmlessly out of the way. You can practice different moves with others, i.e. with us regulars or other OKCC members giving input or coaching. Usually, we paddle back up the upper half of the course to do this section over and over. The middle part of the course requires walking back up. Often we are there for 1-2 hours on one day each weekend.
What do you need to get started? You do need a solid roll, as there are sharp rocks in and below the course. A swim here could be painful or even dangerous. You need to contact one of us and be shown how the gates work! The poles must be pulled up to the wires every time because floods can tear down the entire course. This course involves 50 or more hours of work to put up, so if someone leaves the gates down and the river comes up to high levels, we will lose all the gates and a huge amount of work. Raising and lowering the gates involves about 10-15 minutes before and after paddling.
For more information about the site and upcoming events, please contact:
David Johnson (johnsoda7@hotmail.com) or Rufus Knapp (rufusk@comcast.net)
What exactly is slalom all about? Click here to read more.
