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Primal Quest 2008 - Whitewater Riverboarding Section Info, Instruction, & Gear Reviews |
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Written by Face Level Staff
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 13 July 2008 )
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 PQ's whitewater was the biggest in AR history
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photo by Will Ramos
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Riverboarding
has been used in adventure races for a number of years, but never like
this. Face Level founder and CEO Josh Galt worked with Primal Quest to
create the biggest and yet safest whitewater course ever used in AR
(Adventure Racing), and nature did the rest!
With
the Gallatin river just below flood stage on the USGS gauges, racers in
"The World's Most Challenging Adventure Race" were treated to about 20
miles of class II / III whitewater paddling in inflatable duckies, then
9 miles of huge waves for class III / IV riverboarding.
Said
Josh, "I ran the whole stretch [along with an 80 mile kayak on the
Yellowstone, which was cut from the course last night due to
treacherous flooding] and I have been watching the gauges and the river
every day. It's mostly just huge waves, and the only danger area became
a mandatory portage. With the safety team I had in place, I knew people
would either love it or be scared to death, but I was confident it
would be safe. Huge but safe - that's what I was going for, and in my
opinion, that's what it was."
The
riverboarding section ended up being the least of the carnage, despite
the whitewater that would make even most hardcore riverboarders think
twice. The real dangers lay upstream in the kayaking section, where
many islands in the middle of the river became catch-all's for wood,
creating sizable strainers. Two racers had to be rescued off an island
after a brush with death on one of those strainers when their boat
pinned against it.
But as far as Josh is concerned, the day was a huge success in many ways.
"I
accomplished what I set out to do and have been pushing for with PQ for
3 years - to have a real riverboarding section. The high water made it
even more epic, so I'm thankful for that, and glad that no one got
hurt. I think it's safe to say though that on an internationl scale,
and from a TV standpoint [Primal Quest will air on Rush HD and possibly
FOX Sports], this is easily the biggest thing that has ever happend to
the sport of Riverboarding."
You can view the incredible pictures and follow the rest of the race at www.ecoprimalquest.com.
QUOTABLE:
When asked how the ride on the river was today, one rescued racer said:
"Epic. I almost died three times but I'd do it again."
***
Face
Level sponsored Team Nike, Team Merrell / Zanfel Adventure, and Team
Dart-nuun for the riverboarding section. Nike used a custom hydrospeed
board, Merrell had Carlson riverboards from a previous race, and
Dart-nuun used nuun-blue colored Kern Riverboards.
Face
Level provided the teams with all the gear that they needed for that
section, including Gath Gedi Convertible helmets with clear visors and
Hydro Tech fins (Ice believes those are better fins than Churchill's
and has been using them all this season). |
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Primal Quest® Riverboarding
In true Primal Quest® style, PQ 2008 promises to have the most challenging riverboarding section that racers have possibly ever faced.
Face Level has all the info you need to be properly equipped and prepared, and we will have complete board reviews (including all the inflatables!) and video of our product testing over the next several weeks.
- Gear List & Recommendations
- Hard-shell Riverboard comparison (April)
- Inflatable Riverboard comparison
We want you to be as successful as possible during this year's PQ Riverboarding discipline, so if PQ releases more information in their next newsletter we will update our tips and information with regard to recommended boards and gear for strategy, tips on dealing with water temps, etc.
One thing we do know - this year's Riverboarding will be legitimately challenging, just like every other PQ discipline. Approaching it that way will help you to make the right strategic decisions.
More Primal Quest® Riverboarding information >>>
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photo by Wouter Kingma
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