This past weekend, Steve, Duane, our roommate Mark, and myself headed west to Glennwood Springs to meet up with a friend to do some Ripboarding. I was introduced to Shane Bolling through a mutual friend and once he started talking about his company and what Ripboarding entailed, I knew I had to try it out. Ripboarding is a distant cousin to whitewater rafting and kayaking with one important exception; you don’t have a boat. It is just you, a wetsuit, a lifejacket and the board. The concept is pretty simple, but the higher classifications of whitewater you encounter, the higher the degree of difficulty you face and the higher level of skill required.
We met up on the Colorado River, just by Grizzly Creek and started to get acquainted with the gear. After a briefing from Shane on how the Ripboards work and how to maneuver them, we headed out. The water was running a little high that day, so we first headed down a relatively clams 2-mile stretch of river so we could all get used to not only the equipment, but also the water. It was pretty cold! After shooting some relatively minor rapids and getting the feel of the board, I was ready for some bigger water.
We gathered up the vehicles and headed up to the Shoshone power station. this is a popular area to put in among boaters as it gives access to some class 3-4 sections of river, depending on how the water is flowing. At this point in the day, I was feeling pretty comfortable on the water, but looking down at the rapids we were about to jump into, literally, I couldn’t help but start to feel the butterflies start to swarm. We received another briefing from Shane about the rapids that lie ahead, rapids with names like "tombstone" and "Man Eater," and then we jumping into the fast moving current. Shane led the way since he was familiar with how the river flowed and which side of the rocks to pass – yes, there are also a lot of rocks in the water, which makes for an even more interesting experience.
This was an awesome section of river, the water was moving pretty fast and the rapids were big enough to allow you to get some pretty big air off of them. When we reached the last rapid, "Man Eater," you are so low on the water it looks like you are about to get slammed into a 5 foot high wall of water. The wall was steep enough that when you are going up the near vertical face, it definitely feels as if you are going to get flipped on your back, and that would be bad. All of us made it out of the Shoshone section alive and with huge smiles on our faces. Unfortunately, it was getting late in the day and the weather had turned for the worse, so we called it a day. It was a great day and I am definitely hooked. I can see ourselves Ripboarding down some river in a distant land with locals looking on like we are crazy because the concept is so foreign to the mind. Shane operates out of Golden, Colorado, so if you are even looking for a thrill, (an compared to kayaking and rafting, Ripboarding is surprisingly affordable) look him up. You can also buy the board and go off on your own. Just be sure you have a buddy with you or someone waiting to pick your body up down river if you get in over your head because you are having so much fun.
