Nenana River festival brings kayakers together for Alaska's wild waters
Originally published Monday, August 11, 2008 at 12:00 a.m.
Updated Monday, August 11, 2008 at 9:55 a.m.
Digg
delicious
Facebook
Mixx
Reddit
Stumble It!Photo Gallery
Nenana River Wildwater Festival
More than 25 boaters gathered at the Nenana River Canyon near Denali National Park and Preserve for the 32nd Annual Nenana River Wildwater Festival on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008, the longest running event of its kind in the state. They raised more than $1,500 for Athletes With A Cause.
DENALI — Dads chased their sons down the Nenana River on Saturday during the 32nd Annual Nenana River Wildwater Festival, but they never caught them.
Once again, Paul Schauer, 23, of Anchorage streaked to a first-place win through high water and exploding waves in the four-mile downriver race with a time of 19 minutes, four seconds. He is the current record holder, finishing the course five years ago in 16 minutes, 10 seconds. That year, the Nenana River reached its highest level in 13 years.
Of course, it helped that he was paddling an old fiberglass kayak that is 13 feet, 2 inches long. Length equals speed.
“That boat is older than he is,” said his dad John Schauer. “We bought it used in 1984, the year before he was born.”
He wasn’t the only one borrowing gear from parents.
Right behind him at 19:46 was Denali kayaker Jeff Shelton, paddling a Perception Mirage.
Most amazing was a third-place finish by 17-year-old Jules Domine of France, paddling a much smaller creek boat, a Jackson Rocker, just 8 feet, 1 inch long. That craft is designed for dodging rocks on steep creeks, not downriver races on big water.
Karl Schauer, 20, of Anchorage came in fourth at 20:07, paddling his Dad’s old Corsica. Jacob Remington, 17, of Fairbanks took fifth place at 20:34, paddling his Dad’s old Mirage.
“That Mirage has done a lot of rivers,” said Jim Remington, who slipped a heavy rock into Jacob’s kayak just before the start of the race. It didn’t seem to slow Jacob down at all.
“He taunted me by carrying his boat to the road at the finish line with the rock still in it,” he said.
John Schauer of Fairbanks took fifth place with 20:46. He thinks if he hadn’t stopped to help paddlers who flipped, he might have been closer to his two sons. When he realized he couldn’t regain those lost seconds, he just sighed, “Oh well.”
Jim Remington of Fairbanks came in sixth, at 21.09.
Rounding out the top 10 were Bob Halbeisen of Fairbanks, 21:20; Jason Motyka of Denali, 21:25; and Will Blair of Fairbanks, 21:29.
Winning is not what this event is about, however. This annual gathering has always been a great excuse for paddlers to get with other river runners from around the state and enjoy paddling.
In addition, the race took on new meaning this year thanks to new organizer Allan Warren of Denali. Warren’s Web site, www.lifemorenatural.com and his charity “Athletes With A Cause” focus on connecting people with the outdoors. The charity is a way for competing outdoor athletes to raise money while they train and compete. The money is used to purchase sports equipment for disabled individuals. This weekend, the paddlers raised more than $1,500, which will be used to help buy a special sit ski for athletes who don’t have the use of their legs.
For the first time in weeks, the sun came out and shone throughout the day, making the daylong events fantastic for spectators.
A dozen boaters competed in the Wildwater Rodeo, which was held just above Jonesville Bridge. When the field narrowed down to the best performers, the competition moved to nearby Rooster Tail Rapid, or Razorback, as it is also called.
There, the huge wave-hole at the top awaited only the most expert and controlled boaters. The handful of kayakers who gave it a try put on quite a show, generating much clapping and cheering from the crowd that lined the shore. In the end, Shelton and Domine shared top honors.
But this annual event is not just for experts.
Some new paddlers tried their hand at racing this difficult section of river for the first time: Noah Schieber and Lucca Giannechini raced in a two-person inflatable kayak; Spencer Allen of Denali let more experienced kayaker Nathan Bataille of Anchorage pilot their inflatable kayak downstream; and Jesse Arbuckle of Healy paddled the entire course for the first time in a hard-shell kayak without ever tipping over.
Tanya Schlenter, of Minchumina, experienced an exciting, unplanned swim through Rooster Tail Rapid when she accidentally slid into the giant wave-hole at the top. Her boat stayed behind in the hole as she floated downstream, where a rescue kayaker helped her to shore. Eventually, she and her craft reunited. The incident didn’t seem to deter her from further paddling.
This event was sponsored by LifeMoreNatural, Denali Outdoor Center, Denali Salmon Bake, Denali Mountain Works, Silver Gulch Brewery, Moose’s Tooth Brewery, Beaver Sports, Mountain Sports and Nomadic Stars.
Race Results
Downriver Race:
Single Kayaks: 1. Paul Schauer:, Fairbanks, 19:04 2. Jeff Shelton, Denali: 19:46 3. Jules Domine, France: 19:59 4. Karl Schauer, Anchorage: 20:07 5. Jacob Remington, Fairbanks: 20:34 6. John Schauer, Fairbanks: 20:46 7. Jim Remington, Fairbanks: 21:09 8. Bob Halbeisen, Fairbanks: 21: 20 9. Jason Motyka, Denali: 21:25 10. Will Blair, Fairbanks: 21:29 11. Ian Hebert, Fairbanks: 21:40 12. Yel Campbell, Fairbanks: 21:59 13. David DeLong, Fairbanks: 22:14 14. John Gerken, Fairbanks: 22:35 15. John Jodwalis, Fairbanks: 22:57 16. Cynthia Donarak, Denali: 23:07 17. Jesse Arbuckle, Denali: 23:13 18. Bruce Campbell, Fairbanks: 25:03 19. Cody Tye, Anchorage: 25:27 20. James Castro, Susitna Valley: 28:30 21. Pete Pupator, Susitna Valley: 29:06 22. Tonya Schlentner: Lake Minchumina, Did not finish.
Two-Person Inflatable Kayaks: 1. Louise Lovrich, Denali and Naomi Whitty of Fairbanks: 22:42; 2. Nathan Bataille, Anchorage and Spencer Allen, Denali, 23.13; 3. Noah Schieber and Lucca Giannechini, both of Denali, 23:56.
Wildwater Rodeo:
TIE 1. Jules Domine, France and Jeff Shelton, Denali 3. Karl Schauer, Anchorage 4. Paul Schauer, Anchorage 5. Jacob Remington, Fairbanks 6. Mike Peacher, hometown unknown; 7. Cody Tye, Anchorage 8. John Schauer, Fairbanks 9. Will Blair, Fairbanks 10. Jason Motyka, Denali 11. Jim Remington, Fairbanks 12. Dave DeLong, Fairbanks
Community Discussion
Newsminer.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full user's agreement.
Awesome! How about you let us know when this is happening next year so that we can attend?! I'd love to see it and donate to a great cause.
Thanks for a great story Kris, and for organizing such an awesome event for all those years. It was a ton of fun this year and I look forward to making it happen again next year.
Thanks also to all the sponsor, competitors and volunteers that helped bring it all together.
We raised enough money to purchase a sit-ski to help disabled people ski and even some extra to send some underprivileged kids to ski camp this winter. Our next goal is to raise another $3000 or so to send 15 kids to camp, so far we've raised enough to send 3.
Akjak, we'll be doing it again next year, probably around the same time. The later start date seemed to work well for everybody this year so mid-August you'll have to come down and check it out. We're going to try to make it more than a river festival as well, so we'll keep you updated. If you want to donate though, you can do so at LifeMoreNatual.com, just look for the Athletes With A Cause charity section.
Thanks again everybody.
-Allan Warren-
Post a comment
Commenting requires registration.