A technician was at the Boise River Whitewater Park wave Thursday shaping the wave.

While he worked in the control room, two surfers decided to jump on the waves as they were being changed. At one point you could see the main wave grow steeper and steeper and then become lower and more round.

A couple of kayakers were also testing out the wave.

The river is flowing more than 6,000 cfs and is too dangerous for any boaters other than experts. Believe me, you’re not going to see me out on the wave until the river is back around 1,500 cfs. The river water temperature is just barely 40 degrees, which is icy cold.

The installation process at this site has been challenged by super narrow windows of time when the regulated river could be dry enough for us to conduct the tuning; contractor equipment malfunction (i.e., huge excavator broken down, mid-stream); and requirement that no work be conducted during the winter/early spring fish spawning period. The prohibition ended April 15.

The very next day the contractor, directed by Lee Liebfarth at the NOC, and Rick McLaughlin jumped into tuning mode and, despite being constrained by limited access (releases were still happening and recent rains kept a fair amount of water in the channel when the river was turned off), had it in great shape for this year’s Shootout a few days later. They worked to direct and focus flow over the stationary WaveShaper and adjust the side water that is amazingly influential on how the feature forms.  As Lee sees it, “Right now, the Nantahala hole is the best it has been and is capable of and producing 1,400 point rides. It is not yet perfect, however. The organizing committee is committed to continuing to fine tune the feature until it is the best in the world!”

“The process of creating the new Worlds feature took longer than expected but was completed by the April 21^st deadline for the first USA Freestyle kayaking event of the season, the NOC Shootout. This initial tuning process included input from several of the best freestyle kayakers in world, as well as feedback/ideas from many local paddlers.”

Reviewing competition scores illustrates the ‘performance’ capability of the feature, as judging and scoring systems become more consistent from event to event.

Top scores at 2012 feature -  Men’s Pro: 1,443 (Dane Jackson), Women’s Pro: 780 (Emily Jackson)
Top scores at 2011 feature -  Men’s Pro: 900 (Eric Jackson), Women’s Pro: 584 (Emily Jackson)

Lee suggests we allow the feature to remain the same for a month or so before making further tuning plans. “We’re close,” he notes. “We will just need some fine tuning.”

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2012 Results: http://www.noc.com/noccom/festivals-a-events/noc-freestyle-shootout/

2011 Results: http://jacksonkayak.com/blog/2011/04/18/noc-freestyle-shootout-final-resuls-and-wrap-up/

Wendy Larimore, Boise Parks and Recreation notes, “We are very pleased with the project at all flows we have experienced so far.  We have been able to adjust flash-boards and WaveShaper 2 to provide a surfing feature that has kept the kayak community pretty entertained considering the park isn’t even officially open.”

“Irrigation season has  started and the automation was just finalized recently. In the meantime the kayakers are enjoying it very much.  Some are a little impatient because it isn’t officially open yet and access is still difficult.  I foresee tuning WaveShaper 3 this fall and winter.  I can’t wait to hear responses from the general public this summer!”

Check this video by paddler Alec Vorhees, Team NRS and Jackson Kayak: you just may want to visit the park soon to join him and try the moves he’s perfected!

The debris from the Alabama side of the dam is being collected, and everyone is excited to see the river as it has not been viewed in a century and a half!

It’s pretty daunting to view the stark contrast between the silent, almost solemn scene above the dam prior to removal (see video), and during a release: this photo shows past USA Freestyle Team member and MWDG intern Jordan Poffenberger cruising through the Alabama Channel in its current configuration.

The feature has many of the positive aspects of the tried, true and temporary feature locals loved. It is deeper and has a lot more power that could stand to be toned down.  More soon, as we hope to get in another round of edits. We thank our hosts, the awesome paddlers and Bill Baxter’s expertise, for it will the combined talents of this ‘village’  will help us, as Daniel puts it, ” take advantage of the design that is waiting there for us!”

The official site opening occurred on December 16th at which Andrew described the improvement as “a Christmas present to the region” and to the kayaking community.” See the the MWDG flikr set of Nantahala River Improvement photos, WorldKayak and  2013 World Championships site for more information.

1. Provide upstream passage for three native fishes, roundtail chub, bluehead sucker, and flannelmouth sucker, and to reestablish population connectivity for these fishes upstream and downstream of the dam.
2. Improve safety of boat passage over the existing dam.
3. Preserve the ability of the Hartland Irrigation Company to divert river flow for irrigation.

This is a landmark project for fans of the whitewater park movement for its progressive objectives and the tremendous effort made by project partners to serve multiple uses and users. Painted Sky, a 501c3 Colorado Corporation, is shepherding this important project as a steward of the Upper Colorado Basin. See their website for more project photos and detail.  See the MWDG flickr set of project photos of the mid-construction diversion.

Before heading to Columbus, we reached out to Sam Ovett who, along with four other skilled paddlers, provided feedback on the current configuration of the Cut Bait channel and high powered hydraulic that will one day provide an unforgettable climax to their day on the river Max Ovett, Matt Heath, Tony Rice and Hunter Katt were up for the task of paddling through or the hole as it approached 10,000 cfs. Hunter just styled it, several times and after starting out with a yard sale, Sam recovered with several controlled rides. Matt held his own. Risa got a beat down, and Rick paddled through smoothly, so we all had an opportunity to develop a personal perspective! Sam recounts the trip on his and Max’s blog and has shared photos that provide a feel for the size of the water. John Anderson will be back this weekend to check in, and the engineers back in Denver are modeling the next round of ‘edits’ as the work continues. Thank you guys, as well as Josh Bruner, for your time and enthusiasm!