Liquid Descents: Poudre River Gnarrows Race 2009

One of these four is not like the other, fingers up Gnat

Notice Paul the Kayaker's suit

Ah, there is truly nothing better than this day. Copious amounts of smack talking the week before have led up to this day. Roughly 3 miles of class IV-V continuous boater x. Go fast or go home. Winner gets the much sought after "Buckle" and second place gets you 40oz of malt barely soda.

Me charging Whiteline

Awoody about to give a WY boof on Christian's head

The racers are divided up into heats of four or five boaters who then race at the same time. This race consists of running from about a quarter mile above Upper narrows all the way through Lower Narrows. The top two from each heat make it into the semi-finals. This year we also let the winner of the loser's bracket get entry into the finals. The semi, loser, and finals are boater x but take place on the lower narrows.

The loser's bracket is awesome because it was about ten boaters in boater x style going down the lower narrows at once. In the video you can see me get vertically pinned in that section. I couldn't get far enough left with all of the boaters and came right into the rock pile at the entrance move. Oh well, it just cost me a mustache and a belt buckle.

After two semi finals and the loser's bracket you get the finals made up of five of the fastest boaters around. This year it consisted of Cutch (last year's winner), Christian, Natalie, Marty, and Nathan.

L to R: Nathan, Kyle, Natalie, Christian, Marty

With three FoCo racers we were hoping the belt would come back home and for a moment it looked so. Marty came out strong but could not hold off Christian and took a slightly slower line on the left, none the less Marty put on a great show for all of us young bucks and showed what true old man strength is all about. Then he slammed his 40 like he was back in NZ during the college days.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, the passing of the buckle

Ladies he is single, dirty hippies need not apply

The after party might have been the best yet with New Belgium's finest on tap, and 125lbs of fresh alive and pinching crawdads waiting to be put in a boil. Done up by real New Orleans people. Lil' Wayne would have been proud.