Silver Creek, S. Fork

Red Bull South Silver 'Race' Report New

Forum: BoaterTalk

Date: Jun 29 2003, 7:18 GMT

From: clayw

Only in California!! Big trees, 100 degree temps, and white granite slanting 720 feet per mile! Sicko spot, much easier than you'de think, and only one portage. S Silver is a gem.

But to race it? Of course. Red Bull stepped up to the challenge once again and helped Robbie Hogge - the mayor of Coloma, CA - organize the first race on this amazing course.

First thing done right - shortened the race to only the steepest section. Starting right above the 'teacups' under the Red Bull Arch, and down thru Skyscraper and finishing off in the pool above the 'portage'. You could see the whole thing from high on the rivr right bank.

2nd - started EARLY: like 10 AM? While I thought it ridiculous the CA sun is too hot to linger all day, and a beautiful lake full of warm water awaits downstream.

3rd: he raced - and got 3rd. Congrats!

Results: 1. Steve Fisher 2. Bryan Kirk 3. Robbie Hogge 4. Jimmy Blakeney 5. Clay Wright 6. Andre Spino-smith 7. . .

Uhh - the party was REALLY good afterwards, so parndon my lack of the rest. I do know Shannon Carrol was 9th and there were around 20 racers.

Highlights :

For me, onsighting the course made this one quite a heart-stopper. Tought to paddle hard into Skyscraper when you aren't real sure what's down there!

The carnage: not quite Green-race epic but some upside-down Skyscraper runs kept everyone on their toes. The action heated up downstream in the runout, with one swim and numerous pins on the ultra-technical bouldergardens and ledge drops to the lake.

The Part: Things got wild - even for Coloma. After a presentation of 'Elements of Adrenaline' - Scott Lindgren's new multi-sport docu-drama (the base-jumping segie and avalanches are OTC)the beer, rum, and Red Bull got to flowing. At one point I was surprised to see a parking-lot romance happening where one girl had another girl pinned to the back of a pickup . . .California is cool! But then the 'girl' dropped her dress to reveal pec muscles and a stuffed bra - geez. Whether in dresses or out of them, the racers got a warm welcome from California's most infamous paddling town and I've no doubt this Red Bull event on South Silver will be the first of many.

Green, Oh-b-Joyful, and now South Silver - how steep is it gonna go?

Clay Wright