Meet Arturo Oropeza- our masterful Costa Rican partner who wows, and dazzles all of our students.  I was met at the airport by his big smile, and new this years trips were going to be better than ever.  A late night red eye from Portland flew through Newark, and on to San Jose.  Did a bunch of Roll practice in the pool with Ciado, and we all headed to the canopy tour tomorrow.  Then off to several of Costa Rica’s best rivers!  Next week we will be working with a bunch of kids (age 9-14) so it is time to go scout all the sections before they arrive.  If you are reading this from North America- sorry- it is 85 degrees right now, and NICE!

If you are interested in Costa Rica 2010, drop me a line at sam@eNRGkayaking.com.

The time is NOW to expand your whitewater realm beyond the Pacific NW. The time is NOW to ditch that dry suit! Spend a week with guides from Portland’s world class kayak school in and around Quepos Costa Rica! We’ve hand picked Quepos because its location delivers a variety of peak outdoor experiences, close to surf, rainforest, mountains & rivers that offer every level of activity from class V drops to serene paddles through mangroves. Tour dates are December 5-12 and 12-19 2009!

Led by ACA-certified guides and instructors, Northwest River Guides adventure tours combine exciting on-land activities with the best whitewater experience possible. Not to sound cliche but you WILL come home with memories to last a lifetime!

Unlike other outfitters, our adventour is designed to spend the least amount of time in transit and the most time on Costa Rican rivers and surf! With world class national parks, warm water and lush jungles, sweet ocean waves and fantastic class whitewater, this is an adventure you can’t miss!

Our multi-sport extravaganza combines whitewater experiences on the Upper and Lower Naranjo, the Savegre, as well as sea kayaking and hiking, surfing, forest canopy and cultural immersion. We’ll pay a visit to Manuel Antonio National Park.

Details: Novice and intermediate whitewater kayakers with a solid roll and rafters of any level. We will tackle some There will be higher level kayaking offered on the Upper Naranjo. No experience necessary for rafters. Light hiking.

Come and enjoy the holiday season in style! Call 503-772-1122 for specifics! Equipment provided.

Stand up and River surfing are super fun.  On the river, the wave never dissipates!!!  This is a picture of Carrington barrs paddling into Colorado Wave on the Lower Deschutes River in Oregon.  Carrington and Gabe are awesome surfers with lots of experience in Mexico, and Indo- but I think this was there first time surfing a standing river wave.   This was on the second day of the lower Deschutes river wilderness trip.

In an attempt to document my last few months on this blog, I have to share an experience that occurred right before I went to Costa Rica.  I got the call from Gearbox HD that Legacy Films was looking for a water man that could shoot the Nelscott Reef Big Wave Tow In Surf Competition in Lincoln City OR.  Having never seen or heard of 15+ foot surfable waves in Oregon, I was intrigued… albet a little bit excited too.  At the end of November, I was not expecting good weather, so I was stoked as I drove threw McMinnville OR under blue skys.  But right before I hit the coast, I drove into a cloud bank that never ceased.  When I finally made it to the beach, I couldn’t see more than 100 feet in front of me… but I could hear, and feel the pounding surf.  After the competitors meeting, I realized that this event was going to be the real deal.  World famous surfers from all over were flying in for the event.  By midnight, miraculously, the fog lifted.  The event was scheduled for early start the following morning.  Up at 5am, gathering gear, it wasn’t until around 7am that I realized the waverunners were launching off the beach… in 12 foot close out beach break.  Oh what fun…. Well, the other thing that I was ignorant about was how powerful the waverunners were.  It enabled us to easily wip out to Nelscott Reef where the waves were breaking.

You want to talk about humbling… wow. trying to work a HD p2, while white knuckling on the back of a wave runner in swell that peaked at 18 feet at 20 seconds.  Thanks to great drivers, I survived the experience, and got some incredible shots.   Thanks to Richard Hallman at freelanceimaging.com for providing these jpgs for this blog.

This is just one more reason why I LOVE OREGON!!!!  To check out the Nelscott Reef Film trailor – Claim go to www.nelscottreefthemovie.com