Firstly, I had a good time at gore this year and huge thanks to everyone that put time and energy into the event.
NAZIS: The overwhelming law enforcement presence was a super buzz kill. The 'closing' at the put in between 11-1 was also bullshit (I was lucky and made it on at 10:59 with a ranger ready to break legs if I didn't). I am hoping we can get the ball rolling for some constructive feedback and ultimately make next year's event better.
Searches, spying with bonoculars, bullet proof vests, intimidation, shutting good ol gore camp fire fun down, what the F! Can we do anything about this, does anyone know who to contact at the BLM or state level to file a complaint?
I agree, that was bull shit. Turned the end of summer fest into a fucking summer camp. Closing down the river is crap. I drove from the fort only to make it there by 1105 and with the sight of a ranger truck blocking the road to the put in. I ended up having to run up the canyon to make it to tunnel on time to see any action. Its bull shit and next year it needs to go back to the way it was.
Unfortunatly, the law enforcement was definetly too intense. I firmly believe that there should be a couple of officers around to respond to any bad situations that may arise. However, the approach was much more hostel, and I think most would agree that the authorities did more to initiate bad situations than they did to keep things under control. The campfire they broke up, due to a noise complaint, was very poorly handled, and could have easily resulted in a fairly serious riot.
I think a lot of this stems from the attitude of the officers. Instead of approaching the group professionaly, they immaturely puffed up there chest and got in the face of whoever they could, wherever they could. Even a bouncer at a bar knows better than to pick a fight with every drunk unruly person they see. Talking is much more effective.
And yes, the put-in times were lame. What's the point of having a race that most people can't go watch? It's cheaper and easier to go solo Gore with a stop watch.
Huge thanks to Mark Joffe and company for putting on the event. I hope we can learn from this years Gore fest and make next year even better.
Agreed... if anyone can provide some contact info on where to file a complaint/ suggestion that would be great! There has to be a way to keep control and keep people off the tracks without pissing everyone off and giving the rangers a bad image. They really are not all bad! But there were definitely a couple assholes creating a negative image. Hopefully this can be fixed for next year.
First off, thank you everyone for working with us by not heading up to the tracks. Arron and I had a great day at the ferry and the Union Pacific was very cool and happy with our efforts. Thanks Arron for stepping in to help.
Joffe will be putting up a summary of the issues that we need to look at for next year, but the BLM was very supportive overall.
1. Their concern stemmed from the "usual" crowd they get out that way ie. Monster Truck and ATV/motorcycle gear heads, the type we've seen drunk and obnoxious in places like Ruby Mountain etc. Talks will progress, but it won't need to be this way always.
2. The river closure was due to some miscommunication. Obviously it doesn't help racers if there are other boaters in the way, but this will be addressed and improved. The closure was not Rapidpulse's idea.
Please address your concerns with Mark first. His email address is mark@rapidpulse.com All issues will be discussed and planning for next year is already underway.
I agree that the event was fun and well run once you were able to get into the canyon. We showed up at 10:59 and got a fairly nice BLM ranger who respectfully told us that it was 11am and that we could not put on the river until 3pm. After getting over the initial shock and the usual trying to talk our way on (which failed) he told us to go ahead and turn around by where the bathrooms are. We headed that direction to turn around and ran into a real a-hole of a BLM ranger who "needed" us to get the hell out of there ASAP. A couple of bored armed cops decided that we were being uppity by trying to turn around there and were more than happy to add their menacing presence to the mix.
We went to Kremling, paddled the extra couple of flat water miles on the Colorado, no problems. We also ran into a few others who just went up the put-in road a little ways and ran the Blue right past the put-in, supposedly they didn't have any problems either.
I think the main problem lies not with the ill-mannered and over-armed BLM cops, but with the shutting down of a public put-in. Rivers in Colorado have enough river access problems that we don't need anyone closing access for any reason. To me, the closing of the river by the BLM for any reason sets a very bad precedent that I would hate to see on any river.
re, river closure & setting a bad precedent: uh, ya think? far as i know, gore fest 05 sets THE precedent for cops shutting down river access during a river festival celebrating the river that's access-denied. seems kinda wacky to me, but i'm old fashioned ...
furthermore, private boaters have never been a major concern for racers & therefore cannot be cited as a valid reason for shutting down river access during a river festival. it's clear that it had everything to do with BLM/U.Pac.RR. fair enough, keep people off the tracks, but there are better was to address this.
the cops were way oppressive/invasive & the organizers will have to make sure starting right away that festival attendees -- if there is in fact another festival -- are insulated from this shit in future events. these guys weren't "responding" to situations, they were causing them.
the majority of the people that i talked to said that they will not be going to future gore canyon events because of the overwhelming cop presence this year. if i were one of the organizers, this would be a pretty big red flag &/or call to action.
having said all that, you get a bunch of boater friends together & we will inevitably make it a good time no matter what -- i had fun when i wasn't being harassed.
oh yeah, & the creature crafters got straight SCHOOLED by inner tubers ... discuss ..
I agree, the river closure was about as lame as the choice of thongs the dude chugging bears late night at the fire wore.
We got lucky. After driving down from Steamboat, setting up camp and picking up many racers hitchhiking to the putin, we arrived at 11:06 and were promptly told to get out! Shocked, unempowered and devastated, I pleaded our case again and the ranger actually let us unload and drop in, a 100% reversal from his initial "GET OUTTA HERE, NOW!". The sym-pathetic ranger's guilt must have played on his conscious.
We will be back next year to watch, play, party and get harassed if need be. But, we will be on time, that's for sure.
Thanks to all, overall a fine job of organizing and once again a great gathering of the Colorado boating community.
Linear Mode
