Wow all........I have had some phenomenal responses and have been recommended some amazing individuals! It would be incredibly helpful if you guys could drop me your nominees email address or some sort of contact info to further pursue things- Thanks a mil!
__________________ 'College is a refuge from hasty judgment.'
-Robert Frost[/font]
I'll nominate Doug Wheat........author of the Floaters Guide to Colorado. He is a teacher here in town and I had the pleasure of doing a High School trip down Deso-Gray last year with him. He made it one of the best float trips I've ever been on. Classic!!
If not yet nominated, here are some additional key names that are still gettin' things done and very supportive of the industry ... consider: Andy Corra, Mike Freeburn, Nancy Wiley, Scott Shipley, Roger Paris, John Paris, John Wasson, and I even think Kevin Padden is still be around.
There were some other greats that, unfortuantely, are no longer with us. Several of the little recognized and, perhaps, greatest Colorado legends of the early '80s were Tom Nofzinger, Todd Hebblewhite, and Paul Zirkelbach. Tom, always flawless and quite possibly the finest boater ever, never sought recognition or fame. Yet he pioneered, in 4 meter boats, many of what most creekers today think they deserve fame for. He mysteriously left us in his sleep in Costa Rica while establishing his expedition adventure company.
Hey, what about John Jaycox????? Truly one of the unsung heroes of whitewater paddling. How many of you out there are paddling one of his custom made slalom or downriver boats? And, who could forget the "Gorepedo"????? He was also on my first trip down the Clark's Fork Yellowstone (many many many years ago), and was the first to run Leap Of Faith, blind, because we didn't know it was a portage..... and he ran it in a custom made kevlar knockoff of the Prijon T-Canyon. He might be a bit of a hermit, but he was/is one hell of a paddler and boat builder.
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So many rivers, so little time..........
Mark Cramer is helping to pioneer the edge of big water whitewater rafting. He is one of the few (maybe the only person?) to have solo descents of both the Devils Canyon of the Susitna and Turnback Canyon of the Alsek, in a raft or a kayak. Not to mention his solo attempt at the Stikine, which if he succeeds on a future attempt, will cement his status as quite possibly the most capable catarafter on big water in the world.
Someone else to consider on the rafting front is Charlie Brown, for his R2ing on smaller volume creeks and waterfalls. I don't know his full resume, but I know that there is a lot of serious class V on it on both coasts. He would be worth looking into.
What about Tom Love for inventing and making the Shredder popular?
Richard Bangs should also get a nod. He has run a lot of first descents across the globe. Stuff like the Yangtze, Euphrates, Blue Nile, Indus, Bio Bio...
He is one of the few (maybe the only person?) to have solo descents of both the Devils Canyon of the Susitna and Turnback Canyon of the Alsek, in a raft or a kayak.
I believe Blackadar's descents in AK were all solo.
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"The world would be a better place if everyone kayaked."-Brad Ludden (Valhalla)
"You only get one chance to run a drop blind."-DD
Shit. Kent Ford. Can't forget him. Probably the most consistently innovational producer of instructional films in the history of the sport. Not to mention he holds his own when it comes to the exploration of rivers.
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"The world would be a better place if everyone kayaked."-Brad Ludden (Valhalla)
"You only get one chance to run a drop blind."-DD
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