River Tails

December 26th, 2009 by rafter

Mr. Haugland was one of six crew members who crossed the Pacific Ocean in 1947 on board the balsa wood raft Kon-Tiki.

October 15th, 2009 by rafter

Weighing as little as three pounds, pack rafts are seeing a resurgence with outdoors fanatics.

May 22nd, 2009 by rafter

This country is Africa (jungle, elephants, lions and all) without the tourist bells and whistles, and one way to discover it is on the Nile, bouncing along on a raft.

May 22nd, 2009 by rafter

Where to dine, sleep and shop in Lake Tahoe.

May 22nd, 2009 by rafter

Lake Tahoe is America’s quintessential high-low summer playground.

March 20th, 2009 by rafter

This Central American country is a destination of multiple personalities: challenging adventure spot, pioneering eco-retreat and luxurious getaway.

February 24th, 2009 by rafter

What does 2009 hold for whitewater rafting and the adventure travel industry? It depends on what the adventure is. 2008 provided a roller-coaster ride for the entire nation as we saw outrageous gas prices, the real estate market crash and finally the entire collapse of the financial industry and economy in general.

The direct affect of the economy has not fully hit the rafting industry as of yet. 2009 will be a historic year, and nobody can predict what will happen this season. Since most of the economic collapse happened towards the end of the rafting season last year, most outfitters fared “OK”. Everyone took hits with the gas crises, but avoided the major collapse of the market.

Although studies have shown that “vacations” are often one of the last items people cut in their personal budgets, it is beginning to be evident that vacations are not immune to the market downturn.

Advanced bookings are slightly down across the board, and cancellations are statistically higher than usual, as those who booked far in advance are realizing the “extra” vacation cash needs to pay off bills.

That being said, summer vacations and adventure travel will still be a hot ticket on people’s itinerary for 2009. One positive that local outfitters may see is that residents will cut back on traveling to distant locations, and try to find fund and relaxation closer to home. Local marketing and local advertising will be important factors for staying above water (no pun intended).

I predict that whitewater rafting will stay strong for those who realize that you will have to spend money to make money. In an economy where businesses are cutting costs, many have the opportunity to rise above the competition as many scale down marketing efforts.

As far as water levels, rivers and geographic issues, it looks like there is still plenty of snowpack and storms to come that should not be an issue for most parts of the nation.

As usual, we will see how things play out…

February 24th, 2009 by rafter

At least in West Virginia.

The West Virginia state Supreme Court says federal maritime laws don’t govern activities involving West Virginia’s whitewater rafting industry. This stems from an accident on the Shenandoah River a few years ago, in which a party sued the rafting company for a mishap on the river.

This court decision could mean big things for the whitewater rafting industry int he US. This now sets the precedence for any future lawsuits against river rafting outfitters. Although all outfitters are required to be licensed and carry liability insurance, lawsuits stemming from death and/injury on the river still exist.

Hopefully this will add a bit more cover for the river rafting outfitters, who already do all they can to keep the guests safe and follow best practices when it comes to risk management and safety regulations.

February 24th, 2009 by rafter

Augusta, GA wants to push for their own whitewater rafting park as rafting travel picks up popularity across the U.S. Augusta city is joining the hoards of towns and cities we’ve already mentioned with plans to utilize canals, river and streams to turn around whitewater rafting parks.

The USNWC (US National Whitewater Center) seems to be holding ground currently, but is is a large center aimed at not only the local market, but professional paddlers and competitions. The verdict is yet to be determined as all the other areas across the nation try to tap into the popular sport. More updates as they open, and we will see where whitewater parks stand in a few years.

February 24th, 2009 by rafter

Clarification- the Grand Canyon did not flood.

The recent flash flood in the Grand Canyon has news agencies (surprise) reporting that the Grand Canyon was flooding. In actuality, a side canyon, Havasu got flash flooded by an earth dam that broke from the flash rain storms in the area.

Grand Canyon rafting trips were in the canyon at the time, and the only rafting trip affected by the flooding was a private boat trip that lost their rafts that were parked at the mouth of the flooded canyon. Western River Expeditions saw the raft without rafters and reported the incident to the park service.

All of the evacuations and emergency helicopter transfers related to the incident were the local tribe resident who lived along the Havasu Canyon and whose homes were threatened by the flash flood.

NO COMMERCIAL RAFTING COMPANIES OR TRIPS WERE IN DANGER OR AFFECTED BY THE FLOOD.

Hope that clears some of the questions up, and if you have any more, feel free to comment on this post and I can answer any of your inquiries!