Hey Folks,

Exciting news. It's been talked about for quite some time, but now the initation and developmental process has begun to design and construct an artifical whitewater course in downtown Anchorage on Ship Creek, just above the heavily fished area. The course will more than likely be around 900 feet long and include 7 class II+ to III juicy rapids to practive everything from ferrying, hole punching, surfing, all rodeo moves, rolling, etc in. Benefits to the community will be a safe place to learn to paddle easy to moderately difficult whitewater without undercuts or strainers, a Salmon Learning Walkway complete with bike path, picnic tables, new trees, information displays on & about salmon, and labratory areas for students K-12 & college to conduct experiments and tests. The whitewater park can also be used for Whitewater & Swiftwater Rescue Certification classes, for whitewater paddling and rolling classes, and possibly for a local business to open an inflatable kayak/raft/inner tube tour company at the site to rent out and guide tours to tourists in the summer. The salmon habitat will benefit as well, as major improvments to the erosion and irrigation sediment problems will be put in place. I'm very excited about this project and I hope to get your support in the way of emails of any ideas or comments you have to help make this a reality in the near future. Email kayaker35@Hotmail.com with your thoughts. Thanks guys. As always, just trying to keep the community excited in the world of Alaska paddling!

Check out the www.kck.org website for more info.

Come by and watch my attempt at a public presentation. I will be showing the New Horizon video, talking about a new Ship Creek Canyon access proposal for the military base, and doing a powerpoint presentation including plans of the new and upcoming Ship Creek Artificial Whitewater course in downtown Anchorage. Be at the Lousacc Library at 7p.m. for the show, free of charge. The Alaska Whitewater guidebook will be for sale there, as well as the New Horizon video if I can get enough copies. See you guys there!

Pool Changes as of April 16th in Anchorage for open kayak & kayak polo

Public kayak time will move to East High East: 4/16/09 - 5/28/09 730 - 900 pm $5 rentals available.

*Tuesday @ East High School will be open paddling

*Thursday at East High School will be polo:

*H2Oasis Waterpark Thursdays, $20.00, 730 - 900 pm

For more info, contact Jim Gonski of Alaska Kayak Academy 907-746-6600 www.kayakcenterak.com

Tim,

Alaska Kayak Academy will start open kayaking and beginner kayak lessons at the H2O Oasis Waterpark on Thursday, November 6th at 7:30 pm to 9 pm. $10 admission. $10 boat rental. $15 boat rental and instruction. This continues every Thursday throughout the winter.

Also, they offer winter/summer kayaking instruction & trips, including guided inflatable trips in the class III range.

Click on the "LINKS" page to link to their site.

The boys arriving for the big day. Jason, J.D., Xavier, Timmy, & Obadiah.

Xav running the 1st drop at the put-in (Juneau Falls in the background).

The typical drop (about 1/2 way into the run).

Juneau Creek, one of many, lies at the southern end of Resurrection Trail near Cooper Landing, AK. Juneau Falls (the seemingly main attraction) is a 70 ft. falls (not runnable by even immortals) and happens to be your put-in. Put in directly below Juneau Falls on river-right down a steep game trail (no ropes needed if you're a kayak carrying pro) and shove off into the river to run the 1st 6 ft. riverwide clean ledge. Another 15ft slide is run far river left immediately downstream. From there on out, several fast, bouncy, rocky boulder gardens mixed with a several fast smooth sluices make for a good bit of scouting. There is a fair amount of wood that must be portaged around. About 3/4 the way down the run you will encounter the largest drop on a left-hand bend. Run this drop far river-right up top and try to stay upright on the 20 ft. tall broken ledge (3 tiered). Immediately downstream the crux of the run is encountered. A 4 drop series back to back of solid class V/V+ awaits you. This incredible drop starts w/ a 6 ft. tall slide (run left of center) into a 6 ft. tall off-vertical ledge that can still be boofed. The creek then makes a sharp left bend and drops a 10 ft. ledge (boof right) then take the left half of the river below for the final 8 fter. After this the creek has several more nice drops. So, there's a description. A good bit of wood to portage and a bit bouncy/manky boat abusy in a few spots, but overall, the last half of the run leaves you with fairly fond memories of Juneau Creek.

- pictures coming soon (Timmy J, JD Batove, Obie Jenkins, Xav Engle, & Jason Whitman)

Check out Debbie & James's new website

www.susitnasledandkayak.com

You can buy there kayaks and kayaking gear there and check out more info!

Montana Creek has been looked at & ran in sections. The 1st complete 1st descent was by Jason Whitman, Tim Johnson, and J.D. Batove on June 1st, 2008. The level was medium (about 250 cfs) and perfect for a 1st time down the creek. The quality of this run is unbelievable! Around 9 to 10 high quality class IV-IV+ rapids on set in a nice, solid bedrock canyon. There are not many runs in Alaska that have smooth bedrock as this run does, definitely kayak plastic friendly! Most of the rapids are ledge drops in the 6 to 8 ft. range and have small pools at the base. The highlight of the run (about half way through the run) is a mini slot canyon that makes a 90 degree bend to the left and drops off a perfect 8 ft. riverwide waterfall. About a 1 hour hike in (or 20 minutes on an ATV). This run is just outside of Talkeetna, AK.

Also check out John & Paul Schauers video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otOTI9EEmyg

Check out more pictures of the run taken by JD that day at http://picasaweb.google.com/JDBatove/MontanaCreek#

Owners James & Debra just opened Susitna Sled & Kayak. Located near Montana Creek (north of Willow, AK) they stock kayaks, paddles, and all the other gear you need to get yourself on the water! Save yourself expensive shipping costs from the lower 48 and support your locals! They will now be stocking Pyranha kayaks in addition to their other brand names, so give them a call if you need a boat or any paddling gear! For more information the shop can be reached at (907) 315-2119 OR 315-2118.

Take care and stay tuned for more at your Alaska Whitewater connection!

Timmy J.

NEW HORIZON, THE BRAND NEW ALL-ALASKAN KAYAKING VIDEO IS NOW FOR SALE!!! 45 minutes of non-stop kayaking and adventure including sweet lines, ugly lines, rescues, shoulder dislocations, 1st descent missions, and big smiles all set to a sweet sound track. Email kayaker35@hotmail.com to order your copy today! VIEW THE TRAILER BELOW:^)

1)Willow Creek has a channel-wide strainer on the Guardrail section about half way down on a left hand bend in the river. There is a low water bouncy sneak through boulders on river-left.
2)Hey Timmy, Just thought I'd let you know that Bird has a bit of wood. One tree across the river very shortly after put-in. You can sneak past it on the left if you are paying attention. As usual, there is still a bunch in the first rapid. Mushroom has what looks to be a few trees. Then a few stragglers here and there, none of which were hard to avoid. Just pay attention out there! Late J.D.