Gradient Stormchasers: Beaverfest 2016

This year instead of going to the Raquette Race as usual on the Saturday of the Labour Day long weekend I instead decided to take in the sights and sounds of Beaverfest in all its glory. I’d never done the Taylorville section so it would give me the chance to run something new while at the same time enjoying the ever so classic Moshier and Eagle sections before hitting the Raquette on the holiday Monday at it’s meatier release level.

As usual, there were a ton of paddlers of varying difficulty at each place and every event. The alternative for most at Beaverfest who don’t do Taylorville the Saturday is the Raquette Race, but besides that everyone usually gets on Moshier and Eagle (which also has a race on the Sunday).

The Raquette and Eagle are two of the races of the ‘Whitewater King of New York’ competition, the other two are on the Black earlier in the year and the Moose at Moosefest in October. This provides a good release and competition schedule for those who are into it. The Raquette and Moose do also feature a number of releases throughout the year. Moshier, arguably the most interesting section of the Beaver, sadly releases only one day a year, the Sunday of the Labour Day long weekend.

This year…as was the norm two years ago when I last attended, we lucked out with some amazing bluebird skies and warm weather! Of course, as mentioned, there will be a ton of paddlers at these events, you can expect boat lineups at many rapids of the more accessible sections of the Beaver, but also packed rapids on the more difficult Eagle section and the Raquette. If you don’t like boating with lots of people and a festival environment, this is probably not the place for you. If you do like it…you will love it! It’s a similar feel to Moosefest but a lot warmer normally.

Below are some pictures I grabbed from the weekend.

Put in for Taylorville.

Just after the put in.

The bottom of the above rapid. It actually forms a pretty brutal hole that causes some swims.

The slide following.

A good involuntary rodeo hole at the bottom...

The right side of the next rapid.

Looking back up at the slide.

The other option for the next rapid, you can also climb back up and run this nice notch.

Lineups everywhere on this run...

Following is a fun little slide with some boof options.

The last section of Taylorville.

The far right boof option on the aforementioned rapid.

A boof on the final rapid.

Some play at the takeout.

Lots of people!

Everyone comes out for Moshier! This is the penstock buried underground.

François Tremblay on the Moshier spillway, the biggest rapid of the weekend on anything normally. A nice 20 footer into a big slide with an old object in the middle at the bottom that can be hazardous.