Well its that time of year again, Gore season is upon us and while it looks like the official Gorefest will not be happening this year I'm still amped to get some more days in on this Colorado classic. Some people have disputed the difficulty of Gore but for aspiring class V boaters its a must do and for the seasoned veterans I head this peace of advice, when you starting disrespecting this gem hold on tight cause your about to get handed and I speak from experience on that one.
Some might say the 45 minute paddle in is tedious and takes away from the run but I actually enjoy it. Its a good time to just sit back, enjoy the scenery, visit with old friends, meet new ones, and just reflect on the last few months filled with crazy adventures and good times.
The classic slide put-in

After reaching the mouth of the canyon, gearing up, and paddling a few entrance/warm-up rapids one finds them self at Gore rapid. There are four primary lines through Gore those being; the sneak, the meat, the professor, and left left. All those lines are primarily related to how you enter this classic and after entering there are many ways to finish but your primary goal is to avoid a particularly sticky hydraulic named Ginger and generally just try to stay upright through the bottom (an ice cream debt can be costly during Gore season). The strength and trashiness of Ginger should not be underestimated. I personally have surfed it twice resulting in my paddle breaking on my face, a rough swim, and seven stitches below my cheekbone and the second time my skirt imploded which luckily pushed me out of the hole and I was able to ride things out to an eddy below.
Here's Glenn styling left left