Courtesy Vail Valley Foundation/ Rick Lohre
ADVENTURE
Looking to cool off during the hot days of a Colorado summer? SUP provides an easy and fun way to get out on the water.
From Wild to Mild: The state of SUP by Tom Winter
I
t’s a hot and sunny weekend in Vail, the first real weekend of the summer, with temperatures that nearly make you wish for the frozen days of January, if only to cool off a bit. But the guys and girls on Gore Creek aren’t too hot. The water is swollen with snowmelt and it’s icy and cold and running fast. It’s a perfect day to be out there chasing the rapids and eddies. But these watermen aren’t in kayaks, they’re on stand-up paddleboards, or SUPs, and they’re having the time of their lives and wowing the crowds on the edge of the stream as they careen down rapids and bounce off rocks. The inclusion of SUP events at GoPro Mountain Games, a festival of action and adventure sports like rock climbing, mountain biking and trail running, is only one of the many visible manifestations of the explosive growth of SUP. And, despite the intensity of the display in Vail, SUP is a
Boulder Weekly
sport that is inexpensive and easily accessible — neophytes don’t have to brave the rapids of Gore Creek, they can paddle the calmer waters of Boulder Reservoir or float down flatter sections of the Colorado River. “Almost anyone can do it,” says Tyler Calloway, director of business development for Surf Hardware International and board member for the Stand Up Paddle Industry Association. “The key is that you don’t need wind, you don’t need snow. Almost everyone has access to a lake or a lazy body of water. It’s open to all about as much as any sport can be.” This accessibility has meant that the sport has enjoyed explosive growth. In 2015, SUP had approximately 2.8 million participants, many of them in landlocked regions like Colorado, far from the sport’s oceanic origins. And, while it’s almost a given that most of these people started on flat water, many of them quickly graduated to bigger challenges. In Colorado, that means whitewater. “Everyone can get in at a basic level as they learn what they can do. They realize how much see WILD TO MILD Page 20
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