Fall 2007 Arkansas River Basin

The fifth was abandoned heading into heavy water.

Two Swiss men, Robert Ris of Basel and Max Roemer of Biel, crossed the line after 7 hours, 38 minutes and 12.7 seconds on a river labeled the “meanest, most vicious river in the world.” Neither of the men who conceived the initial challenge even started the race. But that day set in motion a change in the Upper Arkansas.

In 2008, FIBArk celebrates its 60th anniversary. The event has evolved from a single downriver boat race to a communitywide cultural event. The classic race was eventually shortened to 26 miles, ending in Cotopaxi, after the original course was termed attempted suicide. Slalom races, pro raft races, freestyle competition, boater-x races, multiple foot races, a parade, concerts, skate park events and even a contest for the craziest river dog were added over years.

FIBArk’s growth mirrored the changes in boating, as well as the community’s evolution. FIBArk remains the nation’s pre-eminent whitewater event, attracting 20,000 people from around Colorado, the nation and the world to Salida each June for the four-day event.

FIBArk isn’t just about boating, it “represents the community,” says Jamie Keating Klco, FIBArk’s administrator, “and we try to incorporate the entire community.” FIBArk involves so much of the community that by the time the event rolls around, “there’s no one left to volunteer.”

Water play While FIBArk got the ball rolling and put the Upper Arkansas on the world map of rivers to run, periodic leaps in technology opened up it to new recreationalists. As equipment changed, so did the number of users on the Arkansas River.

In the 1960s, the advent of more durable fiberglass kayaks and canoes permitted paddlers to run rougher sections of water than wooden craft and cloth-covered European folding boats. The 1970s witnessed the birth of commercial rafting on the Arkansas as guides in rubber rafts opened up the river to anyone who wanted to go along for the ride. In the 1980s lightweight plastic kayaks hit the market, providing inexpensive and nearly indestructible boats to an even broader audience of river enthusiasts, and self-bailing rafts made it possible to run river sections, including the infamous Numbers, that would have previously swamped a raft.

Since then, an armada of watercraft brought in whole new audiences. Inflatable kayaks, or duckies, and the simple inner tube allowed neophytes to play in the river’s calmer stretches.

Fisherman are leaving their waders behind and using boats, catarafts and float tubes to experience flyfishing. Boogie boards, body boards, sledges and other individual flotation devices are making minor forays into river culture, too.

But the technological leap that is causing a huge reinvention in paddling sports is the recent introduction of the stubby playboats. These shorter, more acrobatic and nimble kayaks are perfect for playing on standing waves, holes and other hydraulic structures. With this new style, a boater can paddle for an hour and get in and out of the river at the same place.