Once a year, Jasper’s raft guides gather on the river for a battle of strength, finesse and teamwork that ultimately sees one outfitter crowned champion of the Jasper Raft Olympics.
Four teams competed in the 22nd annual event, June 25, beginning with an all-out sprint from Alpine Village to Old Fort Point.
As the rafts turned the last corner, swarms of people piled onto the Old Fort Point bridge, cheering on their friends and co-workers on the last stretch of their paddle.
Once on shore, the guides exchanged high fives and jabs before starting their next challenge: the flip.
The event sees five guides hop in a boat, paddle into the current and then flip the raft. Once the boat is completely upside-down, the time starts and all five rafters have to flip it right-side up, climb back in and then hold their paddles proudly in the air.
For some, the challenge was a piece of cake, taking a matter of seconds, while for others it resulted in a calamity of errors that had spectators bent over in bouts of laughter.
Next came the slalom, an all out paddle into the Athabasca River’s strongest eddies beneath the bridge. The course had the paddlers perform a figure-eight between a set of oars dangling from the bridge.
Although it might sound easy in writing, in reality, the slalom posed the greatest difficulty, causing even the strongest paddlers to fumble, knocking a dangling oar on the way by.
The final challenge saw drysuit-clad rafters jumping off the bridge into the frigid waters of the Athabasca River to be rescued by their teammates, who chucked them throw bags from shore and then heaved them in to safety.
When all was said and done, the teams loaded up their rafts and hit the road for the Jasper Legion where the winner was announced.
Taking the crown from Maligne Adventures was Jasper Raft Tours, whose rafters won the Mark Oddy Golden Paddle.
Oddy was a well known river guide in Jasper who died on June 5, 1999 in a kayaking accident on the McKale River, near McBride, B.C. He is remembered as a quiet, but friendly person who was well respected in the community.
As the winners, JRT will host next year’s event.
Nicole Veerman
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