Kayak race returns to Red Lodge

RED LODGE — Hooting at feats of athleticism, Eskimo rolls and big splashes, a crowd of enthusiastic spectators lined the roaring route of the Rock Creek Slalom Kayak Race on Saturday.

“It was a great place to hold the event as far as people being able to watch,” said Nate Winning, who helped organize the event. “Hopefully we can build on it for next year.”

The race was set between the Red Box Car Restaurant and Rotary Park along Highway 212. Kayakers had to pass through the multitude of white plastic pipe gates that hung from a rope over the top of the water, similar to an alpine skier running a slalom course. The course zigzagged across the stream to incorporate boulders, waves and rapids. The event was timed, with time added for missing gates. The three categories of racers were beginners, experts and women.

The race coincided with Red Lodge’s celebration of the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Beartooth Highway, a huge drawing card for summer visitors. With many people in town for the parade and other events, the kayak race made for another fun outdoor activity.

“A lot of people, I believe, are interested in the sport, but they only see kayakers doing intimidating stuff like going off waterfalls,” said Tyler Warne, who helped organize the event. “It’s less intimidating for people to see kayakers run realistic water.”

The race used to be an annual event, sponsored by the Beartooth Paddlers Society, before dying out in the early 1990s, said Winning, a Red Lodge-based kayaker. His buddy, Carl Peterson, used to organize the race but recently suffered a stroke and can no longer paddle. It was with him in mind that Winning worked to get the event off the ground again.

“We had been paddling together — up until the time of his stroke — for four or six years,” Winning said. “We got to be good friends through kayaking, and he would always talk about the race.”

Winning took his idea to revive the race to Tyler Warne, at Sunshine Sports in Billings. Warne hooked Winning up with the Beartooth Paddlers Society.

“I joined and started working with them on this event,” Winning said. “It worked out really well.”

Winning had little time to advertise the race, partially explaining the turnout of only about 16 paddlers. Rock Creek didn’t cooperate, either, with lower-than-normal flows — kind of surprising considering that rivers and streams across much of Montana are running at record high levels causing a rash of flooding.

Rock Creek Lodge - News


Kayak race returns to Red Lodge

BRETT FRENCH/Gazette Staff Jesse McClung catches air off a boulder as he flies through gate 12 on Saturday in Red Lodge during the Rock Creek Slalom Kayak Race. The race was restarted this year after going dormant since the 1990s. Video of the Rock



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