Local rafters sweep Gore IV Raft Challenge at GoPro Mountain Games

A trio of local R2 rafting teams swept the podium at Thursday’s Gore IV Raft Challenge on the first day of the GoPro Mountain Games.

Former U.S. national team members Matt Norfleet and John Anicito teamed up once again to top the 15-team field. Shake N Bake! covered the 4-mile stretch of rapids in 24 minutes, 00.38 seconds.

“It was awesome — the water was running at the highest level we can get away safely doing. It was splashy and super fun,” said Anicito, who has been a river acquaintance with the Breckenridge-based Norfleet for two decades. Norfleet said high water is not a given at the Mountain Games.

“Some years it’s not like that,” he added. “It’s more of a grind; this was more about conditioning and getting down the river. It’s also about navigating too. I guess there were some big holes down there.”

The duo’s clean run put them 14.24 seconds ahead of the runner-up team, El Chupacabra — consisting of Vail teammates Jeremiah Williams and Rob Prechtl.

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“We knew those guys were going to put a hurting on us and they did,” Williams said. “We made a mistake and they capitalized on it.” The pair stalled out on a surf by the Donovan Park ‘tennis court rapid.’

“We got in there for a handful of seconds and knew at that point that it was going to be tough to catch back up,” Williams added.

“Those guys are really good,” Anicito said. “They win all the time, so that was probably our biggest goal – to beat them.”

Speaking to the local rivalry, Norfleet added: “We were old teammates from the U.S. raft team, so we’ve always been competitive with them. It was just super fun.”

Rounding out the podium was a former Battle Mountain graduate, Ryan Huck, and Australian-born Aspen paddler Conrad Niven. The Sponsored and Slower Than You squad finished in 25:01.89. When the pair hopped into their Sotar 10-foot raft Thursday, it was the first time they’d done so as teammates.

“We team up pretty good and I feel like the conditions were all-time,” Huck said. “Really juicy — got a couple good face shots. Couple good hits — it was a good time.”

Huck was featured in the Vail Daily last year for starting his own business, Recycled Rafting Materials. His goal is to divert waste from the landfill and create waterproof products with multiple uses. He wants to eventually make full rafts from recycled material.

“We weren’t the fastest team on the river, but I think A+ as far as running the river,” he said when asked to analyze Thursday’s effort. “We had really clean lines, punching all the holes. It felt really good.”

Niven, a member of the Riff Raft Racing team, competed for the U.S. Whitewater Rafting team at last weekend’s World Championships in Bosnia, where the Americans placed 10th. He stepped off the plane on Wednesday morning, spent the night in Frisco, and showed up in Vail Thursday morning for the Mountain Games.

“We’re stoked about it; it was our first-ever world champs,” he reflected. “We’re kind of a new team.”

Fellow Roaring Fork athletes Trevor Fredrickson and Addie Carmen also were in Bosnia and competed at the Mountain Games.

“I’m a little tired, not going to lie to you,” Niven added with a smile and laugh. Thursday’s event was the first time he’d paddled that stretch of the Gore River.

“It’s kind of messy, fun, slightly technical, but most of it is very creek style, so once it gets higher — like it was today — it becomes quite washed out and you can just go down the middle of most things,” he said.

Anicito and Norfleet have already put together a pretty successful campaign, clinching the Vail Whitewater town series R2 team title with one week to spare. Anicito plans to race the Gore IV kayak event on Friday. Both mentioned how grateful they are to have some longer-distance paddling events.

“This is a great event. We look forward to it every time,” Norfleet said. “It’s awesome they put this event in because we had the sprint and the cross but this is more whitewater, more our style.”

Williams said he is doing less and less racing these days as he prioritizes his family. The father of three tries to consistently attend town series events and will end his year with the 25-mile marathon at the FIBArk races next weekend in Salida.

Niven will also compete in Salida, but is focused on two upcoming whitewater festivals he’s hosting this year. SlaughterFest will take paddlers on a 4.5-mile class IV course through the slaughterhouse section of the Roaring Fork on June 22, with $5,000 of prize money up for grabs. Then Gore Fest runs from Aug. 23-25. The end-of-summer reunion includes a 6-mile class V race through Gore Canyon on the upper Colorado River, just outside of Kremmling.

“It’s a great time to reconnect with all the whitewater community in the state,” Niven said.

Huck is hungry to get back in the water now in Vail. He’s particularly looking forward to Friday’s raft cross.

“It’s a lot of technique and eddy-catching, and (Niven) is a really good R1 on the right and I’m really good on the left,” he said. “Now we’re coming in with a chip on our shoulder. Really hoping to try and get first this year.”