Immersion Research 2008

IR is proud to announce our newest team member: Eric (EJ) Jackson. We will be working with him and Dane as Team IR members and ambassadors. We will also be working closely with EJ on product development, including a strong focus on sprayskirts. In choosing IR, he was looking for partners that are on the forefront of innovation and also share his passion for the sport.

We look forward to working with the Dane and EJ. Welcome Aboard

How do you get to work?
We here at IR have all kinds of fun ways to get to work that don’t involve fossil fuels. There are the traditional methods of walking and riding a bike, but paddling a kayak is the transportation du jour here at IR. Jon Harmon and Cody recently scored an apartment near Friendsville, MD, and it is about a half of a mile from Yough Lake. Yough Lake is formed by a dam in between Friendsville and Confluence, deep in the heart of whitewater land. Once or twice a week, Cody, John and I paddle from work to their apartment, and it is a little less than a 2 hour paddle. We then turn around and paddle back in the morning. It is a beautiful place to paddle as it winds through the verdant Youghiogehney River valley.
The evening run consists of some interesting sights as there are plenty of pontoon and power boats to keep an eye out for, as well as their occupants! The paddle, however, ends with $2 22oz beers at the Old Pike Inn.
The morning run is a completely different story, as the valley is blanketed by thick fog and accompanied by the sounds of serenity and morning bird songs.
I am the envy of the crew with my super sleek and efficient Impex Force 4, Jon paddles a Perception Captiva and Cody is currently paddling a slightly battered Phoenix boat.
The first picture captures the intriguing beauty of the places where engineering and nature collide. The second and third pictures are evening scenes while the fourth shows the heavy fog that makes the morning paddles both alluring and difficult to navigate.

This Fourth of July weekend took quite an interesting turn when I headed up to Fort Collins on Thursday the third. I was out in Colorado for a friend’s wedding in Vail, so I decided to take a quick trip up to Rocky Mountain Adventures to say hello. I had never been up there, and it seemed like a good idea to check it out. When arrived, I was greeted by two friendly ladies who turned out to be guides as well as check in staff. They told me that they had a spot open on the rafting trip, but I told them that I left all of my gear down in Denver as I had anticipated a quick stop and return to Denver.
After a few more tries at convincing me to go rafting, I thought they had given up, but, just in time, David Costlow, who runs the joint, suggested that I join the trip. Next thing I know, I am peeling off my comfy street clothes for a damp, delightfully aromatic wetsuit, booties and splash jacket. To top it off, I got this lovely pink faded helmet.
After the intial shock of going from an IR sales person with seven years of guiding and safety boating experience, I settled into my role as a blissfully ignorant rafting guest.
Our guide for the day was Kelly Harrington, and we had a family from Indiana along for the ride on the Mishawaka section of the Wild and Scenic Cache la Poudre River. It is a rowdy class III/IV run with the level being 4.1 feet, still pretty high for this time of the year. Check me out in the back left, my home away from a kayak, getting her done!
We had a smooth day with some cool lines, save a minor hiccup just before lunch. You can ask Kelly about that one if you ever meet her! We finished off the afternoon with a who slew of really fun whitewater, and before I knew it, I was stuck in traffic trying to get back to Denver. Thanks to all of the guide staff at RMA for a sweet afternoon: Erinn, Sean, John and Ryan. If they make it out east, I’ll thrown you in raft and show off some of the east coast goods.

See you on the water, perhaps going icognito as a custie!

Check out this video of Upper Cherry and Middle Kings.

Is your mustache fully decked out with all kinds of flair or just the minimum amount?

If you’re gonna compete you gotta go all out!

The fight to the finish ends with one lucky, and very stylish individual laughing all the way to the river with a brand new IR Double-D Drysuit. July 1st marks the halfway point in the IR Mustache King, aka 2008 bi-annual Curt Davis Invitational Mustache Growing Contest of Paddlesports. Yes, it’s a long title, aptly matched with a long contest, no doubt deserving a long mustache.

In case you haven’t kept up with the turmoil at the Mustache King site, here’s a quick catchup for you.

30+ freshly shaved competitors signed up, ready to mustachisize this thing. Some have persevered.

Others simply could not withstand the heat and the pressure associated with such a sporting event.

Those fallen by the wayside have forfeitted the opportunity to win all kinds of fabulous prizes from our sponsors. The strong who have combed and groomed their lip plumage, cherishing every moment of mustachedom will battle it out for the prize purse.

MustacheKing.blogspot.com for the full experience.

After the OBJ race Demshitz went and fired up Yule Creek at the highest water level, we think, it has ever been run. It went well and we made a video for all yinz out there. Enjoy. check out the Team Pyranha Blog for a couple pictures from the day….Also check out our recent doings in California on Upper Cherry. Hiking in to Middle Kings tomorrow. Check back for more updates!