Rock Climbing River Runners

This last week Mountain Skills Climbing took some of our staff out to channel their inner mountain goat on some thrilling climbs in the Taos area to promote their top-notch climbing programs. Mountain Skills Climbing offers a variety of climbing adventures for beginners to advanced climbers lead by professional, knowledgeable, and friendly guides providing vertical relief in New Mexico, Las Vegas NV, Thailand, and Mexico.
We at Los Rios River Runners are proud to work with Mountain Skills to provide one of our most popular Multi-sport trips, Rock 'n Raft, where our guests climb with breathtaking views in the morning, and ride the thrilling whitewater in the afternoon.
Our staff put down the paddles and PFDs to meet up with Mountain Skills to get a first-hand experience of a typical itinerary for rock-adventures. First a class 5.5 ascent up a gorgeous basalt cliff North of Taos. Jay, our guide from Mountain Skills was patient and informative as he explained how best to approach the climb, find safe handholds, trust the rope, and repel safely. With their excellent instruction, top of the line equipment, and enthusiastic attitude it was a fantastic way to start a day! After our first climb we headed towards the Rio Grande Gorge for our 100 foot repel! Overlooking our beloved Taos Box we lowered ourselves over the cliff edge to repel gently down, slow though we went the adrenaline was pumping! After all that adventure we were all ready to get back to our familiar Class 3 whitewater!
We'd like to thank Mountain Skills for the fantastic climbing lesson and urge everyone to give them a call!

Trusting the ropes!

Off the river, on the rock!

Made it!!!

Smiles after a successful climb!

This blogger is ready is to ascend that wall!

The Office and our Guide Jay sharing a moment before our 100 ft repel!

Mountain Skills can be found at:
http://climbingschoolusa.com/index.html
Or call them at:
575-776-2222 

Start the day on the wall and then cool off on the river with one of our fantastic Rock N' Raft Trips:
http://losriosriverrunners.com/rock-raft

See ya'll on the cliffs and on the river!

Rafting makes for a unique party!

Planning a bachelor or bachelorette party? Why go to Vegas, everyone goes to Vegas, and besides no one wants pull a "Brides Maids!" Come up to Northern New Mexico for a wild time! Rafting makes for a unique and special party that everybody will remember for a lifetime. Find your party thrills in the white water of the Rio Chama or the Race Course, fly down the river as a group in a raft, or try your luck solo in an inflatable kayak, whatever the itinerary riding the river makes for a rock'n party! After your wild ride: soak away your wedding worries in Ojo Caliente, then dance the night away at Taos Mesa Brewery! Make it a full day with multi-sport trips, rock-climb than raft, horseback ride then raft, or mountain bike and raft. There is an adventure for any group, even 1, 2, and 3 day trips!

Not just wedding parties, the river is a great place for family reunions, birthdays, company retreats, and anniversaries! What better way to show your loved ones how to party then escaping into the wilds of the river!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE AWESOME BRIDE!

Despite Low Water the River Remains AMAZING!

As river enthusiasts we can't help but be affected by the water levels of our beloved Rio Grande. Between droughts and Colorado's irrigation taking over 90% of water flow from the Nation's newest National Monument, it can be hard for some to see only the negatives affecting the water.
But the Mighty Rio Grande remains AMAZING! Every day we still run fantastic and fun trips down the river, proudly showing off our home to visitors from around the world! These waters provide both our livelihood and recreation and we at Los Rios River Runners cannot help but remain in love with our river!
The low water gets a bad reputation but it has it's good points too: lower water is cleaner, slower, warmer, more appropriate for swimming, and better for kids and families!

Ready for a great day on the Race Course!

Ross is ready for the River!

Riding Rio Grande Rapids!

Our rookies strive to learn the finer points of boating, and the low water is a unique opportunity to intimately understand the river bed and it's construction!
So chin up gang! Our river is still the center of our lives! Lets show it a little appreciation and love by continuing to travel and adore it's waters!


*Photographs courtesy of Donia Stoenner

Mother's Day Rio Grande Whitewater Festival

What an amazing weekend! Between exciting races and informative talks there was much to see and do at this years' festival! So many great people turned out to learn and celebrate our lovely stretch of river!
The weekend kicked off with some great speakers, Paul Bauer gave an excellent presentation on the geology and hydrology of the Rio Grande, explaining the geologic history of the 30 million year old rift that the Rio Grande runs through.
The wonderful volunteers from the Espanola  Wildlife center brought live Raptors native to New Mexico, giving the audience a rare chance to see these lovely birds up close! The peregrine falcon was a star of the show, the fastest animal on Earth this little bird hunts at speeds up to 240 mph!
But what would the festival be without the spirit of competition?! Day one featured the annual "throw-bag" competition with boaters showcasing their safety rope skills! After the dust cleared four finalists were left standing. 1st place going to Joe Cameron, winning a dinner for two at the Taos Inn, in 2nd was Garret Schooley, 3rd was Los Rios' own Josh Chaumont, and in 4th was speaker Paul Bauer!

Los Rio's senior guide Sherry testing her throw bag skills in the Prelims!

Class is in with Geologist Paul Bauer!

The Peregrine Falcon showing off it's wingspan!

The Red Tailed hawk posing for the camera! 

Throw bag Competition Finals

3rd Place Winner: Los Rios River Runner's Guide Josh Showing off his prize!

Day 2 presented the highlight of the weekend with the Whitewater races! After some challenging SUP board races through obstacles and boat demos, the Mother's Day Race began! This competition began in the 70's and is the reason behind the name of this famous section of the Rio Grande: The Race Course! Featuring class 1, 2 and 3 rapids it's a fantastic 5 mile stretch of river! From the very beginning the Red Lady Rafting from Southern Colorado cut a clear win with a huge lead right from the get-go! Well practiced and totally synchronized they dominated the Race Course! Heather, Jen, Julie, and Hali came screeching into the finish line with an astounding time of 48:30 minutes! 2nd Place was Northern New Mexico's own Santa Fe Rafting at 49:31, and finally 3rd went to New Mexico River Adventures at 49:40.
Other race results can be found at the Mother's Day Rio Grande Whitewater Festival Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mdrgwf

SUP Race Obstacle Course

Mother's Day Whitewater Rafting Race!

Racers pounding through the dangerous slot near Big  Rock!

That tiny boat in the distance is the Red Ladies with their huge lead!

They're coming in for the win!!!

Victory Hug!!!

Saturday night the winners and spectators alike could be found at Taos Mesa Brewery for the Anthony Leon and the Chain show! Country-rock and a dance-off between whitewater competitors could be witnessed as the boaters took the floor with groove'n moves!

Post Race Jamming!

After all this Whitewater excitement we at Los Rios River Runners can hardly believe it's just the start to the season! Join us on this AWESOME river!!!

Whitewater Rafting School!

It’s looking to be a great season this year at Los Rios River Runners! Between already running tons of trips and our team prepping for the Mother’s Day Rio Grande Whitewater Festival, we've just had our Whitewater Rafting School! Our new group of guides are turning out to be talented and enthusiastic! They spent the previous week learning paddling, the finer points of boat control, high-siding, flip and recovery, and funyakking! After a solid week of navigating rocks, learning paddle commands, and reading the river our rookies are ready to get out there!
 Next up on the class schedule: an overnight training on the Rio Chama!

Ready to ride the rapids! School is in session!

 Check back soon for pics of the Chama trip and coverage of the exciting Rio Grande Whitewater Festival! Or, better yet join us at the festival for informative talks, prizes, and of course the famous Mother’s Day Whitewater Race! More information at:  http://raftnewmexico.org/

See you on the river!!!