I just got home from a two-week trip to the New River Gorge, WV.  We had some of the best weather for sport climbing that I can ever remember.  I was fortunate enough to be able to add a new line to the growing list of routes at Beauty Mtn.  The project to the left of Chunky Monkey went down mid trip…  Super psyched!  Felt pretty hard, not sure on a grade but I feel the crux on the project was harder to me than the crux on Mono Loco. Mikey Williams (bolted the route) from DPM magazine just so happened to be at the crag and snagged this send footage.

When the wind outside screams like acetylene flame and all hope for peaceful sleep has been let go, I begin to think about tomorrow. When the mountain rocks and rolls and the old wooden US Weather Station sign hanging out front reaches fever pitch – the just right vibration to send it slamming, clap, clap, shotgun boom, against one ceiling board to the next I know it is coming. I’m not apprehensive. I don’t dread the coming work. Instead I lie awake in anticipation of a day that I know will leave me contently obliterated.

When the sun rises all evidence of the tempest is gone from the sky. The big orange eye is peaking between the toothpick serrations of the eastern skyline which are the high rises of Charlotte 6,000 feet below and 100 miles away. The sky is now a sparkling clear lens.

Slim and I have been here before. We know what to expect and are giddy inside. Outward appearances would seem to others more matter-of-factly, shit to do, trails to clear, let’s go. We strap to our backs chainsaw and ax, fuel and oil, food and water. Pairs of things that make our task achievable.

We know what we want to do. What we have to do. Trails and roads are completely blocked by downed spruce and fir trees from some of the strongest winds ever recorded on the mountain. Some twisted in half midway up their broad trunks. Snapped and splintered like a number 2 pencil. Some toppled over fully intact succumbing to gale and gravity. A root ball the size of an elephant sticking up into the mountain air where the evergreen once towered. Root and limb exchanging homes until further notice.

Communication is mostly of the nonverbal variety. Words are not necessary today. Hike, saw, chop, drag, tug, roll, pour, chew, grunt, heave, repeat at next impoundment. Smile and laugh.

Eighteen miles later. Dark now. Can the saws wait until tomorrow to be cleaned and sharpened? This time yes. Tomorrow should be a good day with the forecast of cloudless and 60. Lots of hikers.

Opening The Account: Dana Point GP Report:

All season long out guys have been knocking on the door in the major NCC criteriums, and with a string of podium placings and good breakaway and sprint performances, we knew our first big win of the season wasn’t far off. Shane Kline proved it Sunday afternoon at the Dana Point GP in southern California when he came from 6th wheel to take the win from MRI’s Justin Williams by a few millimeters. Not to put too fine a point on it, but it’s pretty safe to say just about nobody passes 6 guys in the finishing straight of these major US crits. This point was not lost on anyone watching the race, and Shane’s star is on the rise, for sure.

How it unfolded, report direct from the team van: 

The Plan was to have 5 of us covering and killing breakaway attempts. Clay was to be more selective, and try to sneak into moves that could work for us. Then with 5 laps to go we were going to take over with 5 guys. The last two in line would be Clay and Shane.

How it played out:

For the first 55 minutes or so we covered absolutely everything. Travis and Curtis were probably there the most. Nothing got away. The biggest gaps would go to solo guys. We did so much, probably too much, that teams waited on us to do it. In those situations one of us would just ride the front until we got it close. Ben got in a few moves, Clay did too, and Curtis and Travis did a lot of covering.

With 8 laps to go, a dangerous-ish two man move got away containing one of our team alumni, Thom Soladay and someone else. Curtis hustled to the front, maybe too quickly, and shut the move down, despite a strong re-attack from Soladay. This was essentially the end of Curtis’s race, and he was stuffed after that point. Clay, Chaddock, Travis, and Shane, however, were ready. A lap later they took over the front and Chaddock did two really hard laps and dropped off Clay an Shane, a bit short staffed. They capitalized on MRI’s leadout, and settled in around 10th wheel. Clay moved Shane up and kept him out of the wind, then Travis took over from Clay and continued to keep Shane protected until 1.5 laps to go. Then MRI hit it for Justin Williams. Shane did the rest like a freaking boss. He jumped from sixth wheel and closed hard winning by inches but was going way faster than the other guys. Justin second, and Ken Hanson (Optum) 3rd.

In a crash-marred last lap, Clay held on for 7th, Travis hung in for 11th.

Sandy Springs Criterium, Speed Week Finale:

After an unusually cold and windy week in the southeast, Sandy Springs did not adhere to the stereotype of what the race has been in the past, which is hot and humid. Instead, like the rest of the week, it was wet and cold.  It definitely has not been typical.

On the van drive to Sandy Springs, everyone was weather watching.  Sunny skies greeted us upon our arrival, and we were cautiously optimistic that the weather would hold for our race.  Despite our hopes, a thunderstorm dampened the course prior to our start.

The race started slowly on the wet course as crashes were happening on every lap.  The field quickly was whittled down to a select group of riders.  Frank Travieso was not satisfied, and our man Frank The Tank repeatedly attacked violently.  He got away with Karl Menzies (UHC) and dangled off the front for 40 minutes.  With UHC and Team SmartStop satisfied with the situation, the race quickly developed into a not-crashing contest.

With about 35 laps remaining, another rain front passed through.  Gusts of wind flipped over tents and blew barriers into the road.  The temperature dropped 20 degrees, and people were literally getting blown off their bikes.  It was a true contest of bicycle handling skills, turning ability, and willingness to get extremely cold.

Despite the tough conditions, Frank and Menzies stayed off the front.  Menzies was not cooperating in the group and refusing to pull.  Frank took the bit between his teeth and pushed to the line.  In the end, Menzies pipped Frank for the win, but Frank owned the race, and everyone knew it.

Meanwhile back in the field, Thomas grabbed Isaac with one lap to go, and set up to lead him out. Thomas sprinted as hard as he could and took Isaac straight over the top of the UHC leadout train.  He continued the effort through the corkscrew turns on the backside of the course, barely making it around the corners.  In the end, no one came around Thomas, and he handily won the field sprint for 3rd place, while Isaac held on for fifth.

The team during grid qualifiers, with MC Chad Andrews. *Photo Barbara Dowd.

Athens, Georgia – Bobby Lea and Frank Travieso kicked off the weekend with a solid performance in the Computrainer Grid Qualifiers held on Friday. The finishing order of the 3K Grid Qualifiers  create the start positions for the men’s criterium Saturday night. The final eight riders get coveted front-row starting positions and take part in the showcase Grid Qualifier in front of thousands on Friday night.  In that main event Bobby finished third while Frank finished 5^th. Not a true time trial test, it was however very painful and a good opportunity for both Bobby and Frank to show just how prepared they were for the main event.

The team of Thomas Brown, Shane Kline, Isaac Howe, Bobby Lea, Frank Travieso, and Adam Myerson rode a fantastic race. The guys were aggressive all night, and tactically savvy, and they really put on a show. In particular it was great to see Athens residents Thomas Brown and Frank Travieso throwing down for their home crowd, and they were clearly enjoying every minute of it.

Isaac Howe, Adam Myerson, Thomas Brown, Shane Kline and Bobby Lea. *Photo Barbara Dowd.

The race is 80 laps of a 1 kilometer course, and right from the start the team went on the attack. Thomas Brown, racing in his hometown and wanting to make a strong showing for his team and himself went out early.  Adrian Hegyvary from the powerful UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling team was quick to cover the move. The duo were later joined by Mark Koble of BikeSouth and the trio were off. They held a lead of 17 seconds and maintained that lap after lap. This move was vital to our overall plan and kept the rest of the team protected and fresh, while teams like Predator were stuck chasing, expending valuable energy. With 29 laps of the 80 remaining, these 3 were finally reeled in. The counter-attacks were immediate and our Frank Travieso, along with Kevin Mullervy (Champion System p/b Stan’s NoTubes), and Carlos Alzate (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) were able to get a 13 second gap. After several laps they expanded their lead to 23 seconds. With 17 laps remaining the trio increased their lead to 33 seconds. Travieso, Mullervy, and Alzate were working together as the SmartStop-Mountain Khakis squad were at the front of the chasing peloton squashing any chases.  Frank’s best shot at the victory would be head to head with Carlos, and it was in his best interest that the trio not lap the field. Frank started easing up with about 10 laps remaining, and Alzate picked up the slack. Alzate’s increased efforts put the group within reach of nearly lapping the field with eight to go. Not wanting a repeat performance of the finish we had in Anniston, the week before, the rest of the team went to the front of the field in an effort to ensure that the trio did not lap the field.  On the backside of the course with 5 laps to go, Mullervy attacked. Travieso and Alzate looked at each other, neither wanting to chase the Champion System rider back. Frank made a tactical decision to wait for Alzate to make the move.  He knew this was his best shot at the victory and he was rightfully willing to risk it.  Alzate never moved, and was willing to watch the opportunity for the win roll up the road. Frank and Alzate couldn’t or wouldn’t work together and instead continued to look at each other, finally rolling across the line with Alzate second and Frank third.

With one lap to go there was a large crash in the main field that took out Isaac and Thomas, but Shane was able to stay out of trouble and was in good position for the sprint for 4th.  He battled with the UHC sprinters and was able to take an impressive 5^th place.

In the end we were very satisfied with the way the team performed, and in the end result. In the 80 lap event we had a rider off the front for almost 70 laps! We controlled the race and had a direct impact on the outcome. The race wasn’t dictated to us, and we were proud of that.

Here’s a great photo gallery of the race, with lots of shots of our guys. 

Results:

1              Kevin Mullervy (Champion System p/b Stan’s NoTubes)
2              Carlos Alzate (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling)
3              Frank Travieso (Team SmartStop-Mountain Khakis)         
4              Luke Keough (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling)
5              Shane Kline (Team SmartStop-Mountain Khakis)             

Joe Martin stage race 
We took our lumps there but continue to make progress as unit and are making considerable gains in our experience and ability.  The performer of the weekend for us in Arkansas was Curtis Winsor, who put in a strong 4k uphill time trial, conceding only 30seconds to world class climbers like Francisco Manceb (Kenda 5hr Energy). On Friday Curtis kept the ball rolling by using his course knowledge from having done the race before to anticipate where the break would go. He was right, and he spent a long 70+ miles in a 4-man group that included Luis Lemus from Jelly Belly, the Mexican national road champion. Unfortunately that was where our luck ended as the last 10k of the race saw us lose 1/2 the squad to flat tires. But that’s racing in the rain, for you.

Saturday and Sunday brought more bad luck, and more punctures, and as was the case on Saturday, the guys we had left at the end were isolated, and things just didn’t go our way. Take a look at this photo gallery on Cyclingnews, featuring several shots of Curtis punching away in the day-long break on stage 1, including this one of him rocking his new, super comfortable and stylish X-Lite helmet from our new helmet sponsor, Louis Garneau.

All in all it was a positive experience, and one that leaves us feeling more prepared for some of the season’s bigger challenges in the coming months.

Historic Roswell Criterium
With steady heavy rain and temperatures in the fifties Sunday night in Roswell, many riders were all but eliminated right from the start. We came out swinging, bringing the old school fury to the race. However it quickly became clear that UHC wanted a field sprint. We were not satisfied with this and repeatedly went on the offensive, sending our guys up the road. Aggression was the name of the game. In the end we couldn’t avoid the field sprint, and we navigated the hectic finale well enough for Thomas Brown to end up fourth and Shane Kline right behind him in fifth, with Isaac Howe rounding out the top 10 in 10th place.

It isn’t the big win we’ve been looking for, but the way our guys have been riding in the big NCC crits, we know that win isn’t far off. Look for some fireworks in the coming days as Speed Week heats up. We’re hungry, motivated, and going to bring it.

Afternoon with Angelo
Finally, a little news from off the race course.

This afternoon the Speed Week squad had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Angelo Cilli, owner of Wilier USA, our bike sponsor and the sole North American importer of Wilie Triestina bicycles. The guys were grateful for the opportunity to thank Mr.Cilli for his support of our team this year, and everyone is completely over the moon about the bikes. We couldn’t be happier, and we feel really lucky to have relationships with sponsors like this in our program. Thanks, Angelo!

Our third annual Arkansas Rover Society Spring Rally may have endured rain, sleet, and freezing temperatures, but we all had a blast!  People drove from eight different states to join us in the outdoor Land Rover festivities, and they didn’t let a little cold weather be a deterrent.  We all shared a three day extravaganza full of campfires, camaraderie, and trail riding.  There were folks from all over Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, and even an honorary special guest from Vermont.  Rally feedback was all positive with everyone very full of praise and thank yous.

During our banquet we all shared in a feast of beef and pork BBQ complete with all the fixings and afterwards held our prize raffle.  Thanks to all our wonderful sponsors, like Mountain Khakis, we were able to raise $1,448 from raffle ticket sales, to be donated during a Rover Run to Arkansas Children’s Hospital.  We might have had to pull out all our winter gear during ‘spring break’ and huddle together around campfires and a shared oil heater to keep warm… while sipping on coffee and hot chocolate, but we made great family outdoor memories that will last forever.

We’re gearing up for the Overland Expo May 17-19th 2013. But before we do its time to reflect on the great experiences and amazing people we’ve come across in West Texas and New Mexico. While most road travelers choose to blast through West Texas we took our time meandering through the back roads finding some of the most unique and interesting sights on the trip so far. Such as Texas Nessy, the worlds largest Catfish, and the Heart of Texas. We spent 12 hours in the Brute Double Cab on day one of our stint and it is a truly impressive machine. Eating up mile after mile of sand, dirt, mud, gravel, pavement, and asphalt with ease. American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) has created a truly magnificent overland weapon.

Once getting to New Mexico the Brute landed us safely in Roswell NM. Though the locals there have seen UFO’s the AEV turned heads up and down the street, before heading up to Ruidoso. NM and inspiring a new generation of outdoor enthusiast at Ruidoso High. We paid our respects to Smokey Bear (yes he was a real), in Capitan NM before turning North to Santa Fe. We stopped in at Red River Mercantile a beautiful little shop in downtown Santa Fe meeting one of our most passionate Mountain Khaki retailers. To top the trip off we got a tour through Outside Magazines main offices. We got a behind the scenes peek at how they have created the award winning excellence, which just won them the General Excellence Award for Special-Interest Print Award by ASME. All in all New Mexico had incredible vistas, amazing food, but most importantly truly beautiful people.

To find out if we’re stopping in your area, check out the MK Life Untucked Tour page and like us on Facebook!

My beautiful day off gave me an opportunity to take some great photos for the MK family!! I hope you guys enjoy. First off, I must say these Granite Creek Convertibles are better than sliced bread!!! They are the most versatile pants I have ever owned!! On this particular day I was checking out some trails for me and logan, my four year old. He is usually with me but today he was busy being four lol. As I was walking I saw some great terrain to test my amazing attire out a little more. It was very hot and humid but my pants were just right for the occasion. I trampled through the water and brush with ease. By the time I headed back these things were dry!!! I couldn’t believe that pants so quick to dry could be so tough and strong!! I now own five pair of these. I love my OMP’s but these have become my all time favorites thus far!!  It was a great day!! Thanks for having a huge part in it at MK!!

Photo by: Ashley Bungard

Mountain Khakis was once again proud to support the 2013 New Haven Creek Race in Bristol, VT. Now in it’s fourth year, this race has grown every year as a way for local paddling community to get together and kick off the whitewater season. This year we were greated with high water, and fast racers. One of the race organizers, Ryan McCall summed up the event best as:

“What a day! River was high when we got there. We did a quick sprint time trial for our first heat and stalled a bit waiting for the river to drop, which it did. Second heat was a full run of the course. Lots of great competitiors there including all 4 previous champs.

The bigger water favored the locals and folks with the true creekers. Hugh Pritchard was paddling strong as usual but was getting pushed around a little in his river runner. Probably a great boat for the lower flows we have raced in the past. It was a little low volume for what we had yesterday. Scott Gilbert smoked the field in the first heat and was blazing on the long course until he got stood up in the lead in to rooster tail. The hole there was kicking hard right and put several competitors into a boulder on the right side. Scott went in there capsized, momentarily broached, washed off and swam out of Rooter tail. JCass was leading a strong safety team there and live and baited Scott out above toaster. Thanks JCass!! All reports was that Gibert was blazing up the course until that point. Get ‘em next year Scott!

Rogan Savage Brown came down to the finish padding hard and looking fast. His efforts got him a third in a strong local field, but there is no substitute for repetition and at the level we were working with yesterday, familiarity proved to be the difference.

Ben Schott, with god-knows how many laps on the ledges over the last year dissected the run and the troublesome lead-in to the rooster tail/Toaster section in particular. Second place for Ben this year! Great job Ben.

Justin Beckwith, back after 3 years away from this event, suprised no one with his smooth lines all day. Deceivingly fast, he won by a margin of over 10 seconds and looked casual while doing it.

We as organizers were very happy with the event this year. Thanks to everyone who came out, helped, raced, watched, cheered and hung with us as we worked our way thru the event. Special thanks to the racers for their patience while we quite honestly stalled a bit waiting for the river to come to where we were comfortable with our safety. Personally, the level for the final heat was about perfect for the very skilled group of boaters that came out yesterday and may have been the best representation of what the Ledges Race is about, to date. Beckwith, Schott, RSB. No surprises there either, great job guys! Off to the Green now, see y’all next year!”

Big Thanks to Ryan McCall, Dave Packie, Will Seegers, and Ben Schott for organizing another great New Haven Race. Thanks to Robert Whitcomb, vtoutdrsphotography.com, for the great images.

The 16th Annual GORE-TEX Grand Traverse presented by Dynafit and Outdoor Research was a huge success.  Here are some statistics and stories from the event.

We had 185 teams of 2 registered, of which 171 came through gear check and 169 teams actually started the race.  There were 153 teams that finished the race.

Our registration grew 19% this year and the teams that finished increased by 34%.  We are seeing stronger, more prepared and competitive athletes compete in this event.

WINNERS:

The overall winning team was Team Dynafit with Marshall Thomson from Crested Butte and Tom Goth from Salt Lake City with a time of 7 hours and 40 minutes.

The Coed winning team was Barnard Busters with Ted and Christy Mahon from Aspen with a time of 9 hours and 55 minutes.

The Female winning team was Just Cruisin’ with Brynn O’Connell of Crested Butte and Casey Wilson of Jackson, WY with a time of 11 hours and 13 minutes.

Our Facebook page had a weekly total reach of 25,471 – this is 25% growth since last year and our website had over 7,000 visits on race day.  The website traffic was a direct result of the SPOT tracking option for spectators.  Please let me know if there are other statistics you would like.

Each year the Grand Traverse has some amazing human interest stories, this year was no exception. We allowed one team of 3 to compete because one member, Nathan McGrath, had planned to do the race with his best friend, Joe Philpott.  Sadly Joe passed in an avalanche here in Colorado just 3 weeks before the race.  Nathan joined the registered team of his brother Travis and sister-in-law Heidi so the 3 could do the race in Joe’s honor.  We normally do not allow teams of 3 due to safety concerns but we felt this team would stick together till the finish.  They did with a time of 14 hours and 12 minutes and thanked the race committee for allowing them this exception.

The CFO of Viacom, Wade Davis did the GT for the first time this year.  He is from NYC with his partner Eric Zinterhofer, also of NYC and Aspen as Team Searchlight NYC.  The finished in 13 hours and 54 minutes, both saying they’d do the race again!

We had 21 teams racing on behalf of a charity this year, up from 7 teams last year.  This year they raised over $40,000 for charities including; New York City Outward Bound Schools, First Descents, Western State CO Univ Mountain Rescue Team, Shining Stars Foundation, Alzheimer’s Association, Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, Adaptive Sports, Big City Mountaineers, Gunnison Valley Special Needs Network, Life Turns, Cancer Climber, Crested Butte Mountain Guides Knox Scholarship, Peaks for Peace, CB Jr Nordic Team and Denver Children’s Hospital Burn Camps Program.  The success of this new program has been overwhelming and we intend to grow this category next year.

Thank you all for supporting this event, we are excited about the growth we’ve seen over the past year.  We are excited to offer the first Annual run this summer on Saturday August 24th.  The 17th Annual GORE-TEX Grand Traverse will take place on Friday March 28, 2014.  Registration will open on December 1, 2013.

Nothing quite rejuvenates a winter weary angler like the prospect of Opening Day of Trout Season. For Central Vermont fly anglers and beyond, opening weekend comes in the form of a big celebration in Middlebury, Vermont.  Middlebury Mountaineer hosts the Otter Creek Classic Fly Fishing Tournament. Now having completed its 5^th year, has become a staple of the emerging Vermont fly fishing culture.  The OCC5 had a record setting year for participants, shattering the previous years number of 62 competitors, with 85 total anglers.  For the 3^rd straight year, the Fly Fishing Film Tour, an international fly fishing film festival, was held on the eve of Opening Day. Many fantastic fly fishing companies help sponsor this event and make it possible to raise as much money as possible for the New Have River Anglers Association (newhavenriveranglers.org).

The weekend all began with the “Competitor Meeting” at the Middlebury Mountaineer at 5 pm on Friday.  Folks had come from as far as Qubec, Boston, New Hampshire, New York and a very impressive family from West Virginia. At the meeting  participants received instructions on rules, boundaries, edict, and also picked up their OCC5 scorecard and T-shirt. The atmosphere was electric.  People were checking out the new gear, talking strategies, and trying to get the latest information. It was a friendly atmosphere with many of the locals helping out the people who had traveled to the event.  Middlebury Mountaineer made sure nobody was thirsty during the meeting.

The Fly Fishing Film Tour (FFFT) was held at the Town Hall Theater in Middlebury.  The recently restored historic theater was a beautiful venue for this event.  Prior to the movie showing, a product showcase had been setup to exhibit many great fly fishing products, art and to give an opportunity to meet and talk to the board members of the New Haven River Anglers Association(NHRAA). Patagonia makes a generous donation to sponsor this event with the Middlebury Mountaineer. We thank them for their contribution to the NHRAA.  Sage Fly Rods, Fishpond, Patagonia, and Jackson Kayaks all displayed a fantastic array of products for everybody to put their hands on.  Nick Mayer of Escape Studios displayed some of his amazing outdoor and fish paintings.  Vermont Fly Guys, Ken Capsey and Brian Price were on hand tying flies for all to watch and to answer questions. A very charismatic Alex MacDonald, NHRAA Vice President, worked with attendees to talk about all of the projects and programs that NHRAA.

As always the movie was amazing.  The opening montage is always filled with amazing film of large fish and exotic destinations.  Cheers, yells and gasps shot around the venue.

Many of the OCC5 competitors were on hand for the FFFT and when the movie ended folks headed either for home our to continue the celebration in Middlebury.

The morning seems to come quick after the night before, especially for those wanting to be the first to cast their flies in the the freshly opened water after six months.  The predawn hour was filled with a decent snow squall.  Competitors were seen doing little dances on the side of the river waiting for enough light to fish. This was either due to excitement or trying to stay warm in the sub freezing temperature.  For some, a medley of headlamps were seeing bouncing up and down the river side as people hunted for their first run to fish.

Despite recent precipitations, many of the smaller rivers were in great shape and offered an opportunity for above average Opening Day conditions.  An informal angler survey showed that most fish were caught in the morning, and the action slowed quite a bit in the afternoon.  Overall the day ended up being very nice, with an overcast late morning, sun in the early afternoon with temperatures in the 50′s, and some passing clouds as the fishing portion of the event came to an end.  Anglers were required to turn their scorecards in by 4 pm to the Middlebury Mountaineer. Final results showed the fishing was above average for Opening Day but still was a tough day.  A great thing about the OCC is that it is held long before the rivers are stocked, and offers a great opportunity for people to enjoy Vermont’s wild fish.  Below are the final results for the for the 2013 Otter Creek Classic.

5th Annual Otter Creek Classic Opening Day Fly Fishing Tournament Results
April 13^th 2013
Biggest Fish – Wesley Butler 23.5″

Amateur Division
1st – Kevin Ecclesine – 33
2nd – Devin Wendell – 32
3rd – Ross Crowne – 24.75
4th -  Tyler Brown- 23
5th – Dave Konopke – 21

Professional Division
1st – Patrick Joyce- 94
2nd – Jesse Haller- 68
3rd – Arne McKinley – 48
4th – Brendan Hare – 26.5
5th – Wesley Butler – 23.5

After the scorecard were dropped off, the participants are invited to the post event BBQ and award ceremony.  The OCC and FFFT are very lucky to have such great sponsorship support from many great companies.  The OCC5 was primarily sponsored by the Middlebury Mountaineer, Simms Fishing Products, and Sage Fly Rods. We also received great support from Fishpond, Julbo Eyewear, Mountain Khakis, Temple Fork Outfitters, Montana Fly Company, Fisknat, Buff, Cliff Outdoors, Darn Tough Socks, Rio Products, Pale Morning Media, Umpqua, Rock River Rods, Finn Utility, Otter Creek Brewing, Escape Studios, Jackson Kayaks, and many more. The total amount of product given away was over $7,500.  Each of the two OCC champions won Sage VXP 5 weight spey rods, with a custom “Otter Creek Classic 2013” insignia on the on rod.  But besides the anglers who placed in the top 5 places in each division, most of the prizes were put into a drawing which any participant could win.  A $200 Umpqua Boat Bag was won by 13 year old Josh Girrard.  A $150 Nick Mayer Rainbow Trout painting was won by Arne McKinley. And Julbo Sunglasses worth $180, went to Paul Warner, to name a few.  The great part of the raffle and all of the sponsorship support, is that all 85 participants were able to walk away with an additional prizes from the raffle.  An overwhelming amount compliments were heard about the support of the OCC5 by all of these sponsoring companies, knowing that all of the funds raised were going to be used for local conservation projects and educational programs.

Don’t forget to check out the Ditch Pickle Classic Bass Fly Fishing Tournament(dpcvt.com) in Swanton, VT June 29^th & 30^th.

We hope to see you all next year and thank you for coming out.  Good luck on the water and have fun.