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Outdoor News
Kayaking off the Edge of the Tibetan Plateau
OP staffer, Travis Winn, teaches kayaking and a love of wild water while
exploring rivers on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau
Takeout. Day number one. A whole village stands on the bridge eagerly waiting our
arrival at the little blue water tributary where we agreed to meet our land support
crew. We shoulder our boats and work our way up through the terraced corn fields
to meet the throngs on the bridge.
I set down my boat and point up the tributary's small valley to a weathered old
man. Mustering up all that 1 know, I smile a few words. "Piaoliang." "Tai hao le."
"Xie Xie." Beautiful! How excellent! Thank you." It's the extent of my vocabulary
now, but fortunately, for this little exchange, it does what I want. His weathered face
lights up with laughter. Brzzzzm. We connect. Kayaks, rivers, Americans. Hopefully
they will forever hold a positive place in his heart.
Considering the wild day of white water we threw ourselves into today, we're all
pretty happy to be safe on dry land. The first rapid was tenfold larger than it looked
from the road, and being able to hear the boulders roll didn't help anything. Scout
ing this glacial torrent the realization came to me: Not only are we first descenting
a Class 5 river in a remote corner of China; we're presenting kayaking to a nation of
1.3 billion for possibly the very first time.
We reevaluated our priorities: Number one, kayaking is fun. Let's not push ourselves
to the point of making it look scary. Number two, teach as many people as pos
sible, and teach them in way that emphasizes the beauty of rivers and the impor
tance of appreciating them. Our Chinese comrade embraced our goals, and the
truth of the matter was that he helped found them. In the course of our journey he
introduced us to the head of the tourism bureau in every town and even organized
a kayaking debut in one of the towns along the way. As the trip progressed, we
became increasingly aware of China's love of excitement and growing appreciation
for outdoor activities. After many handshakes, autographs, and excited smiles we
realize that China has been looking forward to watching and learning how to enjoy
rivers for a long time. We are just lucky enough to be the catalysts. Our responsibil
ity now is to give this gift in a way in which everyone and everything can benefit, in
a way in which rivers in their free flowing natural form become an integral part of
Chinese society and economy.
Travis Winn will present a multi-media show on his trip to China on February 18th (see
event calendar for details).
QPQutrinnrPhntnrirarihy Cont-pct
This spring, the Outdoor Program will
host the University of Oregon Outdoor
Photography Competition. Entries will
be accepted from February 1st until April
15th. If you have some original outdoor
photography, drop by the OP office,
EMU room 37, and pick up an official
entry form. The contest is open to all
non-professional photographers and
prizes will be awarded in five categories.
The categories are: Flora and Fauna,
Landscapes, People in the Outdoors,
Outdoor Action and Adventure, and
Digitally Altered Photos. One outstanding
photograph will also be selected for the
Grand Prize, and several Special Mentions
will be chosen from among the entries.
All entries must be submitted in digital
form, although the original photograph
may have been shot on him, slide or with a digital camera. If you need help getting
your slides or prints scanned, stop by the OP office for assistance.
Oregon Roadless Areas Threatened_
By OP Environmental Coordinator Yoko Silk
For years, initiators at the Outdoor Program have led trips on Oregon's beautiful
rivers and in the old growth forests of the cascades. These places offer unparalleled
outdoor recreation, are habitat for a wide diversity of sensitive and endangered
species. Such wilderness reserves are essential for maintaining the integrity
of Northwest ecosystems. The students and community members that have
experienced the magnificence of Oregon’s wilderness know how precious it is and
appreciate the areas untouched by roads and logging operations.
Unfortunately, many of these public roadless areas are threatened by logging
proposals that would affect sensitive old growth forest reserves. The Biscuit salvage
proposal is one of the largest proposed timber sales in the history of U.S. logging
and would affect an area of over 12,000 acres in the Kalmiopsis wilderness. The
proposed Kelsey-Whisky sale in the Zane Grey wilderness would clear-cut hundreds
of acres above the Wild and Scenic section of the Rogue River, in addition to
commercial logging throughout the area. The Three Pyramids sale threatens some of
the last remaining old growth stands in the old Cascades of Oregon. Although each
of these areas is distinct, all are threatened by logging practices that would destroy
old growth forests in some of the last untouched wilderness areas in Oregon.
We know that the University of Oregon student population and community
members value these rich wilderness areas. Please keep yourselves informed of
current logging issues and for ways to help preserve Oregon's last public wild lands.
We encourage you to write your senators, representatives, and US Forest Service
officials (see contact info below). The Forest Service is required to provide time
for public comments to be considered. This is a very effective way for us to let
our government officials know what is important to the Oregon people, so take
advantage of it!
The Outdoor program will do our best to keep ourselves updated about the times
frames and details of any upcoming roadless area issues.
Senator Gordon Smith
404 Russell Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510-3704
Senator Ron Wyden
516 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510-3703
Congressman Peter Defazio
2134 Rayburn House Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20515
Forest Supervisor, Scott Conroy
c/o ACf 2
PO Box 377 m
Happy Camp, CA 96039-0377