Laserfiche WebLink
<br />\ <br />- -I <br /> <br />\ <br />- <br />, <br /> <br />if' . _, <br /> <br />T.H.E HISTORY <br /> <br />1) WINK JAFFEE TO BASALT: Commercial whitewater rafting has been utilizing Wink Jaffe <br />Park ever since it was converted from a gravel pit. Before that, in the 70's, we would launch our <br />rafts on the downstream side of the Woody Creek Bridge - things were different back then! For <br />ffiatlY years, trips that "put in" at Wink Jaffee exited from the river below Basalt across from the <br />Basalt Trade Center on Willits Lane. Additionally, there were a variety of other access sites (both <br />for ingress and egress) near Basalt, and where Lower River Road crosses the Roaring Fork River. <br />Over time, most ofthese access points became unavailable or unusable. In the early 80's, Pitkin <br />County Commissioner Michael Kinsley helped establish a primitive "take out" immediately <br />downstream from the Wingo Junction bridge and accessible from the highway. The construction <br />ofthe Highway 82 Bridge above Basalt effectively made it too dangerous for commercial raft trips <br />to proceed beyond the "take out" near Wingo Junction and that site quickly became our main take <br />out. During the 4 lane construction of Highway 82 in 1995 & 1996, CDOT, in conjunction with <br />the commercial rafting companies and the BLM, developed the Wingo site well beyond the <br />primitive "take out" which had previously existed there. CDOT's gracious cooperation provided <br />us with a new river eddy, a concrete ramp, paved temporary parking, paved storage parking, safety <br />features which separated our guests from traffic, and a variety of other amenities. They did a <br />fantastic job! The situation going forward into 2002 is that there is only 1 "put in", Wink Jaffee <br />Park, and 1 "take oUt",WiI1g0 junction, for the "Woody Creek" run. <br /> <br />2) SLAUGHTERHOUSE: In the last few years, and with the introduction of more advanced <br />equipment, commercial rafting companies have begun offering Slaughterhouse raft trips. Such <br />trips account for approximately 3-5% of all of the commercial activity that takes place on the <br />Roaring Fork corridor between Aspen and Wingo Junction. Slaughterhouse trips "put in" at Stein <br />Park, and "take out" at Wink Jaffee Park. <br /> <br />3) TRENDS: Whitewater rafting grew tremendously during the late 70's and well into the 90's. <br />Lately, and much like the skiing industry, new customers have leveled off. Many oftoday's <br />customers are also looking for more challenging runs, hence a growing interest in the <br />Slaughterhouse section of the Roaring Fork. <br /> <br />USERS & USES <br /> <br />1) EXISTING COMMERCIAL COMPANIES: There are 3 commercial rafting companies and 1 <br />commercial kayaking company who currently operate on the river corridor between Aspen and <br />Wingo Junction. Two of the rafting companies, Colorado Riff Raft and Blazing Adventures, have <br />operated on this section of river since the 1970's. Between the two ofthem they account for the <br />vast majority (over 90%) of commercial use at Stein Park, Wink Jaffee and Wingo Junction (see <br />Figure 3). The Aspen Kayak <br />School has also offered <br />commercial kayak trips since <br />the early 70's. During the <br />last several years a new <br />company, Up The Creek, has <br />begun to offer commercial <br />raft trips using all the existing <br />access points at <br /> <br />. . " :~. ::~;~, < :~'{f}1~~". '}.^! "'j~~'~ <br />Appro -mate Elstribution of HstoriaallSe Byi~" ".~'t~,c' .:~)>] <br />. ~' , " ' ,'- ~, ~,;V' '!j{,~:~;~':1t~r <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />I . :"-......~ <br /> <br />