Interesting Article in the LA Times...Waterparks

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Mountainbuzz.com :: View topic - Interesting article in the LA times... waterparks. Page 4 of 5 The boaters attracted to ersatz rapids aren't absurdist daredevils like MTV's "Jackass" guys frolicking in city fountains, but a subspecies of thrill - seekers, hooked on ease and relative safety. Just as weatherproof finger -holds on artificial climbing walls appeal to jocks more interested in polishing moves than cheating death, predictable hydrodynamics attract play boaters. The craze even has a nickname: park and play. Idaho river outfitter Les Bechdel doesn't begrudge his urban brethren. "But from the safety aspect, it makes me nervous," says Bechdel, who co -wrote the book "River Rescue." "They go out there and run these rivers like a banshee and think they'll be really good because they can do all these tricks.... But you have to spend time on a river to know its nuances." In January, the Outdoor Industry Assn., based in Boulder, Colo., released a study examining why couch potatoes turn into adventurers and why some adventurers revert to the couch. People cited lack of time as the greatest obstacle for getting into and sticking with — an outdoor activity. Time - crunched urban dwellers and suburbanites account for almost two - thirds of kayakers. Almost half of the paddlers said they've let their gear gather dust. Kayak parks target this built -in audience. "Man can't build a Chesapeake Bay," says Brad Nelson, founder of a Pennsylvania group that tracks and cheerleads urban kayaking projects, "but man can build a white -water park." Engineers • ♦ doesn't play holes one after the other," says Lacy, the engineer, a paddler himself. "You go to a river and realize there's e good play hole in the whole run, and you think, 'I could go to downtown Reno and there's four in a row.' And after schlepping out of the water, a kayaker can grab a hot dog at the cart advertising its "Sausage of the Week," caffeinate at Java Jungle and catch a Even die -hard Reno -area river runners get a guilty look on their faces when asked about the last time they punched their kayak through a rapid on the tempestuous upper Truckee. Jon Fairchild and his buddies used to set aside Thursday nights for running that scenic stretch of wild white water half an hour west of town. The ritual ended when the park opened. Staying in town is just too easy to resist, says Fairchild, a 25- year -old kayak instructor. "You don't pack at all. You don't need a friend. You can go by yourself. We never imagined going kayaking can a lunch break." Pro kayaker Tiffany Manchester, who trains on Ontario's Ottawa River, loves the convenience of kayak parks such as Reno's, where she has competed. But she understands why old - school "soul kayakers" see the artifice as an assault on the sport's natural essence. At a park, she says, "you don't hear the sound of the water and the birds. You hear cars honking. That's sort of sad." http:// www. mountainbuzz .com /viewtopic.php ?t= 2826 &highlight =c +hole 9/15/2004