Whitewater rafting begins as water levels drop

After severe flooding this spring, water levels on the Clark Fork River are finally moderating and people are starting to recreate.

This includes the river rafting companies that take clients on guided whitewater trips with the Alberton Gorge being one of the most popular sections to float. The Tumbleweed, Triple Bridges, and Fang Rapids are among the favorite rapids on the 16-mile Alberton Gorge stretch located just west of Alberton. Many claim the canyon offers some of the biggest and best whitewater rafting in Montana, especially when the river is running high in the spring.

As of June 15, the Clark Fork was running around 22,000 cubic feet per second or CFS. In most cases, trips down the river have been delayed this spring due to the high water, “I usually get on the Clark Fork on the third week of June but we won’t get started until next week,” said Jared Forsythe with Adventure Missoula. However, most guides offer trips down various rivers and simply extended their time in those other areas. Forsythe said they go down the Blackfoot and Spokane River and “made due” with those location. Though it is further for them to travel.

“We are getting close to being on the Clark Fork, but not quite there yet,” he said. “I wait until I’m comfortable before taking clients on trips. There are no state regulations as to when guides can get on the river. It’s a personal decision from the operations stand point of each company.”

Jason Shreder with Zootown Surfers said he took clients down the Gorge the week of June 11 while the river was topping 28,000 CFS, “we don’t go above 30,000 CFS, and we don’t recommend people get on the river at high levels unless they know what they are doing,” he said. “High CFS levels are for commercial users and anything above 30,000 is not fun for operators or the clients. It’s not safe and it’s not having fun.”

“Big snow years always delays commercial rafting on the Clark Fork,” said Pangaea River Rafting Guide, David Lawrence, “however, rafting on the Blackfoot River has been great. When the Clark Fork is too high, the Blackfoot is perfect. We just move our trips to another river while we wait for the Clark Fork to come down.”

He doesn’t recommend personal rafting if people are unfamiliar with the river when it’s above 20,000 CFS, “but if you’re going with a professional, book your trip soon because these ideal high water flows won’t last long,” he commented.

Most companies start training their guides in April, and Montana River Guides also hold River Rescue Classes along with Spring Whitewater training classes in April. Commercial services take several precautions when taking clients down a river including choosing and maintaining ideal equipment including providing appropriate wetsuits, splash jackets and life jackets. “We practice so many scenarios and we do a whole lot of training from April through May,” said Lawrence.

“We are just now getting into tourist season and thankfully the water is coming down. It’s now good operational levels and the weather is warming up and the river is warming up. It will be a healthy river this year, and worth the sacrifice for the month of June. July and August will be great,” said Schreder.