Idaho Wave Boating

On my way back from Payette River Games, and the rest of the pro circuit this year, I got a sweet chance to hit up some wicked Idaho waves! We were headed to Missoula for a stop before going back to Connecticut, but with the higher water in Idaho, I got treated to a pair of sweet waves, Couch Wave and Pipeline, on the way there! Such an awesome day, and ridiculously cool drive.

The first thing we got to was Couch Wave on the Salmon. I had no idea it was there, and just happened to see a sick looking wave from the road and got my dad to stop. It turned out to be awesome! Big, steep, 6-7 foot wave with big green passes and eddy access.. what could be better? It was amazing for doing blunts, pan ams, airscews, and all that, even though it was really flushy.. and bounces could go so big that landing a trick flat hurt! The wave was also really surgy, so you could either get a massive pass or get smashed into the pit.. which hurts! After about and hour and a half on it, it started greening more often and was really hard to catch, so we headed on.

After a few hours drive, we got to Pipeline, on the Lochsa river! This wave was totally different from Couch, but still so sick! Instead of being steep and bouncy, the water was just moving so fast that if you initiated the bounce, it could get almost as much air as on Couch. A pretty perfect wave, with a curler off to one side but this one spot that will hold you on just about any wave trick if you stomp it. There wasn’t an eddy, but the walk wasn’t bad at all! Spent another couple hours there, and hit some sweet tricks, and even a few new combos for me! All in all one of the best days I’ve had. I’ve been home for a few weeks now, but stoked to be headed up to Canada for a month soon! See you on the river!

David Silk