4 Corners and Hotel Charley 2 go BIG in Durango

By Jesse Coombs

Andy Corra and 4 Corners River Sports put on a great show at the Abbey Theater and had their annual huge gear swap. I arrived in Durango on Thursday, and kayaked the play park in Animas a minimum of twice each day that I have been here. Saturday morning I arrived at 4 Corners at 7am to set up for the Gear Swap and stake out some great territory for Jackson Kayak. Despite some crazy weather of rain, snow, cold and occasional sun, there was a great turnout for the swap. I was kept busy right up until 2pm showing off the new Jackson Kayaks and helping people get the perfect fit and discuss the size they would like. By the time the day was complete we had sold 5 new Jackson Kayaks, way more than any other company and created a lot of interest in the best kayak company there is. Two customers specifically, Brad and Sam each came back individually to tell 4 Corners how much they appreciated spending the time with me to set them up in the boat and get excited for their new boat. Sam said before he made his decision he went home to check out the Jackson Kayak website and my bio and was really impressed with the company. Talk about fun!

At 3 I went to the Animas with friends to have some fun despite more snow. The good news was that it got sunny while we were out there and warmed up a bit. I went back to 4 Corners after that to put away the Jackson Kayak gear and then headed back to the Animas to see if I could motivate again. I met a father named Mike there whose kids were watching the new Spider Man movie, and between the two of us we decided to motivate for another hour on the river together. He just bought a used play boat at the swap and was excited to learn some new moves. I was amazed at how aggressive Mike was and how quickly he learned. He quickly figured out catching the top wave named Smelter that is a bit flushy at this level. From there we went down to a lower wave that was more retentive and then to Corner Pocket hole. Corner Pocket is the play spot of choice at this level and it is a hole that is friendly at this level. We played in there a bit and then headed down. I started showing Mike stern squirts as soon as we put in, and by the end of the run he was getting pretty good at them. He also wanted me to show him cartwheels and we discussed the importance of wind-unwind in every aspect of kayaking. The two of us were laughing and charging as we had the most fun on an eddy-line. Mike was working on his squirts and I was having fun seeing how long I could hold the stern stall.

I got a great meal at Steamworks in town and watched the ice hockey game between Ottawa and New Jersey. Having played ice hockey in college, I like to catch a game now and again. After that I headed to the Abbey Theater to set up for the show. Kyle McCutchen and Evan Stafford did a slide show presentation of their new guide book: Whitewater of the Southern Rockies. It is the new testament to kayaking in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Wyoming. I got the crowd pumped up for the film and gave a shortened version of the opening presentation as things were getting a bit late. Everyone really enjoyed the film and there were plenty of hollers and cringes during the film. Everyone gave a great ovation at the end and we closed the chapter on another great premier.

Jesse

Canoe and Kayak

Jackson Lineup

Jackson Rockers