Chatfield dropped to 20cfs this Monday the 21st but looking back at last year, we got a late water drop the end of August 2022. So there is talk of doing a jam session event at Sixx with an opening window starting basically now. The exact type of jam session and time is yet to be set and will be announced if we get water. Keep your eyes open for status update(s).
PLACES TO SURF: See table below.
| Beavers | Possibly Surfable | Entry is from downriver where the iron rail fence ends. Real shallow surf |
| 16th Street | Possibly Surfable | Longboards and is real shallow now |
| Dave’s Wave | Surfable | High tide is very late in the afternoon and need longboards |
| Bingo Wave | Not Surfable | Need a high volume board or inflatable board |
| Scout Wave | Surfable | Look for good surf thru 9/5/2023 w/ project water likely ending the next day dropping flow to native release of about 350cfs+/-. Crowds continue. Need a backup CGA PFD but no tickets have been written yet for non-compliant vests. |
| Cañon City Wave | Surfable | Need a battleship sized board to surf this crumbly wave. Here is the live streaming cam for it: https://www.youtube.com/live/X_iECBFS7gY?feature=share |
| Montrose | Surfable | Appears to be good per vids on the socials. Though is a 5 hour drive from Denver. |
RIVER SURFING NEWS:
Sixx Jam Session window opens today. Monday of course was a “lay day” as the event is off for the day.
Rumor is CPW starts ticketing this week at Scout for pfd’s but no indication of it happening.
Save the date Sunday Oct 1, 2023: End of river surfing season event is in planning stage.
RIVER SURFING TIP: The best web page that gives almost all the river surfing spots is Jake Voss’ wave guide on his page https://endlesswaves.net/waves/
SURF TRIVIA: Steve Lis of San Diego at the time in the late 1960’s is credited with creating the fish shaped surfboard. What type of surfing inspired Steve Lis to make the fish style surfboard and why?
PRIOR SURF TRIVIA ANSWER: The “rake” of a fin is also known as the “sweep” and is is the distance the fin tip curves away from the base to the back. For classic fin shapes, the rake affects the turning ability of the board. The less the rake is, the more pivoting the fins will be. The larger the rake is, the more stable and the more drawn out the turns the board will be. Of course things like fine sizes and number of fins will also change the turn ability of a surfboard and stability.
LINKS TO KNOW:
Chatfield gauge (takes 2-3 hours to impact RRP; click on raw/all values then table view for 15 min updates to flow levels): https://dwr.state.co.us/Tools/StationsLite/PLACHACO?params=DISCHRG
RRP gauge (click on raw/all values then table view for 15 min updates to flow levels) flow below 130cfs or so means it is too low for Sixx: https://dwr.state.co.us/Tools/StationsLite/PLAUNICO?params=DISCHRG
Sixx Pole Cam: https://www.senserasystems.com/public/embed/3M7824646H83
Dave’s Wave gauge (is about 3 hours off since the closest gauge is way down river. So look at prior day’s gauge amount and adjust your mind…. i.e 3pm Friday should likely be noon Sat current conditions… Need at least 200cfs to surf Dave’s on a longboard or inflatable): https://dwr.state.co.us/Tools/StationsLite/PLAHENCO?params=DISCHRG1
Scout Wave gauge (1,200cfs or lower is surfable): https://dwr.state.co.us/Tools/StationsLite/ARKSALCO?params=DISCHRG
Scout Live Web Cam: This webcam gets wonky at times and so does the webpage for it. At times it is focused full time on Scout but other times it cycles different views and briefly on the wave: https://www.coloradowebcam.net/webcamlocations/salida-webcams
Cañon City Wave Live Pole Cam: https://www.youtube.com/live/X_iECBFS7gY?feature=share
LBK
Let’s get a couple of events in locally for the metro-Denver surf scene.
The Denver Surf Report 