As midday approached and the temperature steadily climbed, it was time for a series of fun races designed for all abilities and river craft to participate in.  There were a series of down-river races for kayaks, racing kayaks, inflatables, and even make-it-yourself contraptions that competed in the “Junk of the Unc” race!

A kayak rodeo rounded things out in the mid-afternoon, where whitewater kayakers competed on a set of waves for who could throw the best tricks and impress the judges the most!

The festival ran into the evening with 3 local bands performing, and lots of local vendors present selling food, beer and other River Festival essentials.  A big thanks to the Town of Ridgway, the many other sponsors of River Fest, and all the hard working volunteers and participants who made it happen!  Jagged Edge is already looking forward to the event next summer!  Check out Telluride Inside’s coverage of Ridgway River Festival as well at http://www.tellurideinside.com/2010/06/ridgway-riverfest-wrapup.html#more

Western Mountaineering is the hands-down leader in the outdoor industry when it comes to down products.  If you are looking for the lightest, warmest, highest quality down product on the market, then look no further than Western Mountaineering and their great lineup of products.  Started more than 30 years ago in Northern California by two passionate mountaineers who believed they could make a better down product than what was available on the market, Western has blossomed into a company that still remains true to its roots while making some of the most incredible product available.  From sourcing the best raw materials, to the using the highest quality down, to using the best stitching and packing techniques when constructing each sleeping bag by hand in their northern California factory, each product made by Western Mountaineering is paid the utmost attention to detail, ensuring a long and warm product life.

Jagged Edge is proud to be working with Western Mountaineering, stocking a large selection of their sleeping bag collection for 2010.  From bags made to survive the harshest and coldest climates on earth, to the same high quality construction put into summer weight bags built for backpacking and camping trips around the Rockies, Western makes a bag for any person in any destination.  A large selection of Western’s spring and summer bags has just arrived at Jagged Edge, from the go-anywhere 10 F Versalite and the sub 2 lb. 20 F Ultralite, to Western’s lightest bag at just over 1 lb., the 32 F Summerlite.  Experience for yourself the warmth and comfort of a high quality product made in the USA, and let the expert staff at Jagged Edge fit you for that perfect Western Mountaineering sleeping bag!

One of the Kode’s greatest attributes is its ability to be a jack-of-all-trades depending on where you want to go and what you want to do.  Gonna spend the afternoon hiking up Baldy??  The Kode will carry your skis 3 different ways.  Racing down groomers early in the morning?  Carry up to 3 litres of water in a hydration reservoir as well as have your camera handy in large hip belt pockets.  Every feature on this backpack in well thought out and easily stored away when not in use, making for a very user-friendly platform.

Besides the ability to carry skis, snowboards or ice axes, the Kode has a few other unique features that are worth pointing out.  As nearly everyone skis with a helmet these days, the Kode is the first pack to come up with a great way to carry a helmet on the pack when hiking so as to prevent overheating.  Anyone who has hiked with a helmet clipped to their backpack, swinging to clunk the back of their head every other step will appreciate this feature.  Another well thought out feature are the two main storage compartments in the pack, the first being an easily accessed front pocket that organizes all necessary avalanche gear in a cinch.  The second, larger compartment is accessed via the back panel of the pack and serves as a great dry storage area, swallowing anything from extra layers to an afternoon’s lunch.  A few other great features include a fleece-lined goggle storage pocket, two generously sized hip belt pockets, a snow-shedding back panel, all in a hydration compatible package.

What’s great about the new Kode series of backpacks is that they are truly an evolution of the ski pack, created by folks who really use their gear.  With Osprey’s headquarters down the road in Cortez, our Telluride area truly is the test-piece for their winter-driven packs, and it shows as they are perfectly suited for the many different types of skiing we have access to.