Sunday, December 20, 2009

Dec 20 Back from Tahoe



Photo taken last week at Evan's house in Alpine Meadows (thanks again) - 60 inches of fresh in one storm (that's the Explorer under there). Our family is circling the wagons as Rush has just arrived back from Chile and Alli, after skiing with me in Tahoe, is now home but headed out the door for a year in New Zealand in mid January. Rush broke his back down in Argentina but, at present, it seems that he will make a full recovery in a few months. You can learn more by going to his web site, river-roots.com if you are so inclined. We are excited to be all together and hope to rendezvous later today at the Etna house. I hope this finds our extended family happy and well! p

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Thanksgiving blast @OB



Thanksgiving 2009 at Otter Bar was, well, off the charts. We had over 30 people for dinner and the lodge/cabins were at capacity. New on the scene this year was the John and Dina Johns family, the Cedar and Mahaj family as well as my brother Jock and Maia and their kids Marine and their newest arrival Maeve. Simply put, we had a blast! Great weather allowed for major walks and even a backhoe ride and the four day holiday seemed over before it began. Rush was sorely missed as he is still in Chile flinging himself off of cliffs. It is one of the greatest events that we host at Otter Bar and it is the one time we really use the place for a massive party for many of our dearest friends. Of course, I'm still picking up the pieces of our destroyed lodge (just kidding). As most of you know, the new web site is up and not without some glitches. PLEASE let us know if you have any trouble loading any of it. Should be all good now but... This brings our love to those of you who didn't make it and to our huge extended family that make this life possible! Peter and Kristy

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Nov 22 clean and full


With the help of Rush Sturges and crew we drained and cleaned the far pond and as of this morning it is finally full again. Squeaky clean, at least for a nano second. New web site went up yesterday and it is dumping snow at Bachelor and Mt Hood. Took this photo minutes ago after a night of rain. Thanks to Paul Johnson and Bob Ferguson for hours of modeling work for the new site! cheers p

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Nov 19 snow up high

Snow on the mountain with a progressive weather pattern forecasted. Pretty dry Fall, really (5 inches of rain so far), although we still have good hydro and don't need to run the generator for power. They finally got the fiber optic in and you can see the cut they made in the road in the picture above. It has been a real pain for the last year or so but we are thrilled to have great internet capability. Otter Bar is dormant but stunning and Kristy and I just went down to Southern CA and visited her mother as well as Alli and the John Johns family in La Jolla. Major Thanksgiving bash ahead and then I plan to head out for points snow to find some skiing. New web site is finally done and should be up by tomorrow! Check it out and love to anyone who might be reading this!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Off Season!


I know, it's a bit weird having a ski shot of me on a kayak school blog but, hey, the high snow capped peaks will beckon. Mid September @ OB and all is quiet. Tons of salmon in the river - 60 or so at Bloomer falls today! Riding the bike, working on the place, reading,diving you get the drift. Thanks to you all out there for this fine life. Kristy, Rush and Allison just back from Switzerland and we are preparing for a wedding this weekend. Our own Tesilya (Creek's daughter) is getting married here to Brad Sandford. We are expecting 150 or so. We will have dates for the schools and other trips up on the web site shortly - for those who have asked. That said all dates will be the same with the exception of the change in the calender. Grand canyon trip is Sept 5 to 19 2010. It is lovely and cooler now with temps in the low 80's and bits of rain and it all seems worth it. Thanks to you all who made the effort to get here this year. We didn't have a ton of business but some really cool folks showed us to help us through this rough year. I will update this blog periodically during the off season so stay tuned!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Aug 30 - Sept 5




Well it may have been a very small week but it was extremely enjoyable just the same. A highlight for me was seeing Marilyn's very happy face at dinner last night. Looked like she had had a screaming blast on the river. We truly live for people having the time of their lives here at otter Bar and this week was no exception. There was no shortage of class 5 banter at the dinner table with the irreverent Brit (Dave) holding steady on all fronts. Cheryl Hunt was in fine form and I believe she has been here 20 or more times. Talk about repeat business. Tommy and Brian were in top form, as usual, on the culinary front. We missed Kristy who is still over in Switzerland watching Rush compete, although, I am sorry to say he came in #33 out of 150 on the first round so he didn't make the cut (30). Last week of the season here! Thanks to everyone for being such a killer staff! p

Friday, August 28, 2009

Aug 23 - 29



As you can see Mayzie took the class (she prefers Jackson boats) and with her ferry angles it is no surprise that she was voted most improved. Now if we could just get her to quit barking at night. Some great folks here this week and it is always a blast to see Bill and Carrie as well as Bill Sullivan who routinely annoys me by skiing even more days last year than I did. A very compatible group I must say and I couldn't even get them to come up for air and watch one of Rush's movies. Great week with a wonderful trip to Bloomer Falls on Wednesday. Plenty of salmon deep in the hole. And a great week of kayaking for everyone except the boss who has to stay home while Kristy and Allison jet off to Switzerland to watch Rush compete in the Worlds in Thun. That's OK I'll just move a few thousand rocks and suffer in this god forsaken sweatshop. No really, it's OK honey I'll just be stuck in traffic in this hell hole while you sing "the hills are alive". Spectacular weather this week which was lucky because we have a guest (Julie Perry) that is sporting a garden on the hood of her car (honest)! Thanks for coming and please leave some comments or someone else who is foolish enough to read these posts will think you don't like us.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Aug 16 - 22


More clear blue skies and warm weather were the norm this week.Great seeing Michael Kerwin and we had a wonderful visit from Phil and Mary Deriemer mid week. The diving with the group was a blast on Wed as the statewide ban on dredging has improved the water quality greatly! Really enjoyed the group with a stellar father son combo (Drew and Chet) and Willa and Konrad were great fun to get to know, as well. Peter from Chicago was truly a rock and pushed himself hard on the kayaking front. Great water this week with lots of rolling and steep learning curves and the food was off the charts, as usual! Thank you all for coming and leave a comment!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Aug 2 - 8


An amazing week! In addition to a stellar group we had some off the charts weather. Massive thunderstorms and lightening moved in on Wed afternoon and by Wednesday evening it was pounding down rain. We had somewhere near an inch overnight and after a prolonged dry spell we have no more dust and the smells are from heaven. Chinese fogs have draped the landscape and this, after a pretty intense heat wave, has put us all in the best of humor. The Zeiter family (all five of them) have pegged "the most athletic family" meter to date and certainly a wonderful booking for Otter Bar in this rather slow year. They are off to Presido to Sandy Bar run as I write and Margarita night tonight promises to be the rocking blast it always is. Loved having Awna Z for a week and the Tommy/Bryan team blasted out another week of 4 star meals. THANKS for coming and leave some comments!

Friday, July 31, 2009

July 26 -Aug 1


Double week, this, with seven adults and eight kids. The kid's courses are run completely separately. Pictured above are several parents who have been able to check in on their charges during the course of the week. Very hot earlier this week but cooler now. We swam a lot late in the day and into the evenings on some days. Everyone in this group got their roll and they are off to the final day on the Klamath as I write. Great group with no shortage of hilarity at the evening meals. We didn't always serve lunch, though, as Paul was trying to help OB keep costs down. Beautiful weather here now with the low this AM @ 60 degrees. Huge party tonight and I will be transporting kids over on my backhoe to join us for music and margaritas ( some are only 10 but they have to grow up sometime, don't they?). Cheers to all and we fixed the "comment" problem so now you should be able to do this!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

July 19 - 25


Beautiful hot weather this week. It is only Tuesday as of this writing but I am off to the Outdoor retailer with Rush this morning and wanted to post this photo. Wonderful dinners out and I have really enjoyed this group. Hate to leave you guys. Have a blast and see you Saturday.

Friday, July 17, 2009

July 12 - 18


A small group with a big foot print not soon to be forgotten in Otter Bar lore. We tell an occasional story around here and this week could qualify. The distinct lack of curtains, surly owners and drab setting were duly noted by New York heavy weights. Complete lack of attention to detail, miserable food and arrogant instructors complimented the atrocious setting deep in the ruins of a once mighty forest. But at least the bear was blind. And being bald has never been better in this week of studied irreverence and, well, hilarity. Indeed, Fuad distinguished himself by offering more suggestions in one week than we have had in 28 years. And all good ones I might add. Peter, Russell and Crystal put up with a lot but, hey, they're nice people. This was a week to remember (and miss) with an amazing day of diving at bloomer's on top of a great week of boating. And the fire threat even went away (for now) to round out a very fun week (for the boss) and for this we are HUGELY grateful. Thanks to you all and leave a comment (if you can). We will try and have the screening process fixed soon.

Friday, July 10, 2009

July 5 - 11


Great weather, although a bit cooler this week. Quite a welcome change and, as we have a fire on the other side of the mountains from us, this has been a very good thing for the fire suppression efforts. Wonderful group of women as well as Luke (15) who did a great job of fitting in. Peter Kettering held court this week with his very able assistant Paul Singer who will graduate to full instructor status beginning next week. A very small week for us but we feel lucky to be keeping the doors open in these tough economic times. Another week of fantastic food and camaraderie and the dinners out were sublime.

Friday, July 3, 2009

June 28 - july 4


Warm weather here and a great bunch of kids (5 of them) and adults made for another fantastic week @ OB. Lots of new folks and fast learners with solid rolls the norm. The group is off to Dillon to Sandy Bar as I write and we even talked Paula into coming with and riding the Dynamic Duo with Jesse Shimrock at the helm. Amazing swimming this week and we did a trip to Bloomer's on Wed that was super fun. Hot afternoon with approx ten Salmon deep in the pool and the swimming party was nothing short of riotous. Amy Eisenberg distinguished herself with her water spider antics and the boss was delighted to see everyone having such a blast. The upper hole also saw it's share a late afternoon cliff jumping and the emerald water of the salmon was sheer joy. A great week with tons of kayaking and swimming. Will Miller also distinguished himself as top dog and even pulled off a low water run on Butler with Graham as his private instructor. Hard to top that. Last week for Gray as he is off to Norway via points South. We will miss him! Lovely dinners outside and Brian and Tommy pegged the meter once again. Cheers and thanks to you all and please leave comments below this post so we can find out what you really think!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

June 21-27


Very small group this week but with ratio of two to one and the entire lodge for four guests things were pretty mellow. It was difficult duty for Mr Charles and Jess with three beautiful women and the extraordinary southern gentleman, Dan Collins. Delightful group, weather and four evenly matched paddlers made for a sublime atmosphere. But hopefully these guys will comment and give you the real skinny. Summer is finally here with temps in the high 80's and the swimming is happening. Just came back from the upper hole. Perfect visibility and lovely water temps. We are still on the Salmon! Ikes tomorrow!

Saturday, June 20, 2009

June 14-20


This is the first post I have done for the blog that is current as I have been playing catch up on all the others. Another week of spectacular weather and the bit of mud that came from the flash flood up the north Fork has cleared out. Emerald waters and a riotous group was the norm with Larry Bock distinguishing himself as number one instigator. In fact, we had two teen agers last week, although, Trevor displayed a level of maturity missing in the elder teen. Our internet was noticebly crippled by the constant downloading of god knows what by this group. Pleasure seeing old time repeats Scott Minick, Richard Spry, Monte, Mike and Mary Homier and Bob. We boated the Crapo run, lower Salmon, Dillon Creek run and several forays to the Ikes. Benny, Jess and Jason were the "turbo stud god" insructors and it was a seriously good time had by all. Thank you guys for keeping us alive here and leave some comments!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

JUNE 7-13 2009


Cooler weather with bits of rain, tons of sun and wonderful "Chinese landscape" fogs have been the norm this week and we are loving it. The river is dropping slowly down and we are migrating to the lower sections and towards the Klamath. Loved seeing Hank Bratt after all these years and meeting Hazel. We had a blast this week and really enjoyed the addition of lance and Lucy. Flash floods late in the week turned the North fork chocolate but I am super happy to report that we are back to normal and the river is stunning once again. Otter bar beach is happening! Thanks guys and send posts!

MAY 31- JUNE 6, 2009


The incredible Tommy Pappas and Brian Mcdermid (chefs extraordinaire) have been blowing us away with their culinary talents and this week's group was pretty up on the whole program. Jennifer,Francesca, Linda, Leslie, were their usual understated selves. This was Dave Farkas's last week teaching and his effussive positive energy was a joy to the boss and we will miss him. Some cool new folks, as well and continued fantastic levels with all runs in. Sorry I missed your departure Joanne and THANKS to you all for a super fun week

MAY 24-30, 2009


Old Home Week played well this year. The amazing Pete Peterson held court and Bob Ferguson is a rolling machine (not bad for a 76 yr old newbie to the sport)! Great seeing the old guard once again - Paul Johnson, Rheim,Mike, Steve,Henry L, Jim, Ray Purnell (you finally have something new to look at). Sorry to loose Bob and Scott Pippin but we hear Scott is fine and at the Air Force academy. Killer flows with all sections in. Send us your posts!

MAY 17-23, 2009


Hey Scott and group. Thanks for all the help getting us going on the blog! We had continued great flows and it was so great seeing so many good friends. Bob and Marion - wonderful seeing you and Ken Salce - Bella - Jeff and all of you THANKS for keeping us going in this tough year!

May 10-16 2009


Week two was much busier and a ton of fun. Mick Hopkinson and Ruth Gordon made cameos for the week and we loved it. It was truly an honor to have them here and Mick's "safety" safety lecture was a highlight! Great flows and non-stop action on the South Fork and north fork was the norm.

May 3-9 2009


Dear "first week" crew, Finally we are getting the blog up! And a memorable week it was (thank you cat and Tim) and others,as well, but those guys pegged the meter. Please feel free to post anything and THANKS for coming! peter and kristy