Whitewater enthusiasts can trace many of their roots to the Ohiopyle region. This region is the home of the first commercial whitewater rafting company (Wilderness Voyagers), the location of one of kayaking's most forward thinking boat designers who single handedly changed the shape of the craft we so love (Jim Snyder), home to the man who pioneered most of the swiftwater rescue skills currently used (Charlie Walbridge), and the residence of countless boaters (John Regan, Jeff Snyder, Jesse Whitemore, etc...) who through a willingness to seek out adventure and pave the way for the rest of us, have made whitewater boating one of this regions most prolific activities. Within Ohiopyle, newer boaters are produced yearly hailing from one of the four commercial rafting companies or the illustrious Riversport School of Paddling, adding to a community rich in working class values and enjoyment of life, with whitewater to paddle everyday of the year. Fortunately for them, the Ohiopyle region presents a wide expanse of opportunity to seek out adventure at all levels, ranging from the Class II Middle Yough and Casselman Rivers, up through the Class III Lower Yough and Stonycreek Rivers, into the Class IV realm of the Cheat, Big Sandy and Upper Yough, and then ending in the Class V extremes found in the Canaan Valley and falling off of the multitude of mountains that surround both the Yough and Cheat Watersheds. Even the paddlers that have occupied the region from it's beginnings talk about that run they haven't done yet, or that hard to catch creek that runs once every ten years, defining a region rich in opportunity, adventure, and most of all, Whitewater.

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World Kayak Regional Ambassador Jason Hilton - Ignorant Rapid @ Drake Run