A few weeks back Erin and I had the privilege to paddle the Yampa with a fellow standup paddler that knows the Yampa better than most: Peter Hall. Peter is the owner of Hala Gear which builds high quality, whitewater specific, inflatable SUPs. They are headquartered out of Steamboat Springs, directly across the street from the Yampa river.
We were in town for the ski resort’s closing weekend, and thought we’d try to squeeze in a quick paddle of the town run. Having no experience on this stretch of water, I contacted Peter hoping to get some info. Instead of just info, Peter invited us to paddle with him, as well as lend us a Hala Atcha!
We put in at Fetcher Park at the south end of town. The Yampa (although unseasonably low), offered better water than we had on the Front Range at the time. We paddled through town on mostly mellow class 2 water. There were plenty of little riffles and waves that were super surfable on the Hala boards.
My GoPro battery died almost immediately after getting on the water. I’ll get better footage next time!
One thing I’ve learned from paddling many different boards is that wherever the board was developed and tested, it will undoubtably paddle well. Hala boards will be amazing on the Yampa. Badfish boards will paddle great in Salida and Buena Vista. The C4 Opae I’m sure crushes the USNWC park.
Our day on the Yampa reinforced my thoughts. Both the Hala Atcha and Hala Peno surfed great on all the little features we could find. The Hala Gear HQ sits at the opposite end of town from our put-in, and conveniently right next to the best surf waves. The Peno surfed these waves great as well. Once we were done, we pulled our boards out of the water, walked across the street, and had a beer at the Hala Gear HQ.
If you’re ever in Steamboat, stop by the Hala Gear HQ. Not only can you checkout the latest and greatest gear Hala has to offer, you might also get the chance to paddle with one of the friendliest, most stoked paddlers I’ve met. Thanks Peter for the great day on the water!
Written by | Benjamin
Benjamin Smith is a land locked surfer living in Colorado. He gets his surfing fix on the local rivers, where he SUP surfs standing waves.
