We are going down the canyon intermediate It's class four.

It's going to be about six miles to take us our hour and a half on water, Yeehaw, boys.

That's going to be a good time.

lean in.

Good way to be Rafting season is in full swing here in Colorado along the Clear Creek near Idaho Springs.

Up to 80,000 people come fo commercial trips in a good year, but this year's record low snowpack has created new challenges for River Outfitters.

Extreme heat in March meant that snow melted earlier than usual.

Most of the state's rivers are running at less than half their normal flow.

I'm Ron.

I'm the owner of Rocky Mountain Whitewater rafting.

We've been operating rafting tours on Clear Creek out of Idaho Springs for this, our 15th year.

What has this year been like for you?

This year, as far as the water levels our snowpack levels are the lowest that we've ever seen in the state.

I went through a year back in 2002 that was very similar to this, but not quite as bad as this year.

I really hope that we we can make it to late July would be our ideal situation, but we need a lot of things to line up for that to probably that.

Last year, Raudelunas invested in a new type of raft manufactured in the Czech Republic that thrives in low water conditions.

Those rafts are giving guides more chances to get on the water this year.

was kind of a coincidence that we used it last year, and then this year we ended u having the worst snowpack ever.

And so we're very stoked that we got these boats before all these other companies they're unlike any other raft I've used on any other river I've worked on there, a lot more narrow.

I'd almost describe them as more canoe esque, as opposed to having a flat bottom.

They have more of a hole like this, so a little bit of a V on the bottom anytime you hit a rock with that flat bottom raft, you're going to get stuck on that rock with these V-shaped holes.

Like this.

Anytime we hit a rock, we kind of bounce off of them one way or the other, so we don't get pinned on the rocks in the same way.

Also, with it being much more narrow dimensions and a typical raft out there, there's lines that we wouldn't be able to take in a normal raft, for the Clear Cree where we're at, they're perfect.

headed to Fort Collins to speak with Dave Costlow of the Colorado River Outfitters Association to find out how the season might shape up elsewhere in Colorado.

We get low water like this about once every ten years, so it's not something we haven't seen before.

a misconception is low water means no water.

And that's not true.

Low water just means a different form of raster, Can you expect this year to to have fewer bookings or a shorter season?

Well we don't expect fewer bookings.

In fact, for many outfitters their bookings for running ahead of normal.

But as far as water running out, that could happen.

I give you an example.

The Clear Creek near Idaho Springs have become a very popular rafting venue, it has no reservoir feeds, so nothing to give it beyond what nature gives it.

That's where rain will b very critical for that stream.

if there aren't rains, and since there's no augmentation of water, that river could end up instead of going into early August.

May end up in late July.

So it could end 2 or 3 weeks early.

we're confiden that it'll be a decent season.

Yeah.

it's definitely one of the more exasperating parts of this industry.

And this job is not knowing what our future looks like and the continuity about it.

every year I'm always like, okay, season's ending tomorrow or this week, and then it ends up lastin much longer than I anticipate.

So I have told myself to stop thinking about it, stop dwelling on it, because it's nothing.

I can have change or effect, and I'm just the mercy of Mother Nature, and I'm going to see how far that gets me.

I think next year is going to be kind of the real big decider for a lot of people.

if it's another bad year, two in a row, I think we'll see a lot of guy that might not start making this their summer plans.