Colorado snowpack promises long, dangerous whitewater season

This story first appeared in The Outsider, the premium outdoor newsletter by Jason Blevins.

In it, he covers the industry from the inside out, plus the fun side of being outdoors in our beautiful state.

Richard Zehm was ready for the Dolores. The longtime resident of both Telluride and Norwood missed the River of Sorrows in 2019, the last time the river could float rafts, and the 72-year-old expert oarsman had his customized red raft rigged early, well before the river started churning to life last month. The yellow permit from a Middle Fork of the Salmon River descent almost 20 years ago flapped on the bow, a pennant to his passion for wild river canyons. 

“He had a deep appreciation for the rivers and their power,” said Allie Gausman, a Telluride business…