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ABOUT US
We are located in Salmon, Idaho, near access points
to many of Idaho's finest rivers, including the
Main Salmon, the Middle Fork of the Salmon, and the Selway. Our proximity to these rivers gives us
lots of opportunities to run them and brings
many of you to our store on the way to
and from your river trips. We provide equipment
rentals, shuttle services, as
well as up-to-date information on water levels and
other river information. If you are through
Salmon, please stop by our store. We are located
about 1.5 miles north of the river bridge in Salmon on Highway 93 North. Our shop is a
big blue building with a white roof, on the West
side of Highway 93.
Blackadar
Boating had its beginnings with the late Walt Blackadar
in his garage
in 1968.
Following his death in 1978, his daughter, Nan, and
son-in-law, John, moved back to their home town of Salmon,
and have been running Blackadar Boating ever since.
Their son, Jerry, and daughter, Marti, have been working with their dad at the shop during the
summer seasons.
Walt Blackadar
“Every so often in sport, an individual comes along
and changes things forever. In whitewater sport
that person is Walt Blackadar. Walt’s solo descent
of the formidable Turn Back Canyon on the Alsek
River in 1971 was so far ahead of its time that it
is not only significant in terms of whitewater
history, but it is significant in the history of
adventure and exploration. Symbolically the Alsek
assumes an historical place, a beginning of a new
age of the sport built around the powerful story
about one 49 year old individual with a bold dream.
The psychological barrier had been broken, and a new
array of opportunities was possible” (Ron Watters,
Never Turn Back, Pocatello, Idaho: The Great
Rift Press, 1994).
Dr. Walt Blackadar became known as a kayaking
pioneer/explorer in 1971 when he paddled Turn Back
Canyon on the Alsek River in British Columbia. A
Sports Illustrated article featuring this solo run
soon followed.
From 1972
to 1978. Dr. Blackadar was featured in several
ABC American Sportsman documentaries and the
movie "The Edge" directed by Roger Brown.
Articles by Walt
Blackadar
"My Race with
the Devil," by Walt Blackadar, Medical Economics
(journal), August 8, 1977. Pp. 246-250.
"Caught Up in a
Hell of White Water," by Walt Blackadar, Sports
Illustrated (magazine), August 14, 1972.
Pp. 42-50.
"Julie Wilson
Falls," by Walt Blackadar, American Whitewater
(magazine), Vol. XIX/4. Pp. 117-121.
Publications about
Walt Blackadar
"Whitewater
Surgeon," by Jackie Johnson, Down River
(magazine), March 1977. Pp. 27-29.
"Memorial
Service set Saturday for Dr. Walter Blackadar, 55,"
The Recorder-Herald (newspaper), May 18,
1978, Salmon, Idaho.
"Rx for the
American Sportsman: Walt Blackadar,
Kayaker-Surgeon." Eric Evans' Whitewater Journal, by
Eric Evans, Canoe (magazine), June-July 1978.
Pp. 14-16.
"Commentary: A
Paddlers' Point of View," River World
(magazine), July 1978. P. 13.
"A Personal
Look at Walt Blackadar," by Don Wilson, River
World (magazine), September 1978. Pp.
68-70.
"In His
Memory," Idaho State Journal (newspaper),
Pocatello, ID, September 16, 1983. P. 12
Section D.
"The Legacy of
Walt Blackadar," by Michael Ames, Idaho Mountain
Express (newspaper), Ketchum, ID. May 21,
2003. Pp. D-1, D-2.
Never Turn Back: The Life of
Whitewater Pioneer Walt Blackadar (book), by Ron
Watters, Pocatello, ID: The Great Rift Press.
1994.
Others
Walt Blackadar was also featured on
ABC-TV's "American Sportsman" and in the movie "The
Edge" directed by Roger Brown. |
