The Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership announced the winners of the 2023 Uncompahgre River Classic at the Ridgway RiverFest on June 24. By May 1, entrants made predictions of when the Uncompahgre River would reach its peak flow between May 2 and June 23, and five people won prizes for having the closest predictions to the actual date and time.
The 2023 peak flow from runoff (before June 24) was on June 7 at 1:15 a.m. and 2:15 a.m. and was 930 cubic feet per second (cfs). Compared to the past 12 years, this year’s peak flow was on a typical date according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey gauge near Ridgway on the Uncompahgre River. The cfs was about 300 more than last year (so about 50% greater). There may, in fact, still be a bigger peak flow coming after June 23 this year, but our peak flow prediction contest only counts the flows up until RiverFest.
The winners were:
1st Place: James Ramsay of Grand Junction with his prediction of June 7 at 3:00 pm, winning the Atlasta Solar Center GRAND PRIZE: Full Day Driftboat Float Fishing Trip for 2 people from RIGS Fly Shop & Guide Service (retail value: $729)
2nd place: Jeff Derry of Silverton with his prediction of June 7 at 9:00 pm, winning A Prize Package of shirts and hats from Mountain Fever Shirts & Gifts (retail value = $250)
3rd Place: Terry Schuyler of Ridgway with his prediction June 7 at 11:00 pm, winning a Gift Certificate towards a Bike Rental or Bike Tune-up & a Trucker Hat from Ridgway Adventure Sports (retail value: $125 each)
4th place: Sheri Williams of Ridgway with her prediction of June 7 at 11:00 pm, winning a Gift Certificate towards a Bike Rental or Bike Tune-up & a Trucker Hat from Ridgway Adventure Sports (retail value: $125 each)
5th place: Cary Denison of Ridgway with his prediction of June 8 at 11:45 am, winning a Ridgway RiverFest Shirt or Hat and Yeti Mug donated by Voyage Books (total value = $50)
Note: Sheri and Terry tied for 3rd place with the same date/time prediction but Terry won the tie-breaker with the closest prediction to the actual cfs. Terry’s guess was 1500, while Sheri did not make a cfs guess. Also, Cary and Dave Ludwick tied for 5th place with the same date/time prediction but Cary won the tie-breaker with a closer correct cfs of 1032, while Dave’s prediction was 1190.)
On behalf of the UWP Board and Staff, we thank everyone who entered the 2023 Uncompahgre River Classic. Look for the 2024 Classic in early 2024.
