Drew Austell

Congratulations to Drew for a strong showing in the 2009 and 2010 Green River Races! Often referred to as the nation's most extreme kayak race, the nation's top kayakers race down about a mile of class V whitewater on the Green River, dropping over 342 vertical feet. In 2009 Drew finished in just 4 minutes and 54 seconds, placing him in the top 20 paddlers!

Drew Austell joined the Wet Planet crew in 2009. Noone can doubt his amazing abilities in a raft and kayak. His passion for the river is always evident, and he is often the driving force for many here at Wet Planet. Paddling every day, often multiple river stretches a day, Drew regularly rallies the crew to get out on the river with him.

Drew grew up in Baltimore and learned to kayak by working as a river guide and paddling as much as he possibly could. Before coming to Wet Planet, he spent years guiding in North Carolina and West Virginia, leading trips on the French Broad, Nolichucky, Gauley, Cheoah, and Chattooga Rivers to name a few. After many years guiding in the Southeast, Drew discovered the rivers in the Northwest on a paddling trip. In his own words, "After sampling the succulent whitewater fruit of the Northwest in 2007, I had to return to reap its bountiful harvest." Sure enough, he arrived at Wet Planet with a trailer full of kayaks and ready to paddle. Excited to find so many people to paddle with, he quickly became part of the Wet Planet family.

While Drew is a great raft guide for Wet Planet, his kayaking skills are also impressive. He has paddled all over the US, as well as in Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, and Panama (where he has several first descents). In 2009 and 2010, Drew, received 1st place in the First Descents EddyFlower Competition, where competitors compete to see who can paddle the most amount of vertical feet in one month while raising money for First Descents, an adventure program for young adults with cancer. He placed first by running a total of 34,405 vertical feet (2009) and nearly 50,000 in 2010...in one month (for perspective, our White Salmon River trip drops around 500 vertical feet). He did all this while only being allowed to run a stretch of river a maximum of 5 times. Pretty amazing Drew! Thanks to the number of vertical feet he paddled and sponsorships received, he also raised $1800 for First Descents! Drew participated with Team Wet Planet (all 5 paddlers were from Wet Planet) in the team category of the competition, landing a 2nd place overall finish in 2009 and 1st in 2010: an impressive accomplishment for Drew and Team Wet Planet.

Drew is a great addition to the Wet Planet community, not just for his amazing rafting and kayaking skills but also for his energetic and charismatic personality. All of us at Wet Planet are glad he made the trip to the Northwest and became part of our community.

For more Drew, check out the Kayak Instruction Staff bio page.

Check out Drew's blog at http://www.dynamicmedium.blogspot.com/

Interested in becoming part of the Wet Planet team? Check out our Employment Opportunities.