Interview: ANNA WAGNER
How did you find your way to whitewater?
My dad used to be a raft guide on the New and Gauley rivers (West Virginia) for Class Six in his college days. He got connected with Class Six through my uncle, Tom Wagner. Tom taught my dad to kayak, and paddling has been a family hobby ever since. We have spent summers rafting and kayaking as a family since before I was born. My dad and brother taught me how to roll in the pool in my parent’s backyard, and I spent at least five years kayaking with just them. I would chase (flail behind) my brother through slalom gates, and he would take me to work with him as a “film runner” on the South Fork of the American. Once his boss realized I could kayak, he hired me, too.
Does your dad or brother still paddle?
They do. My dad and I both have stories about breaking the law for paddling adventures, but those are stories for a campfire, not a magazine. My brother and I have finally convinced my dad that drysuits are cool and that he is still tough if he wears one. Both my brother and sister now have kids of their own, and we are starting to get them on the water as well. Even though my brother is still a dark horse whenever he gets out, the important thing is that I have now run more big waterfalls than him.
Rumor has it you did more than chase your brother through salmon gates as a kid; you also tried for the US Olympic team. True? Why leave California for concrete?
True! Thanks to Keith Keshiama and the gates hanging up at Chili Bar, I have always used slalom to work on skills. I hit a plateau when I was progressing from class IV/V into more consequential class V runs. I wanted to take away the consequences, work purely on skill, and make kayaking fun again. On the West Coast, the slalom community was small and welcoming but lacked coaching and healthy competition. So, I went to the Charlotte Whitewater Center to train with Fergus Coffey, whom I met in Zambia a year before. I also wanted to see how I lined up against the
