Bend’s own Peter Fox, an acclaimed whitewater rafter, guide and rowing instructor, recently added author to his résumé after publishing a passion project that was 10 years in the making, a book chronicling river-running stories from around the world.
Fox, 72, will celebrate his novel, “Let the Water Do the Work: Stories of First Descents & The Soulful Art of Rowing Whitewater” with a reading and a slideshow presentation from his various river exploits on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 6pm at Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoe. He’ll also sign copies of his book, a page-turning account of whitewater rowing’s evolution, built around his first-person accounts of record-breaking high-water and first descents. Those include the Futaleufú, a South American glacier-fed river that flows between Argentine and Chile, and the Grand Canyon of the Stickine, a 45-mile-long stretch of the Stikine River in northern British Columbia, Canada — often referred to as the “Everest of Whitewater.” Both rivers feature Class 5+ whitewater and are mostly considered the playground of elite kayakers and rafters, although commercial guiding companies do run customers down sections of the Futaleufú.
Fox lives in Northwest Bend with his wife of 42 years, Susan. The couple have two grown children, including daughter Kaela Fox, who also lives in Bend with her husband and two daughters, and son Jenner Fox, a musician who lives in Bellingham, Wash. The younger Fox will head to Bend on Thursday, Dec. 10 with his Jenner Fox Band to put on “A John Prine Christmas” show at the Tower Theatre.
The elder Fox, who has a communications degree from Stanford University, said that between conducting research, interviewing subjects and then actually writing his book, it took him nearly a decade to finish. Published in January, it’s received critical acclaim from river runners and regular folks alike. Fox began running rivers at the age of 27, and within two years, he was teaching rowing and helping smash records and first descents of whitewater around the globe. Through it all, he said he always knew he wanted to write a book about his passion.
“I was a river guide who, back in the ‘80s, didn’t take the time to sit down with my passengers and lecture them about the need for supporting river conservation. I thought they were on the river with me to have a good time, so now I’m paying it back,” said Fox. “It was a labor of love to write a book about all things having to do with rowing on rivers. And I wanted to take the money from this and give it back, because there’s never a bad time to try to support conservation and stewardship of rivers.”
Fox is donating all of his book royalties to American Whitewater, a U.S. river-conservation organization that is sponsoring Fox’s reading and presentation at Tumalo Creek, which will have everything in its store marked at 20% off that night. He said the best way to purchase his book and ensure all proceeds go directly to river conservation is to email him at peter@whitewaterrowing.com. However, he said it’s also available locally at Dudley’s Bookshop Café and online at Amazon, Northwest River Supply and SOTAR Custom Inflatables.
Book reading, signing and presentation by Peter Fox, author of “Let the Water Do the Work: Stories of First Descents & The Soulful Art of Rowing Whitewater”
Thursday, Nov. 19 at 6pm
Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoe
805 SW Industrial Way, Ste. 6, Bend
https://tumalocreek.com/event/peter-fox-event/
Free
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