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JUL/AUG 2019
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GET2KNOW| AXEL HOVORKA
BY NEIL KORN
Sponsors: Liquid Logic Kayaks, Immersion Research, Tumalo Creek
P: Tin Pham
Axel Hovorka just graduated middle school this past June and is off to Summit High School
next September. Until then, this 14-year-old has a summer packed with running whitewater,
dropping waterfalls, camping in remote river locations, road trips with his mentors, and
working at Tumalo Creek. Axel doesn’t have time for silly teenage stuff, he’s focused and
fully dedicated to his sport.
Axel, was born in Southern Utah in the small town of Springdale very near the entrance of
Zion National Park. Axel’s parents were accomplished mountain bikers and the area around
Springdale was prime and challenging enough to keep them there for a while. Springdale is
like Moab but without the crowds. The crowds came in the form of tourists in the summer
to the park. Living at the foot of Zion started to wear on the Hovorka family. Schools were
far away and not good, and the culture was not what they were looking for. The family that
includes dad Joe, mom Michelle and younger sister Moxie (an accomplished rock climber
with the BEA program) moved to Bend in 2010. Bend had everything they were looking for,
good schools, location, biking, and a broader culture base.
When Axel arrived in Bend he had never kayaked before. He was a climber, skier, and
mountain biker, but in Utah there just wasn’t the opportunity. At eight years old he ran his
first river, the Main Salmon River. Then he took a week long class given by Tumalo Creek
and fell in love with the sport. Most of the kids in the class were just there for “camp”, but
Axel had bigger goals in mind. Next, was a river camp in Northern California. There he rolled
for the first time at age 10.
Now Axel is part of the small, tight knit group of river slayers where he has started to follow
around the likes of Aaron Anderson, Walker Davis, and Gavin Biancucci and his main men-
tors Austin Bunn and Kyle Anderson. Axel is devoting almost all of his free time to white
water and has given up most of his other sports. He will ski a bit in the winter, but even then
a dry suit can keep him in the water year round.
Axel has paddled in California, Oregon and Washington, and Idaho. He would love to paddle
in Chile because some of the best white water on the planet is there. He’s given thought
about attending the World Class Academy where his friend Aaron Anderson spent a se-
mester in Chile running rivers and dropping huge waterfalls. Axel says, “[in the spring] Hood
River, White Salomon, and Little White Salmon are the spots to be.” Axel’s biggest drop to
date is the “Money Drop” in Stevenson, Washington that measured 65 feet!
Injuries come with the territory and Axel has suffered a sore back, bloody lips, bloody noses,
a minor concussion and luckily nothing more. Axels plans for the future are to keep charging
hard and progressing his skills, but he told me, “Trying to become a professional whitewater
kayaker is not sustainable.’’
Axel Hovorka is hooked for life in the water and his skills are far beyond his age thanks to
his dedication and older mentors showing him the way. His sport hardly gets much notoriety
being done deep in the woods and out of the fanfare. For Axel it doesn’t matter, he didn’t
fall in love with the sport thinking he could become famous someday (could you name any
Olympic whitewater kayakers?). The sport is done because water flows, the challenge is
intense, and the danger factor is always there. Conquering a river or dropping a waterfall is
beyond satisfying and this is what Axel lives for.
P: Tiilt Shift Photo/Branding
P: Blake White
Miller
Dani Whitehead | P: Austin