Hometown

Golden, British Columbia

Canada

Favorite Hala board

Atcha 96

How many years have you been SUPing?

16 years

Tell us a little bit about yourself

Shasta is a mountain-dwelling river rat who calls Golden, British Columbia home. Originally from east Tennessee, Shasta came to BC by way of Gunnison, Colorado to study landscape architecture. For the past fifteen years, she has planned and designed public space of all kinds; parks, play environments, green streetscapes and many projects involving water stewardship, e.g. riparian restoration, river access and recreation, and green infrastructure.

Shasta has been a whitewater enthusiast since the 90’s when the Dagger RPM was the hot boat on the river. She first encountered stand-up paddleboarding in 2007 and was instantly in love with the experience of “walking on water.” Before long, she connected her infatuation with stand-up paddling to her passion for whitewater and began avidly exploring rivers throughout southern British Columbia. She claims the first female SUP descents on several BC rivers including the Lower Kicking Horse and has been proudly riding the Hala Atcha since 2019. She is known for rock hounding on river banks and an unreasonably heavy backpack. She loves sharing river adventures with her daughter and looks forward to the day when Luna decides to paddles her own board... more room for collecting rocks.

Shasta believes paddling is a powerful catalyst for social and environmental justice, personal healing, and ecological spirituality. Her love of rivers, paddling and teaching has led her to become a Paddle Canada certified River SUP instructor and seek opportunities to connect people with their inner strength and grow communities through powerful experiences on rivers.