[cpr] Sad news: we have lost Lars Holbek

[Rich Kulawiec]

	http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090317/OBITS/903171092

	Lars Holbek, a former Santa Rosa resident and world-class
	whitewater kayaker, died Friday of liver cancer at his home near
	Durango, Colo. He was 51.

	A rugged man who pioneered numerous kayak runs, known as "first
	descents," in the Sierra Nevada and beyond, Holbek started
	boating as a teen in Santa Rosa more than three decades ago.

	Among Holbek's early exploits was kayaking rain-swollen Santa
	Rosa Creek through the tunnel under City Hall, friends said.

	Holbek was 17 and a beginning kayaker when he tackled the Tuolumne
	River's Class V run west of Yosemite National Park in 1974. "He
	did the whole river absolutely perfectly," said Bill Mashek of
	Forestville, a friend and fellow boater.

	"He opened up the doors to extreme boating," Mashek said, noting
	that Holbek blazed watery trails over big drops and heavy water
	that had previously been considered unrunnable.

	Holbek "made things very simple and very safe," Mashek said. "He
	made it look easy."

	Holbek co-authored with Chuck Stanley a 1984 book called "The
	Best Whitewater in California -- The Guide to 180 Runs," still
	regarded as a "bible" for boaters, friends said.

	In addition to dozens of first descents on the water, Holbek
	was an accomplished rock climber, credited with numerous "first
	ascents" on formidable rock faces.

	"In 51 years, he managed to do what would take the average guy
	100 years," said his father, Erik Holbek of Glen Ellen.

	Michael Schlax, a researcher at Oregon State University, recalled
	his time kayaking with Holbek, always driving an aging van,
	in the Siskiyous and as far away as Idaho. "We'd boat until
	our arms hurt and our hands were blistered," Schlax said in an
	online posting. "If we could, we'd boat Class V every day for
	what seemed like weeks."

	The two men forged a bond that lasted more than 30 years. "At
	one time or another we shared or laughed or cried over almost
	anything imaginable, but mostly we laughed," Schlax said.

	Holbek's "wit, kindness and high standards in whatever he did
	set an example for me in all my pursuits," he said. "I have
	spent most of my life inspired by him."

	Born in San Francisco, Holbek moved with his family to Mill Valley
	and then to Santa Rosa in 1960. He attended Fremont Elementary
	School, Santa Rosa Junior High and Santa Rosa High School.

	From then on, Holbek lived a low-budget life based on travel
	and adventure. "He never asked his dad for a penny," Erik Holbek
	said. "I don't know how he made it."

	Holbek and his partner, Nancy Wiley, were building a modest home
	off the grid about 20 miles from Durango, his father said.

	He was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his liver after
	being evacuated by helicopter from a Grand Canyon river trip
	with abdominal pains in October. The cancer ultimately proved
	unresponsive to chemotherapy.

	In addition to his partner and father, Holbek is survived by his
	brother, Suren Holbek of Mount Shasta, his mother Mimi Holbek
	of Durango, stepmother Mickey Cooke of Glen Ellen, stepsisters
	Kirsten Lindquist of Glen Ellen and Mona Lindquist of San Rafael
	and stepbrother Scott Lindquist of Santa Fe, N.M.

	Memorials will be held in Durango and in Coloma, near the American
	River, but no dates have been set, his father said.