Simply put, Idaho whitewater is famed for being big.  Last year, the kayaking world witnessed the explosion of water down the North Fork of the Payette and created one of the largest and most technical runs in the World.  What caused this run off was a combination of several warm weeks preceding with above average snow pack and then a massive rain storm which dropped about 2in of rain.  This combination resulted a utterly massive and powerful river, and if you haven't gotten a chance to watch it in "WildWater," one of the teasers focused on the North Fork can be found here.  

This year, Idaho is looking at a similar situation.  Across the state, Idaho averaged 200% of average snowfall due to La Niña with 80%-90% still in the mountains.  This combined with cool spring (it just snowed a couple of more inches this last week) and rapidly approaching summer temperatures is having dam operators across the state scrambling.  Talking with one of the operators at Lucky Peak Reservoir a few weeks ago, they did not predict a dip in current flows (which are currently anywhere from 3x to 5x normal) anytime in the near future.  

The North Fork right now has been scaled back a bit for some immediate irrigation needs, but this last weekend I was able to get out on it at the peak so far this season at about 4000cfs.  If you are looking for a big, technical river that has full on rapids that stretch for miles, this is your river.  The Middle 3 miles of the run offer some of the biggest most continuous class V rapids available on the run.  The Lower and Upper 5 miles of the North Fork offer much less technical rapids, but some truly massive waves that reach higher than the highway next to them.  

This snowpack is not only affecting the North Fork, but another sleeping giant has come alive.  The Milner Mile of the Snake River is a short section but it is full on.  The run generally only runs when there is a requested release (there are 4 per spring that can be made) and if there is enough water to be released.  This year, again thanks to the snow pack, the Milner Mile is running essentially just on natural flow at about 12,000cfs.  This run has the definite potential to get very big, very fast and stay that way until it drops off for the season.  This section doesn't run that often, so it is definitely worth the trip.

Not to sound like the Idaho tourism board or anything, but this is going to be a very good year to paddle in Idaho.  The flows are juicy, the snow is still coming down, and warm weather is just around the corner.  Feel free to hit me up with any questions.  Below I'll leave some links for finding the flows or more info, ect.

Cheers.

Andrew.

LINKS:

USGS Real-Time flow data for Idaho

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/id/nwis/current/?type=flow

Kayak Idaho - Another great flow source, has a lot of great info on it as well

http://www.kayakidaho.com

I'll link some POV that I got of the Milner and the North Fork @4000cfs as soon as I get my GoPro back from my buddy.