Iceman on the Saluda

Elijah Whyte, center, 2024 Iceman Champion during the first lap of the event. Photos and words by Sean Rayford

They key to winning the annual Iceman Championship on the Lower Saluda at Millrace Rapids? Go nude — or close to it.

“That's the only reason you go fast, so that you can finish and get warm again,” says Elijah Whyte, a five time participant and two-time winner, hailing from the whitewater mecca of Johnson City, Tennessee.

Elijah Whyte

With water temperatures around 54 degrees and race time air temperatures in the mid-40s (with a strong breeze), Iceman was chilly this year. Not something that always happens in South Carolina. And yet, first and second place were dressed for a day at Myrtle Beach.

Whyte says the key to winning is running, not walking, with your boat on the trail and "going faster than everyone else.”

The Iceman Championship is the marquee event at the annual Millrace Massacre and Iceman Championship in Columbia, SC. Iceman features two loops through the capital city’s best rapids, a mandatory swim and portaging. Competitors participate at the same time.

Whyte