Stay up-to-date on Spring adventures with Facebook

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:34:36 -0400

I have been in Canada for almost 8 weeks of bleak winter temperatures. In the last few days it has finally started to pay off. Big waves are coming in all over the place and I am busy busy busy all the time. In light of this I have kick started a Facebook ‘Athlete Page’ which I am aiming to keep more up-to-date with my adventures, in more bite-sized (or boat-sized) chunks.

Click the link below or the picture above and then click ‘Like’ to start following my adventures more closely.

See you on the River.

Follow me on FACEBOOK

Learn from my mistake: Carry Split paddles

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 11:48:07 -0500

I have been paddling difficult whitewater rivers for a number of years now and have rarely had any problems with broken paddles. However, the thing about paddles is you really don’t realise how much you use them until you are faced with having to get to the end of a run with just one blade (or possibly no blade at all) . On my last trip to Chile I got bit in the butt twice but not having a split paddle in our group.

The first time was on the Rio Claro, the 22 teacups section, a beautiful crystal clear blue water, clean waterfall paradise, set in the backdrop of a deep overhanging gorge with slippery smooth walls. When one of our group, Sara-Jane (CAN) broke her paddles at one of the earlier drops, and with no way for her to climb out of the gorge to hike out I gave her my paddle and managed to survive my way to the end of the river using the half a paddle which she had remaining. Luckily I was able to make my way to the end without incident.

The second time on the Rio Fuy, in the upper section, a paddle of my own broke apart at the middle of the shaft where I had previously done a very poor repair job. This river was different in nature as it had slightly greater volume, bigger lines, but also shallower sections with more hazards. In this instance we actually had a split paddle with us but it was already in use by another member of the group who had broken their paddle a few days before. On this section there is a good trail to hike out at the waterfalls approximately two thirds of the way through the run. This meant I had to make my way, mostly paddling but with a sneaky portage as well, down stream using the best C1 skills I could master.

So the lesson here, which you can learn at my expense is always have a split paddle between the group, and if one is in use before you put on see if you can source a new paddle or a spare split paddle. I just invested in some rocking Werner Powerhouse 4 Piece splits. Yummy!

Rider of the Year: Best Drop Entry

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 10:00:38 -0500

It is that time of year again. This is the third year that the Rider of The Year has been held. For those not in the know, the Rider of The Year competition is an online competition designed to celebrate and showcase the best of whitewater kayaking. Entries are sent in by participants from all over the world and go into various different categories. These categories include Best Line, Best Drop, Best Trick, Film of the Year and more. This year I had a few old clips from Mexico 2011, lying around so I decided to send one in. After a little while (Due to the organising of the Whitewater Grand Prix) waiting the clip has finally made its way on to the Internet. I entered my self running Twisted Pleasure, a 60ft drop with a tricky lead in on the Rio Jalacingo, Mexico. The competition is decided voting from members of the AWP (Association of Whitewater Professionals) and will be decided in the near future (ish).

More of the entry videos are being posted all the time so keep an eye on their website www.rideroftheyear.org, and look through all of the entries from this year and the last two years of Rider of the Year on their Vimeo Page https://vimeo.com/rideroftheyear/videos

And of course you can watch my below:

See you on the river soon.

Palguin race and Christmas in Chile

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 20:39:29 -0500

The weekend before Christmas 2012 was host to the annual Palguin Race. A boater-X event which pits contenders against one another four at a time. After spending almost a week camped up at the Palguin take-out doing laps every day I felt pretty fired up for the event. However an unfortunate and long swim the day before on a high water Rio Nevados had left me tired and sore. I was still excited to race but I knew the only way I would progress from my heat to the final would be by getting ahead early. I could feel that I did not have the energy to race pass multiple other paddlers.

The race has a fairly informal start, up at the put-in with a briefing given by Kayak Chile proprietor and race organiser Ben May. Once he had laid out the course and how the competitors would set safety for each other throughout the day we were broken up into heats and prepared to race. I was in one of the earlier heats. Because of how close the event was to the Whitewater Grand Prix there were also quite a few athletes from that event taking part here. These guys and girls have come straight off the back of a two week race series and are all pretty fast.
 I had WWGP 18th finisher Daniel Rondon (Peru) in my heat. At the start ramp I was a bit late and got put in the far left spot. This was definitely not the most ideal starting position as it had the longest distance to get onto the fastest line down the right of the first rapid. Inspite of this I remained upbeat and got ready to go. As the flag dropped I was speeding down the ramp, which lacked a kicker at the bottom. I did my best to crunch up and keep my bow above water. Taking my first few strokes as hard as I could I could feel myself pulling away from the pack. Coming into the first rapid I was alone, and ahead. I had time to focus on each stroke. Coming into the first part of the double drop I took my boof a little too early and stopped suddenly between the drops. Paddling frantically to try and regain speed I knew the others were gaining fast. As I reached forward to take my third stroke I saw Daniel landing just to my left, we tussled for position coming into the second part of the double drop but Daniel managed to come out slightly ahead. I knew he had me but I wasn’t out yet. All I could do Was keep paddling and hope I could catch him out on a mistake. Sadly that mistake never came, and that was me out of the race. I spent the rest of the day filming a quick video and enjoying the six pack of beer which is included with the entry fee.

Although the day was cloudy and drizzly it was still one of the most fun events I have been to in 2012.

Christmas eve took my crew and our sweet rental truck to the Upper Palguin. After days of rain we were not surprised to see how high it was at the put in. The run was fun and fast with no rocks (unusual for this run). The drops were all pushier than normal and everyone took their fair share of beat down. When we came to the normally relaxed ‘Weir hole’ rapid the hole which is normally flushy dished me out a large beat down. I probably surfed/survived for around 20 secs before being flushed out. Since I was going first I knew I should set safety for the others. As I was clambering out with my throwbag I saw Carson Lindsey (USA) and Ike Holden (USA) breeze through the hole without an issue. They were followed by Katie Kowalski (CAN) and Kalob Grady (CAN). Katie paddled in and her boat exploded back upstream and into the hole. Kalob narrowly avoids her and manages to paddle through. I throw Katie a rope which she grabs but the rock I am on is slippery and I have nowhere to step to down stream to pull her out. She is still holding onto the rope in her boat but is taking a beating. Finally she pulls her spraydeck and I manage to swing her to the side. It takes us a while to recover her boat and paddle but we finally get to the take out, tired and happy.

Christmas day itself was a fun and rainy day and after shooting photos of Carson, Ike and Kalob on the Middle Palguin 70fter, we headed back to the Pucon Kayak Hostel. Where I worked hard to cook a Chilean Asado (Meat BBQ) for our crew and some of our friends. Cooking a feast for 10 people was pretty rewarding!

Hear more about the rest of the holidays in my next update. Coming soon............

Photos: Katie Kowalski, MaryKatherine Fields, David Huges, Zoe, Myself.

On the Road again in Chile

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 09:26:30 -0500

It was a rainy day when I found myself back at the Pucon Kayak Hostel. It was raining hard enough that I was not excited to set up my tent. Conveniently for me I could use the covered area of the bath house to set up my tent and then carry it out to where I would be putting it which meant I could keep it and my stuff dry.

The heavy rain had been set in for a day or so already and showed no signs of stopping. This was great news for the local runs which had been very low since my arrival in October. The following day I managed to hitch a ride with the Whitewater Grand Prix crew up to the Rio Puesco where there was a race scheduled the next day. The 30 person crew had split into small groups I headed off first with a strong crew. Since I was one of the only ones in our group that had paddled the river I lead the way. It didn’t take long to find the level a bit higher than previous runs and considerably pushier. We made it off the river with Ben Marr (Can) as the only swimmer from our group. Heavy rain continued to fall all the way home, all night and showed no signs of letting up.

A few days later I rallied together a crew to hire a truck and head on a mission south to the Rio GolGol. This river was an itch I had wanted to scratch since walking away from it three weeks previous. Our crew of two new friends, Zach Shucster (USA), Jorden Poffenburg (USA) and fellow Ottawa Kayak School coach Kalob Grady (USA) wanted to paddle as much as possible on the way down there. So our first stop was a couple of speed laps on the Rio Fuy. A night of camping then a short drive and we found our selves at the park and huck, Salto de Nilahue.

The water was higher than when I had paddled this 60ft waterfall it previously. This lead to me crashing out pretty hard. I was too far right at the lead in, came down the ramp part of the drop almost sideways. Reconnected with a rock half way down which spun me backwards. All I could do was throw my paddle, tuck up tight and hold on to what I was expecting to be a fairly hard impact. When reality came it was like falling backwards into a marshmallow. I rolled up, retrieved my paddle and set safety for the others who learnt from my mistake and made the lines stylishly.

Arriving that evening at the Rio GolGol we were excited and hungry. The next morning was overcast and rain was threatening. We drove to the put in to find water levels slightly higher than when I had been here previously. We decided to take it slow and continue. By the end I was completely in love with the river. It has a great mixture of fun rapids and technical drops with high consequence, big undercuts, caves and a few trees chucked in for good measure. However even at high water the run was very manageable. All drops were portage able.

Once our mission was complete we packed up and headed back to Pucon.