Fluid Kayaks Team

The Big Thompson is one of my favorite runs. Definitely not my absolute favorite, but it's a great training run. It's one of the more difficult sections of whitewater in Colorado, in my opinion, but it's still relatively safe, because it's completely roadside and not especially sieved out. When mistakes happen here, the most common injury is a bruised ego. Well, that and bruised shoulders, scraped knuckles, and sore thumbs. Not to mention all the gear that gets broken by this run.

The section with whitewater is less than a mile long, and it's packed with a lot of medium-difficulty moves. If you get off line, you can usually recover. On a lot of runs, you can finish a rapid and look back and wonder if maybe there was a smoother or faster way of running it. On the Big T, you almost always know if you had the smoothest possible line or not, because the smoothest line hits only one rock, but anything less than smooth hits many rocks. It's great instant feedback on how well you are paddling.

One of the best features of the Big T is that because of dam releases from the reservoir upstream near Estes Park, this section often has higher water in November than it does during spring runoff. November is usually a very dry time of year in Colorado, so this is usually the only thing running. It's great to have the only water in the state right outside my back door (well, actually an hour away, but still, close enough).

Here is a video I put together from this fall on the Big T. I am paddling the Big Bang, and Nathan Werner tried out the Detox a few times.

Having been absent from the White Nile since 2007 I decided, last minute, that a short northern flight to Uganda was overdue. Managing to entice my father and one of his friends, Hennie, by the notion of some lemon livin, we flew up for a week of high volume whitewater, warm wet weather and fishing.

After an uneventful flight, matched with a more eventful rush-hour drive through Kampala, we set our sights for the Hairy Lemon. The next morning, being one kayak short, we headed to the NRE camp to catch up with Jamie Simpson at kayakthenile.com. Additional kayak in hand, I then spend the rest of the day at the Nile Special wave with some Finish and American boaters. This afternoon at the wave also gave me the opportunity to test the pair of GoPro cameras I was lent for the trip. I tried a number of different mountings and played around with the different features.

Over the next few days we slowly found ourselves falling more into the Ugandan way of life with early, slow moving mornings waiting for the water level to rise. Then, we either tripped the river or headed up to the wave to surf. As fun as the wave is, running the river was just that much better! The lines are relatively simple and forgiving, while the high volume makes for a very intimidating paddle.

The completion of the Bujagali dam was very depressing. The realization that the more-fun rapids are gone for good was solidified by the wakeboarding which is taking place over the hump, widowmaker, bujagali falls. Nether-the-less the rest of the river presented itself as one of the leading kayaking spots in the world.

Having only a week there, I wasn’t able to get onto any of the bigger rapids except for Kalagala. We did, however, manage to have a look at Hypoxia. This has become one of the more impressive looking rapids I have ever seen with a final hole that is at least a story high. The line doesn’t look that tight, but even if you get it right you will most likely go VERY deep.

Due to the relaxed pace of the environment the week went very slowly and left us feeling very relaxed when we arrived back in South Africa. This trip, I hope, will serve as a warm-up for the Nile Festival in February. This event, according to Jamie, will be bigger, better and far more scary than the previous festivals.

This paddle brought back some memories of previous trips I’ve done up here. I remembered why I think the Nemesis is one of the best high volume playboats out there. This being said, I cant wait to get my hands on the new Fluid Dope and see how it handles on its soon-to-be, stomping ground.

Over the next few days I’ll try sift through the tons of Nile footage I gathered from a week up there and will hopefully have a short video up soon.

Craig

www.lifebywater.com

Alright, fall is officially here!

Or does it count as winter if we had the first snow already?

So with slow and icy mornings in our beautiful little cabin…

…right on the Ottawa I am slowly going through footage of this summer.

And while all of my filming went into my last video “One more time: CANADA”, I did stumble upon some more things I would’ve wanted to use.

Check out this piece shot by filmer, guitar hero and friend, Dave Hartman from Hayfiremedia! A beautiful edit and showcasing shots of his past season – and I am stoked on the little appearance I got in there!

And while you’re at it I also recommend taking a peak at Dave’s Bugz for life – Well worth the time wasted – pretty hilarious…

Another thing I found is a sequence my brother Bjoern shot while he was over in Canadia.

This is a helix on Cornerwave, probably my favourite low water wave on the Ottawa.

Fast and steep with a challenging eddy Cornerwave is one of the spots that pushes a lot of the Ottawa boaters to the next level, forcing you to throw quick and clean in order to get your moves right…

Alright, time to get back on the water! The good thing about cold days is that you got the waves all to yourself….

Peace,

Sven

The water rushed toward the lip of the falls, freefalling 80 feet into a short cove surrounded by rocks. Fear had overcome my body and yet there I was in the eddy above, about to paddle over the scariest drop of my life.... Typically, I like to write in a distinct style, an overtly egotistical and humorous character named the Dogg whose accomplishments fuel his descent over the craziest drops. However, I have decided to break character and give you a complete and honest account of one of the greatest accomplishments of my paddling career, running Sahalie Falls. The word Sahalie comes from the Chinook indians and means heaven or a high place. Sahalie Falls is an 80 foot waterfall on the McKenzie River in Oregon and certainly is a magical spot. The falls first gained fame near the turn of the century when Shannon Carroll took a successful plunge over the falls in what was, at that time, one of the highest waterfalls ever run in a kayak. Since that day, the height of the waterfalls being run has climbed but few have traveled to Sahalie to give this waterfall a try, and with good reason. Sahalie, aside from being tall, has a narrow lip that has serious potential for going off at the wrong point. In the center of the flow is a narrow blue highway of water that carries you cleanly off the falls. However, on the left and right are seams that threaten to alter your well laid plans and send you toward the rocks that lay on the side of the pool. On top of this, there is a twisty Class 4 approach with a series of ledges and holes and a major Class 5+ rapid immediately below. All of this creates one frightening sequence that is not to be taken lightly. None of the Portland locals had off work or had any interest in Sahalie Falls but luckily, I caught up with the Bomb Flow boys: Evan Garcia, Fred Norquist, and Ryan Lucas. They were interested in some waterfall action so my wife, Melissa, and I headed over with a borrowed Volvo (thanks Bryon!) and met up with them. I was pleased to be at such a drop with such an experienced group of waterfall huckers, arguably some of the best in the business. We gave a long and detailed scout, talking about lines, looking at different angles, and debating the odds of a successful run. Evan had run the drop before and, after a long discussion, decided he was going for it. I hadn't slept hardly at all the night before due to nerves and was terrified now staring at the falls. Still, I found myself putting my paddling gear on to also make a descent. Fred, Ryan, and Melissa got into position with safety and cameras. We took one last scout and ran the first approach drop. There was a tree blocking the second approach drop so we portaged and placed our boats at the eddy right above the lip. The falls looked 10 times more ferocious from the right bank due to the curler creating a deep depression that sent the water crashing down hard on the rocks below. One false move could be accompanied with dire consequences. Evan thankfully decided to go first with the confidence and purpose that I had expected from a paddler of his stature. He sailed over the falls and plunged cleanly into the pool below. At this point, standing all alone on the bank, it was me versus the falls. There was nothing left to do but to go out and execute the moves that I had performed millions of times throughout my long career of running Class 5. That certainty in my own abilities allowed me to overcome the intense sense of awe at the bohemoth that lay before me. I found myself climbing into my boat, a keen sense of determination in my heart and mind. I practiced my tuck one last time and began to peel out. As I was starting to exit the eddy, I didn't like my angle so I calmly backed myself into the eddy where I decided to restart. This time, I was right where I wanted to be. The approach was blind, not allowing the certitude of knowing that I was on line until I had begun to start over the slope toward the lip. I was pleased to see the blue highway right in front of me and I traveled down the slope and over the edge where an 80 foot freefall stood between me and the water below. I started into my tuck and fell for what seemed like forever before I felt my boat slice cleanly straight into the water below. After a quick roll, I was ecstatic to have overcome my fears and had a great run of the falls. I celebrated with my new friends and got into position for safety while Fred suited up and had his own successful run of the falls. What an incredible day! Sahalie Falls is the greatest single waterfall that I have ever run and, with the finest of lines, is certainly one of the most dangerous drops I have run as well. I was fortunate to be surrounded that day with friends who took the time to properly scout and set up safety to add a degree of control to an unpredictable variable. Paddling in the Pacific Northwest has created tremendous adventures and memories and this day ranks up there near the top of it all. Melissa and I have a baby girl due in April and have decided to name her Sahalie, in honor of our adventures in the Pacific Northwest.

Recently, I sat down and interviewed Team Fluid North America's newest member, Ocoee Chapelle. He is an up and coming paddler so expect to see big things out of him in the coming years. Here is what he had to say. How old are you? I am 11 years old. How many years have you been paddling? I've been paddling for 7 years. How did you get started with kayaking? My family took me out kayaking one day and I enjoyed it. What is your favorite river? I really like the Ocoee River and I also really enjoyed the Upper Gauley at low water. What is your favorite Fluid boat and why? I paddle the small Detox. I like the way the boat works with the edges on the hull. I like how you can run creeks but still go playboating with it too! I like how it has a big back rest that is all connected with the seat, the outfitting is great! Tell me about a particularly fun trip you took this year. It was on the Stonycreek River. I like it because every rapid has play holes. There are also lots of nice boofs and micro-eddies. It has everything on it! It was also good because there weren't many people there and it was in the fall so the leaves were really pretty. Who is someone in the paddling community that you admire and why? I admire both of my brothers, Seth and Sean, because they've helped me get better at kayaking and never gave up on me, especially when I was learning to roll. They are always going paddling with fun people so I get to meet new people if I go along. Where would you most like to go to kayak? I would really like to go to the Ottawa River and other places in Canada because they look awesome and I've never been there before. What are your plans for 2012? Kayaking, kayaking, and more kayaking! I hope to take many weekend trips and do more exploring this year. I'd like to run some harder stuff like the Upper Yough.