LW Race 2015

June 1, 2015, 9:11 am

≫ Next: The 40th Big Fork Festival

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The first weekend of May was the date, the awaited Little White race would finally happen and it was epic. A dry and low snow winter and spring meant really low water levels all season long, however the river is still great offering good rapids and super fun moves. The LW race is one of the most well known races on the circuit, the river is beautiful and pristine with clear drinkable water surrounded by thick old growth forest and some of the best and most fun rapids there are, its an amazing place!

On Friday we did a pre race on the best rapids of the Green Truss. We had perfect weather and a bunch of racers, it was a really fun event. 

In the evening we had the Gorge Paddling Film Festival across the river in Hood River, OR. There were a bunch of sick video entries and a big fundraiser for First Descents. In the end our entry from SB Productions won the first place on the Pro category so it was an awesome night for us. A good night of sleep and the big day is finally here.

We drove up to the put in and geared up, enjoyed the sun for a while and slowly made our way to the start line. The racecourse is really continuous and has many tight lines and moves, specially at low water being extremely technical. Its a 16 minute plus race so you want to make sure you don’t go all out at the start and have nothing left for the end. I tried to pace myself  and only did a few mistakes that obviously costed me a ew good seconds. In the end though I was happy with my run, felt good in the water and enjoyed it! I was happy taking first after a couple years on second place and felt I performed good on my race run. It was an awesome day followed by a bunch of sick Spirit laps to say goodbye for the season to our beloved Ldub! 

The awards were held in Hood River and it was a great fun night with awesome people. I was happy to take the win on both races and win my first LW race, it feels good to do well on the river you paddle everyday and love so much!

Thanks Capo at WCKA for putting the event together another year, thanks to the students for timing and safety and thanks Cat and Lee Timons for the pics!

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The 40th Big Fork Festival

June 4, 2015, 2:25 pm

≫ Next: IV The North Fork Championship 2015

≪ Previous: LW Race 2015

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After spending the first two weeks of the month of May in Canada with the rest of the Adidas Sick-line Freestyle crew shooting around BC and Quebec I got back home really sore and tired. We paddled pretty much everyday and had forgotten how exhausting freestyle actually is! A couple days home to unpack and repack and off to the next stop, Montana! We left early on Friday and drove all day until we got to Big Fork, a small town at the mouth of the Black Swan river. Northern Montana is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. At the base of Glacier Park everything is green surrounded by white caped peaks and emerald lakes, it’s really awesome!

The Big Fork Festival was celebrating their 40th edition and it was a great one indeed. It’s definitely one of the oldest kayaking festivals in the US and still attracts a lot of competitors from all over the North West. The organization does a great job setting up the slalom course and and taking care of the competitors providing free camping next to the river, dinner, prizes and great hospitality. 

Even though the water was a little bit lower than last year the slalom course was still challenging and the whole run is still great. On Saturday we did the slalom race on the Staircase rapid. We did two runs through 18 gates that made for some pretty fun moves and did another lap in the afternoon to paddle the whole section which was really fun. On Sunday we did the downriver and the giant slalom down the whole ‘Wild Mile’ section. The name says it all, one mile of good rapids all the way to the take out right in downtown Big Fork. The downriver took around 7 minutes an a bit longer for the GS that included 6 gates throughout the whole run.

After all the races we did another lap to say goodbye to the Black Swan and headed to the awards. I was stoked to take first place and retain my title from last year (going for three next year!) and even more happy to see Ali do the same and win the women’s class!! It was a really fun weekend for both of us and even better after the awards. 

Thank you to the organizers, specially Mike for designing and setting up the course, Jonny Meyers for being the man, Coral, Beth and everyone else for putting their time into the event making it one of the best in the US! Thanks safety team, gate keepers, time people and volunteers, it was an amazing weekend! See you al next year!!

IV The North Fork Championship 2015

June 25, 2015, 2:19 pm

≫ Next: Galasport paddles

≪ Previous: The 40th Big Fork Festival

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The second weekend of June was the date, the IV North Fork Championship was going down in Banks, Idaho. The North Fork of the Payette is an awesome river that has 15 miles of amazing roadside whitewater. The water is warm, big and pushy making for lots of great rapids and hard moves. With the road on one side and the railway on the other the river is full of rock boulders that help create those rapids making them shallow and pretty dangerous at the same time though.

The North Fork Championship is a three day event that features a time trial, a boaterX and the biggest race of the weekend a Giant Slalom down whats considered the hardest rapid on the river, Jakes or jacks Ladder.

On Thursday, over 80 racers participated in “The Expert Race,” an over 7 minute time­trial from the top of “Juicer” to the bottom of “Cruncher” on the Lower 3 miles of the North Fork Payette. The top 5 finishers of those that weren’t already qualified for Saturdays race would become Elite members and have the chance to race down jakes so everyone gave it all they had. I was happy and surprised to take first after not really pushing it too much, good start!

The Melt Awards are that same night in downtown Boise where new movie were premiered and the qualifiers announced. We were happy to take second place for the second year in a row at the Cinematography Awards with our new SBP reel. 

On Friday we did some training at Jakes and there was a BoaterX in S-Turn which I didn’t attend not to get too tired…

Saturday was the day! After a couple practice laps I was feeling good and ready to put down a fast time on my first run. Went off and immediately missed the second gate… it was over, I just floated the course to the finish and tried not to get too pissed… 

I tried to forget about it and give it all again on my second run, only one chance. Started off the ramp and charged, luckily barely made the first second gate combo, kept on going and put together an ok run. After the race we all floated downstream and had a good time padding under the summer heat. 

Everyone was nervous at the awards, no one knows anything until its announced… I was super stoked to take first place! Even if my run wasn’t as good as I could have paddled I’m really happy I managed to put it all together for that second run and made it count, the pressure was definitely on!!

It was an amazing experience and a great time! Completing the podium were Dane Jackson and Isaac Levinson and my brother was 4th so super proud and stoked for him too!!

He had an amazing party and spent the next few days paddling TB on the North Fork, going to the hot springs and hang out, good times!

Thanks to James and Regan Byrd, the organizers, for putting this event together year after year, its an awesome event to be part of and it gets keeps getting bigger and better, can't wait for next year!

Also thanks to the best girlfriend Ali for being there all the time and helping me with everything!

Photos by Mike Leeds and Tait Trautman

Galasport paddles

July 8, 2015, 2:32 pm

≪ Previous: IV The North Fork Championship 2015

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I started paddling the Manic Elite MCQ last summer after many years wanting to switch paddles. I got it right in time for the Stikine and it was awesome to have such a nice paddle on such beautiful river. Since then I haven’t looked back and I am so happy I finally decided to join Galasport after many years of considering it.

Eric Parker Photography

In my opinion Galasport produces the nicest paddles on the market right now. They are strong and durable, lightweight, sexy and most important they feel good on the water, the make your paddling experience that much better because of their blade shape and design.

Mike Leeds Photography

Many people see Galasport as slalom paddles only as the company produces specific slalom paddles, slalom boats and more, however for the past few years Galasport has widened their paddle range to creeking and river running with multiple designs. Their river running paddles are strong and durable and so nice to use... its my only paddle for everyday.

Manuel Arnu

The Manic Elite MCQ is a 100% two parts carbon paddle. This means the blade and the shaft are one single part and the two shaft assemble in the middle of the paddle. Having a two parts paddle means you have a stiffer paddle as you only have one assembly point instead of two and you don’t have to worry about blades coming off loose or anything like that. Having such a smooth shape at the blade/shaft assembly means the blade glides really well and smoothly through the water at every stroke which translates to more controlled and precise strokes.

Manic MCQ

USA CONNECTOR

Another awesome thing Galasport makes is the USA Connector, which is a super strong and easy to use tool that can be set on any paddle and make it a two parts breakdown. This is really helpful for traveling and to lend your paddle to other people as its really easy to adjust the length and the feather. Once set the connector is really strong and the paddle is still super stiff, its just like using a normal paddle but you can play with the length and feather as you paddle down the river. Its really helpful for racing, multidays, freestyle, traveling and flying and it can also work great as an expedition breakdown paddle.

I’ve been using my USA connector everywhere this past season, racing Rey del Rio in Mexico, paddling waterfalls in Chile, racing in the PNW and freestyle ave surfing in BC and Quebec. Being able to adjust the length (10 cm range!!) and feather makes this paddle really versatile and the best all around one for everything paddle in the market, I’m really stoked I have one of this!!

Eric Parker Photography

For more information check all of their products at: galasport.com