As I was able to spend my fourth winter in a row in Chile it was my first trip where I was guiding customers through this beautiful country on the west coast of South America.
Daniel on the last drop of the lower palguin
First destination of our journey was Pucon where we did some warm up paddling on the surrounding rivers. Ellies B&B offered a lovely ambience with the view on the Volcano Villarica to relax after the long trip to get there.
Peter in the “volcano drop” of the Trancura
In the first few days the group got a taste of some big volume rapids on the Trancura, they mastered the difficulty of running their first waterfalls on the Palguin and they got in touch with some remoteness of the Chilean wilderness on the Maichin.
the highest drop of the upper Plaguin, photo: Michael Sommerauer
After Christmas, which would have been described as a summer garden barbecue party in Europe, we started to travel south. With a stopover at the Rio Fuy where the group improved their waterfalls skills our next main destination was the Rio Futaleufu, which is called one of worlds finest kayak destinations for a good reason.
upper Fuy, photo: Michael Sommerauer
Driving down south took us a whole day and leaded us through pleasant fjords using three ferries as well as down the Carretera Austral and through the “Parque Pumalin” – a gorgeous nature park in the Chaiten region. Unluckily the typical Patagonian constant rain didn´t spare us but once arrived at the Cara del Indio camp we considered ourselves fortune by claiming the last free Cabana that evening.
pole position on the ferry
After a good sleep we started to have our first real big volume paddling day down the Bridge to El Macal section on the next morning. As we barely find any comparable whitewater back home I observed some hectic paddling till we reached the take out. So we decided that another day of warm up paddling down the same section would be necessary till everyone got familiar with that kind of exploding waves and whirlpools and felt ready to venture through the canyon and down the complete 46 kilometer long whitewater section of the Futaleufu, just in time for closing paddeling on New Year´s Eve. Tired but happy to collect the “golden medal” of the Futa we rewarded ourselves with an original Chilean “Asado” – a whole lamb grilled for several hours by the owner of our Camp.
Almut in her great Palm gear and Dagger Mamba at the put in for the Rio Azul, photo: Fabian Krummreich
So the group started off their paddling year 2014 by getting more and more comfortable on the extraordinary whitewater of the Futa day-by-day. Due to the continuous rain even the Azul came a little bit up and became an enjoyable run. So relaxing in the traditional Hot-Tub high up on the cliff over the Futa was the last missing thing of the Futa-experience which got ticked off the list before we had to loac up the truck to start our journey back up north again.
the boys having fun in the mud tub of the Termas Amarillo, photo: Fabian Krummreich
On the way our plan was to paddle the Michimahuida, which offers an entire day on the river filled with numerous rapids and scenic waterfalls coming in from the glacier on the sides in the remote Patagonian wilderness. Unfortunately the river was running a little bit to high for us on that day so we took out after the first few kilometres just where the road leaves the river and spent the rest of the day in the nearby “Termas Amarillo”. While half of the group kept relaxing in the nice and clear naturally hot water of the Termas few others felt more pleased resting in the natural mud pool. In the end of the day the sun finally managed to burn all those clouds of the seven five days away and brought us a beautiful last evening on our wild camp on the beach close to Chaiten.
last wild camping spot on the beach close to Chaiten, photo: Fabian Krummreich
Back in Pucon we spent our last few days on the more and more drying Rios Fuy, Trancura and Palguin and tried to absorb as much sun as we could before we had to fly back to winter in the cold and dark Europe.
Almut boofs one of the nicest drops of the lower Palguin
Chile is and stays on of the best places on earth to escape Europeans winter season for all paddlers who enjoy paddling class IV whitewater. One can find everything paddlers heart desires – from steep volcano rock built low volume creeks to excellent big volume whitewater. As one of the safest South American countries Chile fascinates with its clean and clear rivers, tasty food, dry and warm climate and tons of breathtaking landscape.
Almut following me down the upper Plaguin, photo: Paul Meylahn
Last week there was sunshine. In the UK. Even in depths of North Wales! Well, what better time to get out and put the new FX PFD to the test?
I’m so impressed with this buoyancy aid, the freedom of movement is incredible and the amount you can fit in the pocket while it stays out of the way blows my mind! OK, that’s perhaps a little dramatic… but seriously, it’s like Mary Poppins designed this!
It’s proper safe too (and not just cos it keeps to the first rule of safety: Look Cool), the shoulder straps are sewn right down to the waist making them integral to the whole system and less likely to fail when you really need them. Most other manufacturers just sow to the top seam, even on their top spec “rescue” buoyancy aids!
It feels kind of strange writing a kayak review in the middle of a snow-white Bovec, but if there’s a good time to spend it on a computer, it is on lazy winter evenings. I spent most days of 2012 in a kayak, working on the river throughout the summer season and kayaking great whitewater in what turned out to be an epic autumn in Slovenia in terms of water levels.
My 2012 kayaking season has been largely affected by a transition from Pyranha Burn to the new dagger Mamba. I am very picky when it comes to kayaks and I am not easily persuaded. I paddled an old Mamba 8.5 from time to time and I really liked the control it offered on the water. But I never liked how it performed on the rocks. The old Mamba is mainly a river-runner. It is a great learning tool for beginners and a very safe bet for paddlers that don’t like being surprised by the boat. But it just couldn’t compare to the more hybrid-like Burn, when it came to creeking.
That is why I wasn’t instantly persuaded by the idea of switching to the new Mamba, which was presented to me in the springtime – even though it was a new model that needed to be “outed”. When it comes to extreme kayaking, I go for whatever I feel best and safest in, even if it isn’t in the best interest of my sponsors. I am glad that they understand that but in any case I still couldn’t wait to try out the new Mamba. Trying out different kayaks is kind of a hobby for me, as it makes me feel like a little child with a new toy. Most contemporary models come in different sizes as well, which just multiplies the experience.
At that moment Soča valley’s biggest kayak test center, Alpin Action, only had a Mamba 8.1 test boat. But I was quite sure that it was a right size for me, as I normally couldn’t resist the playfulness of smaller models compared to more conservative character of bigger ones. I tested the boat at a fairly low water level at Katarakt section of Soča River, which offers some nice rocky boofs on a mostly “watery” course. Mamba 8.1 surprised me in every way. The first thing I noticed was that the boat lost its ship-like character of being able to go straight without any “urge” for turning until you commanded it to. In fact it felt like a firecracker under my bum. I used to paddle slalom and I love the boats that can spin fast, but this boat exceeded all my expectations. I could hardly keep up to it. I could almost say I got outmanoeuvred by the boat. I wanted to own one, just for the challenge of taming it, but I could only get one boat and 8.1 size felt too small for my 75 kg, for serious extreme kayaking. What mattered to me the most was that its hull was much rounder than that of the old model and it gave me great control on the rocks. I had some problems in the past for not paddling the big enough volume boat in extreme whitewater, but the amazing performance of Mamba 8.1 gave me confidence to do a risky decision. I did something unthinkable for myself and just ordered an 8.6 version without trying it.
My first impression when I was unwrapping the boat was: “oh my god, it’s huge.” I felt a little bit sick, because I was really worried that it was too big for me. I’m only 174 cm high and I had some experience in the past with not being able to properly control the boats that were too big for me. I still think I look a bit funny when I sit in it, but how I feel in it is another tale. For the first few months I used it mostly for work at a very low water Soča. I had been taking photos of rafting and I needed to overtake the rafts a few times on their descent. Mamba felt like it was made for the job as it is fast and offers an amazing amount of space for my camera gear. I also learned it is a little less bouncy as the 8.1 version, which I expected from the bigger size. Nevertheless I was amazed by the fact that, even though it is a super big kayak, I was able to spin it very easily and fully control it. I couldn’t wait to try it on harder water.
In the next few months I got a chance to try it in super big volume, low volume creeks, steep big water situations and so on. To start with the sum up: I love the boat and never felt so secure doing extreme whitewater as I do in Mamba 8.6. When I first tried it in big volume, I was amazed by how on top of everything it felt and by how easily I could change direction, even though it is slightly harder to keep it on a straight track as it is the old Mamba. But unlike the old Mamba, this one can comfortably be used as a creeker: It has a very nicely rounded hull, which I feel confident to take to the steeper rocky rapids. The good features also include stability, easiness to lean it and roll. It is also really easy to boof, while it tends to land soft and accelerate on the landings.
I can’t say I don’t miss a bit of a playful character which smaller boats can offer. I honestly believe that a size gap between 8.1 and 8.6 is too big and I would like something in between to do those play-creeking runs on easier rivers and to also be able to use the same boat in serious conditions. But that would probably be a compromise for me, because there is currently no other boat than Mamba 8.6, that I would rather take to a hard paddling expedition. I can confidently stuff it full of heavy equipment, sit myself in and I can hardly notice any change in the way this kayak handles. Dagger is introducing a new outfitting kit in 2013 and I can hardly wait to try it out – especially those extra inches you can slip under the seat. Great job Dagger!
Here’s a video of Extreme kayakin in the Soča valley that I recently made . In the first part of the video I paddle the new Mamba 8.6 at a Katarakt section of Soča River. I believe it is quite evident in the video, that the boats handles like a charm, stays on top of features and accelerates effortlessly.
This last half year with Katya in the UK I wanted to show her as much of the UK’s good bits as I could think of, and also show her where I started kayaking and some of my favourite places in the UK.
We love being out in the wilds, away from cities so I really wanted to go to Scotland with her this time to paddle some of the Classics, see John O’Groats, do some cycling and just see as much of the wild as we could.
Paddling
The main goal of our trip wasn’t really kayaking which was just as well because when we first arrived there was no water at all but the last few days of the trip we were hammered by rain so got to paddle the Etive then met up with Dennis Newton and his creeking camp kids and paddled the Orchy at great levels the next day before heading home.
I enjoy river running for the beauty surrounding it but I don’t desire to push it very far, it’s just not my thing. I’m not really scared of it, or feel out of my skill level, it’s just that it feels that in order to get the same buzz as I do for freestyle i’d have to go pretty crazy and I don’t wish to take those risks. The reward for me isn’t big enough and if I were to hurt myself too much so that I couldn’t do freestyle or the other sports I love i’d really regret it.
That said because it was so beautiful here, I loved the Etive, especially the classic Right Angle drop. The Orchy was actually a really sweet surprise. With the rain we had it was quite like the Nile style of big water. I only wished i was in my playboat as there were some fabulous waves & holes that would of ben great to surf properly…next time I guess.
Landscape & Animals
Scottish Animals & Wildlife have to be pretty tough, given the climate & weather, but I think this also gives them a character and personality. We were lucky that we got to see so many wild and also tame animals classic to Scotland on our trip.
We got to socialise with Ponies, Sheep & Highland Cows here, I love seeing them out in the wild heather & fields, I only wish they weren’t going to be eaten! There so beautiful and intelligent creatures, you can really see something in there eyes.
We also got to see Red Squirrels which you don’t often see in England along with many kinds of birds.
Scotland has some very harsh weather and I think this brings out it’s beautiful landscape even more. We got to enjoy the Autumn colours on the trees all around, the towering mountains, barren expanses of heather and the storm battered coasts.
The other aspect that was good was that each night we managed to park up next to some quiet Loch or river and wake up each day to fantastic views of Scottish nature.
I just think of all the places our Van’s been now, it really has seen some fantastic sights in the last 3 years!
John O’Groats
I’d never been there and it’s somewhere I always wanted to go, so with freezing weather and howling winds we got ourselves to the very edge of the UK.
We got to what was signposted as the tip but after checking my map on the iPhone it looked like we needed to venture further so we walked along the coast until we got to the cliffs and lighthouse that mark the true edge.
It’s like another planet there and you could barely stand from the power of the wind, really made you feel invigorated looking out to sea, leaning your full weight into the wind.
Aviemore
I’d actually been here once before; when I was studying Adventure Sports at college we’d had a week long winter mountaineering course here and remembered it as quite spectacular.
We got some good cycling in around the Lochs on the trails here and saw a centre that looked after Reindeer, it caught our eye actually because there was a Red Squirrel eating in front of it.
We found we’d missed the seeing the guided tour to look at them in the hills so decided to hike up one of the mountains looking for the Reindeer herds ourselves. We didn’t find them but the view from the top was worth it anyhow.
Back Home
Luckily for us we live quite close to North Wales and the Lake District so we spent the rest of the Winter exploring & paddling some of my favourite areas and getting to visit the play spots I grew up paddling: the Dee, Tryweryn and a few trips to HPP & Hurley.
Below is just a few un-edited clips of us testing out the Prototype Dagger Jitsu’s
We actually have a pretty sick set up here in the UK to become a top playboater. You only really have to look at our current crop of paddlers to see that though…(Bren, James Weight, James Benns
As well as kayaking I’ve been giving talks to school kids to get them excited and inspired for life in the outdoors, which at first was very nerve racking but actually has been very rewarding and enjoyable. More on the project HERE
Now though the new year has come and I’m looking forward to heading off with Katya for some new adventures and a fresh season of competition!
Sunshine, 3 Gates, Big Air & Good Friends – Hurley Classic 2012
When I first started competing the ‘Hurley Rodeo’ was the UK’s biggest event, drawing in paddlers from all across Europe for an aerial frenzy on the Thames.
In recent years the event has been on a much lower scale, largely due to poor levels, but this year Jacko from KayakoJacko went all out to bring the festival feel back and turn it back into the booming event it once was. With the boom that’s going on in freestyle right now it seems perfect timing to relaunch the event in this manner.
Jacko definitely didn’t disappoint! We had perfect levels, good weather and over 120 paddlers attending including all the big names: Peter & Nina Csonka, Mathieu Dumoulin, Quim & Nuria Fontane, UK’s Bren Orton & myself and Katya.
So we had World Champions, World Cup Champions, European Champions, Rider of the Year winners, National Champions & past Champions all gathered to do battle on one of the UK’s most iconic spots. Jacko had a treat lined up for us.
A very international eddy queue
Cheesy came down and put up the Palm & Dagger tent to show off the new kit and the Dagger Jitsu. We had all 3 sizes for people to try. They definitely fly here on Hurley!
First up was the final of the British League event. Your best two out of three 45 second rides gave you your final score. I had some great rides getting KY’s, Loops, AirScrews and Panams and thought I might have the win but as it turned out I ended up in 3rd place behind local favourite Alan Ward in 2nd and World Cup winner Peter Csonka taking the win. In the ladies Emily wall took the British title with Nina Csonkova taking the overall Win.
1st place to Peter Csonka
Saturday afternoon gave us a steep ramp into the Boatercross. Carnage ensued throughout but keeping the speed up and avoiding the crashes David Bain sprinted his way to the win.
Sunday was what the weekend was all about really, going big with our friends without the pressure of timed rides. It was a jam session format of 15 minutes and then a superfinals of ICF rules for the top 5. Unfortunately I was a bit too determined to get my KY and wasted too much time and finished way down the list but those who got the right tactic of going big but making sure to cram all their moves into their session came out on top.
Mathieu Dumoulin from France fighting hard into 2nd in the final
Palm’s Seppi going high – Exactly what the Classic is all about!
Palm’s Bren Orton went huge in the prelims and got everyone raving when he got his place in the senior mens final (he’s still a Junior), UK Champion Sam Anderson made it too then we had Quim, Mathieu, and Peter all there. The finals were a great display of the various styles but eventually Peters consistency edged ahead of Mathieu’s fluidity to take the Win, with Quim in 3rd. In the womens Nina Csonkova took the win again with Flea in 2nd place.
Day 2, another busy day on the Palm/ Dagger stand here at Paddle Expo.
All day has been a flow of people, new kit, shiny boats and delicious sandwiches – Perfect!
On the topic of new gear Barney Shows the new Suits and Dry Pants below:
Barney Caulfield – Palm Designer shows us the NEW Palm Immersion Suits the Stikine & Torrent suit along with some of the new Dry Pant range…Ion for Men, Maya for Women and Neon lightweight play pants.
Now we’re looking forwards to the organisers’ party – Drinks, band and a fancy dinner.
After the Europeans was finished we visited the lake one last time to play on the diving boards and then went off to Slovenia for a little holiday with my parents and a Whitewater Safety and Rescue course with Palm’s Tom Parker on the Soca River.
It turned out to be of the most beautiful places we’ve been to: steep mountains, clean air, crystal clear rivers and lakes that you can drink, tasty fruits from Italy and very steep roads for our not too powerful van
We would like to live there actually if we could find any decent playspot in the area…Please tell us if you know of any.
The river itself was pretty low but we managed to paddle most of it and the beauty made up for the portages; i’ve never paddled anywhere so beautiful, but then I do paddle in Nottingham most of the time…;-) Here you can see many big Trouts swimming under you and the colour of the river is an unreal blue!
Katya found the Slovenian language is very similar to Russian, so she could read and understand some of it, often laughing at how it sounded to her like very old country folk Russian.
Now we’re back in the UK, my beloved Nottingham course is flooded so we’ll sort our Van and then look for some different dirty playspots
River festivals are always fun and last week’s 2011 Noguera Palleresa River festival was no exception.
Well I am very pleased to report that on returning to Sort In the Cataluna Pyrenees for the first time in 10 years since 2001 when the world freestyle championships were there, and they decided to provide in gratis alcohol and food to a bunch of “ enthusiastic” kayakers, the place still has every bit of magic beauty and craziness that it did all those years ago. The man, the myth the legend Lluis Rabaneda and his team at RocRoi.com put together another amazing event in the form of the “ Noguera Pallaresa River Festival” 2011.
With Lluis behind the magic, a van loaded with the brand new Dagger Mamba test boats, throw in some sunshine, great water levels guaranteed by the dam, new friends and old, a big party, amazing locals, both paddlers and civilians, we have a winning combination. It was the perfect end to the summer paddling season.
The NPRF 2011 attracted kayakers from The UK, Ireland, Finland, Argentina, Norway, France, Canada, America, Spain, Germany, just to name a few! The festival was very inclusive for all abilities and ages and set on the Palleresa River that has really nice class 2/3 rapids over different sections with some of the most stunning scenery that I have seen in a kayak.
Over the course of the festval there was a bunch of clinics organised for folks to go on and the river is a great coaching venue. I was involved with the Safety and Rescue clinic and had a blast with the mixed crew we had on the session. There were loads of other clinics run. Eric “EJ” Jackson was doing the freestyle clinics with the kids and adults. Raphael Thiebaut the photo master was doing a photo Clinic for kayak photographers. Next year the lads should do a party clinic on the back of their performance on the dance floor during the Saturday night festivities. A memory that will stay with me for a while is EJ saying to the Mayor of Sort whilst dragging him unwillingly to the dance floor, “ have you ever tried slam dancing??!” Ej also received a special award for the 10 year anniversary since he won the worlds in Sort.
There was a “ Le Mans” style mass race down the class2/3 section from Llavorsi to Rialp, just upstream of Sort. The race was great fun with some charging hard at the front and others just taking their time and enjoying the ride down to the finish line about 8 km away.
As I was there with the toy chest filled with a bunch of the all new Dagger Mambas along with other models I was pleased to hear such positive feedback about the boats from the test pilots. People were really fired up on how dynamic the new boats were. It’s always good to see smiling faces.
It was great to see such a range of people and abilities at an event like this. It appeared as though everybody was catered for. I will definitely be gunning to hit the fesival next year. Well done again to Lluis and his very capable and friendly team @rocroi.com Cheers for the good times. That’s what kayaking is all about, can’t wait to see what’s in store for next time. Thanks to the Palm/Dagger guys for supporting such a nice event.
For years Scottish paddlers dreamed of a summer paddling festival in Scotland. Perhaps centred on the dam-release hubs of the Rivers Garry and Moriston. The SCA Access Committee discussed it but little progress was made. In early 2005, as a fitting memorial to Andy Jackson the SCA Access officer, plans for a paddling extravaganza were hatched.
Since then, the event has grown to attract over 300 paddlers from all over the UK (and there were even two groups from Germany there this weekend!). Shuttle vehicles are put on, a party is organised and weekend access is negotiated for two classic dam released sections of scottish whitewater; the Moriston – 4(5), and the Garry – 3+. With loads of rain forcast it was clear that it wouldn’t just be dam releases on offer either, and paddlers found time to squeeze in classics such as the Falloch, Orchy, Coe, Spean and Etive as well.
We made the long drive north to let paddlers have a go in the new 2012 Dagger Mamba and preview a few of our 2012 Palm offerings. It was great to see the paddlers on the water as excited about the new gear as we are – and we even managed a cheaky sunset run on the Coe in perfect levels!
Thanks to everyone involved for a fantastic weekend, we’ll definitely be back!
If you live in the UK but haven’t boated in Scotland yet you’re missing out. The scenery is stunning, the whitewater is world-class and the Clacaig Inn serves a rather tasty haggis. If you’re looking to get a few days away paddling before Christmas and you’re not sure where to go, a little trip north of the border is thoroughly recommended.
As the good(ish) weather officially comes to an end here in Europe, I thought i’d put up a post with some of my favourite pictures of the spring/summer season. I managed to squeeze in two trips to the Piemonte/Ticino regions, before heading north, as ever, to Norway. This season we did some more exploration, both in central Norway, and further north, as well as paddling a number of rivers which have been secretly documented in some detail over the past few years, and since the publication of this online guidebook are set to become classics.
These are some of my favourite shots, huge thanks go to the photographers, as well as the people in them!
First up – I finally caught the Devil’s slide at the perfect level, in the right mood. Huge thanks to Adam Dumolo for taking this photo whilst simultaneously doing safety for this one.
Next, an excellent shot from Tom Parker of a sweet boof in the Lower Sermenza Gorge. I’ve been absoulutely loving my Harlequin Fuse Jacket, definately the comfiest shell garment ever, and coloured to match everything!
Lakeside camping in Hattfjelldal, Norway. Is this the best paddling destination in Europe?
Next up a shot by Hugh Graham, of Finn Burrows lining up for a rinsing. Dusj-boof (Shower-boof in Norsk)on the Susna. One of the most fun rapids anywhere, especially in high water, when it becomes Wipeout-boof.
This shot was taken by a friendly local, who regularly fishes the pool below this fall. Yours truly, on the first descent of Storfossen, on the Herdalselva, near Valdal.
Due to the trees being harvested on the right hand bank of the Mikkemus-elva, there was excellent light for photos for the first time tis year. Here Hugh Graham hits the perfect line. Watch out for Hugh, he’s one of those people who makes everything look a bit too easy.
Finally, a shot of Finn I took on the incredible Tverraga, another first descent and a true gem of a river way up inside the Arctic Circle.
I’m now back in the UK for a while, waiting for storm fronts to roll in and dump their goods in the hills. The new Mambas will be arriving soon and I can’t wait to get mine out and flying.
