Playak News Flash 2010-05-15

Playak News Flash - May 15, 2010
The world's latest paddling headlines.

News Watch Headlines

The Upper Elk Wavesport Blogs - Ahhh the Upper Elk, I have talked about this run before and really my writing and photographic talents don't do this run justice. A short run with challenging rapids in a very unique boxed in canyon and one of the best 40 foot waterfalls I have ever paddled. The very square like nature of the bed rock either makes the drops very easy to scout and portage when the walls form steps or impossible when it forms a head wall.

Liquidlogic Biscuit at Corner Pocket, then Escalante Ross Herr - After our sweet day on the upper Animas we were all a little sore. A Texas Taco from the Original Texas BBQ was exactly what we needed to revive us! I got word that Escalante was back to a good flow so sadly it was time to leave Durango. I stopped by the whitewater park for a quick half-hour session before making the drive back up north.

A couple of videos Kayak Hot Dogs - I haven't been super active on this blog recently as I have been using most of my content for the Level Six and Wavesport blogs but here are a couple of videos I threw together from a couple of early season paddling trips.

Chris Korbulic and Co. in Teles Pires, Brazil Kokatat Blog - From Jurena, we had our eyes set on more big water in the Rio Apiaca, where we knew from Google Earth scouting that the river had significant gradient for a short section. Because of record rainfall, we had gotten used to the idea that all the rivers would be pushing their flow limits. The Rio Apiaca was no exception, and our first view of the river came at the most significant drop, maybe comparable to Washington's Sunset Falls on the Skykomish at flood.

VIDEO: freestyle Session Kayak Session - Headcam video of freestyle paddlers in France; super cool edit and creative way to show kayaking.... thumbs up to Leo and friends...

Werner Paddle's TEAM member, Tino Specht, sharing some Garb action Werner - With the official launch of the complete 2010 Werner Paddles team just weeks away we will continue to give you sneak peaks of our newest members as they travel the globe. Today we again hear from Tino Specht with some killer pictures from the famous Garburtaor wave on the Ottawa River.

Ottawa River Sessions -Garb Wavesport Blogs - With days flying by and the Ottawa at prime low water levels the surf just kept on providing amazing sessions. As the water dropped lower I moved my surfing from the goods of McKoy's to the famous Garb Wave. This thing is so sweet!

WCKA: Idaho Todd Wells - Just over a week ago we at World Class finally finished the last of our classes. To reward ourselves we decided to take it easy and travel to Idaho for some relaxation and good ol' paddling in the Whitewater State.

First Western Canada Throwdown of 2010 Fraser Valley WW - Throwdowns are a series of FUN events aimed at bringing communities of recreational boaters together in the spirit of simple competition. These events allow for simple scoring and keep things light and fun. Points for front surfs, wathunks, paddle waves and the standard playboating moves make this fun for all.

My first full weekend in the Villain! Jackson Kayak - Once again I am a bit late in getting this posted, but the Reno River Festival was last weekend and I was hosting the open event as a WK hometown throw-down. The Villain continues to impress me. The video has video from two different rivers.

Tevatour 2010: The Corsica Kayak Sessions part II Teva Blog - Here the second part of video about the recent trip of Teva Life Agents Anne Huebner, Ron Fischer and a few friends to the holy grail of whitewater kayaking - Corsica - the birth place of modern creek boating.

Video: Graz 2010 playak.tv - Training before the competition with my friends. Kayakers: Peter Csonka , Nina Halasova , Vladimir Cako , Marcel Bloder , Milos Trnka.

Colorado Early Season Paddling Fluid Blog - Everyone in Colorado is starting to drag their boats out of storage, look around for their paddles, and just generally get ready for the water to show up. Well, I've been paddling for like two months now, suckers! I figured this would be a good time to dump a bunch of awesome photos of myself and others from around the state.

Reno River Festival Boatercross Jackson Kayak - This year's Reno River Festival did not disappoint. We had a great turnout for the open freestyle on Friday that was hosted by World Kayak. Stephen and EJ have already covered the invitational freestyle so we will get to the boatercross. First everyone takes a timed run by themselves against the clock. These times decide what the preliminary heats will be.

Tim Kelton Reviews the Jackson Kayak Villain on The Embudo at High Flow CKS Blog - To preface everything, I just finished my fourth run with the new regular Villain I picked up yesterday, so I've only ran the Embudo a few times. Since this is a new boat, I thought that my initial impressions might be helpful to some people out there. First off I'm 5′11 and 165lbs without gear.

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