Playak News Flash 2010-06-26

Playak News Flash - June 26, 2010
The world's latest paddling headlines.

News Watch Headlines

South Silver- The injured photographers perspective Whitewater-Koa - Luckily when California was built they made a few rivers with easy access for walkers so when you are injured you can still enjoy the excitement of kayaking but from behind a camera lens! South Silver Creek is a great example of this with a track from top to bottom and easy access on the granite to each of the drops! On Wednesday Toni, Dan and Yan were at the bakery in Coloma (where i spend most of my injured time) and they were heading up there for the day! I Jumped on the opportunity to escape Coloma and head in there!

Skate Park! Evan Garcia - Summit creek was discovered last year by a young group of Washingoton brothers known as the Wells Bros. They live in Trout Lake only 5 miles from the put in of the infamous Green Truss run on the White Salmon and have been searching the area for little stashes like this. We had two good days on this creek last season getting the second run down the Skate ramp falls and the first descent of the huge top canyon falls...Those updates can be seen here Summit Creek.

June Creeking Level 6 - June has been a super busy month so far, I've been working a ton which is great as it's all on the river, I've also been paddling with Kelsey Thompson as he films for his new project called Locals Only which will feature myself and fellow L6 team member Billy Harris, I'll post more on that later. In the mean time we have paddled The Big Horn, Johnston Canyon, Red Earth, Elbow, Etherington, Pinsgton, and Blanket Creeks. Most of my best footage is going to the film but I do have some leftover stuff I threw together from the past couple of weeks.

Metlako Falls, OR (High Water) Sweet - Metlako falls mmmmm?…what can I say about this drop? After seeing this thing run three times in 2004, 2006, and 2008 I knew that this thing was for me. After my second trip to Chile of running big waterfalls, I was in prime shape to hit this monster. So off I went as a 19 year old kayaker to run this 85 foot beast.

A New Meca for whitewater !! Wavesport Blogs - The Saguenay Area is slowly but surely becoming a Whitewater Meca and it is easy to see why, for instance, just look at its heart the city of Chicoutimi. There are 5 major rivers that run straight through town, that offer up a variety of paddling, from playboating at Barret hole on the Chicoutimi River or surfing the giant siran's wave on the Saguenay river, to cl 3-4 river running on the Cyriac, or if you are looking for something harder you can get on the Valin or Moulin rivers. And this only within the city limits!

Early season BC Team Pyranha - Having spent the last two seasons in Norway I had been informed by a number of reliable sources that everything else is just training for BC. Well to sum up creeking over here the word 'adventurous' closely followed by 'awesome' seem most appropriate. On the whole most runs are steep, continuous and committing just the way we like it! Plus on arrival I was quickly informed that this season boasts the second highest snow pack on record, 16 metres on the tops. So hopefully the season will be a long one accompanied by juicy flows.

Freestyle World cup 2010 duemmstuff - Plattling was canceled, so only one freestyle world cup took place in Europe. There were about hundred competitors from four continent.

Micah Kneidl's big-water ID update, NF Payette at 9000? Jackson Kayak - Kayaking in Idaho has been unlike anything I have ever really seen in fifteen years of boating. Cold spring temperatures meant more late spring snowpack than expected. This mixed with heavy rains made for some serious snowmelt. The Payette River in particular had an unexpected record runoff. The first Saturday in June was the peak day; the South Fork of the Payette was at 14,000cfs.

Nepal & the Tamur in November with Matt Tidy Gene17 - Have no concerns about Nepal, as ever Autumn after the Summer monsoon has long since moved on, there is paddling perfection. And this November Matt Tidy from Gene17 is leading a trip to the wonderful Tamur in the far east of Nepal. The Tamur trip has it all for a Nepali adventure, wonderful ridge line trekking with views of snow capped 8000m peaks and access to the colourful culture & cuisine. Plus the Tamur River is a great paddle, 4 days of pool drop white water in a remote valley, with the final day bringing the best rapids and exciting paddling.

Quebec Fiyyaahhh Level 6 - A record low snow year meant that the 2010 Stakeout was a bit different than years past. Check the new Kayak Session for more on the trip!

Video: SKOOKUMCHUCK KAYAKING playak.tv - Freestyle kayaking near egmont bc on the skookumchuck narrows.

Dagger in Central Park Dagger Blogs - Dagger's presence was unmistakable this past weekend in Central Park, New York City! From Adventure's NYC on Saturday to Outdoor Nation on Sunday, red and black flags were flying as we partnered with several different organizations in the outdoor industry to promote paddling for all ages and walks of life.

Dustin Urban wins at 2010 FIBArk Whitewater Festival Kokatat Blog - "Today I thought I'd give a first person account of my win this past weekend at the 62nd FIBArk whitewater festival 25 miles south of Buena Vista in Salida Colorado. Let me begin by saying that this was the first time I have won FIBArk, and to do so with so many local friends and fans cheering me on, and with such stiff competition, was thrilling and definitely a highlight of my career. It was also among my most decisive wins, so I won't try to hide that I'm pretty fired up about it!

Fun flows on the Truckee river! Jackson Kayak - We have had some really nice flows on the Truckee over the past few weeks. It has given the Reno community the ability to get out and enjoy all of the different sections of river that we don't normally get to boat on. I was able to get a few laps on the upper sections of my new home river for the first time. It only took me 4 years! The upper sections have a bunch of non stop class 3 with one or two easy class 4 rapids thrown in for good measure. There are also a pair of totally safe and fun to run dams. I know it sounds bad, but they are really good to go and they are a great time. Enjoy the video!

High water comes with great responsibility Kokatat Blog - For the last month, Colorado has been the warmest I have ever seen. As everyone knows when the warm weather comes, the snow melts, and what happens with snow melt. HIGH WATER! Almost the whole state has been flooding, including the famous Glenwood Springs waves. Everyone and their grandmother were in the lineup to surf, including Team Kokatat paddlers Ruth Gordon, Jason Craig and myself Nick Troutman. Here are is a video clip from my two days of surfing the waves.

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