Playak News Flash 2010-07-05

Playak News Flash - July 5, 2010
The world's latest paddling headlines.

News Watch Headlines

Video: Erik Boomer Kokatat Ambassador playak.tv - Check out the video...

Yule Creek CKS Squad - Yule creek has been on the RCRE hit list for years and last weekend we got to fire it up. First off, Marble CO is off the hook for boating. The views are incredible and the geology is conducive to making sick waterfalls and slides. What else do you want folks?

Africa Revolutions Tour (videos) Rapid Magazine Blog - Here's a small preview of a video that is part of the Reel Paddling Festival and was also recently premiered at the Banff Mountain Film Festival.

Video: River River Festival 2010 playak.tv - Check out the 2010 Reno River Festival.

A First Descent Level 6 - For the past two weeks, I have been living in a hostel in Bingen, WA. Don't jump to conclusions . . . I didn't get kicked out of the house. Instead, I have been involved in an organization which is near and dear to my heart – First Descents! I have been fortunate enough to experience three camps as a counselor/instructor, two years in a row.

Iceland-Update adidas Sickline - As I sit here with numb fingers I don't think I could classify, Iceland as the ultimate Kayaker's paradise, but it is definitely an amazing country, with scenery that is like another planet!

Kings Magic Mile: Learning to Walk The Roaming Dials - The Kings River "Magic Mile" is one of Alaska's mythical whitewater runs. For about half a mile it drops at the rate of 400 feet per mile through a maze of granite boulders, tight constrictions, and tall ledges, a steep creek by any definition. The second half of the Magic Mile drops over 200 feet per mile with two gnarly drops. The Mile has been described as "a Little Su on steroids".

Royal Gorge Sam Roil - This has to be one of the most anticipated runs in the whole of California. A sketchy put in, super remote location and some HUGE rapids make it one of the runs which gets spoken of in reverent tones in beaten up cars and dingy bars all over the state. Stories of epic trips come out of Royal every year which only serve to fuel the gossip mill.

Video: South Branch of the Middle Feather playak.tv - Here is a semi virtual tour of the California Classic, South Branch of the Middle Feather.

Golden Gate Sam Roil - The last couple of weeks here have been pretty busy, there were a lot of different plans happening at once so it was a bit of a juggling act trying to figure out what to do. After a cheeky run on the Lover's Leap section of the South American with Nick Wimsett and a bunch of Americans I finally managed to catch up with the old boys (they like to call themselves the masters team but we can't let them get too carried away) after a lot of missed communication via roaming NZ phones which don't work that well.

Upper Lewis Falls (High Water) Sweet - The thought of the Upper Lewis Falls scares me. I ran it in 2008 with a friend Marshall Woods, it was a high level and a very powerful falls. He went in the cave behind the main veil and swam out…I was nervous to go up to my boat, but ended up with a good clean line. You can see it in "Demshitz the Movie" or this blog update.

Charlotte Throwdown #2, it was HOT!! WK Throwdown - The throwdown was small in numbers since most people we're afraid of melting into the concrete, it well over 90 degrees out and the water temp was 93, but we definitely had some fun. We had three newcomers and the competition was held on Biscuits and Gravy for the first time. Being able to utilize all the killer features at the park makes the USNWC a great Throwdown HOTspot. The guys were throwing ends and spinning to win. Two of the guys really got into it by coming completely dressed in costume.

Reeves Places 11th on Day 2 in Augsburg USA Canoe/Kayak - It was a great day to be a German. The city of Augsburg was celebrating the successes of it's national soccer team's victory over Argentina in the World Cup semifinals as well as a podium sweep by it's men's K-1 athletes. Flags were on every car, house and person.

The Green River Games: A summer camp paddling competition Shane's Logic - I got to spend last weekend with a group of camps from Western North Carolina. They were all competing in the Green River Games a competition hosted by Green River Adventures. The comp was for camps that have whitewater paddling programs. They competed in 3 different events, slalom, down river, and team racing. Woody and I did some surfing and stand up paddle boarding with them as well. Inbetween races we coached and paddled with all the kids. They were fired up to try anything new.

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