Playak Weekly Digest - week 03

Playak Weekly Digest
The world's top paddling links in week 03, 2011.

News Watch Norwegian Team Completes First Self-Supported Circumnavigation of South Georgia Kokatat Blog (Thursday 20th) *** - Sigrid Henjum, along with 3 fellow Norwegian kayakers, recently returned from their successful circumnavigation of South Georgia. Preceding the Norwegian team were two successful circumnavigations of South Georgia in 2005 by New Zealand's Adventure Philosophy Team (Graham Charles, Mark Jones and Marcus Waters) and a British team (Peter Bray, Jeff Allen, Hadas Feldman, and Nigel Dennis). Perfect conditions on the Rhone River adidas Sickline (Tuesday 18th) *** - Ever since I got into freestyle kayaking in the late 90's (known as rodeo back then), I had heard of that big, powerful and somehow legendary wave located in Lyon, on the Rhone River. For many years it was simply a matter of front surfing what appeared as a beast to us, young punks in our long, clumsy rodeo kayaks. Then the flat hulls appeared and opened a whole new era for freestyle kayaking, and Lyon soon became the European epicentre of big wave paddling. Halo Effect Trailer - A New Paddling Movie from Steve & Dave Fisher Canoe & Kayak UK (Wednesday 19th) *** - Years ago I went to Iceland with legendary extreme kayaker Shaun Baker on an expedition to run some of the country's huge waterfalls, indeed while we were there Shaun broke the World Waterfall Record as it stood at the time. It's falls and huge, wild whitewater rivers are still drawing in the very best extreme kayaers in the world. Stookesberry's Top 10 Jackson Kayak (Sunday 16th) *** - Stookesberry's Top-10 River Trips: From some of the most idyllic kayak destinations on the Planet, to some of the most challenging river expeditions I have ever undertaken, here are 10 highlights in my Kayaking world along with a more user friendly alternative. First spring feelings this Year ! Team Pyranha (Monday 17th) ** - Normally in January you can only go Skiing or Snowboarding in Austria, but the warm temperatures and some heavy rain made some hidden creeks around Salzburg rising … Hucking Huka=Beatdown Mike Dawson (Saturday 15th) ** - Yesterday was an epic. With the Arateitia Dam getting some work done, the entire generation flow has been diverted down the river bed, making something that gets your heart pumping. Forget the Zambezi, the Waikato at full noise is a serious proposition. The inky blue water looks so tempting, but the raw power of this beast is unbelievable. Class IV Classics: Lynn Creek LiquidLore (Wednesday 19th) ** - It was a long time living in Vancouver before I actually got on Lynn Creek, one of the very popular urban North Shore runs. Following a small disaster (snowfall in the city, it's a big deal when the snowplows are pickup trucks) the Lynn filled with logs and other forest debris and for almost a year this was the way it was. There had to have been enough wood in there to build several log houses, not including a massive log jam at perhaps the most inconvenient spot on the whole run that essentially rendered the whole thing unrunnable. I guess there was an excuse. Write-Up: Pucon, Chile: Lower Nevado A Wet State (CA) (Monday 17th) ** - The Lower Nevado sports one of my favorite rapids of our trip to Chile. The boof to slide was just too much fun and in too committed and scenic of a gorge to not fall in love with. The drawback to this run is the extreme brevity of the run. For those of us who do not want to run the Demshitz drop nor the Diablito just below, this run has only 4 drops and 1 rapid. Because of this, you will likely want to extend the run through the Lefincul Canyon section of the Rio Liucura just down river a kilometer. Last few days on the Ottawa Wavesport Blogs (Tuesday 18th) ** - Now that winter is in full force I am sorting through all my photos from the past season and I am quickly getting very excited for the 2011 paddling season. Winter kayak self support on the Lower Box, New Mexico CKS Squad (Thursday 20th) ** - So with Northern New Mexico not getting much snow, It was time for a nice overnight trip down the class 2-3+(at flows of 600cfs) lower Box. The Lower Box is a great 15 mile wilderness run deep in a basalt gorge just west of Taos, NM. My friends Nate and Duke had never been on a kayak self support trip before and were amped to give it a try. We headed out Dec 10th, 2010. Although the 2 days were fairly warm, the night time temps were still getting down below freezing. Cerro Chirripo & La Perla First Descent Todd Wells (Friday 14th) ** - When I first laid my eyes on the Rio Chirripo Pacifico I was entranced by it's power and beauty. My original reason for visiting the Chirripo Pacifico was to scout out a few waterfalls I'd heard about and to climb Cerro Chirripo, Costa Rica's tallest mountain. I had planned to climb Chirripo with my buddy Nate Davis, and just before leaving for the trip Chris Baer, whom I had never met, got a hold of me to say that he was in the area and that he'd like to come along. Write-Up: Pucon, Chile: Lefincul Canyon of the Rio Liucura A Wet State (CA) (Monday 17th) ** - This short a sweet section of the Rio Liucura is most commonly paddled as an extension to the Lower Nevado. I have been told though, that some folks do go into the Lefincul Canyon just for the canyon alone. Though they apparently usually bring lots of beer and a fishing pole. The Canyon itself has one entry sneak, or good drop, and one easy drop. AT2 Flexi-Shaft Long Term Review by Casey Cunningham CKS Blog (Sunday 16th) ** - As kayakers, we must accept certain facts of life. Gas is expensive, but necessary to get to our beloved rivers. No matter how good you think you get, swims and carnage are inevitable. And gear comes and goes. It usually ends up getting bashed on rocks, lost on swims, left behind on shuttles, or just plain wears out from age and use. But every once in a while, we discover a piece of equipment stands out among the rest. For me, this is my paddle. So let's first start with a little background. High Water Insanity on the Washougal River, Oregon LL Ladies Lounge (Wednesday 19th) ** - Yesterday was an epic day for boaters in the Pacific Northwest. Everything, and I mean everything, was flooding. The photos that have emerged of the rivers such as the White Salmon and the Clackamas are nothing but crazy! Some of us decided to head up to the Washougal River for a play run. The night prior (when we were planning) the flow was 2,600 with a forcast of heavy rain. We only expected it to rise to 6000 max. Reichenbach-Wave update Markus Leppaenen (Wednesday 19th) ** - The city of Munich is working hard on the river banks of the last Isar stretches in Munich around the Reichenbach-Bridge in the city center. Yesterday we had a peak of the river level as it rained and it was really warm so all the snow melted as well. Therefore we had the chance to see how the work on the river-banks so far has influenced the wave. The good news, there still is a wave/hole.

Hot Forum Topics Fluid partners with Seals big air ramp construction Boats & Boards: Cascade C1 (Gear) River Varosa - Portugal (Europe) klip-n-go llc to be vendors in WI. (Gear) Top Videos Kayaking Some Mank (M Leyva) First descent of the Bruresløret waterfall (pascalschaffner) Kayak Fitness with Hamish McTavish.wmv (losermonk) Whitewater of the Sea (thorn91) Locals Only Official Trailer (KenWhiting) Upcoming Events Oceania Open Canoe Slalom Championships New Zealand, Mangahao, Jan 26 - Jan 30

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