Professional Kayaker Aniol Serrasolses recently traveled to British Columbia, Canada to paddle the amazing looking Keyhole Falls. His hope was to drop this legendary waterway, which features an approach down a narrow canyon, and whitewater that gushes over the falls at more than 3000-cubic meters per minute. The video below captures that 35 meter (114 foot) drop in stunning fashion and from multiple perspectives, including from within the cockpit. Not for the faint of heart, this one will certainly get your heart pumping.
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Showing posts with label Kayaking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kayaking. Show all posts
Video: Kayaker Drops 35 Meters Over Keyhole Falls
Posted by Unknown on Thursday, January 15, 2015
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Video: Mexica Kayaking Vacation
Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, January 13, 2015
The best way to describe this video is five minutes of pure kayaking porn. It was shot by paddler/filmmaker Ryan McAvoy and friends on a recent trip to Mexico, where they discovered some amazing whitewater. The short film shows the group paddling through narrow canyons, dropping waterfalls, and generally having a great time on some impressive looking rivers. It looks like they had a lot of fun along the way.
My Mexican Vacation from Ryan McAvoy on Vimeo.
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Video: Journey to the Stikine and the Sacred Headwaters
Posted by Unknown on Monday, January 5, 2015
The Stikine River of British Columbia is considered one of the best whitewater destinations on the entire planet. This short film takes us to that amazing place with a group of kayakers who are looking to explore that remote and beautiful destination. But the Stikine is under threat from developers who want to dam the river or mine the landscapes that surround it. The documentary not only shows us how amazing the Stikine is, but also how endangered it is as well.
Journey to the Stikine and the Sacred Headwaters from Mountain Mind Collective on Vimeo.
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Trio of Adventurers Ready to Launch New Zealand 9 Expedition
Posted by Unknown on Thursday, October 23, 2014
In June, the same team announced that they were preparing to take on a similar challenge, this time in the land of Kiwis. They call their latest expedition the New Zealand 9, as they'll not only be attempting complete all nine of New Zealand's "Great Walks," they'll try to do it in just nine days.
All told, the journey will cover more than 545 km (338 miles), as Ben, Luke, and Pat trail run for more than 400 km (248 miles), and travel by kayak an additional 145 km (90 miles) along the Whanhanui River. They'll begin the challenge in the extreme south of New Zealand, where they'll kick things off on the Rakiura Track (32km/19.8 miles) located on remote Stewart Island. From there, they'll head to the Routeburn (32km/19.8 miles), Milford (53.5km/33.2 miles), Kepler (60km/37.2 miles), Heaphy (78.4/48/7) and Abel Tasman (55.2km/34.2) tracks on the South Island. Once finished there, they'll then take on the Whanhanui River Journey (145km/90 miles), Tongariro Northern Circuit (43km/26.7 miles), and Lake Waikaremoana (46km/28.5) on the North Island.
If successful, the NZ9 team will set a new speed record for completing all of the Great Walks. It won't be easy however, as they'll have to average more than a marathon per day on foot, and that doesn't even include the kayaking leg of the expedition.
You can follow the team's progress at TheGlobalAdventurers.com, and learn more about them, as well as the challenge ahead, in the video below.
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Video: GoPro Cam Catches 70-Foot Drop Over Outlet Falls
Posted by Unknown on Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Ever wondered what it feels like to go over a 70-foot waterfall? If you're a sane person, the answer to that question is no! But, just in case, we have this video to help us experience that feat from the safety of our homes. It features pro kayaker Rush Sturges as he drops over Outlet Falls in in Washington state. At the time the clip was shot, it appears that the river was swelling with the spring melt off, and the water is rushing at a fast pace. Paddling a freezing river over a big waterfall isn't my idea of fun, but I'm glad Sturges had his GoPro along for the ride.
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Video: Kayaking the Verzasca in Switzerland
Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Here's a fun little paddling video that features kayakers Sam Sutton and Sven Lämmler taking on the wild whitewater found on the narrow confines of the Verzasca River in Switzerland. It gives us a great view of this roller coaster ride through the Swiss mountains. The Verzasca is a mere 30 km (18.6 miles) in length, but it offers plenty of excitement for such a short river. Looks like a blast!
Verzasca from Sven Lämmler on Vimeo.
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Video: Kayaking Kerela, India
Posted by Unknown on Monday, October 20, 2014
Earlier this year, kayakers Sam Sutton, Bradely Lauder, and Mire Kodada traveled to the remote Kerela region of India to explore opportunities to go kayaking in the largely unexplored and untouched part of that country. What they found was some of the best whitewater that they had ever seen, on rivers that few – if any – other paddlers had ever descended. The video below shares some of that adventure, with some amazing footage from this beautiful part of the world.
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Blind Kayakers Wrap Up Grand Canyon Paddle (With Video)
Posted by Unknown on Thursday, October 2, 2014
The treacherous whitewater found inside the Grand Canyon can be difficult to run even for those who have the ability to see the river. For these two blind kayakers, it must have been both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. Both trained diligently for the trip, and had lots of experience on other rivers, but their accomplishment is impressive and inspiring none the less.
For Erik, this is just another big adventure that has allowed him to remind the rest of us just what we can accomplish in life, no matter what barriers are thrown up in front of us. As you probably already know, Weihenmayer is the first, and only, blind person to summit Everest. He has also climbed the other Seven Summits, ridden his bike across Vietnam, competed in adventure races, gone backcountry skiing, and more.
Lonnie has a similarly inspiring story. He was Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, serving aboard submarines. He lost his sight due to a hunting accident, but took some time before he started pursuing adventures of his own. Bewell eventually taught himself how to kayak on a lake on his Indian farm, before he started paddling rivers. In 2013, he made a descent of the Colorado in the Grand Canyon as part of team of military veterans.
The team has left the Grand Canyon and are all on their way home now, their mission a success. Congratulations to everyone who took part in this endeavor. It will certainly serve as an inspiration to others for a long time.
To get a better sense of what the journey was like, read the expedition dispatches at KayakingBlind.org. Then, check out the video below, which highlights some of the whitewater they encountered along the way.
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Expedition 1000 Update: Kayaking Journey to Helsinki Done!
Posted by Unknown
Dave's course took him out of Oslo south via the Oslo Fjord and along the Swedish Bohuslan Coastline to Gothenburg. From there he began paddling east, fighting the current of the Gota Alv River for a couple of days, before crossing Vanern, the largest lake in Sweden. Passing through the Gota Canal, he eventually arrived in Stockholm for a brief time, before making an open water crossing to Aland. The final stage of the trip saw our intrepid adventurer island hopping along the Finnish archipelago, before wrapping up his journey yesterday with his arrival in Helsinki.
The tale of the tape on this adventure is an impressive one. Over the course of his travels, Dave crossed through three countries (Norway, Sweden, and Finland). His total time out on the water was 303 hours and 35 minutes, traveling at an average speed of about 3.5 miles per hour. It took him approximately 1,093,900 pushes of the pedal to cover the 1000 mile distance. He also camped on 24 individual islands along the way.
This was the 11th leg of Expedition 1000, in which Dave is attempting to complete 25 individual journeys of 1000 miles or more, without the use of motorized transportation. Previous expeditions have taken him down the Mississippi River on a stand-up paddleboard, through the Atacama Desert on a wind-powered bike, and across Australia on a skateboard. Dave still has 14 more journeys to complete before the project is finished, and as always, it'll be interesting to see what he comes up with next.
The video below will give you a taste of what this adventure was like for Dave. Throughout the expedition he posted these excellent clips of his travels, and they really do give you a sense of what it was like to make this journey from Oslo to Helsinki.
Congrats to Dave on another leg of Expedition 1000 in the books. Well done my friend.
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Video: Paddling in Africa to Save the White Nile
Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, September 16, 2014
The legendary White Nile River in Uganda is under threat by the construction of a new dam, which could alter the paddling scene, not to mention the environment, there dramatically in the years to come. In an effort to raise awareness of this situation, two adventurous young women – Mariann Sæther and Nouria Newman – have gone to Africa to run some of the iconic rapids, and to show support for the kayaking industry that has sprung up along the river. An industry that is being threatened as well. The video below shares their story and gives us a glimpse of what it is like paddle the dramatic whitewater of the White Nile.
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Blind Adventurers Launch Grand Canyon Paddling Expedition
Posted by Unknown on Monday, September 8, 2014
The two blind paddlers are Erik Weihenmayer and Lonnie Bedwell. Weihenmayer's name is no doubt familiar to Adventure Blog readers, as we have been following his preparation for this trip for some time. He is no stranger to outdoor adventure having staked claim to being the first – and only – blind person to ever climb Mt. Everest. Erik's adventures have also taken him to the top of the other Seven Summits, on a cycling journey across Vietnam, and mountain biking and skiing in various locations, amongst other pursuits. Bedwell is a former Navy Petty Officer and submariner who lost his sight in a hunting accident. He too continues his favorite outdoor pursuits, and has already paddled the length of the Grand Canyon in the past. His experience will be helpful to the entire team.
Joining Erik and Lonnine on this journey will be kayakers Seth Dahl, Chris Drew, Steven Mace, Timmy O'Neill, Rob Raker, and Harlan Taney. Each of them has a great deal of paddling experience that will prove invaluable to the expedition as well. The entire journey is being filmed by a production company too.
The team, which consists of nine paddlers, launched from Lee's Ferry yesterday, and will now spend the better part of the next three weeks descending the river. They are attempting this excursion to not only continue to show what visually impaired people can accomplish, but to also inspire others to take on the biggest challenges in their life as well. You can follow their progress at KayakingBlind.org. Good luck to Erik, Lonnie, and the entire squad.
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London2London Update: Sarah Begins Cycling Stage Across North America
Posted by Unknown on Friday, September 5, 2014
In May of this year, Sarah resumed her journey exactly where she left off, and she has been making steady progress ever since. She, along with companion Justine Curgenven, first completed a massive kayaking stage along the Aleutian Islands that covered more than 1355 miles (2180 km) over 101 days. That consumed almost the entire summer for Sarah, who made landfall in Homer, Alaska back on August 15.
Of course, that impressive kayaking journey was just to get her back on dry land so she could start riding her bike again. Sarah has now returned to her two-wheeled mode of transportation, and launched her ride across Alaska last Saturday. She has already ridden all the way to Anchorage, and of course that is just the start of her big ride. She'll now travel by bike across the U.S. and Canada, making her way towards New York City. Once there, she'll return to the water once again and begin a row across the North Atlantic, which will eventually take her home. She now expects to wrap up the London2London journey in September of 2015. That's a bit off her original schedule, but it will still be a great achievement on her part.
Sarah is an inspiration for would-be adventurers for a number of reasons. First, her determination and will to complete this journey, no matter what hurdles get put in her way, is admirable. She has faced adversity numerous times, and experienced things that would put an end to many expeditions, and yet she picks herself up, dusts herself off, and just keeps moving ahead. But on top of that, you have to love her adventurous spirit. After rowing across the Indian Ocean back in 2009, she wanted to find other adventures to keep her occupied. She came up with this idea of circumnavigating the globe under her own power, and she set off to do it. It is easy to plan for an adventure, but it is hard to actually go out and execute it. She is doing just that.
The ride across North America should be a relatively easy one for Sarah. The roads are good, towns are plentiful, and she'll probably get good support from the locals wherever she goes. There are still a lot of miles to cover however, and I'm sure there will be times when it'll be a challenge. But ahead lies the Atlantic Ocean, and another difficult water crossing. I'm sure she isn't anxious to get back on the water again anytime soon.
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Video: Nouria Newman Makes First Female Descent of Stikine
Posted by Unknown on Wednesday, September 3, 2014
A couple of weeks back I posted a wonderful video of a team of kayakers running the Stikine River in British Columbia. In the late summer, and heading into the fall, the Stikine becomes a paddler's dream, with fantastic whitewater to test their skills. Recently, French kayaker Nouria Newman became the first woman to complete a full descent of the river, completing all 45 miles of the descent without a portage. In the video below, she shares that experience and takes us through one of the most iconic paddles in all of North America.
Nouria Newman - Site Zed from Mountain Mind Collective on Vimeo.
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Video: Paddling Panther Creek Gorge in California
Posted by Unknown on Friday, August 29, 2014
Panther Creek Gorge, located on the upper middle Kaweah River in Sequoia National Park is a tough place to get to, let alone paddle. In fact, until this summer, this section of the river had only been run twice before, and no one has been there since 2008. A team of kayakers made the descent earlier in the year however, and brought back some fantastic footage of the amazing whitewater that can be found there. This is a run that only truly experience paddlers can make, but it looks like quite a ride.
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Video: The Relentless River of Everest
Posted by Unknown on Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Yesterday's story about Ben Stookesberry exploring the Dudh Kosi River in Nepal seemed to have captured the attention of quite a few readers. In that post, I mentioned a British expedition that made the first descent of the river back in 1976, creating a classic paddling documentary called Everest by Canoe, which would later be renamed the Relentless River of Everest. In that post, I shared a trailer for the film, which was enough to give us a taste of what that expedition was like. Today, I have the full film, which is 45-minutes of intense expedition kayaking action. The film is a wonderful throw-back to a different era, and truly generates a great sense of adventure about what the explorers were doing in the Himalaya. This is a classic BBC film, and if you have the time, I highly recommend you watch the entire thing.
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A Kayaking Expedition Through Canada's Torngat Wilderness
Posted by Unknown
Calling his latest project Destination Tomgat, Stookesberry set out on the journey in early July on what promised to be a two-month long expedition. Along the way he has been joined at various times by an exceptional group of paddlers, including Pedro Olivia, Erik Boomer, Ben Marr, and Chris Korbulic.
Olivia joined Ben on a 480-mile paddle along the George River, which leads into the ultimate prize, the Tomgat Mountas. They found some epic whitewater on the tributaries that lead to the George, including dropping some big waterfalls on the Nutillilk River, and making just the second descent of one 25-miles stretch on the Ford River as well. Along the way, they put their Jackson Karma UL kayaks through their paces, finding them to be surprisingly versatile for hauling gear, and handling more challenging water conditions.
After that exciting start to the journey, Stookesberry and crew had planned to catch a floatplane to the Torngat Mountains, but poor weather prevented that from happening. Instead, they the crossed 65 miles (104 km) by powerboat, then traveled overland to reach the Nachvek River. They spent the next portion of the expedition paddling that mostly unexplored waterway as well, making the first full-descent of the 18 falls that make up the Nachvek, and passing through the mountain range in the process.
So just how remote is the Torngat wilderness? Consider this. The team has been operating more than 700 miles from the nearest road throughout much of the expedition. In fact, the region is the largest roadless area in the northeastern section of North America, which could have caused all kinds of problems if the team ran into any kind of serious trouble. Canoe & Kayak says that the wilderness will soon be made into a national park boasting a caribou herd made up of more than 200,000 animals. Many of the rivers found there have yet to be explored completely, and there is whitewater in abundance for those who actually have the means of getting there. In short, it is a pristine, almost untouched, wilderness for modern day explorers to wander.
The video below will give you even more of an idea of what this expedition is all about. The team is expected to wrap up their journey within the next few days.
The video below will give you even more of an idea of what this expedition is all about. The team is expected to wrap up their journey within the next few days.
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Kayaking the Relentless River of Everest in Nepal
Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Back in 1976, the river was originally explored by a team of British paddlers, who brought back an impressive amount of film that they shot while on their expedition. That footage eventually became the basis for the adventure film Dudh Kosi: Relentless River of Everest, which has gone on to become one of the more legendary kayaking movies of all time. The team of six Brits traveled to Nepal to take on the river, which at that point had been totally unexplored. They were pushed to their absolute limits, as the raging rapids, impenetrable gorges, and impassable rocks tested them at every turn. The team was forced to abandon their attempt to run the entire length of the Dudh Kosi in Lukla, the starting point for the trek to Everest Base Camp. There was far more river to run below that point, it simply was too dangerous to go any further.
But that is exactly where Stookesberry wanted to go, and he needed some help from Tamang to continue his exploration. The two men dropped into a 130-foot gorge on their first day, leaving behind their only climbing rope on their first rappel into the valley. Without a rope, they would have to trust that there would be other places to exit along the way, but that meant also braving a river that was raging well beyond Category V rapids in a canyon that didn't allow satellite phone reception, and would make a helicopter rescue impossible.
For five days, the two men made their way down river. They learned early on it was best to portage around the more dangerous sections – that is when they could find a place to portage at all. Tamang attempted to run a gnarly section of the river on the first day, and ended up flipping his boat, becoming lodged in a crack, and losing his paddle in the process. That taught them to respect the river very quickly, and caution became the better part of valor moving forward.
As they descended, Stookesberry and his companion discovered a river like none they had ever seen. In some points it dropped more than 800 feet over a mile, and passed through gorges with rock walls that towered high over head. Boulder, often the size of tall buildings, chocked their path, and the rushing waters were continually pushing their skills to the limits. Over the course of the five that they spent on the water, they managed to cover just 10 downriver miles.
Reading this story from C&K was incredibly interesting to me, as it was once again a reminder that not all of the blank spots on the map have been filled in just yet. There are still plenty of places that are prepared to test the resolve of any humans who dare explore their depths, but thankfully there are also explorers who are still ready to press ahead with that challenge. The article wraps up by saying that Stookesberry intends to return to the Dudh Kosi in the future, and hopes to explore it more fully. He is also hatching plans to paddle the Tsangpo in Tibet, which is the ultimate prize for an expedition kayaker for sure. I'm looking forward to learning more about both of these expeditions in the future.
For an idea of what the Dudh Kosi is like, check out the video below. It is a teaser for the film that the British expedition made back in 1976, but conditions there remain mostly unchanged today.
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Video: Pro Kayakers Make 800 Meter Descent of a Drainage Ditch
Posted by Unknown on Wednesday, August 20, 2014
This is the wildest video I've seen in some time. It features pro kayakers Rush Sturges and Ben Marr flying down a draining ditch at Lion's Bay, in British Columbia, Canada. In total, the two men drop approximately 800 meters (2265 feet), while achieving speeds in excess of 72 km/hr (45 mph). All of the action is caught on their trusty GoPro cameras of course. Hold on tight for this one.
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Video: Paddling the Stikine River in British Columbia
Posted by Unknown
The Stikine River, located in northern British Columbia in Canada, is one of the top paddling destination in North America during the fall. Each year, kayakers from all over the world descend on the Stikine to test their skills on the wild whitewater found there. This short film follows one such team, which visited the Stikine for the first time in the fall of 2013. The footage they captured is excellent, and it seems that the river lived up to its reputation.
Stikine Season from Adrian Kiernan on Vimeo.
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