whitewater kayak
A Slippery Point of View
01.05.2012
If nothing else, 2011 proved to be a landmark year for paddlesports media presented from one important perspective: the paddler’s. Advances in waterproof camera technology and dropping price points have made it easier than ever for paddlers to bring back high-def reels from spots with real high-death potential. Here, Shon Bollock from Shasta Boyz Productions takes us behind the scenes of his latest release, Slippery When Wet, with a highlight segment shot entirely on the original GoPro Hero.
2011′s Top 10 Stories
12.22.2011
Google has spoken (or at least its analytics widget has). We tracked the data, looking back at the year that was, and we found the best stories on CanoeKayak.com decided by you, the reader. So here’s our Top 10 Stories of 2011, determined by number of page-views, with a few noted honorable mentions that cracked the Top 25, also listed by number of views.
“… the biggest, most gnarly wave ever surfed”
12.13.2011
Tyler Fox grew up in small-town Ontario (Marmora, that is), but currently splits his time between the Ottawa River and Okere Falls, New Zealand. “Doesn’t everyone have a Northern and Southern Hemisphere home?” he asks. Umm, if we could only be so lucky. At least we can live vicariously through the 29-year-old on the bleeding edge of freestyle kayaking, watching his latest video edit. We caught up with Fox to get some answers, and to have him weigh in on where he sees the sport of freestyle kayaking now, and where he sees it going.
Made in Mexico
12.07.2011
I’ve been in Mexico 13 days and haven’t been tired, hungover, sore, or nervous on the way to the river. Today I am all of those things as our driver, Israel, nonchalantly guides our rented SUV through the clogged main artery of the bustling Veracruz capital of Jalapa. Finally, it feels like a kayaking trip. I find the words in Spanish to ask Israel to stop for a lechero at the edge of the big city, a last-chance caffeine break before we enter the sparsely populated countryside where the Rio Alseseca and its narrow bedrock slides await.
Noccalula Falls First Descent
12.06.2011
Southeast boaters have been watching Noccalula Falls for years. The 90-footer flows through a park in Gadsden, Alabama looked clean, but rarely had enough water to contemplate a run. When whitewater stalwarts Pat Keller, Isaac Levinson, and Chris Gragtmans met at Noccalula on the rainy afternoon of Nov. 28, the river was bank-full. Noccalula was good to go.
reIMAGINED
12.01.2011
Five2Nine Productions’ Mike McKay, creator of the Currents online video series, has just unleashed his newest film project; an 18-minute whitewater roller coaster that infuses the best of this year’s Current’s TV along with some new, never before seen white-knuckle content.
The Ultimate Source to Sea
11.14.2011
It’s not easy to set a record on the roof of the world—especially one that involves paddling. Everest has been climbed more than 3,000 times since the first ascent 58 years ago, so you’re going to have to do something very, very different if you want a record on the world’s tallest peak. It’s been skied down, climbed by a blind man, an amputee, a 13-year-old and a 76-year-old.
Flood of the Century: Clark Fork River
11.09.2011
On August 28, as Tropical Storm Irene pummeled Vermont with 8 inches of rain in six hours. Ryan Mooney and I paddled Mill Brook, a Class V tributary of the Mad River that pours straight down the local ski mountain.
Flood of the Century: Mad and Winooski Rivers
11.09.2011
On August 28, as Tropical Storm Irene pummeled Vermont with 8 inches of rain in six hours. Ryan Mooney and I paddled Mill Brook, a Class V tributary of the Mad River that pours straight down the local ski mountain.
Flood of the Century: Colorado River
11.09.2011
As the greatest flood in nearly a century neared its apex in the second week of May, it brought a change of weather to my hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi. The typical spring southerlies gave way to an unlikely cool breeze, which blew steady from the north for five straight days.
Flood of the Century: Potomac River
11.08.2011
A lot of the time when we’re out on a day like that one, we’re discussing how in awe we are to still be exploring the river. I probably paddle the Potomac 150 days a year, and even after two decades, there are new things to find every time.
In The Middle
11.08.2011
With the Idaho drainage’s 2011 snowpack at 261 percent of average this past June, driving the only access road to the Boundary Creek put-in of the classic, 100-mile Class IV Middle Fork of the Salmon was simply out of the question.
Rivers Win Big in Banff
11.07.2011
The prestigious Banff Mountain Film Festival wrapped Sunday Nov. 6, with movies by and about paddlers taking three of the highest honors. C&K is proud to say that our contributors had a hand in all three winning films.
Slow Train
11.07.2011
Our managing editor packs a season’s worth of Alpine whitewater into one frenzied week, and learns that paddling Switzerland via rail and bus isn’t about time
C&K’s Green Race Primer
11.03.2011
This Saturday Nov. 5, at high noon, the first of more than 150 racers will charge down the steepest half-mile of the Green River Narrows in Henderson County, N.C. Locals call it the greatest race in the world. We think they’re right. Here’s why.
Condit Dam Explosion
10.27.2011
Washington’s White Salmon River is free from 95 years shackled by a concrete wall. Watch this video of the hole PacifiCorp blasted yesterday through the base of the 125-foot Condit Dam, beginning the projected 10-month removal process of restoring the river’s free flow.
Buyer's Guide
