Indholdsfortegnelse for Spring 2016 i Kayak Session Magazine

SUP AND SURFSKI JACKPOT – FEBRUARY, HAWAII, USA The third time was the charm! Caro Angibaud and Mathieu Babarit left the French winter for the warm North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. For the last two years, they had rain and wind for the full trip. This year they scored good swell, clean surf conditions and dry weather. One of their first stops was the famous surf Volcom pipe pro surf contest at Pipeline. It was an awesome spectacle with heavy, deep barrels. Master Kelly Slater (at age 44) won the comp and it was amazing to watch in live! The North Shore is still busy and crowded at this time of the year but at sunrise Caro and Mat scored a magic session at an almost empty Haleiwa with solid…

"ON MAUI, WHEN A BIT OF RAIN CAME, WE RAN AROUND LIKE A CAT CHASING TEN MICE AND ENDED UP WITHOUT A SINGLE ONE."RAFA ORTIZ If I were to tell you to visualize a kayaking paradise, what would you wish for? Clear streams? Clean waterfalls? Tropical rivers? What about easy access to good burgers and beer and first-class beaches and ocean waves at the take out? Now imagine all of that in one location, and you’ve just imagined Hawaii. But we all know Hawaii isn’t attracting paddlers like Chile or Norway, so what’s the catch? In the ad promoting Hawaii as a kayaking destination, below the endless lines of blue on the maps, the Google Earth images of volcanic riverbeds and steep columnar basalt canyons, and the descriptions of stunning…

GET READY TO RUMBLE SET THINGS STRAIGHT In October 2015, I won the Adidas Sickline Extreme Kayak World Championship in Oetztal, Austria. It was the first time it had an official women´s class, due to the large number of female competitors who entered. It was also my first time competing in the event, and my expectations were high. Since the event, a number of people have asked me how I prepared for the race, so here I share some of the methods I used. Even if you don’t aspire to win any creek races, these approaches will also benefit your overall paddling skills by making you stronger and more confident in whitewater. SET A GOAL First, you need to set a goal for yourself. Do you want to become more…

EL NIÑO RETURNS Floods in California, drought in Indonesia and Australia, perturbation of the monsoon in South East Asia, wetter and colder winters in other regions. Without a doubt, after five years in hibernation, the infamous phenomenon “El Niño” is back! Last afternoon in Medellin, a city normally fresh and green, the heat felt unbearable, and the air felt dry in the mouth. While roaming the streets, I dreamed of escaping to a nearby river for a few days, but the rain deserted us a long time ago, and the rivers had turned into creeks! Alternatively, on the West Coast of the US, where an acute drought settled in about 4 years ago, many are welcoming this year’s floods and thick snow pack. So what is happening with the weather?…

Edward Muggridge sending the biggest boof of his life after rolling in the crux entrance reactionary of Tomata 2. Edward’s accident was the first serious injury to occur on Tomata 2 since the first descent almost 10 years ago. At the end of a 4-hour rescue effort coordinated by Weaver Froelicher and Vincent of Aventurec, Edward was safely extracted 150 vertical feet from the base of the Tomata Gorge to safety. Still in good spirits after the lengthy rescue, Edward was already planning his redemption while strapped to a backboard.…

SAMANA FEST – JANUARY 21-24, 2016, SAMANA RIVER, COLOMBIA This year’s four-day Samana Fest ignited positive energy and admiration for Colombia’s river communities. While navigating adrenaline- pumping white-water for two days, travelers from Colombia and abroad came to respect the local families who live on the banks of this wild, powerful river. The twenty-six kayakers and nineteen white-water rafters had the opportunity to explore Antioquia’s last wild river before it is potentially dammed and flooded. The travelers celebrated the river and the life it sustains through dancing in the rapids by day and dancing in the jungle by night. Expedition Colombia attracted a wide range of travelers, from enthusiasts who had never been on a river to world-class athletes who run internationally renowned rivers. Everyone completed the expedition feeling challenged…

I DON’T FEEL VERY FEARLESS. IF I’M NOT SUPER CONFIDENT IN A DROP, I USUALLY HAVE A COUPLE OF BACKUP PLANS OR I JUST WALK IT. Born and raised in upstate New York, skiing fed Nicole’s extreme sport addiction until she found kayaking while attending the Ivy League Dartmouth College.Since that pivotal point,Nicole has left behind an engineering degree, and instead built a life around paddling,outdoor adventure,and the quest for wild places.Part of the bold,audacious, all-female Tits Deep crew, Nicole (32) has traveled and paddled her way into the world’s top ranks of kayakers. Determined to pursue her paddling dreams uninfluenced by gender stereotypes and societal expectations, Nicole is eager to inspire other women to do the same. Nicole appreciates the sense of discovery on multi-day expeditions and has paddled…

WITH THE GUYS ONLY MAKING 500 METERS OR SO OF PROGRESS ON THE PORTAGE THE FIRST DAY AND THEN MAYBE 700 METERS THE SECOND DAY, I STARTED DOING THE CALCULATIONS AND STARTED THINKING, THIS IS OVER—IT’S GOING TO TAKE THEM TWO WEEKS JUST TO MAKE IT AROUND GORGE 6, 7 AND 8.BRYAN SMITH, FILM CREW In the summer of 2015, high above the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea (PNG), a helicopter maneuvered in and out of dense jungle steam. Choppers are not an uncommon sight for the local people of PNG, though they are often not a welcome one as they are frequently employed by mining and palm oil companies to scout new development, move employees or check current work sites. This helicopter, however, held two expedition…

THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE Can you paddle all day but aren’t very fast? Are you able to sprint fast but don’t have much endurance? Did you know that you are born with a certain percentage of fast and slow twitch muscle fibers in each muscle group? Did you know that you are predisposed to be better at endurance if you have a high percentage of slow twitch muscles and better suited for sprinting and power if you have a higher percentage of fast twitch muscles? Most importantly, did you know that you can train your muscles to work how you want them to and you aren’t stuck being one or the other, endurance athlete or sprinter? Let’s talk about this in a way that relates to kayaking. We’ll use…

Those who value freely-flowing rivers have been keeping a close watch on the Klamath River in California and Oregon. If all goes according to plan, the JC Boyle, Copco #1, Copco #2, and Iron Gate Dams will be removed in 2020. It will be the biggest dam removal in history and will restore the longest whitewater river along the West Coast. The path to removal has been quite a roller coaster so far, and there have been some big changes in recent months. The Klamath has long been at the center of some of the most notorious and contentious water wars in the US. Before the dams were built, the river was the third highest salmon-producing river in the Western US, providing sustenance and the center of cultural and spiritual…

SAVING AN ECUADORIAN TREASURE – JONDACHI FEST 2016, ECUADOR Over the week of January 11th to January 17, 2016, the second annual Jondachi Fest was held in the city of Tena, located in the Andean province of Napo, Ecuador. The epicenter of whitewater paddling in the region, the iconic Jondachi watershed was slated for damming in January of 2015, creating the impetus for the first Jondachi Fest last year. A main tributary of the Amazon, the Jondachi remains a free-flowing watercourse for the time being, thanks to the efforts of all involved in last year’s event. Building on the success of 2015, The Ecuadorian Rivers Institute, in association with private sponsorship, local business, and most importantly volunteer support, hosted the event in order to continue to draw wider attention to…

KS: The Outdoormix is now among Europe’s biggest outdoor events. For those who have not been there yet, tell us, what is the OMF? AB: Boulafacette! In French, that means “Disco Ball.” It is a term we use locally to show your friend a nice booty passing by, or, to express suddenly our joy of life. The Outdoormix Festival is an event disco ball-style; made of all the faces from the Outdoor lifestyle, it’s a great mix of disciplines in a warm and musical atmosphere. It’s an event made to show off our beautiful area to the world: the Hautes-Alpes region, a blend of the Alpine and Mediterranean spirits of Mother Nature. We like to promote it as the “European Colorado” where nature is preserved, giving the opportunity to run…

For many years, Hurley Weir’s only function was to help control water levels in the Thames Valley. It was ignored by early generations of English kayak enthusiasts, as its shallow depth and hidden concrete ledge continually transformed beautiful four-meter kayaks, crafted from fiberglass and Kevlar, into three-meter water-soluble submarines. Then, technological advancements in whitewater boat design in the ‘70s helped to spawn a new breed of the sport and Hurley’s birth as a hot spot for this new-fangled thing called rodeo soon followed. With the advent of plastic kayaks and new, specialized boat designs that continued to grow shorter, the potential for play at Hurley Weir was quickly recognized by people like Shaun Baker and Nick Mallabar. With this shift, Hurley was suddenly transformed from a simple flood control weir…

Mosquitos are doing more than just biting us these days – they are giving us presents that we may not want at all! And they have been in the news a lot recently with the emergence of Zika Disease, Chikengunya, and Dengue Fever. Travel warnings have been issued by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and traveling paddlers are sure to encounter any one or more of these diseases. It seems important to clarify some of the differences, similarities and what to do about them. First of all, an interesting fact about Zika disease and Dengue Fever as well as Chikengunya is that they are all viral illnesses. What that means is that antibiotics, which are active against bacteria will do nothing to treat these illnesses.The best that healthcare professionals…

LIQUIDLOGIC | MULLET You all asked for a fast river runner that could play the eddy lines and seams along the way. Well here ya’ go! The Mullet is all business up front with plenty of rocker, and volume in the bow to boof, ender, and surge up and over obstructions, which also means plenty of foot room for you big ol’ boys. The low volume stern says ready to party. Squirt, splat, blast, and surf just about any feature as you slice your way down the river. Like it’s cousin, the Braaap, the Mullet adopted its hull shape from modern slalom boat design. The kick rocker behind the seat lets the Mullet tilt back for quick pivots and snap carving turns into eddies. Whether you’re learning the "old skool"…