Indholdsfortegnelse for Fall 2018 i Kayak Session Magazine

Recently, the King of the Alps (covered in this issue) asserted itself the ‘official’ Extreme European Championship with the support of the AWP. With this announcement come a number of questions. Questions that, while seemingly benign, matter. Questions such as, “What is the AWP?”“Who is behind it?”“Who do they represent?” and,“Who gave them the authority to make this decision?” The short answer to all of the above is currently,“No-one.” With the end of the Sickline Extreme Race, a void has been left that events are scrambling to fill in the extreme competitive kayaking world: not just the European Championship, but the Extreme World Championship Race. In reality though, this void has existed for far longer than last October. To be fair, the details of how to organize, designate and legitimize…

FANTASY FLUSH, CALIFORNIA, JUNE 2018 (USA) The Fantasy Falls section of the Mokelumne River in California is one of the most prestigious runs in the kayaking world, and for a good reason. It cuts through epic gorges and beautiful meadows and is one of the most stacked sections of whitewater in the world. The first descent was in 1981, and ever since, dozens of crews and many of the world’s best kayakers have paddled this legendary section. But even after all these years, one thing still hadn’t been done, which is run all three of the main rapids in one trip. Each of the three is super stout in its own way and is not to be messed with, especially out in the Cali wilderness. The first of the three,…

I have been around long enough to see MOST of the best kayakers in the world come into our sport, get good, and then go away. 35 years of full-time kayaking and being in the epicenter or close to it, of the sport’s multiple disciplines (slalom, freestyle, extreme racing, river running, instruction, expedition, etc.) is a long time. Most careers of the biggest names last around 15 years. These paddlers typically foster a strong skill set in one area under the radar and then pop on the scene and make a splash. Maybe they become known for running big waterfalls or surfing big waves, or being super fast in a slalom boat, but there is usually one area where they initially excel. Kayakers who stick around for a long time…

PADDLEEXPO 2018, OCTOBER 5TH -7TH 2018, NUREMBERG (GERMANY) The 2018 PADDLEexpo will once again take place in Nuremberg, Germany, from the 5th-7th of October 2018. Join us to see the latest and the greatest in the Paddle Sports Industry, from the newest gear to the hottest trends and innovations. PADDLEexpo is the leading, paddle-sports exclusive trade fair in the world. More than a chance to show off new products, the Expo is a global meetup and networking event for buyers, manufacturers, importers, retailers, media and associations. PADDLEexpo also functions as a major point of information distribution regarding rentals, event management, incentives and watersports tourism. With over 1400 visitors and 140 booths in 2017, 2018 is set to be even bigger and better. For more information, visit www.Paddleexpo.com. See you there!…

BZHUZHA RACE, MAY 2018 (GEORGIA) Georgia, a small Eastern European country located at the south foot of the main Caucasian Range has become a top destination on the world map where kayakers can find world-class whitewater. During the first week of May 2018, keeping with tradition,the small historical village of Shemoqmedi held the BZHUZHA RACE extreme kayaking championship for the third time, organized once again by the Georgian National Kayaking Federation ( Akaki Kobiashvili ) and Two Blades Adventures, an international company run by kayakers Egor Voskoboinikob and Alona Buslaeva. 2018 was special for organizers as the Bzhuzha Race became a part of the EKEC (Extreme Kayaking European Cup) alongside four other well-known European Races like the Outdoor Mix Festival (FR), King of the Alps (ITA), ExtremeSportVeko (NOR) and the…

KS: How did you end up in a kayak? JG: Like a lot of folks, my father introduced me to the sport. He and a few friends from Indiana and Kentucky were part of a club called the Ohio Valley Whitewater Club. To this day they are still the most dedicated group of weekend warriors I have ever met! When I was nine-years-old they stuffed my 80-pound frame as best they could in a Laserbat Kevlar slalom boat and taught me to roll. It was instant love. KS:What is your first memory of a running whitewater? How did it go? JG: My first whitewater memory is of the St. Francis River in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri; I was ten years old, and it sucked! It was cold, and for…

Class V kayaking is often typecast as a ‘young person’s sport.’ Arguably, many of today’s top talents earned their fame in their younger years, somewhere between 17-20. Pat Keller. Tyler Bradt. Rush Sturges. Evan Garcia. Dane Jackson. Nouria Newman. All of these senders first exploded onto the scene as juniors, their talents often highlighted by class V lines. It is ironic that youth, in many ways the considered the opposite of experience, tends to coincide with shit running. What is it about hard class V that makes it so desirable to the young’ins? When I first saw Owen Doyle on the banks of the North Fork of the Payette in summer 2017, he was soft-spoken, polite, and still wet from his top to bottom lap. He was 17 at the…

REXY – EXO The Exo Rexy is bringing the fun back to river running, with the right length to make it fast and agile, a high-volume bow to punch through bigger rapids and a low volume stern ideal for tail squirts and fast pivot turns to make things more lively and fun again. Not everyone needs a full on creek boat and this is a super comfortable kayak that is perfect for those who want to liven up the rivers with play and passion. LENGTH: 264CM | WIDTH: 65CM | COCKPIT DIMENSION: 90 X 50CM | VOLUME: 260L | WEIGHT: 18KG | PADDLER WEIGHT: 50 - 75KG WWW.EXOKAYAK.COM/ BLAZE MEN & WOMEN PANTS – PALM Our premium neoprene trousers. Extremely stretchy 3 mm Neospan neoprene with…

STILL RIVER, SILENT JUNGLE: AN EXPEDITION TO THE TUICHI RIVER (BOLIVIA) In Bolivia, there lies a river that flows in the land before time, where the Amazon rainforest meets the towering Andes mountain range. The Tuichi begins its journey high in the snow-capped peaks and quickly rushes and widens as it winds its way through Madidi National Park, recently named the single most bio-diverse National Park in the world, to give life to vast stretches of pristine rainforest. The park encompasses altitudes from 20,000 feet above sea level all the way down to 600 feet and curates vastly different ecosystems, all of which the Tuichi flows through as it makes its path from glaciers down through dry forests and into the jungle. It boasts more than 20,000 different species of…

Standing atop 4500 meters (14,800 feet) should have felt like an achievement. We had just crossed the Takhtakorum Pass high in Tajikistan’s Pamir Mountains to finally reach the river. Instead, my lungs felt like they were about to burst and the kayak on my back felt like it weighed a million pounds. I was dehydrated from a battle with diarrhea, but I knew that most of our crew had it even worse.“Why, for God’s sake,” I wondered,“Are we doing this?” But let’s start at the beginning. Our captain, Tomass Marnics, came up with the idea to paddle the Muksu River several years ago. After we successfully navigated the Bashkaus and put our names in the “Book of Legends” in Siberia back in 2010 and ticked off the Saryjaz River in…

Many kayakers already know how good the Rio Qujios is or how quickly the Rio Piatua can rise; they have experienced the magic of the Rio Jondachi and the non-stop boofing paradise of the Rio Topo. These four drainages are the go-to for Ecuador whitewater, and they efficiently provide several weeks worth of world-class kayaking. Many who visit this compact country in the middle of the globe never feel the need to explore further. But for those who prefer to wander off the beaten path, Ecuador has many more incredible rivers that will reward you with quality whitewater if you know when and where to look. “ THE UPPER UPANO OFFERS INCREDIBLE GRANITE BOULDER GARDENS FROM THE TOP DOWN THAT WILL KEEP YOU BUSY FOR DAYS.” WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE…