Indholdsfortegnelse for Winter 2018 i Kayak Session Magazine

I have been to many rivers around the world and seen the people who make up the paddling communities. I’ve watched some communities remain strong for decades and others all but disappear, leaving lone wolves without a pack to run with. If you are reading this, you are one of the people holding the key to making your kayaking community thriving, fun, and sustainable, or letting it dwindle and die on the vine. This article provides ways for you to assure that your paddling “tribe” thrives for years to come, giving you an active, caring group of people to paddle, travel, and socialize with. We all have an idea of what we want our paddling community to be like, but there are a few key, common elements amongst long-lived, thriving…

Kayak Session is proud to collaborate with American Whitewater, a non-profit river conservation organization. Our mission is to show kayaking at its best with amazing pictures of paddling on beautiful rivers. Without the hard work and dedication of AW, we would have a difficult time portraying these incredible rivers, and it would probably become even more difficult in the years to come. We would like to acknowledge this work and AW has agreed to keep us updated on some of the projects they are involved in. For more information on these and other issues that American Whitewater is working on, go to www.americanwhitewater.org…

NYASA "We discovered Lake Nyassa a little before noon of the 16th September 1859," wrote David Livingston in his book Expedition to the Zambesi and its Tributaries. With those few words, Livingston put Nyassa on the map. Today, Lake Nyasa, also called Lake Malawi, forms much of Malawi's boundary with Tanzania and Mozambique and is one of Africa's most famous attractions. Growing up in South Africa, I knew of Lake Nyasa my entire life. To me, instead of relaxation, this vast body of water sparked ideas of exploration. I was especially drawn to some of the lake's major tributaries that flowed out of Tanzania's Mount Rungwe on the northern side and from the Livingstonia Mountains in Malawi on the lake's western shore. When I spoke to my friend David Vory…

The first image I saw of ripping up-and-coming paddler Luke Pomeroy was of a Benny Marr-esq freestyle move on a familiar mountainous wave, dark at the base, flickered with yellow towards the edge, and a frothy, unpredictable pile at the top. The Ottawa River’s infamous Mini Bus. Luke Pomeroy is not the first junior paddler who took the Bus on his path to turning heads in the industry. As I learned more about this 17-year-old from Ottawa, I recognized a familiar story, a story that is shaped by two indisputable ingredients I see over and over in today’s top paddlers: freestyle kayaking and the Ottawa River. Is it the river or the community that most influences the high level of skill consistently coming out of Eastern Canada? Whether or not…

I often like to ponder the recent history of exploratory whitewater boating and consider how much was accomplished in a time where things that we take for granted now, like satellite imagery on Google to scout access and rapids before physically going to the stream, or GoPro and head-cam scouting didn’t exist. When many runs were first being discovered en-masse, finding beta often required getting your hands on the right guidebook or talking to the right people - on the phone, in person or via email. Up until somewhat recently, the effort put into getting on a stream (even one that had been run before) was significantly more demanding than it is today. For that reason, I have come to believe that the relative reward for each paddler at this…

FIRST DESCENT, “STOMPING RHINO FALLS,” THE MARKARFLJÓTSGLJÚFUR, ICELAND On September 15th, 2018 Adrian Mattern and Evan Garcia were the first to descend the 60-70-foot waterfall that marks the beginning of the Markarfljótsgljúfur canyon section in southern Iceland. The canyon is believed to have been created in a single disaster flood following an eruption of the famous Katla volcano, which lies beneath the Mýrdalsjökull glacier. The canyon itself was first and only paddled 15 years ago. No one had gone back until this year when Anup Gurung, a legendary Nepalese kayaker and owner of Vikingrafting, rediscovered this remarkable stretch of river. The Markarfljótsgljúfur is class III-IV locked in an absolutely mind-blowing gorge. Anup saw the waterfall, which marks the beginning of the gorge section and realized that there might be a…

NEW EDITION: THE SCOTTISH WHITEWATER GUIDEBOOK In the first update to the Scottish White Water guidebook in 14 years, you will find descriptions of both well-known classics and little-known gems. The guidebook covers the length and breadth of the country and provides something for everyone, whatever the conditions, whether you are an aspiring rapid paddler or an out and out hair boater. With maps, pictures, and firsthand accounts, here is a guide that captures the spirit of Scottish whitewater. As a whitewater guide, the runs included are primarily grade III and above, although a few classic, grade I-III sections are included. New to this edition by popular demand are river maps to some of the most popular runs; improved location maps, full lat/long coordinates for your sat nav as well…

BIG HORN This summer I had the privilege of joining whitewater legends Ben Stookesberry and Erik Boomer on two first descents in the Big Horn Mountains. At some point, we ended up discussing rapid names. For Big Goose Creek it was easy. We agreed that it would be funny to name all the rapids “Goose-something.”The “Goosaumatic” was the first big rapid: a steep slide into a big auto(ish) water boof. “Golden Goose” was a clean 40-foot drop. “The Gooseberry” was a large drop first and only descended by Stookesberry. On the Tongue River, things got a little bit more complicated and controversial. The boys wanted to name one of the rapids “Tongue Bomb of the Fart Box.” I don’t know how this sounds to you, but I didn’t really like…

How many of you have had your appendix removed? Appendicitis a relatively common cause of abdominal pain, slightly more common in men than in women, affecting approximately 8% of men and 6% of women in the US. Appendicitis is serious and is considered a medical emergency. In the vast majority of cases, appendicitis has one cure – removal of the appendix, understanding some basics about what it is will help you rule out the usual stomach ache from actual appendicitis as it would be very suboptimal to experience on an expedition in a remote place. Timely removal of the infected appendix can prevent the life-threatening complications from a ruptured appendix, namely peritonitis, and sepsis. WHAT IS THE APPENDIX? Besides being the additional list of information at the end of a…

12R | PYRANHA The 12R is an uncompromised, hyper-fast, ultra-fun 12-foot longboat that is only limited by your imagination. Multi-days, attainments, races, vertical miles, challenging and developing your skills, crazy big enders, big booming fun, or simply mixing it up with your crew; if the 12R doesn’t put a smile on your face, you might consider seeking medical attention. LENGTH: 368CM / 12’, WIDTH: 62CM / 24.5”, VOLUME: 385L / 102(US)GAL, WEIGHT: 26KG / 57LB WWW.PYRANHA.COM BLACK LITE PADDLE | FREEFALL The uniqueness of a Freefall Paddle is the options. With the Black Lite range, we created a modular system for our paddles. Starting with the blade, you can opt for Carbon, Glass or Carbon/Kevlar, and for the shaft you can choose a full shaft in…