Peter Thompson Summer update

Woah, has this year ever been epic. It seems like it has been forever since Mikkel St. Jean Duncan and I set off on our road trip to the Little White Salmon race and the North Fork Championships. Since then life has been a blur of good times working hard and enjoying life.

Arriving at the Little White Mikkel and I got right in the mix. The little white has so many features and drops to remember that after 4 laps in two days we were still trying to get it all dialled in.

On race day there was this great vibe in the air, everyone was super stoked and ready to rumble. Mikkel and I had an alright race and placed 17, a little bit of an unfortunate finish for the Canadians, but hey what can you do. All in all this was an awesome race, Thanks to Capo Retting for setting it up and making it all happen.

Next it was off to the north fork of the Payette for more awesome white water and good times. We were there a week in advance to get ready and by the time that race day came along we were feeling pretty good. I was racing in the expert division on the lower five miles, it was a super tight race I ended up having a disappointing race finishing 25, but it was alright because I was off the hook for racing the next day on Jacob’s ladder. This was intense to say the least, mad props to everyone who raced and the safety boaters/ Volunteers, and James Byrd who made it all happen.

During the after party there was word of California being in so we hooked up with the Kiwi crew and headed out. About an hour into our drive we decided that it was not worth the risk of getting skunked and decided to head back to Canada. This decision led us to some good times, many drops and some runs at ridiculously high water levels. Most notably was the first descent of ram falls near Nordegg Alberta. This monster has been looked at by many paddlers but the water level has never been correct. When we showed up it was looking perfect. Dylan Thomson, Ryan Lucas and I were all keen and after scouting it for a second time the next morning we were ready to get in our boats and head to the lip. Upon arriving everyone went really silent. It was a lot bigger than we expected and the lip was a lot sharper than we had thought. Dylan went from being, keen to “I’m out”, to “I’m back in lets fire it up!” with in all of about two minutes. A game of rock paper scissors followed and I was heading up to my boat to get the first descent of a 100 foot waterfall. Once I got to a certain point I knew there was no turning back and I recall saying to myself “there is no turning back now better enjoy it.” The free fall was awesome,the impact was super soft. I had a good line and came out at the bottom smiling. The boys both had good lines and we were all stoked to have fired up a drop of that size. To cap off the day the boys decided that they had not had enough excitement and got charged by a grizzly bear.

http://www.bombflow.com/archives/bomb-flow-tv-episode-11-merica

The summer has been pretty rad and it’s still getting better stay posted for another update soon... Hopefully.

Peter T

Seven-Sisters- Rouge River, Quebec

All of us Eastern Canadians have been suffering from a rough case of the "Low Water Blues"......as a result of minimal snowfall combined with drought conditions through out this summer. Low water does have many downfalls....but these levels aren't without solid benefits.  One of the benefits in my way of thinking is the ability to run sections of rivers that are otherwise too dangerous or pushy to run.

Quebec's Rouge River -Seven-Sister's section is precisely one of the advantages of low water conditions.  It is a section of river that is typically portaged in awe.  It is a canyon section of seven drops spread out over a half mile section of river. It's a thrilling section of river which is run and easily carried back over to run it again and again. It is a section of river of a drop followed by a retentive hole that one needs a healthy boof stroke to skip over.

4 Ottawa River vetrans took a day off of rafting to reap the thrills of creeking.  The following are some of the highlights of the "sisters".

It's an awesome section of river...but beware of river left at the out flows...there is a "naturalist" colony there....many a surprise nude is spotted amongst the rocks here.....I jest not!

Katie Quinn

Tallulah Fest and a test run in the Recon and Ethos.

Unknown Paddler making his way Right of the Thing!

Tallulah fest

Paddling with a ton of buddies from all over the world on a great river is always a blast, especially when there is a couple fresh boats from Wave Sport to test out. Bryan Kirk, Chris Wing and I set out on day two of Tallulah Fest, with a second generation Recon ( the new creek boat ), an Ethos ( the new cross over boat ), and a Project X. Needless to say the quiver was loaded and it was about time to test out some new Boats.

Walking down the immense stair case to the put in, Bryan, Chris, and I were hounded with questions, What boat is that? How big is it? When is it going to come out? I want one!

Bryan Kirk launching the new Recon Creek Boat

I started in the Ethos cross over boat, which was a quickly produced prototype boat. The out fitting felt great, and the shape looked good; the only problem was the quick activating drop down skeg didn't have a control. A few strips of duck tape later and I was feeling confident that the skeg wasn't going to self deploy half way down Oceana... I was wrong.

Upon sliding off the put in stairs into the river I felt a very odd sensation, the back of the boat wouldn't go anywhere. The duck tape had removed itself and the skeg that is supposed to lower a few inches into the water, was submersed 18 inches. The thought of hiking the boat to the top of the stairs was ridiculous. After a quick deliberation Bryan Kirk and I decided to shove the skeg back up into the boat and to break little branches off on both sides of it. The thought was that we could wedge the Skeg back up and into the boat. I was pretty sure this plan wasn't going to work, but to my surprise, the little sticks held way better then the Duck tape.  The Skeg stayed up, and I got to paddle the huge Ethos Cross Over boat down the Tallulah gorge.

Unknown Paddler in a Dagger Green Boat entering the THING

Paddling down, we took the time to check out each others boats and give some great feedback that will certainly be used in the final products.

Unknown Kayaker blasting past the Thing on Oceana

The Recon

This boat is going to be amazing, the tiered rail on the back of the boat allows it to aggressively carve. The nose is soft with plenty of rocker to get up and over anything in it's path. The best part is there is plans for a 90ish gallon model that is going to be great for self support, the big guys out there, or any one that love to float supper high.

Bryan Kirk with a prototype Recon at the base of Tallulah falls

The Ethos

I almost hate to call this a Cross Over boat, except for the fact that it has a drop down skeg. I truly could paddle this down most class 5 and it will be an exceptional 5- muti-day self support boat. I am already dreaming of a solo self support Grand Canyon trip.

Check out what Wave Sport has to say about the Ethos, along with some other video of it charging down Tallulah Geoge here.

Most importantly well at the Tallulah check out the rowdy rope swing, it's right before the take out on the right. This swing is impressive!

Another adventure brought to you by Chris Baer

A reflection: A personal journey in training......The road to Canadian Team Trials.


Paddling for me has always been about "the LOVE".  By "Love", I mean love of whitewater, of time in nature, of adrenaline, of beauty and of adventure. A love that seemingly courses through my very bloodstream, a love that has become nothing short of soulful. Doing it only for the simplicity and connection to nature. No rules, no limits, no boundaries.  This is always how it's been since I first experienced the magic of whitewater and never once looked back....that is until I found myself in a freestyle competition.

For several years, my friends had called my bluff, noticing that I was a solid paddler in creeking, and playboating. The question of "why don't you compete" was always answered with, because "I paddle because it makes me happy and I don't want to ruin it". 

I grew up playing team sports at very competitive levels. Playing competitive teams sports was a way of life for me growing up, I thrived from sports.  I heavily credit sports as a hook, an anchor and guiding light in my educational and career pathways.  One by one, I would become so deeply involved in my sport of choice that I would inevitably loose interest or become turned off by the pervading political aspects, subsequently turning my focus to another athletic pursuit that was new, challenging and exciting.

Paddling somehow has managed to persevere in my gallery of interests.  I'm not sure if it's my first individual sport, or the adrenaline/danger quotient, or that its one of the first sports I've encountered that really requires me to work hard for every single gain that I make in the sport. I'm not sure what it is but I know that it’s real.

My paddling "soul kick" came to an end when some friends entered me in to the Women's  Pro-Class in a Rodeo on my home river. Although I had witnessed several competitions on the river before, I never had a yen to be a participant.  I'm not sure why, but it just wasn't what I wanted from paddling.  Faced with an entrance into a competition that I hadn't cared to learn strategies or rules to and not wanting to make a fool of myself, I gathered as much advice in the 12 hours notice that I had to prepare.

The Pan-Am Competition went well; I found myself in second place after the prelims and ended up finishing in 3rd behind the current world champion (at the time) and the former world champ.

I discovered that I felt exhilarated by the competitiveness of it; I had a renewed vigor and desire to nail newer, harder and bigger tricks.

In August of 2011, I set my sites on competing for a spot on the Canadian Freestyle Team.  The plan was to spend the fall, winter and spring getting into the best physical condition possible. The vehicle for this conditioning was teaming up with a number of training partners (you know who you are...I am grateful) who would push my limits and maximize my time in the gym and on the roads.  I hit the gym 4-5 days weekly for a maximal cardio session of either 35 or 53 minutes.....weight training typically happened both before and after the cardio.  A typical week also included 3 running sessions as well.  Signing up with friends for a couple of half-marathons also helped keep the training focus.

Basic physical readiness was only one part of the prep phase.  I had a great deal of mental and on the water work that needed to be done.  The mental aspects included viewing instructional video of the more difficult moves and comparing them with video execution of these moves.  Visualization and imagery of being successful in these moves.   Flat water fundamentals have come into play, reinforcing the kinesthetic pathways and strengthening core muscles.

All of these activities took place until the Canadian winter faded and the rivers were once again an option to paddle.  Trips to my local river to train (120 minutes from home) on weekends and evenings were the focus during May and June.

When July rolled around, it was full on river time.  Paddling, practicing, asking advice and questions. Training before work, after work and several sessions on days off.

It's now July 15th. My body is tired, sore, strong and happy! I have one month to complete my training preparations. My plan is get to the competition site as many times as I can before the comp, so that I can know the hydraulic as well as I can.  I will continue to study the nature and structure of the competition and ask advice to other boaters in the eddies. I will stretch and do Yoga off river as much as I possibly can as well.  I have considered hiring a paddling coach for some tech sessions ....but that notion is still on the burner. I'd like to offer thanks to my family and friends who support me in all of my crazy adventures. A special thanks to my sponsors as well.... Teva, Snap Dragon and WRSI.... I am honored to represent you.

The goal is top 10.....anything less than top 7 will be a large disappointment, top 5 will be less of a disappointment....as it means that I made the finals.  Top 3 is where I want to be.  
Is it worth it....I hope so. My underlying philosophy win, loose or draw is that I will be a better paddler on Aug 16th than I was a year ago.  I'll try also to smile as much as I can in the process!

Katie Quinn

Yes Please Kind Sir.

Checked out Zymagoetz river late last night and after a few big surfs at Roadside in near dark we decided that this wave took precedent over basically anything planned for today. Left at 630am and drove the 45min up a logging road to this beaut. We also hit up the section above and a big rapid at KM15. Their ain't just creeks up here!
I've also included a few choice visual nuggets from a session 2 weeks ago on Dogdish, another local wave.

samuel drouin, roadside attraction

photo:     s.drouin

photo:  s.drouin

photo:  j.timmerman

zymagoetz slide rapid

big f-off hole

DogDish

photo: g.thibodeau

Until next time, from Terrace, BC......

NE Bound & Brown

The boys loaded up and set off for the unknown, traveling up north to find waterfalls and waves on the way to Wilderness Voyageur’s Beer and Gear festival. Along the way we managed to find a nice little park and huck on the Tygart in WV, paddle at the ASCI whitewater park at WISP in MD and Ohiopyle/Lower Yough in PA.  This video captures a bit of the trip and shows the fun along the way.  Getting lost and making plans on the fly, this was an adventure to say the least.  Scouting for cheap hotels, acquiring parking tickets, and getting stalked at the local Taco Bell, the boys never miss a beat.  Hope you enjoy the video produced by big man Paul Butler.

  -Ty

NE Bound & Brown Video

Shooting in Austria

Last week we had a photo shooting, here are the first pics.