Back on Snow!

Whats up family,

I wanted to write and share my excitement with everyone.  I am finally skiing for the first time since my fractured knee cap last March!  It is great to be in the cold and back at my first love.  We are in Summit, CO skiing at Arapahoe Basin.  Most of the resorts here are open with a few groomed runs but the coverage is getting better as it has been snowing a few inches everyday.  The training is good and hopefully we will be jumping some time next week.  

I will be in Colorado until December 21st.  I have a U.S. Team Camp November 24-December 5.  Then I head down to Telluride for the first Jeep King of the Mountain Skier Cross event.  Immediately following that I go up to Winter Park for U.S. Team Selections event.  The next 6 weeks are going to be busy but there is nothing I would rather be doing.  Pray for snow!

Green Race

I had a great time hanging out and racing at the Green last weekend. My WRSI gear came in handy. The water was low and I was grateful for my full face helmet. I used it on the Russell Fork the weekend before, and just popped the face protection on for the Green Race. It is like having two helmets in one. I also threw my Hail Mary to a swimmer for the first time. He was a PFD-less, helmetless swimmer. I am certain the rope saved his life as he fell into the middle of Scream Machine, the first Class V slide below Gorilla. Thanks,WRSI. Phtot by Anthony Bellemare. Click here for more.

A disturbing video with some NWT and BC boating

Here is the vid of my going insane due to lack of whitewater at my current location, and some boating in BC and the Northwest Territories. Enjoy.

Videos

Right here two recent videos about the last month.





Enjoy ;-)

Mathieu

French news

A sweet Summer by Mathieu Coldebella


Mi-June is the end of the school year in France and then the beginning of the kayak time. The night after my last exam I took a plane from Lyon destination : UGANDA.

One month paddling every day on the awesome white Nile river : always moving between Bujagali and the Hairy Lemon to paddle a lot the river and the Nile Special wave.


After those 4 weeks in this awesome country, it was time to go back in Europe to have the euro championship in Spanish Galicia.
Unfortunately I have had some problem with my van on the way and arrived the day before the competition after 17,5 hours driving. In fact I miss the event and finished at the 17th rank.








1 week later happened the R3 : Rabioux River Rodeo in the Alps which was a pretty cool event an a nice final for me against Mathieu Dumoulin and Gerd from Spain. I was 2nd and this result allowed me to win the Free Kayak Tour : French Championship.






Immediately after that we left France to go to Praha in the Czech republic for the first World Cup event. We had a sweet training week in a pretty city with nice people. The hole was really small but every move possible I managed to pass through the prelims but unfortunately finished 11th of the quarterfinals.


A last party in this amazing city and lets go for the 2nd event of the 2008 world Cup : Augsbourg. Result 31st after a very bad 2nd ride.










The last event in Thun was very different thanks to a small wave on the opposite with the 2 first spots. Sun and blue water are the paddling conditions in Switzerland. A reel nice event with a 4 prelim runs system to enjoy the spot. 16th of the qualifications but very good sensation in my new Nemesis S. The next day during the quarterfinals, I was not really in the course and finished 18th.



The world cup over I had to go back to school knowing I was on the 17th rank which is OK but I really want to do better next year.

Go big and have fun.

Mathieu

thorpie's update.

Hi All.
Well im now hanging down in New Zealand after a successful paddling trip to Mexico.
Yesterday We paddled the Nevis River in southern NZ, its an angry little class5 creek. And with all the spring melt it was charging along at over 20cumecs- which is on the high side of fun.
well - keep charging the lines.
chao
Thorpie

West Virginia in the Fall

Whats up guys! This is Tracy with an update on New River Academy. We've been up in West Virginia this past week. It is so nice to be in warm weather after freezing our butts off in Canada. Everyone was totally pumped to be able to hit up the Gauley! Personally, The Gauley is one of my favorite rivers in the US. It has runs for all skill levels. The lower is a fun run, with some intro to big water. It is really good for tuning up skills and getting experience. The Upper has sweet class V rapids with awesome play and infinite lines. Whats not to love? This past weekend was the final weekend of Gauley Season. I actually got to try my hand out at rafting! I have to say, I missed my playboat. Rafting was SO scary. At one point, we lost all our crew surfing Hungary Mother (a hole on the Upper). Somehow I managed to stay in the raft. The whole time I was cowering on the floor of the raft, just waiting for the hole to let go of it. Not my proudest moment. It was a cool experience though. The river seems totally different from a raft's perspective. If you are ever feeling burnt out on kayaking, give rafting a go. Its fun and totally worth trying!


Yesterday New River Academy hit up the Tygart. The Tygart has two completely clean 10-12 foot waterfalls. They are AMAZING. It was totally sweet to get to work on boofs and freewheels. The best thing about these waterfalls is that they are super safe. With all the lines you can run, they are perfect for beginner and advanced levels. I definitally improved my boof stroke a ton. I am so ready to get to New Zealand and run some big falls. The only embarrassing moment for me was when I was paddling hard to get to the tip of this rock that was sticking out to boof it. I was concentrating super hard when all of the sudden, I fell off the side of it and plugged! I laughed it off, but man. talk about Oops. The Tygart is a really good 'park and huck' to check out if you are in the area. It is also a super photogenic spot if you are into photography.


Keep it real!
-Tracy d'Arbeloff