Well, never big fans of turkey, Kristin and I packed up the car and headed for Durango, Colorado. She had been invited to participate in a slalom training camp with Alzar School Advisory Committee member Cathy Hearn, and I couldn't resist the doughnuts of Doughworks (seriously, they're that good).
The Animas is super low, as you'd expect, but that doesn't stop those slalom athletes from getting in a great workout. They've been paddling three times a day, honing technique and strengthening muscles. The river is frigid, the air not much warmer, and you know Kristin is hardcore for doing it, and loving it! There's a good group of athletes out for the week, and the spirit of training is contagious. I watch some of the workouts in between logistic planning sessions.
Also, I've been sneaking down to the river at least once a day as well. Previously, I had only been in D-town during May when the Animas is cranking. Because the fall whitewater is not optimal, that has meant some technique touch-ups for me, as well as attainment work outs and sprints. My goal for the week is to get the shoulders and abs into shape for the upcoming
Rivers of Chile 2010 expedition we'll be leading in December/January. I'm realizing the importance of taking care of those shoulders in the off season... makes for a much easier transition to daily paddling. I've been really excited to have my WRSI helmet with ear protectors on... super warm in the chilly air.
Look for more blog posts as we get to Chile and paddle with our amazing group of students. We have a very amazing group of young leaders, and they're pumped to test themselves on some of the best whitewater anywhere.
WNC. Recently due to this rain Joel Bostic and myself had the opportunity to get on the lower 1 to 1.25 miles of Upper Snowbird and the upper 2 miles of Lower Snowbird. It was some good class IVish exploratory creeking as there was very little beta on the creek other then some info from a friend who had hiked into the creek. We had the opportunity to name some of the drops which was fun and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to get way out into the woods and experience a very pretty creek with some good action to it. After that it was about 2 and we headed on out to Lower Santeelah as we figured most other stuff had dropped out. So we got a bit more class IV in before calling it a day. The next day I headed with Ben H
ineman over to the North Fork of the French Broad which is also a solid IV and we caught it at what we were told was a bit over medium which was an amazing level. Boxcar falls is a great drop which can offer a great boof or stern squirt at the end, and Submarine is a nice drop as well with a hole that flushes into a cave which offered up a good boof on the right as well. I leave you with some pics from "Middle" Snowbird. Sadly however Tyler Caldwell was unable to attend all this due to finals. Also Tyler Caldwell and I recently got up and hit up high water Cheoah which is oh so good. So heres a little video as well with some pictures of the goods. Have a good one, Peace Paul
