Nepal - a place for everything!

Heading into the upper canyon, Porters make life a lot easier! photo Anton Immler


Montage pic of Me on and looking at OUT, Photo Anton Immler





While i take some time out to update you on the Nepali Girls kayaking Expedition I had the opportunity to head back into the hills once more with some old and new friends to check out what Will Clark and Anton Immler had found a few weeks ago. At 5.45 the alarm went off and Anton and I gathered our gear and in the darkness headed for the main st. As light came in over Pokhara a few other guys we had met arrived for the same mission. With the Jeep loaded up we headed about an hour out and with porters laden with all our gear we headed for the Upper Canyon of the upper Seti River. We thought we may have time to get the Upper canyon today also but with no idea on where the track was and diminishing daylight we were forced out of the first descent and down into the gorge that had only been run for the first time a week ago. This was no dissapointment as i knew we were still in for a ful on afternon! We nailed about 100m of First descent then it was into the lower canyon section. About 20mins of class 3 bombing then we were at the canyon entrance. We made the call that we had enough time to make it out with light and dropped in. Within minutes we were at drop 1, now named 'IN'.

Josh Neilson - Rapid IN - Photo Tim Ripper

The reason for this is this is the only way to get into the gorge is to run this drop, no portage. It is a sweet 40foot drop but has a nasty cave on the right and a not so bad one on the left. After comiting to the gorge there is another must run drop called ' twist', a manky drop which u have to bust hard left but avoiding the wall so u dont bounce back into the right and into an undercut seive! 2 people have been through this sive already and its no t pretty. They made it through fine though. Right after twist is 'OUT'

Me loking at Tim Riper running OUT - Photo Anton Immler

The reason for it being called this is the only way out of the gorge is to run this drop, no portage. Once again it is a 40foot drop with a fast wavey lead in. this time there is also caves on both side but not so bad.
Now that your out of the canyon you still have 2 more sweet drops, 'Scream' and Shout'. Smaller but a lot of fun! from here the steepness lowers but the drops keep coming. Due to our late afternoon paddle we got in a line and bombed our way down to the take out following the tail in front and keeping an eye out for the person behind. At the take out we thought we might have the natural hot springs to ourselves but no luck, seems there was some sort of festival on and people everywhere.

Paddling away from OUT - Photo Anton Immler

The boys have headed back into the Seti today with overnight gear to try get up above the Upper Canyon and explore up there as well.
Chur
josh

Team Nike Undefeated at Primal Quest and Team Nike Make Podium at Mountain-X Event in France

Team Nike Undefeated at Primal Quest


Team Nike - Chris Forne, Monique Merrill, Mike Kloser and Michael Tobin
cross the finish line at Big Sky, Montana

Team Nike captain Mike Kloser has lead his squad to a 5th consecutive
Primal Quest adventure race victory in Montana.

Nike covered the multi-discipline 512 mile course with over 100,000 feet of
vertical gain in 5 days, 11 hours, 19 minutes and 45 seconds, beating their
closest rival, Team Merrell / Zanfel Adventure by nearly 15 hours.

The current adventure racing world champion team is made up of Kloser, of
Vail, Colorado, Monique Merrill of Breckenridge, Colorado, Michael Tobin of
Boise, Idaho and New Zealand endurance phenom Chris Forne.

Mountain-X France

On the days that teams were competing in some of the more technically skilled events such as the Via Ferratta, free climbing, and white water paddling,
every second counted. Nike took a bit more of a conservative approach on
the ropes sections and found that to have cost them more than they bargained
for on the points scale. They really had to try to make up ground wherever
they could in the other disciplines.

This race consisted of teams of three with categories of Open and Co-ed.
Nike made a rare move, opting to race in the open field of all male teams.
Besides regulars like captain Mike Kloser and Michael Tobin they rounded out
the team with XTERRA standout Nicolas Labrun of France. This was the 1st
race they had done with Labrun. Kloser and Tobin knew that he was talented
by his individual racing results. His teamwork and performance in this race
were outstanding, with top 3 finishes daily on the trail running segments.

Kloser added: "Racing through the French Alps in the region of Monte Blanc
in the summer is something that one has to experience to appreciate. It's
truly spectacular with the mountains jettising upward thousands of feet in
all directions around you. It was typical for us to ascend and descend 10
to 15 thousand feet on a daily basis, including one spectacular glacier
section, while looking across at Mont Blanc."

In a closely contested race Nike finished third overall.

Well done guys!

Team Nike is building up to the World Champs in AR in Brazil later this month. Check back here to see how they get on!

Josh Neilson's new film!!

Click this picture! cheers






A few weeks ago I saw a link to 'RED BULL REEL LIFE' 5 week film competition and decided to check it out. I decided to give it a go and make a film that i have thought about making for a while. I got out my camera and went to work on the idea and within a few days I had most of the material needed but just needed music and a few shots to get it in order. RB came through with some music and the last shot were filmed within a week of the due date. This was a 5 week competition but I only heard about it at the end of week 2 so only had 3 weeks to get it done.
This is my idea and I hope you enjoy it. My film is called 'Subsistence' and can be viewed on the Red Bull Reel Life web site so click on the link and check it out!
Cheers everyone!
Josh

Google earth master! shots from creeks found by Matt Danes in the Hawkes Bay

Matt Danes - photo by Marcus Thompson


It is always cool gettin updates from people who are out there on their weekends searching and exposing some of New Zealands more undercover drops and slides. Over the past few years I have been gettin emails from Matt Danes from Hastings who has a skill to scope out drops from Google Earth like no other. I have seen his waterfall folder and its definatly a well researched and elaborate peiece of his kayaking equipment. While a few of his prospects have come up unpaddlable the one that have worked have opened my eyes to what Hawkes Bay has to offer.

Walk in to the Upper Esk River - Matt Danes and Skux dissapointed that this one does not go, well maybe with rain?! - Photo Josh Neilson

On Saturday Matt Danes and Marcus Thompson went into the hills behind my place in Hawkes Bay and slid down this little beauty. Matt found it many years back but never got to paddle it and it was believed to be paddled first last year by someone which you can see in a copy of Cumec magazine. Myself, Skux and kurt went in earlier this year which was a good day out but I can imagine that a lot more water would make it a lot more fun.
These shots were from the boys trip in there on the weekend just past!
Be warned, Bay paddlers out there if this creek gets high there is a beauty just upstream that might go! HUGE

Marcus Thompson - photo Matt Danes

Kurt Jane montaged on his descent down the slipery slide by Josh Neilson

Once Me and a few mates were out for a surf at Ocean Beach but with the storm coming in we decided it was too big. On the way home we stopped to check out Maraetotara River. The falls were low but I rocked up and ran my first waterfall ever. It was so low that i pretty much seal launched off the lip into the pool but that was it, i loved waterfalls. I then returned a few years later in flood with Kurt and we flew off the flooded drop. With Matt there watching and talk of waterfalls below and above we decided that one day we would check it all out.



While I was overseas Matt and Marcus ran the top section and found some cool stuff but a bit more water would again make it a faster trip.
There was also talk of them running the bottom section but I am still trying to find these photos.
All in all these local boys have torn up the back blocks of the Bay and found some nice little creeks!

Matt Danes- Upper Maraetotara River - Photo Marcus Thompson
Matt Danes- Upper Maraetotara River - Photo Marcus Thompson

Matt Danes- Upper Maraetotara River - Photo Marcus Thompson


Matt Danes- Upper Maraetotara River - Photo Marcus Thompson

Marcus Thompson- Upper Maraetotara River - Photo Matt Danes


These next drops have not been Paddled but are part of a creek near the sea that matt walked into to check out. There is one more waterfall that you can see from the rd but that is too shallow. All the bay needs now is a bit of water and it has a bit of fun!

Sam Sutton is off to Sickline World Champs

In 2007 Adidas Announced that there would be an official World Champs for extreme racing in Austria. With the Competition date set and everyone ready to race the weather came in a the river rose to un-raceable flows and it was canceled. Not to be taken back by this, organisers set another date in 2008 and the event was on again. While kayaking with Sam earlier in the year after his success at some races throughout Europe he mentioned that he would head home for a month and train for the race and return to dominate the competition! Now this isnt a random Extreme race where the top races from that county and the odd traveler batle it out. NO. This is a race where the top racers from round the world meet and race off for the top position in the world.
Sam's time back in NZ went well with a strict training programme and dedicated 6.30am practice races down his local Kaituna River.
On Friday Sam boards the plane and is off to Austria to put his training to the test and show the world that he means business.
Keep an eye out here and on www.samsutton.com for updates.
You can also see all the details of the event on www.adidas-sickline.com with updates, programme etc!

GOOD LUCK SAM!

East Coast representing

The Upper Rook's

team 440

Its been a while since I have been so fired up about a mission here in NZ. Zak and I took the opportunity to do a kayaking mission out east after running some river rescue training for an Auckland team.



We picked Zak's bro Elby up from his base on the Kaituna in Rotorua and headed east. The forecast was for plenty of rain so we were confident in finding some sweet paddling. With darkness settling over the land we drove into the Urewera's and into or first problem for the trip. Over a 100km of gravel roads and a fully loaded truck had taken its toll. Flatty. After plenty of grovelling around in the mud we got the spare on and tentatively hit the road knowing that another flat would have us sleeping roadside. Not an option.

As midnight drew close we rolled into our 'farm' base happy to be off the road. A few quick phone calls before we left meant that Zak had hooked us up some sweet shearing quarters. Chur!

zak in action on 'handle bars' drop

Over the next couple of days we tagged into multiple descents of the upper rook's sampling all the goodness it had to offer at the varying water levels that were on offer. A two minute drive from our lush accommodation had us at the take out. Drop the bike, and 10 mins later we were ready to put on. Not quite as sweet as the kaituna shuttle but plenty sweet for us.

kiwi rivers, gorgeous!

With geology not found in other parts of the country we got to sample plenty of papa slides and ledge drops. It was a bazaar feeling to be running sweet slides all set in sweeter kiwi bush.

The Munamuna River

Zak had walked in here a few years ago with his old man and taken a photo a two sweet ledge drops that he thought were about 5 foot in height. On the back of this we decided to go bush with the boats an see if we couldn't tap into some of these ledge drops.

Elby Shaw an hour in and wishing he had one of our hydraulic's 'strap on's'

More 4wd had us at the road end and strapping the boats on. The 3km hiked quickly turned into 5km as we realised the drops weren't were they were meant to be. The first hour and a half were pretty sweet going as we waded through bogs and across farmland. As soon as we stepped into the bush things got a little harder with a 260m climb up a migning slippery over grown track.

has anyone seen the put in?

The 3 hour mark had us just above the put in but it took a further 30mins of bashing to access the river bed.

Worth the 3 hour walk. You be the judge

Two 5 foot ledges. Yeah right!

With time running low we dropped into the 'flat gorge' as Zak had quoted it and ran some pretty big water class 4 and 5 for the next two hours. We didn't mess around with cameras and the like as daylight was running low and the river had already come up close to a foot while we were on it.

Elby getting 'cali' on it and staying out of trouble

Surfs were had had, lines were bold and we were happy to pull into the take out eddy. Not bad for a day out and what we think was the 2nd descent. All was left to do was to celebrate east coast styles. Drive an hour and a half for a beer and a dirty bourbon.

Mangawhio - by Ben Jackson

Socks. You don't need socks in California in July. You need jandels, boardies and beer, but not socks!

If you live in NZ and are working in the central north island during July then you will need socks... and a bunch more warm things as well. Having spent the past couple of years working on my 340+ jandel days a year this winter came as a bit of a shock. jacksonoutdoors almost became jacksonindoorswithbrieftripsoutsideintothebitternewzealandwinter.blogspot.com but I figured it would never really take off.

I have managed a few adventures here and there but my days in a kayak have been outnumbered by my days on a snowboard (4) and my days sick (6) but not quite my days hung over (3). Awesome, really... Mmm, anyway.

One such adventure had my driving to a river just north of Whakamaru which is just north of Wellington (by 6 hours).

I teamed up with the esteemed team of Brendan Bayly and Bernard Oliver. With plenty of rain around we headed for the Mangawhio River which is almost (literally) in Brendan's backyard.

All we knew is that it was beautiful and was steep in places.

About 20 seconds into the run the river signals its intentions. A clean crisp 12 footer. The next 30mins is filled with plenty of boogey water set amongst beautiful NZ bush.

you wanna slide?

A cascade and the main road bridge signals its time to step aside or step up. The 2 and 3 foot drops you scouted from the bridge turn into 10 and 12 foot drops. The bottom three drops are where all the goods lie. 10 foot into 30 foot into 40 foot of goodness. After scrambling to scout the combo we make a call. Berno and big drop Bayly will fire up the first two while I video. Then they will wait 15 nervous minutes in the micro eddy while I 'climb' my way back up to my boat. Easy.




Brendan lead by example making the top two look easy. Berno followed the trend. Sweet, my turn. Top drop, good, 30 footer, sweet until I land and my back rest blows out. Awesome. 3 kayaks, two boat eddy, vertical walled gorge and 8m down stream the river falls away another 40 feet. After trying in vein to sort my backrest the answer is obvious. Turn and tuck.

After a decent thrashing at the bottom I rolled up minus an elbow guard and smiles all round. Brendan follows soon and joins me in the eddy to watch Berno get the best thrashing I have seen in a long time... and its all caught on tape.

40 feet to freedom

First D - South fork Kings River

Rush getting amongst uncharted waters - Photo Toby Robertson

Hey guys here is a photo update sent to me from Toby Robertson who was part of the crew that got into the South Kings this year in California.
The Crew was Toby Robertson from New Zealand, Californians Charlie Center and Hydraulics Team member Rush Sturges.
The crew set out on the mission with an Epic walk in with some classic whitewater out to the take out.
All these Photos are Copyright to Toby Robertson! Cheers for the photos bro!


Rush Hiking in on Day 1 - Photo- Toby Robertson



Rush and Charlie getting high in the Sierras - Photo Toby Robertson

"Thats where we came from!" Way down there - Photo Toby Robertson


Rush heading South on the Kings- Photo Toby Robertson


The Crew - Rush Sturges - Charlie Center - Toby Robertson - Photo Toby Robertson

Rush is one of the USA repersentitives for Hydraulics. For more of his stories check out
www.younggunproductions.com
For more of Charlies missions check www.caliproduct.com
Cheers Toby for these sick images!

Life in Brendans backyard

While a bunch of us have been overseas in the northern hemisphere summers kayaking, some of the crew has been sticking it out here in the winter of New Zealand! One tends to see winter as a good opportunity to roll under a pile of leaves and hibernate for the duration of the cold but not these guys!

Ben Jackson and Brendan Bayly at an early confluence slide - Photo Bernard Oliver

A few years ago while studying with Brendan Bayly he told me about this little creek next to his house that had some big drops on it! he had a little video of him and his bro Darryl scouting it out. I was hooked! This thing was the business! That summer we went and stayed at B's house to check it out. It was low but we still wanted it. We bush bashed in to the lower section and ran a few small drops into the gorge. With minimal water and lots of trees in the bottom of the first drop we portaged to right about the 15m clean drop. We all ran it and it was sweet but we wanted more!

A view from the Bottom - Bernard Oliver

The next summer B told me there was more upstream that we needed to check out. While on a weekend in Taupo i got a call from B stayin it was raging and we needed to put on. I met him at his house and we ran from the top to bottom of this sick creek.

Drop 1 about 30 seconds into the run - Photo Bernard Oliver

With the second to last 10m drop still unpaddled we were left wanting more! While I was sitting in Norway this year I was talking to Ben on skype and he mentioned there was water in the area and he wanted to get this creek. I told him to ring B and go to it! They got on in good flow and B finally took out the drop we had been waiting for!

The one that kept us coming back! (this 10m drop is only 10m from the lip of 15m!)- photo Bernard Oliver

This is a Super classic river if you can catch it with water in it! Watch for trees and enjoy!
These photos are courtesy of Bernard Oliver who was on the latest descent of the Mangawhio!



Ben Jackson at the lip of drop 1 - Photo Bernard Oliver

Shot 2 - Bernard Oliver

Ben on the Boogie water heading into the gorge - Photo Bernard Oliver

Brendan setting up film at the 10m - photo Bernard Oliver

Brendan at one of many cool looking drops - photo Bernard Oliver

B sitting below the second to last drop - photo Bernard Oliver

Ben Jackson Lining it up - photo Bernard Oliver

The Last but not least drop! Is there anybody in there? Photo Bernard Oliver

Keep an eye out on www.jacksonoutdoors.blogspot.com as i hear there might be a little film coming out from this trip!
Cheers for the photos boys!