In here you can see nominations for Hydraulics Team riders Tyler Fox, Louise Urwin and Brendan Bayly!! Good work guys and good luck!!! EPIC!!!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Rider of the Year 2011
The team at Tribe have once again headed of the world wide phenomenon that is 'Rider of the Year awards'. Last year there were a bunch of epic film clips of people out there doing what they love on the water and making it look good, big, classy and even really really bad!! This year people have raised the bar and there are some epic shots coming out! Check out this trailer to see some of what is in store and who might come away with the grand title!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
BRENDAN BAYLY!!
Alright so we are stoked here at Team H to have Brendan Bayly on board and as usual he is charging! Right now he is up in Norway with a few other Kiwi boys and they are ripping! After an epic week in Voss at extreme sports week he headed north to Sjoa festival and then his latest update is from the Lower Rauma! This is one of the most epic looking creeks out there!!! Check it out!!
Lower Rauma river, Norway. from brendan bayly on Vimeo.
Head on over to www.brendanbayly.blogspot.com for more epic photos and updates!
Cheers for all the sick updates brendan!!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Voss Extreme Week 2011 with Josh Neilson
Monday, July 4, 2011
A spot of kayaking with a bit of flying
Gudvangen BASE site - Amazing day!
- The view from the top! Jokke in front right after take off
With the bad weather I was forced to shoot the interview with Jokke Sommer indoors but the content was great and it shouldn't be too bad in the final film. With a bit of good weather on the way we headed out to Gudvangen to film some BASE shots. Day one was not a big cliff and Jokke just busted out a double back flip into a straight base without his wingsuit. Then it was back to work with kayaking the next day for the race where we busted out a quick edit on the race mixed with a bit of dancing!
- My ride for the day
Luckily the BASE day was postponed to saturday and I was able to fly up to Gudvangen exit point and film there! I was up on the lip of the cliff all day and watched all the jumpers have sweet jumps! Jokke busted out 2 sick lines one left and the last to the right buzzing the cliff and trees on the way down with his buddy Tom. From here we flew back to Voss in time to gear up for Prize giving where Sam and Toni won their head to head races and I got a sweet new Gopro for best film.
- Teams race prize giving
Next up was Fat Freddies Drop in concert and the rest is history! What an epic week of filming and hanging out with awesome people! So inspired by all the sick athletes out there doing what they love! Stay tuned for more updates as the film is coming together fast now! Stoked on all the support from people who have made this film happen so far! Big things on the horizon!
Cheers
Josh
- Team Gopro on take-off - Such nice guys!!
- Jokke checking his wingsuit
- Base day 1 - Most chill people I've met!
-Brothers Sutton at the teams race
Voss Extreme Week 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
A spot of kayaking with a bit of flying
Gudvangen BASE site - Amazing day!
- The view from the top! Jokke in front right after take off
With the bad weather I was forced to shoot the interview with Jokke Sommer indoors but the content was great and it shouldn't be too bad in the final film. With a bit of good weather on the way we headed out to Gudvangen to film some BASE shots. Day one was not a big cliff and Jokke just busted out a double back flip into a straight base without his wingsuit. Then it was back to work with kayaking the next day for the race where we busted out a quick edit on the race mixed with a bit of dancing!
- My ride for the day
Luckily the BASE day was postponed to saturday and I was able to fly up to Gudvangen exit point and film there! I was up on the lip of the cliff all day and watched all the jumpers have sweet jumps! Jokke busted out 2 sick lines one left and the last to the right buzzing the cliff and trees on the way down with his buddy Tom. From here we flew back to Voss in time to gear up for Prize giving where Sam and Toni won their head to head races and I got a sweet new Gopro for best film.
- Teams race prize giving
Next up was Fat Freddies Drop in concert and the rest is history! What an epic week of filming and hanging out with awesome people! So inspired by all the sick athletes out there doing what they love! Stay tuned for more updates as the film is coming together fast now! Stoked on all the support from people who have made this film happen so far! Big things on the horizon!
Cheers
Josh
- Team Gopro on take-off - Such nice guys!!
- Jokke checking his wingsuit
- Base day 1 - Most chill people I've met!
-Brothers Sutton at the teams race
Upper Middle Consumnes
KR trying to piece together the next mission via dreamflows
Over the past couple of weeks we have often remarked on what its like to be the tourist in a paddling destination like California. Back home we know what runs are good, who's been on them of late and what river to head to next.
Paddling in Cali doesn't come that easy to us, especially this year with the record snow pack. The high water levels have kept us on our toes so to speak. All too often the plan had been made, gear and cars packed, only to check the river flows and find that our planned run had risen beyond what we were happy to paddle. As it turns out, not all the adventure happens on the river. More like at the Coloma bakery.
Part man, part ginger wolverine. The one and only Keith Riley
We like it stacked. KJ and Tyler talk California polictics
The one river run that proved to be consistent was the Upper Middle Consumnes. Low volume, steep and packed with granite. It's almost always a winning formula.
Keith Riley, Matt Coles and I managed four laps on this gem over a week long period. We were also joined by team latvia (Tommas Marnics), Rachel Curtis (NZ) and Jake Greenbuam (our token American).
PGA. Post Granite Awesome
Making it happen. Foxy's first day in Cali. Can you believe it.
Matty dropping skatepark
The UMC is an amazing run. It does, however, have a way of exacting a carnage tax from those who venture into its granite playground. Be it on the river or simply trying to get to or from it there seems to be some form of mini epic.
Swims, broken paddles, broken boats, broken people, lost teams, lost vehicles, lost tempers and a very typical very long california shuttle. All of this in only 7 trips.
Tyler firing the Arahura or UMC?
That good!
After a couple of laps on the UMC we decided to break a little further north and have a crack at the Rubicon River. I paddled this run back in 05' or 07' and only remembered good things about it. Our flow then was about 800cfs. This time we gave it a nudge at 2000+ cfs and the Rubicon nudged back. The Rubicon only flows on big water/ snow pack years and as a result the river bed is filled with large Alders (kind of like willow trees). As a result there are no eddies to speak of. You are pretty much locked into a corridor of trees with no option to get out if you want. I'm sure the run goes at this flow, especially for the bold, very good and courageous. However, we dealt with a tree across the main flow and didn't rate the chances of it not happening again. The result, two miles in we pulled the pin and decided to practice the art of hiking out with our tails firmly between our legs. Good call.
The Rubicon put-in..... and take out.
T-Fox following the path of least resistance
Got wood?
Back in Coloma we made the call to...... yep, head back into the UMC.
Our luck did extend to having fantastic flows for pretty much all out runs on the UMC. 450-560 cfs meant that there was enough fluff in between at the good stuff to not pin ball down the run. At these flows all the bigger drops were good to go. It even mean that we could paddle two rapids that I had previously portages in recent years. It definitely added an extra element of 'aesthetic' to link a bunch the bigger rapids together without many eddies and without having to get out of your boat. Jackpot! This also cut down on paddling time as well. Just over two hours boating had as at the take out in time to meet our lovely shuttle drivers. Complete with chips, beer and bikini's. Thank you to Rach, Melissa, Soph, Amy and Laura.
KJR in the honeymoon stage of the run.... just plain fun
Matty Coles furthering his Calfornia kayaking education.
School was in session
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Grand Canyon
My 2011 Grand Canyon trip began with an email I got while I was down in Antarctica over the kiwi summer. "Would you be interested in joining the Alaskan/Kiwi team on a GC trip in April?". Umm, is a seal waterproof... yep!
My daily beauty routine
Flash forward the rest of my Antarctic season, kiwi summer, Buller Festival and things were all on track. That was until I scored a nasty case of pneumonia two weeks before I was due to fly. Stink. The Dr's gave me 4-6 weeks to recover... Hmmm, not really an option. Ten days serious couch time had me fit enough to make the drive from Murchison to Mum's home on the farm. A few home cooked meals had me ready to tackle to flight to California. Check. Next challange, drive 1200km's to Flagstaff. Luckily I own the best 1990 Subaru Legacy in the continental US. Three red bull’s and a foot long sub later I pulled into Flagstaff 11 hours and 30mins later... Possum Bourne would have been proud.
Let the Grand Canyon adventure begin.
We teamed up with Ceiba River Outfitters for all our river kit. Six oar rigged rafts, four kayaks and sixteen folk made up our team for our three week, 360km journey down the Colorado.
The scene at Lee's Ferry was pretty funny. To the untrained eye it may have looked like we knew what we were doing, the reality. Most of us had barely sat in a raft, let alone rowed 300+km in one.
Our last hurdle before finally being set free was the mandatory ranger briefing. Yes ma'am, no ma'am, three bags full, etc.... and we were finally set free to cast off into the current and down stream…
With Lees Ferry behind us we drifted on down stream and began the slow transition into Grand Canyon time with the aid of a few tecate’s…(cheap Mexican beer).
Our first few camps were about finding our team groove with life on and off the river.
Strip the rafts of the all the group and personal gear. Set up the kitchen, sort out the hand wash stations, find a home for the groover (toilet) and you’re good to go.
Morning rush hour
As soon as that is all sorted its time to kick back and recover from the temporary hustle and bustle with a beer in hand. The nightly camp routine was to set camp and go and explore, take photos or just chill on the raft and listen to some sweet tunes.
We split our team of 16 into four cooking groups. This way you would only have to prepare a breakfast, lunch and dinner once every four days… good times.
Life on the canyon is governed by the rise and fall of the sun. Our early risers (Stefan the German) would be up at 5.30am and making the first pot of coffee. Breakfast was on the table (so to speak) by 8am. Rafts were then packed and we were in the current by 9am, usually just in time for the first of the mornings rays to hit the river. If the day was to be hot and mellow then it wasn’t uncommon for first beers to be making their rounds by 9.15am… bliss!
If the Canyon required a little more focus then we would have to wait until we made camp that evening, at 2pm. Such is the burden of life on the canyon. Start early, finish early and avoid the afternoon’s up canyon winds.
Most folk think the Grand Canyon is about running big white water. In actual fact it’s 200 miles of flat water mixed in with 26 miles of rapids.
Moonset Grand Canyon style
The Grand (or GC to it’s friends) is actually all about the side hikes (you don’t tramp or walk in America). Be it a full day, half day or just an exploratory scramble out the back of camp. The flora, fauna and geology make for amazing excursions from your temporary home on the banks of the Colorado.
There is always something different on offer. A steep scramble to an amazing view, a bouldery climb up a narrow slot canyon, critter hunting or gentle walk to an ancient petroglyph.
Our days on the water weren’t without excitement. Having never rowed and oar rigged raft meant there was a little learning, experimenting and figuring out how to move a 8ookg beast around the river.
In our 200+ mile trip we had one flip, a couple of surfs and two broken paddles. Not bad for a bunch of rookies… or so we thought.
No bueno Wayno's raft gets a rinse
Turns out our good fortune through collective experience was not gifted to others on the river.
I don’t know what day we hit bedrock rapid (thinking about half way because I only had six dozen tecate’s left) but we came upon a team that had wrapped one of their rafts. We you stick your 800kg raft on a rock in the middle of the Colorado you’ve got yourself a major problem.
We spent a few hours trying to pull it off using a bunch of mechanical rope systems but no luck. As a last resort Zak and I swum out to the raft and stripped it of all the gear so they could at least make camp. The team ended up calling the National Park Service who then flew in with a petrol winch system. All on the team’s dollar. Sucked to be them.
It was about then that we were thinking we had had ourselves an interesting trip… not so.
Lava Falls is considered ‘the’ big rapid of the trip for rafters. The stuff legend is made of. Some would even say that you haven’t rafted the canyon until you’ve run the right line on Lava Falls.
As we pulled into the right scout, a team was finishing their scout from the river left bank.
We had met them at camp the night before. They were a local team from Flagstaff and had all done between 2-24 trips each. Sweet, we get to watch the veteran’s run Lava. Perfect.
Jo Parson's (Riley?) boofing the bottom wave at Hermit
The first surprise came as the lead raft pulled left to line up the less intimidating shitty ‘left line’. At 16000 cfs (cubic feet per second) a lot of the rivers flow pushes dangerously to the very very big pour over in the middle of the river. They elected to play follow the leader, following the line of the raft in front of them.
Dan and Melissa keeping the bow down
Raft number one cleaned the line and was within a foot of the aforementioned very very big hole. The second raft didn’t make the cut and dropped squarely into the meat of the hole and proceeded to flip. The third raft managed to push far enough right and avoid the hole. Rafts four, five and six were not so lucky. They weren’t even paddling to avoid the hole any more. None of our team could believe their eyes. This couldn’t be happening. The seventh raft managed to make it through but the eighth raft suffered the same fate as most of the team, dropping squarely into the hole and landing on top of the two rafts being re-circulated in the hole, and flipping. Never have any of our team seen such wide scale carnage on the river… ever!
WTF!
doing my best to keep things under control mid lava
The idea with Lava is to follow the river right eddy line into the top of the rapid. This will put you into the best position to the pull left and clip the edge of the really really big pour over hole in the middle of the river. This sounds easier than it is because getting ‘lost’ is an easy thing to do when you’re paddling at a dead flat horizon line.
After clipping the edge of the pour over you should hopefully have enough momentum to move further left and away from the BIG lateral (diagonal crashing wave). From here, square up as best you can for the two big V waves and then hit the bottom wave square as well.
Dropping into Lava could really only be described as chaotic. I could to run first and test our right line theory… After many hasty and corrective strokes the flagship made it to the bottom in on piece.
Despite the previous teams carnage, our six rafts and solitary kayaker (Mary) made it through relatively unscathed. Stefan the German decided to leave his raft part way through only to have his ballast, Haven, take the oars and finish the job.
Our celebrations were short lived as we made the call to push on down stream to help the other team.
Post Lava Falls life settles back down for the remaining days on the river. We made a point about drifting the riverscape as much as possible. Mile after mile of stunning scenery are on offer for lucky river runners. Amazing!
Doing justice to the GC just isn't possible. It is a must do for any outdoor enthusiast, even if you aren't that enthusiastic about the outdoors...
Permits need to be applied for during the month of February only. Make it happen.
Awesome things for the canyon:
· Lots of light beer. Larger’s are the goods. Tecate, PBR or even MGD’s will hit the spot. 12 dozen for 21 days = 6 beers a day. Perfect amount.
· Moisturiser. Life in the sun and sand is tough on the body.
· Sounds. I took a little battery powered Ipod system and it proved to be the best item ever.
· Makers Mark. Two bottles were enough, three would have been better.
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