The 8th Annual PeakUK Himalayan Whitewater Challenge - woweee! this was definitely one of the best kayak events I have ever been to. EVER. it rivals Gauleyfest in every respect -- good music, good people, wild parties... but what was even better was the sick-ass event format. Here's the other catch... for all three events (Extreme Slalom, Freestyle, and Downriver Racing) you can only elect ONE KAYAK. By default I had the Nomad 8.5, and she steered me pretty well!
Check out the scene, hells yeah!
Day 1 was an Extreme Slalom on the Trisuli River, and the course was amazing. It was extremely challenging and the competitors who did best were the ones who simply completed all the gates without drama. I was lucky enough to tweak out third place in this one... I can definitely say that this is my favorite kind of kayak race, good stuff!
Day 2 was the much anticipated freestyle event. This is the highlight of the event. The Nepali competitors especially train for this all year. The first prize for Nepali Men(and for the first time ever, Nepali Women) is a brand spanking new kayak -- which adds up to mucho ruppees!
Unfortunately I was eliminated in the first round of this one... but Christie-cakes did a big-ass loop in her Nomad to lock-down 2nd place in the Freestyle --- womp womp putting the guys to shame!
Lilli and Christie in the eddy getting ready to dance
The freestyle event really showcased just how far all the Nepali Women have progressed since Christie and I first met them all in Kathmandu for swimming lessons. For only having kayaked for a few weeks, these girls dropped into one pretty big hole for the sake of the competition; mad props!
There is a documentary in the works on the Nepali Girls program... the cameraman takes note of any pre-comp jitters.
AND, what was probably the most exciting part of the day was PeakUK paddler Babu paraglided into the event course while in his kayak. As soon as people saw him coming in by air I think every Nepali within a mile radius ran to the landing zone to welcome him in like a celebrity. Hahaha, only in Nepal! If I ever go back to Nepal, I'm definitely going to do this flying thing!
It's a bird... no, it's a plane... no! It's Babu!
And last but not least, everyone was hung-over for Day 3, the downriver race. This event was also pretty great, haha, the start consisted of running down a beach to your kayak, then launching as fast as possible into a 12k stretch of river. The finish line is similar... you have to run across with your kayak (no small feat after paddling like a bat out of hell). I guess I was a little less hungover than the rest, because I managed to finish first. Good deal, that deserves a beer I think. Or 10.
Susmita, one of the Nepali Girls who went on to win the whole event, actually beat some of the Nepali Junior Men. High fives all around! Kaaaa-pow! That's amazing, really... one of the rapids in the race was pretty stout. Coming into it I was thinking "Shit this is the type of thing I usually scout"... and the girls styled it!
Susmita with a characteristically big smile -- proud new owner of a red Jackson 2Fun! Photo: Whitney Hansen
And, since the downriver race definitely wasn't enough, we managed to assemble an all-girls team for the raft race! The raft race was on a slightly longer stretch of river and entailed a mandatory flip below the spectator bridge. Nini Bhondus, from Norway, was our Captain and kept us going fast whilst chanting "Boys, and Beer. Boys, and Beer" for every stroke. Hahahaha funny cats out here in Nepal, lol. And I guess we weren't really going that fast... but we weren't last!
Anywhoo, can't thank the PeakUK and Mountain Dew folks enough for throwing down such an amazing event. This is exactly what I needed to tucker me out for the 48 hour land bus from Kathmandu to Delhi... lol.
Nepali and International Girl Kayakers during their 10-day 'boot camp' on the Sun Kosi... massive group! Many thanks (and pats on the back) for those who donated their gear/money. This has really been an incredible program! Photo: Whitney Hansen
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