BLISSfully-STICKin'-it-to-'er!

hi friends! i'm just celebrating my 10 day aniversary in NZ, and you know what? this place is pretty fabulous. no joke. hahha i've been able to do a bit of kayaking, but am now hanging around Blisstick for a bit making those big plastic things we enjoy so much!

i'm on a borrowed computer... so courtesy begs that i make this quick, so here are some quick photos. today was full of camera time!

Taking the buns out of the oven. hot hot hot.

the goods are lookin' gooood! seats and backbands... Karen and I are all over it.

Karen pours plastic pellets in the Mini-Mystic mold to get her own hunk of burning plastic.... complete with a spider stenciled into the hull, look out! bringing that puppy back to South Africa fo' sho'.

Another beautiful day at the factory! Fallen compadres make up the welcome fence, vewy clever these kiwi characters.

aaaand a look at the finished product, iddn't she purrrrdy?

so there you have it... just a quick peek into Blisstick. you will definitely be seeing more of these kayaks in the future, they're made with heart and soul! the people here are amazing, big cheers to Andi, Collin, Charles, Coke and company---you guys rock rock.

cheers to Blisstick! aaaand it's newest quality control black belt... yours truly, hahaha. signing off! quality control is my zen. ommmm

White Nile, UGANDA

AFRICA!

This is, by far, one of the most remarkable (if not THE most) paddling destinations in the world. As I alluded to earlier, this was somewhat of an impulse trip, but it was so worth it, and I'm hell bent on going back before the Silverback section is dammed. In the time that we were there the rapids were already changing from blasting. Nothing short of a tradgedy (I know, I sound dramatic).

So let me tell you about the White Nile... it's MASSIVE. From the moment you get on the water, it's a bit like staring down Great Falls, a dozen or more different channels, so it's imperative to go with someone who knows the ropes. Luckily there are a plethora of kayakers, so it's easy to meet fun people and rally.

I don't think words can do justice to exactly what goes on at the Nile, so here is some eye candy to get your visuals in juicin'.

Monica dropping into Bujigali Falls, one of the epic rapids soon to be drowned. Photo: Daryl Balcombe

The mighty UK's Pete Smith drops into Bladerunner, one of the back channels about 2 minutes before a massive thunderstorm. Photo: MonicaG

Francie takes a boda boda back to camp... she was office queen. Nile locals are fun people, they can drink a whole lot of booze. Photo: Andy McMurray

We took one day off of paddling to visit an orphanage that Alison had been volunteering at. It was definitely a memorable experience. There are about 15 kids who live with Susan and Jeoffry, a Ugandan couple who take in kids off the streets and who've been orphaned by the AIDS epidemic. The orphanage also includes a number of widows, who help look out for the children. Everyone makes paper beads and weaves straw mats to help generate income for the small community, but they still rely heavily on foreign benevolence to feed everyone. We learned how to make traditional African samosas (mmm about 120 of them in fact) which made for full bellies by the end of the day!

Nini and her fan club, haha! Photo: MonicaG

Making paper beads! They come out really pretty though, don't they? I tried the weaving but I was pretty shit at it... the mats are beaut'iful! Photo: MonicaG

The kids are amazing. They're so loving, so generous with affection that they can't help but sneak their way into your heart. Geoffry, age 2. Photo: Nini Bhondus

On the Nile there are two key sections, Silverback and 'Day 2'. Silverback has better rapids, humungo! Day 2, however, is home to the infamous Hairy Lemon and Nile Special wave. The wave is INCREDIBLE. I would definitely say it's faster than Skook.

Have a look at Leigh throwing down---see? It's a biggun'.... better each'chyo breakfast o' beans & chapati!! Photo: MonicaG

It's a big challenging to get on, and has a shoulder that kicks like a donkey. Needless to say, the feeling of bouncing big on the wave is incredible. It's one of the first times that I've been able to clearly see my progression in playboating... I'm usually pretty shit at it. More than ever I'm stoked for Center Chute to be in upon return home... look for some baby blunts and backstabs! Yeeehaw!

Monica loving the Nile, bounce bounce baby, make it graaaavy. Photo: Andy McMurray

Hopefully the photos explain themselves... Uganda is a very special place. Very very special. I'm definitely planning to go back... you know when i make millions of dollars and stuff. But really, what a sick place. Get there, friends. Get there.

Leigh leaves us with a final message. Don't forget it peeples. Photo: Andy McMurray

THIS IS AFRICA

...i miss the rains down in Africa...

PeakUK Himalayan Whitewater Challenge & 'dem Nepali Girls!

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

The Mack

Well, I got to open one of my Christmas presents early today, and was very exited to find a new drytop! Of course i wanted to test it out so we headed out to Potomac's own Center Chute hole. Being 2 degrees above freezing and the water not much warmer this was quite a first test for my new level six mack. And yet it passed with flying colors. It turns out the reason i got so much water in my boat was because of my old drytop. Well the mack fixed that. Even though i flipped probably over 20 times doing mcnastys, loops, backstabs, and windowshades, when i finally took my drytop off I was still completely dry underneath. And only about 5 drops of water managed to get into my boat.
Other than the neck gasket the Level Six Mack is the most comfortable drytop out there. Though i don't know any one who can make a top of the line drytop with a comfortable neck gasket. When your paddling you can barely recognize that you have a drytop on. The wrist gaskets are awesome, they are so easy to take off and without any hurt. The seal around your skirt is amazing, once you tighten the straps the rubber seals it up and no water can get in. So if your looking for a new drytop that's comfortable and near completely waterproof, check out the Level Six Mack.
Merry Christmas
Jordan P

Last Descent : Mighty Marsyangdi

[since the writing of this post, the next kayakers who went to the Marshyangdi found the reservoir filled ahead of schedule... making our experience truly one of the Last Descents. well, poop. on the upside, we're pounding out as many runs on the upper part of the White Nile (Silverback Section) before it's filled in January. wheeee!]

Marsyangdi -- my fav so far... this post is a little out-dated, but it's definitely one of the finest quality rivers in the world. Big volume, steep gradient, fun around every corner, a few 'oh shit' moments, haha... pretty much everything you want out of a run. Regrettably, the Marsyangdi is condemned to be dammed, fully under water in a few months. All so sad, but there's a rad project/film called The Last Descent with some more info if you're interested. Nepal's finest. R.I.P.

Anyway, about that trip report! Hahaha pretty much everything that could've gone wrong did go wrong, and it still turned out fab. It's about a day's traveling from Pokhara to the Marshyangdi valley. We had a major hassle getting the kayaks on buses for reasonable fare... one bus even pulled over and refused to move until we paid more than the agreed price. SNAFU #1... Then on the way up to the put-in a bunch of kids stole all our carabiners and chocolate from our bags, that was a Baby SNAFU compared to what morning would bring... when morning rolled around the guards at the trekking station demanded a $25 fee (mucho dinero in rupees) to enter the park. After about 2 hours of arguing and a failed attempt to sneak on, they sent us packing down the valley, kayaks on back. So naturally we walked until they couldn't see us and started our great adventure from there.

Dave and Sonia keeping the bus situation on lock-down. All photos by Jake Holland.

MARSHYANGDI --- WHAT A BEAUT! As I alluded to earlier, the river is AMAZING. It's so much fun to rally with a group of international kayak huck-stars and watch each other do massive back-enders (back loops?) when they un-intentionally hit the belly of the beast. Hahahah such good fun. Internet is way to slow to upload pics, so do your best to visualize por favor... will add some eye candy later.

Yours truly keepin' the bow up on the rapid 'Kiwi Cupcake', bow chicka ow ow. This was one of the first rapids to be swallowed by the reservoir.

We had an awesome party night in an itty bitty highway town before finishing the rest of the run on Day 2. Day 2 is a bit mellower but still packs a good punch and is totally worth staying for. Plus we saw some tiger tracks---first sighting!

This river is truly a gem, one of the best for whitewater kayaking. It's a shame to see it go but I feel pretty lucky to have had such an awesome experience to seal it into my brain-chambers as one of the world's finest rivers.

Sonja Jankowfsky, our favorite German chick, stares down the gun barrell on one of the rapids that starts off Day 2. Photo: MonicaG

Speaking of "world's greatest rivers"... it's only recently that I've come into the knowledge that the White Nile (Uganda) is staring down it's own d-day (end of 2009 at the latest)... so in the name of fiscal irresponsibility, I swiped the 'ol credit card for round trip airfare from Delhi to Kampala for most of December. And you know what the best part is? Hahah, I suckered Andy into coming too! Party in Uganda! Jeeez... wish it was under better circumstances though, all the world's best rivers under fire... gotta hit them all!

We ran the Marshyandgi awhile ago now... have been in western Nepal for 10 days on the Karnali (pictures pending, I promise) and are now coming off some down-time before the Peak UK Himalayan Whitewater Challenge starting tomorrow. Ukukuuuuk extreme slalom on 'Delhi-belly' is going to be an interesting one for me. Antibiotics are my new best friend here, haha. After the race we're rolling out to Delhi to catch our flights to Uganda, pending safe transit via Bombay. Alright enough words, no fun without the pics! Thanks for reading and wishing you all a great Thanksgiving dinner that passes through your digestive system without pain or misery.

Kali Gandaki... Bhote Kosi... Balephi Khola... and MORE!

hey hey just checking in real quick. we've just gotten back into Pokhara after a five day trip on to some glamorous rivers in Nepal. so naturally that means a day of copious internet... breakfast cocktails... and general lounging by the lake and feeding. in an effort not to bore you with the boof-by-boof details, here are a few snippets of our trips, enjoy!

Ali and Christie on the way to Balephi Khola... haha we seem to travel almost exclusively by bus roof.
super-safe! definitely Class V, hahah

Cameras are always a novelty for the kiddos. Usually the conversation goes like this...
"Namaste! I really really like your camera! You give it to me?" hahahaha... urrrr

Packin' 'er up, packin' 'er in

Scouting on the Bhote Kosi, one of my favorite rivers yet. You have to eddy out just to catch your breath. Here we are at one of the biggun's. Probably our stoutest run yet, round 2 for meeee!

Photo shoot after the one-day trek into the Modi Khola... here's Christie and I, but look out for our new young British friends on soyathinkyourehot hahahaha

early start the next day walking into the river... note the massive Himalayas and our porters in the foreground trudging for the put-in. love it.

THE BUSES ARE OUT OF CONTROL!!!!

one of the best parts of nepal... the FOOD. oh my god, they make some really amazing things here. "dalbhat" is the kayaker favorite... keeps the tummy-machine pacified all day long! enough food for you and your tape-worm.

Nepal is just so much flippin' fun!

Sun Kosi... a few rapids above camp with some pretty incredible people

OK there's a tidbit more... looks like there were some fun times on the 'Po this Halloween! we were actually on the river for Halloween... the sacred Kali Gandaki river, where we pulled over at the favorite cremation site to tromp on some human remains to get our spook on.

alright---enough from my end---hope you all are having fun adventures back east! much love from nepal :)

Halloween Falls fun

Just wanted to share some sweet shots Craig Campbell took on the MD and VA lines... and yes those are cat ears! Happy Halloween!

Mike

Scouting U-Hole with a friend

Middle line on U-Hole

Maggie on Pummel

Sweet boof off first drop of S-Turn

Mike heading into U-Hole

Maggie on the Spout


(all photos by Craig Campbell)

NGK - Getting This Show on the Road!

After rolling back into Kathmandu to pick up zeee Amurrrican friends, Christie and I got wind from Inka that the Nepali Girls had already started training for the program. So we met them at the city pool (I reckon there's only one) to help out for a day before heading back to Pokhara.

Getting to meet the girls was amazing... of the eight working hard at the pool when we got there, only three were fully comfortable in water. Sylvia, their swim coach and a badass climber chick from Sweden, gave us the low down on the swimming situation and let us take the group for a bit to introduce them to the kayaks. FIRST TIME IN A KAYAK! Waaaaa! It was also the first time the girls had used life jackets, so we did a few laps warming up to the big floatation things. Being at the pool all afternoon really gave me new perspective on the audacity of this project. Here we have some girls who can barely swim, completely committed to the core, working their asses off for the chance to be a raft guide/safety kayaker.

Swimming with Buoyancy Aids

From NEPAL 2008

These women are fearless. With Slyvia's consul they spot each other swimming laps... some of them are swimming laps while we're drinking tea. You gotta want it to win it and these girls want it bad.

Anyway the kayaks were a huge hit---and Christie and I were both able to concur that there's a pool of hidden talent in these petite-framed women. We saw a few naturals who fell in love with the boats. They went in time and time again... and their enthusiasm has definitely given me a fresh drive to maximize my time here.

From NEPAL 2008

From NEPAL 2008

So there you have it... the modest beginnings... the baby steps of NGK. Thank you thank you thank you to those who donated their equipment or money -- it's definitely going to a fantastic project. Aaaaand for those of you with heavy pockets, it's not too late to shell out a little love :) see here

More to come! Next time we see the girls is at the PeakUK Whitewater Challenge in a few weeks on the Trisuli River. Get ready to rock rock. For now I'm off to do Modi Khola and Kali Gandaki for 4-5 days with the crew.... we've done heaps of other rivers but I seem to have acquired a virus (actually like 12) on my memory card so those photos are hostage until I find a computer with good anit-virus software. More trip reports pending. Over and out. Give the 'Po my love!

OK! So the goods are coming in... Nepal is a world-class kayak destination, no doubt. I was lucky enough to rally with the Scottish and English crew up to the Modi Khola and it was definitely the best trip yet. Quality low volume technical whitewater, not unlike what we have on the East Coast at home. Except for it's like 70K and there's fantastic food and sleepings all along the way.

We left Pokhara at dawn's asscrack and started the one-day trek in the Anapurna Sanctuary up to the river with our trusty porters. The porters are amazing... small statured, but far more athletic than they let on. For about $7 per day these super-heros in disguise will lug your boat to the moon and back. We rolled into a tea house just as dark was setting in, indulged in dalbhhat, fended off some abnormally large insects, and hit the hay for the wild river on Day 2.

Beautiful Trekking!

From NEPAL 2008

Sneaking in before Dark

From NEPAL 2008

Day 2 we finished the trek to the put-in, which coincidentially is at the largest sieve I have ever seen. Observe with horror, nearly 2/3 of the river spirals down this thing.

SIPHON!!!!! aaaaah!

From NEPAL 2008

Simon lines up for the flume.... the boys ran the upper mank, meeting us at the bridge for more fun.

From NEPAL 2008

The rest of Day 2 was a little hellacious... we had a bit of an 'epic' early on... but managed to recover alright and continue on down for camp, where we reunited with the friend who had opted to walk out. Camp was fantastic. This is the secret to why Nepal is so great... is you can paddle sick-wicked-nasty whitewater all day, then pull over in a village and sleep in a warm bed [of varying quality] and stuff yourself full of as much food as you can afford. In the morning, it's wash, rinse, repeat.

We started paddling the next day as early as possible to try and catch the rest of the group (we were pretty big so we split up at first). We ended up passing them at their camp and then finding them later on when we were scouting something. The second day on the river was much closer to what we anticipated, strong Class IV eddy-hopping bliss.

Tim Burne is lovin' it!

From NEPAL 2008

With our massive crew of 10 finally re-united we sped off to the dam and took out. I carried on with the English to run the Lower Modi Khola... just a little easier and wider open than the Upper and it was definitely worth it. We rode the bus roof all the way back to Pokhara... feasted on massive $3 buffalo steaks, had too many beers, and then conked out. Such a good trip... I'm lovin' it! I'll definitely be back to this one when Christie and Andy get back to town, yeeeeehaw!

World Series Race at ASCI

One of the World Series races for slalom was held at ASCI about a week ago. It was incredible being able to watch and race against some of the best slalom paddlers in the world. Here's a video of some of the insane paddlers that competed at the US World Series race.

Jordan P