Hi folks,
We have a brand new Riot Kayaks Team web site at TeamRiotKayaks.com Please go there from here on out to see all our team member's bios, the latest news blogs, words from the company President and info about our boat designs and their designers. This blog is no longer in use and will self destruct in T minus ten seconds.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Friday, August 01, 2008
Raundalen
Raundalen
This year we have spent a lot of time on the Raundalen river. It’s my favorite by far, and with loads of snow in the mountains we have had good levels this year. So good levels and a disapproval of a proposed dam calls for a celebration of this river. This summer we have also really fallen in love with the Thunder. It’s partly because we have started to explore some of our creek runs at higher flows and partly because some of the best play spots are located in these gorges. Both good reason to choose the Thunder which is my favorite at big water/creeking/river running/play……when it’s all mixed up and you want to have the cake and eat it too.
This year we have spent a lot of time on the Raundalen river. It’s my favorite by far, and with loads of snow in the mountains we have had good levels this year. So good levels and a disapproval of a proposed dam calls for a celebration of this river. This summer we have also really fallen in love with the Thunder. It’s partly because we have started to explore some of our creek runs at higher flows and partly because some of the best play spots are located in these gorges. Both good reason to choose the Thunder which is my favorite at big water/creeking/river running/play……when it’s all mixed up and you want to have the cake and eat it too.
This was also why I took the Thunder when I went to Futa last winter. I needed a boat to go on the big rapids and waves and that would get me safe down some of the waterfalls we found on our way to Futa.
Well, we were out to take some pictures for you, when the whole river suddenly went brown….we got up and just ahead of us the river was blocked by a huge landslide. Sadly this landslide might have destroyed my favorite rapid…time will show.
Here are some pics from the river of me, Eirik and Silje.
Foto: Jarand Naa and Mark Basso
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Riot Kayaks at FibArk
My brother Eli and I both made the trip out to Salida, Colorado once again this year to participate in the FibArk Festival on the Arkansas River. This year, who-ever-the-people-are-that-decide-things decided to make the competition here freestyle nationals and the qualifiers for the world cup.
Anyway, Since I turned 19 this January, I had to compete in the Pro class. Eli is 17 and competed in the Junior class.
The competition was a little tough because the water was so high. With all the extra snow Colorado has had this year, the extra flow made the Salida hole a little bit flushy. All the same, more water is never a bad thing. In prelims my first ride was sweet but my second one was a bust. Oh well, I hit a paddle twirl loop after the buzzer. I ended up in 12th at nationals. (I was 14th over all but there were two Canadians in the top 10).
Eli did well in prelims and advanced to semi finals where he secured his place as the 8th best junior freestyle kayaker in the nation.
Despite the best efforts of the freestyle competitors, the Hooligan race (people floating down the river in whatever they can find) still took the spotlight as the most fun event of the festival. My favorite float was a guy riding through the hole on a floating exercise bike. The part where he ran into the bridge was especially sweet...
Anyway, here is a short video and some pictures of the event. All pictures by Karen Van Dusen. There is also a little bit of footage from the Pueblo hitewater park. The park is sweet at all levels and I would encourage anyone who finds themselves in the area to check it out.
David Looping
Eli in the Hole
Eli had some nice spray on that loop.
Thats it for now. Eli and I will be paddling around the NW for a while.
David
Anyway, Since I turned 19 this January, I had to compete in the Pro class. Eli is 17 and competed in the Junior class.
The competition was a little tough because the water was so high. With all the extra snow Colorado has had this year, the extra flow made the Salida hole a little bit flushy. All the same, more water is never a bad thing. In prelims my first ride was sweet but my second one was a bust. Oh well, I hit a paddle twirl loop after the buzzer. I ended up in 12th at nationals. (I was 14th over all but there were two Canadians in the top 10).
Eli did well in prelims and advanced to semi finals where he secured his place as the 8th best junior freestyle kayaker in the nation.
Despite the best efforts of the freestyle competitors, the Hooligan race (people floating down the river in whatever they can find) still took the spotlight as the most fun event of the festival. My favorite float was a guy riding through the hole on a floating exercise bike. The part where he ran into the bridge was especially sweet...
Anyway, here is a short video and some pictures of the event. All pictures by Karen Van Dusen. There is also a little bit of footage from the Pueblo hitewater park. The park is sweet at all levels and I would encourage anyone who finds themselves in the area to check it out.
David Looping
Eli in the Hole
Eli had some nice spray on that loop.
Thats it for now. Eli and I will be paddling around the NW for a while.
David
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Rusher Photo in Newsweek
OK... so I'm new to the whole blog thing and I'm really good at taking photos on my trips and then letting them sit on my hard drives. I'm going to try to remedy that but just so everyone knows I'm a little behind. Don't worry, ill keep it within the last year or so! The other thing that hinders my posts is the all the writing... I'm a better kayaker and photographer than a writer. So... I'm hoping to stick to the "a picture is worth a thousand words" theory for now and at lest start putting up some small trip reports, session photos and other random Riot related stuff!
with all that said... I had a small photo of me published in Newsweek Magazine. The photo was shot in Laos by Trask McFarland and it accompanied a review on the Vio helmet cam that we used down there (http://www.vio-pov.com/). Its not everyday i can tell my mom to go get a copy of Newsweek and see a photo of me! Supposedly there was a Japanese version we never got our hands on... anyways, kind of cool...
l8
matt
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Coming Home
A long, long time ago a little company called Riot took a chance on sponsoring a no-name kayaker who had no money, no real prospects, and no paddling resume to speak of. Actually, in the beginning I owed Riot a boat because I demolished a demo boat on Eagle Creek.
I realize that no matter what I say, people will write this off as a completely biased review. For those neigh-sayers, skip to the video for proof that the boats actually perform. For everyone else that's curious about how the boats perform, read on.
Astro 54: I'll be honest, at first I looked at the Astro's kick rocker and assumed the boat was going to be a pig on the wave. Usually the more rocker on a boat the slower it's going to be on the big wave. I had seen Fisher paddle the Astro 58, but that man could Air Blunt a dugout canoe.
So to give the boat a real test I shoved it into the back on my trusty Subaru and headed up to Skookumchuck for some big wave testing.
Once I had the Astro out on the wave I absolutely fell in love with it. It's surprisingly fast. I'm not saying it's a rocket ship, but I was really surprised that I could stay on the wave even when it completely greened out. It also holds speed so you have a better chance of doing combo moves - like bread and butters or KY's - without getting dragged off the wave.
The big flat area under the seat also makes for a really large landing pad for big blunts and airscrews. I had a lot of fun doing past verts and landing in a green grind without catching my edge and getting completely destroyed. The biggest down side to the Astro is that with the bow rocker you really have to pump the boat to do Flashbacks.
In all I was really stoked with how the boat handles on a big wave, and I only thing I regret is leaving Skook.
Magnum 72:
The plan was originally go to Skook for a few days and then go creeking in the Squamish area. Unfortunately we were banking on cold weather keeping the snow melt to a minimum. What we got were warm sunny days at Skook, and nothing but ridiculously high water for the rest of the trip.
Shut down on Plan A, we switched to Plan B which involved paddling anything remotely doable so I could finally get some time in my Magnum. I ended up paddling Icicle Creek, and another creek that I can't remember in, Washington with my nomadic friend Morgan Koons.
The Magnum handled everything like Muhamed Ali; "Float like a butterfly, and punch through everything that stands in your way." Even without properly outfitting the boat I was stoked with how nimble it was on the water. It turned easy and still held it's line through a hole. I didn't get a proper chance to run the Magnum through it's paces so I'll just reiterate what Spencer said to me. "This things the sh!t"
I'll post more when I get the chance to take the Magnum back out on the water, but for now it feels good to be home.
Check out the video of Skook at Rapid Transit.
Enjoy,
Karl
Friday, June 20, 2008
The Backwheel in a Riot Magnum
The Backwheel. The Backwards Freewheel. A Reverse Freewheel. The Switchwheel...No actually the Switchwheel might be a splitwheel freewheeled, now that I think about it. Yes, that's what a Switchwheel would be. This is a Backwheel.
My good buddy BK, as in Bryan Kirk, not Booger King, took these outrageous shots of me last summer (N. Hemisphere summer that is.) The stage is set at Pummel Falls on the Potomac River at last year's Po-toe-Mac-n-Cheese Fest. (No baked potatoes smothered and covered with Mac-n-Cheese were actually served at the Fest, although it was quite a good time!) I received them recently, and thought some of you cowboys and cowgirls out there might be keen on viewing them. So before we begin I'll say THANKS to Bryan for being hot on the trigger, as well as shooting them down under to me! Chur bro!
It is a common misconception about the Backwheel that it is what you do when you are scared and don't want to look as you go off a waterfall. That is what freewheeling is for. If you think about it, when you freewheel, you look down at the lip as you go off, and then look upstream...you never have to look down! Backwheeling is quite different.
This Backwheel was done out of anger, spontinuity, and curiosity. When I got back up to the top after hucking, Bryan was like..."Bro I got a picture of you doing that where you can see the whites of your eyes!" If people on the bank can't see the whites of your eyes while you are backwheeling drops, you probably aren't going to land them. Spot yer landing ya'll!!!
Patience is an invaluable tool while kayaking. The Backwheel requires much patience. At this point though, fluidity kicks in, your body un-winds and you raise the roof because just for a split second all is good and well in life.
Take that, rewind it back, the Magnum got the beat to make yo booty go CLAP!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Mc Coy Creek Wa.
Its true, the best creeking in Oregon is in Washington!
McCoy Creeks is a bitty trib of the Cispus near Randle Washing. Bennet calls for 150-600 cfs at 5-15% of the Cispus at Randle. We had about 3K there giving us a calculated 150-450cfs but I swear it was more than that. Its been a banner snow pack year in the Northwest so getting with almost all the water coming from up top our own visual estimates were more along the 600cfs range. You can look at the photos and make up your own mind though.
McCoy is a fairly rarely run and often over looked high quality creek that is probably over shadowed by close by runs, the Upper Upper Cispus , the Ohanepecosh and the Clear Fork of the Cowlitz. While it may not have the draw of the other better known runs, its packed with fun ledges and some big slides and combo drops. There’s even a good sized waterfall just to round out the experience.
Casey, Rick, Jame, Richard and I met the bridge over the Cispus on FR 23 at 9:45AM. Rick and I met up in the morning, the other three had camped up there the night before for a shake down cruise in his new EuroVan.
Put on grins
Rick and I had done this one once, about a year before the other three were new to the run. McCoy Cr on Oregon Kayaking.
It looked a bit higher than last time and there were few eddies in sight. There was a nervous pause at the put in and a brief hesitant conversation then ended with us putting on happily but nervously but that could have had something to do with the miners with guns and a stuck pickup truck down the put in path.
As it turned out Rick and I had forgotten most of the run which is a real shame considering the number of quality drops that are in there. I was constantly anticipating the pothole drop around every bend fearing wood in the narrow channel allowing you to skirt the pothole.
Rain forced me to put the camera away after a few misty photos of the first big slide. We all ran down the right skirting the pocket hole on the left. The next major drop is a tight double drop with a log filled bouldery s-turn lead in. The line is clear but the potential for carnage is obvious.
The next big drop is Chinook Falls, or as the Bennet Guide calls it. BUD (Backwards and Upside Down). The lead in to Chinook lurks around a tight right hand turn that currently has wood most of the way across guarding the normal scout eddy. It’s a little bit of a scramble to make it, but there are other eddies available before being committed to this 50ft + three tiered slide.
Chinook starts with a twisty, boily lead in to a 6-8 ledge that you want to boof with left angle. The right side is ugly and will probably result in a quick and unexpected trip down the center of the last slide, into a nasty hole.. that is, if you make it through the crack there. Out of the 5 of us, we had on walker. The 4 that ran it, nobody had exactly a clean line of this ledge. The eddy between the last two drops is swift.
Me on the entrance to Chinook from an earlier trip. Photo by Rick Cooley
The last part of the drop is a wide slide, clean down the right and nasty down the middle to left. There’s some video floating around of a Portland boater getting sucked back into that hole. It seemed to flush more at our flows though, and a good thing too as James, who didn’t quite make the line, gutted the bottom hole but came out upright and just fine.
After bombing down through some fun and clean ledges you eventually make it to the big runnable falls. The book calls it 20ft. They also suggest a portage.
Silly books. The falls is super fun and we had runs down the right for a plug and doen the middle for a boof. I recommend strong left to center momentum as the left wall hooks in and the current will push you into it. I ended up again the wall rolling and getting pulled back in. Not fun when a 40' un-runnable drop is just downstream.
The right line at the 20ft falls. Photo by Rick Cooley.
McCoy Creeks is a bitty trib of the Cispus near Randle Washing. Bennet calls for 150-600 cfs at 5-15% of the Cispus at Randle. We had about 3K there giving us a calculated 150-450cfs but I swear it was more than that. Its been a banner snow pack year in the Northwest so getting with almost all the water coming from up top our own visual estimates were more along the 600cfs range. You can look at the photos and make up your own mind though.
McCoy is a fairly rarely run and often over looked high quality creek that is probably over shadowed by close by runs, the Upper Upper Cispus , the Ohanepecosh and the Clear Fork of the Cowlitz. While it may not have the draw of the other better known runs, its packed with fun ledges and some big slides and combo drops. There’s even a good sized waterfall just to round out the experience.
Casey, Rick, Jame, Richard and I met the bridge over the Cispus on FR 23 at 9:45AM. Rick and I met up in the morning, the other three had camped up there the night before for a shake down cruise in his new EuroVan.
Put on grins
Rick and I had done this one once, about a year before the other three were new to the run. McCoy Cr on Oregon Kayaking.
It looked a bit higher than last time and there were few eddies in sight. There was a nervous pause at the put in and a brief hesitant conversation then ended with us putting on happily but nervously but that could have had something to do with the miners with guns and a stuck pickup truck down the put in path.
As it turned out Rick and I had forgotten most of the run which is a real shame considering the number of quality drops that are in there. I was constantly anticipating the pothole drop around every bend fearing wood in the narrow channel allowing you to skirt the pothole.
Richard finishing up the drop with the pothole. We all ran left.
Rain forced me to put the camera away after a few misty photos of the first big slide. We all ran down the right skirting the pocket hole on the left. The next major drop is a tight double drop with a log filled bouldery s-turn lead in. The line is clear but the potential for carnage is obvious.
Richard below the tight double drop.
The next big drop is Chinook Falls, or as the Bennet Guide calls it. BUD (Backwards and Upside Down). The lead in to Chinook lurks around a tight right hand turn that currently has wood most of the way across guarding the normal scout eddy. It’s a little bit of a scramble to make it, but there are other eddies available before being committed to this 50ft + three tiered slide.
Chinook starts with a twisty, boily lead in to a 6-8 ledge that you want to boof with left angle. The right side is ugly and will probably result in a quick and unexpected trip down the center of the last slide, into a nasty hole.. that is, if you make it through the crack there. Out of the 5 of us, we had on walker. The 4 that ran it, nobody had exactly a clean line of this ledge. The eddy between the last two drops is swift.
Me on the entrance to Chinook from an earlier trip. Photo by Rick Cooley
James halfway through Chinook Falls workin to stay in the eddy
The last part of the drop is a wide slide, clean down the right and nasty down the middle to left. There’s some video floating around of a Portland boater getting sucked back into that hole. It seemed to flush more at our flows though, and a good thing too as James, who didn’t quite make the line, gutted the bottom hole but came out upright and just fine.
Richard finishing up the bottom slide of Chinook Falls
After bombing down through some fun and clean ledges you eventually make it to the big runnable falls. The book calls it 20ft. They also suggest a portage.
Silly books. The falls is super fun and we had runs down the right for a plug and doen the middle for a boof. I recommend strong left to center momentum as the left wall hooks in and the current will push you into it. I ended up again the wall rolling and getting pulled back in. Not fun when a 40' un-runnable drop is just downstream.
The right line at the 20ft falls. Photo by Rick Cooley.
Richard really hit the boof on the '20ft' falls.
The big portage was next up and though I've heard of a better way, we instead went up and around and roped the boats down a couple hundred feet before 'schwacking down to river level. Once down there and after a short breather, Rick paddled across and looked upstream at the clear path down to the river.
Shortly after that, the confluence of Yellowjacket and a mile or so of read and run class IV followed by a couple more miles of annoying class II.
Unfortunately, my shoulder was too sore in the morning to paddle on Sunday but we spent the better part of it driving around anyway. We found out that the road to the Super Slides run on the Cispus still has plenty of snow miles from the take out and that the put in for Smith Creek is REALLY steep.
Check out more photos here.
Till next time!
The big portage was next up and though I've heard of a better way, we instead went up and around and roped the boats down a couple hundred feet before 'schwacking down to river level. Once down there and after a short breather, Rick paddled across and looked upstream at the clear path down to the river.
Shortly after that, the confluence of Yellowjacket and a mile or so of read and run class IV followed by a couple more miles of annoying class II.
Unfortunately, my shoulder was too sore in the morning to paddle on Sunday but we spent the better part of it driving around anyway. We found out that the road to the Super Slides run on the Cispus still has plenty of snow miles from the take out and that the put in for Smith Creek is REALLY steep.
Check out more photos here.
Till next time!
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