Ok, so we weren't actually in Hollywood, they came to us... ;-)
Anyway we finally got a photo gallery up of the best pics from the movie shoot last week! Candid pics of Ice, Docta P, Gary and the "father of the sport", Bob Carlson, as well as Oscar winners, Emmy winners (that's so fun to say ;-) ) and a whole crew of great people!
Click The Pic!
Photo of Docta P by Michael Jones
These pics were obviously taken at different flows, but if you're landlocked the Truckee Whitewater Park in Reno is still a great place to go boogie surf and get your riverboarding fix in. =) Thanks to Alex for the pics!
Got riverboarding pics? Send them to us: extreme @ facelevel.com.
Bob Carlson (yes, that Carlson) and Max (nickname - B) ran the North Yuba recently and got some sweet pics. They're going to be doing a section of the Tuolomne River soon and we're excited to see footage.
Class V Maytag on the North Yuba
Bob Carlson in Maytag
Max (B) in Maytag
And finally surfacing again!
GOT PICS? Share them with us. extreme @ facelevel.com.
//FLR Staff
www.FaceLevel.com
So I finally received a copy of the French Language textbook entitled "Quoi de neuf?" which will be used, I believe, in parts of Canada. I don't recall if it's going to be used to teach English speaking Canadians to speak French, or French speaking Canadians to speak French. Nor do I know what that title means. But considering my college Spanish textbook was entitled "Y tu?" (meaning "And you?"), it's probably not a title with a lot of literary depth.
Regardless, somebody's going to learn French, and a lot of little somebodies are going to see Docta P's mug and his Carlson Riverboard for the next 30 years.
Considering what a tiny segment of the textbook the picture is (um, 1 picture, with the title "la nage en eau vive", which roughly translates "to swim in the river" - do a google search on nage en eau vive), it was really nice of the publishers to send us a copy. Docta P's mom said she's got dibs on keeping it. Peter said he'll pass on claiming that pic as him. But c'mon man, not everbody looks beautiful all the time in a rapid. Although it was an inopportune time to spit out that apricot pit. ;-)
Here's Peter posing at home with the book, and an enlarged version of the pic they used.
//FLR Staff
www.FaceLevel.com
If nearly 400 riverboarders in one place within a day or two of each other isn't the biggest riverboarding gathering of all time, then we're not privy to some pretty big information! This was an amazing event, and the riverboarding section was loved by everyone - although the number one comment was "why couldn't the whole section have been like that last rapid?!"
Sure there was a lot of flatwater - but overall everybody had a good time, got a taste of the fun of flying through rapids, and the industry is going to get some awesome exposure on ESPN2 and ABC Sports.
An endless line of riverboarders comes down the river toward the last rapid, Swasey's
Piles of riverboards, sledges, and boogie boards await their teams on the beach
A great variety of riverboards, sledges, and hydrospeeds resting in
the Red Cliffs Lodge winery. Represented are Blissticks, Carlson
riverboards, Rocky Mountain riverboards, RIVERx Rescue riverboards, Ripboards, Hydrospeeds,
and some homemade foam boards apparently modeled after the RMR.
There's not a whole lot that can really be said about Tumwater Canyon on the upper Wenatchee at 11,000cfs. Take these pictures, multiply them by sections 1/2 mile to a mile long, and consider that an unnamed rapid above the big stuff (probably a Class IV) had enough force in one of the holes to break a rescue vest leash...which is rated at 3,000lbs. If the small holes have that much power, there's no telling what something like the hole pictured below would do to the human body.
It's not that the river isn't runnable at this level - it's been done (see Twitch V) by world-class kayakers. After Docta P's leash broke though, and it took us 5 hours of miserable hiking to retrieve it from the other side of the river, we decided that with our current boards and gear it wasn't going to happen.
Ice was the voice of reason in the group, with his main concern being that in a half mile stretch there were about 15 - 20 moves that you would have to make in order to avoid the incredibly powerful holes. If you missed even one of those moves, you could be done for. Yes, eventually you'd flush out of most of the holes - but it only takes 30 seconds of getting several thousand cfs of water rammed down your throat to finish you off. That was his concern.
With the right gear, the right board (which quite frankly is probably not in existence yet, though South African Mike Horn's hydrospeed might be an option), and absolute certainty that you had every move memorized, it's entirely runnable.
Just remember - if it looks big from the shore, it'll seem 5 times bigger when you're in it, riverboarding, with your head 6 inches off the water.
A meaty hole in the middle of a lengthy stretch of whitewater in Tumwater Canyon. And yes, those are logs on the other side of the river - aka TREES. How's that for a little size perspective...
The rest of the way after that meaty hole
Docta P posing above Perfection of Whitewater at 11,000cfs
Picturesque Icicle creek - if you're looking for a beautiful place to camp, hike, and be surrounded by great whitewater, Leavenworth Washington is the place to go...
//FLR Staff
www.FaceLevel.com
White Salmon Gorge Race - White Salmon River, BZ Corners, Washington
The White Salmon was pumping huge Memorial Day weekend, so fast in fact
that the guys ran the entire stretch from the base of BZ Falls all the
way down Husum and to the surfing hole at Rattlesnake in only 45
minutes!
The gorge was rippin' and the race went down on a timed basis instead of head to head. This week the racers were within just a couple seconds of each other, and had LD not let up early, thinking he'd already crossed the finish line, he may have taken the crown. As it turned out, though, Larry had the highlight of the weekend anyway, splitting his head open on his 4th trip over Husum Falls and giving a bevy of commercial rafts quite a fright as he emerged from the froth looking like he'd met the mean end of a bazooka (he was ok). We'll have video up soon.
RACE RESULTS
1st Place: Docta P - 2:10 (70 points)
2nd Place: Ice - 2:14 (50 points)
3rd Place: LD - 2:17 (50 points - 5 extra for the falls entertainment)
BZ Falls and the put-in (you jump off the cliff)
The lower half of Maytag
Docta P in Husum Falls
Larry Davidson in Husum Falls
LD catching a quick wave on Liz's Ripboard
LD surfing on the Carlson
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