There is always something special about getting good water levels in the summer. Memories of paddling in the cold, breaking ice and having to wear half a dozen layers fades very quickly.
Andrew Reed’s edit captures this feeling perfectly. Enjoy.
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Over the last few days Team Unsponsored has been camped out on the West Coast of Scotland. With a number of pieces of gear ready for a final review it made sense to use a couple of the days to hunt down some whitewater that may not have been paddled before. Suffice to say the hunt was very successful.
What has been interesting is that it is very easy to have pretty epic adventures here in the UK.
Using different forms of transport to get myself and my gear to some pretty remote and beautiful places has added to the experience.
The Garry Boater-X is in its 3rd year, held on the dam-release River Garry near Fort Augustus and organised by Kevin Barclay and Daryn Hubbucks in association with the SCA, Pillow Rock and Go Kayaking Scotland. This year, the competition was attended by 41 men, 18 ladies and many more spectators. Here’s a little write-up from my first experience of boater-x.
The Garry Boater-X 2015 was a truly well-organised event. A friendly host of mainly Scottish paddlers were welcoming on arrival at the river and despite knowing very few other people on arrival, by the time the last finals were held, it seemed that everyone knew everyone despite some fierce rivalries and intense competition!
Kayaking Tumwater Canyon is fun at a large range of flows. This is my favorite level for these drops. Whitewater can be challenging, stay safe out there.
Earlier this year Steve Fisher and Pat Keller ran the Merced river the Yosemite National Park (USA).
Episode one from Outside TV gives a pretty good feel of what is to come. I am not convinced about the “Professional Stunt. Do Not Attempt” warnings through this edit.
Kirstie Macmillan gives us her first thoughts on the Five Ten Canyoneer 3 boots.
What Five Ten Say:
In canyoneering, where static friction is life and sliding friction death, Canyoneers have become the gold standard. The Canyoneer 3, with its Stealth S1 soles, reflects more than 15 years of R&D in some of the world’s harshest environments. The new 2015 Canyoneer retains the burly protection and excellent stability of its predecessor, but adds an increased lug height for improved penetration on soft ground and easier mud release. We’ve added welded rubber rands that interlock with the mesh upper to eliminate any chance of delamination; an asymmetric fast-lace system for single-handed adjustability in cold, wet conditions; a protective tuck-away lace pouch and svelte heel cage for torsional stiffness and support. And the flexible ankle cuff gives you support and protection without compromising range of motion.
Black Owl Media have a pretty good catalogue of edits. This one shows Trevor Sheehan in action.
A place of legend, the Bitches is tidal race just off the Welsh coastline. It’s a favourite with paddlers of all types. When it is running you’ll see various types of boats and the odd surfboard.
Unsponsored has more about The Bitches here.
Knox Hammack is one of paddlers I follow on Vimeo. The edits he produces are superb and this one from the World Class Academy is no exception.
Regulars to Unsponsored will know that now and again Unsponsored’s little brother River (Militia) breaks out of his maximum security stockade. Last year he made it all the way to Norway. We haven’t been able to release the video edit until now due to a number of international incidents that took place on the way to Norway.
Anyway, he was on the run in Norway for four whole weeks and in that time managed to hit a number of Norwegian classics.
You can’t go wrong with a little bit of rafting action. Nick Pearce shot this little edit on the Brandseth.
The scenery in this part of Norway is nothing short of stunning.
Tumwater Canyon is perhaps the biggest roadside whitewater anywhere. Located just out of Leavenworth, Washington, the Wenatchee River carves a 6000 foot deep gorge though solid granite. Class V and Class VI is just steps from the guardrail. We followed 23 year old Sam Grafton as he lapped this big water section all by himself.
Pure Land Expeditions
Northshore Watersports
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