Check out this video that Gareth Tate put together from the Toxaway and Raven Fork Rivers. He had the opportunity to hit these NC classics the week before the Green Race with a world class team of paddlers from NC, CO, TN, and the Czech Republic.  Gareth is one of our local crew who grew up making goat cheese in the Piedmont of NC with his family. Now he spends most of his time running the steeps of WNC, hammering on his bike, and teaching swiftwater rescue curriculum for Landmark Learning

paddlers:  Gareth Tate,  Drew Duvall,  Laura Farrel,  Jakub Nemic, Chris Baer, Chad Pickens, Billy Jones, and others.

Our friend Jakub is a paddler from the Czech Republic.  He has been on the road for about a year paddling and filming for his movie HONEST…here’s the teaser so chekkit.  We are looking forward to having Jakub in town for the Green Race.

Our friend Chris Morelli is an up and coming paddler from the Northeast and works at Mountainman Outdoor Supply. He put together this important safety reminder to always carry a rope. Chris uses the Greenjacket with an integrated throwbag for easy access during rescue situations.

Here’s a really creative video from Astral team paddler Kelsey Thompson that shows some of the places, faces, and sick freestyle moves that went down at this years World Championships in Thun, Switzerland.

2009 World Freestyle Kayaking Championships from Kelsey Thompson on Vimeo.

Check out more from Kelsey on his blog:  -Atlantic Kayaker

by Christina Russell

Meadowcamp from my Perspective from Christina Russell on Vimeo.

Here’s a refreshing video sent in from team paddler Christina Russell.

Lava Island Falls 2160cfs Headcam from Josh Mckeown on Vimeo.

Hey Bryan-

It has been a frigid week here in Western North Carolina. Temperatures and operational schedules have been sub-optimal. This has given me ample time to wade through my hard-drive in search of entertainment. Check out these not-so-great lines from past trips and remember to keep ‘er on line in ‘09!

chengqui,

JC Rain

WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS EXPLICIT LYRICS

whitewater mix tape - volume 1.0 from jc rain on Vimeo.

I’ve been back in New Zealand now for about six months… six months since I was running the stout in Cali. It’s been a long winter of no kayaking here in NZ, but the summer is finally here and I’m getting the gear out and getting back on the river finally.

Here’s a little recap of the demshitz crew on the South Branch of the Feather this past spring in California.

Cali Creekin 08: South Branch of the Feather from Aplin Independent on Vimeo.

I love watching this footage, you can’t beat California. I can’t wait to head back there again next year.

I’m super excited about the new Green Jacket and can’t wait to test it out on some kiwi creeks, so keep an eye out for some updates from the upcoming NZ summer.

Lawrance Simpson

This past summer a group of West Asheville boaters took a trip to BC to go kayaking and run waterfalls. A group favorite during the trip was the Callaghan/Cheakamus double. The day consisted of waking up to a run on the Callaghan Creek, back to the Cheakamus parking lot for lunch, then up to the put-in for afternoon run(s) on the Cheakamus. This was the program for a few days before heading north to the Birkenhead River and Cayoosh Creek. There is still more footage from those runs that will be edited in the future. The footage in this video was shot by Jason Dillow, Jon Crain, and Gareth Tate & edited by Jon Crain. Hope you enjoy and don’t forget that all rivers in BC are currently under threat from private power production by some of the worlds largest corporations.

Also, Take a moment and learn about what is at stake and how it could affect your next kayaking trip to BC:

BC Creek Protection Society Homepage

Save Our Rivers Society

The Range Life - 49 Megawatts

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h92S_iSD5G8[/youtube]

Hope you enjoy,

Jon Crain

Our buddy Hiro loves to spend his downtime on the water. He works at Pearl Trading Company, Japan’s premier supplier of paddlesports gear, and he’s also an accomplished kayaker of many disciplines. One of the newest subcultures of kayaking is the blending of two sports: kayaking and fishing, which I hear is a ton of fun. Hiro is one of the founding fathers of Japanese Kayak Fishing and as you can see by his photo below, he’s just about got it dialed.

Another impressive subculture of kayaking is Squirt Boating. which has also become quite popular in Hiro’s homeland. Each year, squirt boating legend Jim Snyder makes his annual pilgrimage to Japan, accompanied by a “guest of honor.” The growth in popularity of squirt boating all over the world can be attributed to Jim and his amazing boat designs and technique. This year he invited our good friend Paul Bartholic from Asheville to join him on the journey. Paul (aka “Buddha”) was able to snag a video camera for the trip and he captured some pretty cool images of what hanging out in Japan is like. So check out this short video of Jim, Paul, and their friends from Japan. Musical score is compliments of DJ Phidelity.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un1Jsal7nkQ[/youtube]

-Bryan