Archive

You may not make it - or maybe you'll try a sleep-inducing all-night drive - but the Gorge Games are back as is the extreme race on Hood River's White Salmon River this Saturday, July 19, 2008.

The river community lost one of its own—and a pioneer extraordinaire--on June 22, 2008, when Volker Beer died at age 70 while kayaking the Arkansas River north of Buena Vista, Colo. “He was doing what he loved best,” says son, Tom. “He lived as he died--with exuberance and an unyielding sense of adventure...”

Vote early and often. That's the message being sent out by Friends of the Cheat as its vies to win a $50,000 grant in a contest offered by California;'s Redwood Creek Wine. Simply visit the Redwood Creek web site and vote for the Big Sandy project, one of five non-profit finalists...

The wait is over. Thirty-six years after whitewater slalom made its Olympic debut in Augsburg, Germany, in 1972, the same course earned five U.S. paddlers their stripes to compete in the Beijing Olympics in August...

With a company name honoring his great, great grandfather Nicholae Talic, a woodworker from The Netherlands, Tim Tucker is changing the way paddlers store their boats...

As if having the Grand in your backyard wasn’t good enough, Arizona paddler Tyler Williams has stepped up his penchant for stroking by embarking on a unique Source to Sea expedition, exploring western North America's four major rivers from headwater to salt water. This year’s mission: The Columbia...

A hoax involving the photoshopped magazine cover had Northwest chatrooms aflutter about somebody running the massive waterfall in Washington...

While Tiger Woods forced a playoff at the US Open, Stephen Wright made sure kayaking’s freestyle national championships would need no such shootout at FIBARK. Plus, tales of carnage from the event's record-swimmer Boatercross...

Start keying up the Taps theme. Necky Kayaks, once a major player in the whitewater arena, recently announced that it is pulling the plug on the category to better focus on the more profitable rec and touring markets...

“We’ve Created a Monster!” That’s the sentiment behind a new river-wide play wave built on the Colorado River earlier this spring that is drawing kayakers and even board surfers from across the country...

Tao is on a tear. Fresh off a Class V creek race victory on the South St. Vrain at the Lyons Games , His Berman-ness laid claim to a win at the Dagger Steep Creek Championships on Homestake Creek, kicking off the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, Colo...

Row, row, row your boat. That's what Roz Savage will be doing a lot of now, as she left May 24 on an unprecedented mission to become to first woman to row solo across the entire Pacfiic Ocean...

Bigger and better than ever, Tao Berman wins the creek race at the Lyons Outdoor Games, Nick Troutman bags another freestyle event and Dagger's Ken Hoeve nearly decapitates Tino Specht.

While Australia's Tanya Faux won this year's Paddling Life Pro Invitational for the third time running, for the men it boiled down to a tie between Andrew Holcombe and Nick Troutman, complete with a Rock, Paper, Scissors showdown to split up prizes at the rocking awards party...

After acquiring Lotus Designs in 1998, Patagonia seemed to be sinking its teeth full-bore into paddlesports. All that's changed now as the apparel giant is officially saying sayonarra to the paddling industry. Plus: a PL Exclusive with Lotus founder and Astral Buoyancy head Philip Curry ..

Holy pilfering paddle peddlers, Bat Man! They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but Werner Paddles says it can do without. The company recently unearthed a Chinese manufacturer that's using Werner's images and even product names to peddle their own watersports wares...

When 1972 C-1 bronze medalist Jamie McEwan, now 55, showed up at this year's Olympic Team Trials in Charlotte, N.C., to race C-2 with son Devin, it brought back a flood of memories as to why he, and others, race slalom. A PL stroll down slalom's memory lane...

West Virginia's Cheat River Festival is one of the most rowdy whitewater events in the country. And the Cheat Race is a classic amongst racing aficionados. Event organizer Rick Gusic recaps the rumble in the West Virginia jungle.

While the eruption of Chile's Chaiten Volcano May 5 devasted its namesake town, one of whitewater paddlesport’s most beloved locales, Chile’s Futaleufu Valley, located 70 miles away, is already recovering from getting blanketed by ash. Outfitters say next year's whitewater season won't be affected at all. Plus: a firsthand report from outfitter Chris Spelius and update from futafriends...

This spring, expeditioner and friend-of-PL Jon Bowermaster added the final feather to his ten-year-long OCEANS 8 project, which took him around the world one continent at a time by sea kayak. While each adventure was wildly different – from the Aleutian Islands and Vietnam to French Polynesia and Tasmania – each was connected by his floating ‘ambassadors,’ the kayaks, providing a unique, sea level look at the health of the world’s oceans and the lives of people who depend on them. Read on for a first-person account of his latest journey to Antarctica...

With Brett Heyl besting Scott Parsons in men's K-1, Zuzana Vanha topping Nee Ashley in women's K-1, Jeff Larimer beating Benn Fraker in C-1; and Scott McCleskey and Austin Crane on top in C2 at the Charlotte Olympic Trials, the road to Beijing is as convoluted as ever. The good news is that the U.S. fared well, and will field a full whitewater team...

Kelsey Thompson loves freestyle. Kelsey Thompson loves creekin'. Kelsey Thompson loves kayakin'. Hence he has to love his paddling gear. Check out what this Nova Scotian is wearin' on the water this season to keep from freezin'.

It’s been more than 10 long years since Colorado’s most epic surf wave, Big Sur, graced the bottom of boaters’ hulls for more than a few hours (it appeared briefly in 2004). Before that, it was in 1997, when Prijon’s Hurricane was in vogue. With eight of the state’s resorts reporting record snowfall, and April adding to the tally, PL is betting that this year the most unique wave this side of Skookumchuck will resurface after its long mystery move...

The Paddling Life editors recently went through some of their favorite accessories in the gear closet and came up with these fine offerings. There's plenty of quality whitewater equipment out there this spring. We'll keep you updated as more goods flow through our closet. For now, feast your eyes on these must haves.