Archive

Marking the first time such an even has been held at a recirculating, man-made whitewater park, the National Freestyle Kayaking Championships went off without a hitch Sept. 28-29 at McHenry, Md's Adventure Sports Center...

Private paddlers and commercial passengers hoping to float the coveted Main Salmon this summer had a rougher go of it than usual as wildfires ravaged the river corridor throughout late July and August. Click here for an inside peek from PL...

Karl Moser is what we like to call a super-stud. He’s one of the baddest freestyle kayakers on the West Coast, an award-winning film producer (Epicocity Project) and most recently, the organizer of Gear for Good, a campaign donating kayaking equipment to paddlers in Uganda. Paddling Life caught up with the 25-year-old Eugene, Ore. resident to learn more.

Pole dancing, karoke and mosh pits, oh my! Aside from the world-class paddling and on-river carnage, that sums up Gauley Fest, which went off without a hitch Sept 21-23 as a fun-raiser and fundraiser for American Whitewater. Click here for the lowdown (including risque pole-dancing results)...

Gauley Fest. The mere mention of the paddling world’s most rambunctious party--a 5,000-person-strong watery Woodstock celebrating the annual fall releases on West Virginia’s Gauley River and benefiting American Whitewater--makes your liver hurt. Here’s Paddling Life’s primer on what to expect on river and off...

An Exploration, by Kayak, of the Labyrinths of Western Patagonia Eager to protect the dramatic landscapes of Western Patagonia, this September Cristian Donoso...

There aren't many rivers in the world that strike as much fear into the hearts of whitewater enthusiasts as Canada's Stikine River. Austin Rathman takes us through the fear and emotions of running this Class V classic.

Who says Barry Bonds is stealing all the limelight in San Francisco? While the slugger recently beat Hank Aaron’s homerun mark at home for the Giants, organizers of the 2007 U.S. Surf Ski Championships are anticipating a homerun of their own when the 2007 US Surf Ski Champs come to San Francisco Sept. 29-30. Our pick: Oscar Chalupsky, with epic Kayaks business partner Greg Barton a close second...

"Conservation Through Exploration.” In late August 2007, Epicocity Project team members Howard "Trip" Jennings, Kyle Dickman, Brian Eustis, Matt Fields Johnson, Andy Maser, and...

Our guide-in-training, the illustrious Shea Stephens, writes about learning the rafting ropes... "The first raft I carried to the bus fell on my head three times. We weren’t even on the river yet and I was already being laughed at. The guys snickered and mumbled, probably taking bets on how long I would last and who I would end up hooking up with..."

PL's Wendy Lautner reviews the latest whitewater offerings from South Africa's Fluid Kayaks...

Call my wife and I hippy home-schoolers if you will, but with apologies to my daughter’s second-grade teacher, Mrs. Stoddard, there’s no better instructor than the Great Outdoors. Which is why it's odd that board members from Meredith, N.H.’s Inter-Lake School District objected to an Outing Club-sponsored rafting trip for students on the Dead River...

At this year’s Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City, there was an unfamiliar air of excitement among Confluence Watersports employees, something that has been missing in recent years. Maybe it has to do with better leadership? Confluence interim CEO Tom Nathanson isn’t a paddler. But he knows business and has the respect of his co-workers . He was hired by American Capital to run Confluence because he understood family-run companies – a commodity Confluence has acquired plenty of in the last few years. Paddling Life caught up with Nathanson, who talked about searching for a new CEO, Dagger, Wave Sport and the paddlesports industry.

The canoe and kayak manufacturing business was a good one to be in last week as record floods descended upon three counties in Minnesota, including Winona, home to Wenonah Canoe and Current Designs, causing the area to be declared a national disaster area. Fortunately Wenonah escaped the brunt of the deluge...

Freestylers to Compete for National Honors at New Recirculating Whitewater Course Event Set to Re-energize a Young Sport as it Reaches for...

Charleston, SC, August 22nd 2007 --- Epic is pleased to announce John Radel has been hired as General Manager. . John will manage day...

How does Lindsay Lohan keep from getting drunk, high or otherwise stupid? By trusting raft guides who sometimes have a reputation for getting drunk high or otherwise stupid. Last week, the paparazzi caught Lindsay paddling flatwater with rehab pals – and we assume, sober guides – on Utah’s Provo River. Although we can’t actually confirm it was “whitewater,” we know Lohan was staying in the raft and staying off the sauce.

A book-signing tour turns into a raging sampling of Front Range whitewater parks with the South Platte cresting at a near-high 3,500 cfs. Plus: a behind-the-scenes look at the hosting of this year's Paddling Life Invitational...

Graham Mackereth has always been ahead of the curve. The Pyranha founder developed one of the early plastic kayaks – the Freestyle – and was one of the first boat manufacturers to sponsor a major river expedition – Nepal’s Dudh Kosi (1976). He’s watched kayaking go from fiberglass to plastic, and from 12 feet to six.

FLUID KAYAKS TAKES OVER DISTRIBUTION IN THE USA All activities relating to Fluid Kayaks in the USA will be handled by the head office in...

Whoo-boy. We’re back from OR Summer Market tradeshow and our heads are reeling from product, partying and overall schmoozing. What was the buzz there this year (besides Paddling Life and BoaterTalk joining forces)? Read on for a blow-by-blow narrative of PL’s time at the show (including Pennsylvania's Jared Seiler nailing a record 22 rolls in 30 seconds)... …

(A new column by an Ocoee guide-in-training) I'm not a typical first year guide on the Ocoee. Most come to the river to make a little money before school. I'm a little different. At 31, I had an early-mid life crisis. I went from martini parties in Atlanta to walking around the outpost with bare feet and PBR in hand...shedding the dead weight of a southern socialite, morphing into a well trained raft guide. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it.

In an agonizing twist of fate, longtime Idaho kayaker Conrad Fourney, 48, was killed on the North Fork of the Payette Sunday after his boat became pinned in Nutcracker Rapid, part of the upper five miles of this famous 15-mile, Class V run.

August 3, 2007; Seymour, CT- Thule is introducing the Ultimate Thule Dealer program that recognizes dealers that “go beyond the borders”, and provide consumers...