Ottawa XL

 

     The inaugural Ottawa XL this past weekend held on the flooding waters of the Ottawa River was an unbelievable weekend. Event sponsors Wilderness Tours and Ottawa Kayak School, along with event Coordinator, Joel Kowalski got the help from mother nature that they were hoping for! High flows and the perfect levels for both the freestyle event and the boater-cross meant that it could be as successful as this event could possibly be! Add the fact that the event was part of the qualifying series for next springs Whitewater Grand Prix and the weekend was packed full of excitement.

                                              Photo: Patrick Camblin

 

      49 men and 4 women from 8 countries gathered on the banks of the Ottawa for a weekend that included two separate events that would combine and give the competitor an overall score and standing. With the Top 5 from the 2 days qualifying for the 2014 Whitewater Grand Prix. To make the event as intense as possible and make sure the athletes chosen were Grand Prix worthy, the freestyle feature and race course were chosen appropriately. The wave of legend known as Gladiator came out at prime levels to do battle with competitors all day Saturday. While the race course included some of the biggest whitewater that the Ottawa river has to offer in the combination of Lunch Stop waves, the Normans and Coliseum in respective order, with the race ending just above and to the right of the infamous Coliseum death Ledge.

 

      The saturday started off as all kayak competitions due, with the sense of organized chaos. With only a few people knowing for sure what was happening at any given moment. But surprising enough, we got the event off on time and with few errors. Due to the size and consequence of the whitewater to come in the next couple days, all competitors, even the locals had to do a safety run saturday morning before commencing the freestyle event. The freestyle event on Gladiator was held in a unique and great fashion, it split the field of boaters even in half and each group had 2 hours to throw down as much as they could with your best three tricks from your best ride being scored ICF style. Followed by an hour of open session at the end for anyone who still had the energy required to face the Gladiator.

                                                           Photo: John Rathwell

   Even though I have boated with them before, sitting in the eddy with some of my idols has a sort if intimidating effect, thinking of things you have seen of them and seeing it happen first hand, its a pretty cool feeling. But when all was said and done at the end of day one, after watching some huge air, some hard crashes and close calls. The Top 3 stood as:

 

Men                                                      Women

 

Dane Jackson (USA) 1^st Place             Nouria Newman (FRA) 1^st Place

Nicholas Troutman (CAN) 2^nd Place     Katrina Van Wijk (CAN) 2^nd Place

Kalob Grady (CAN) 3^rd Place                 Marian Saether (NOR) 3^rd Place

 

     Day 2 brought us the Boater-cross event and a drop off in temperatures from the day before. Lets just say it is a good thing most kayakers are great at making fires! For those people who know the Ottawa, the race course started above the rapid known as Buther’s Knife and flowed for a bit before entering back to back to back rapids of Lunch Stop Waves, Normans and Coliseum. With the finish line in the bottom right eddy of Coliseum, just above the Death Ledge. The style of the race was rather simple; for men it was 6 heats of 8 for pre-lims,top 4 from each heat advanced while bottom 4 were eliminated. This brought us to 3 heats of 8 for semi finals, where again top 4 advanced which set up a 12 person final! For me personally, with half of us advancing, I was not that worried about the first heat, I knew I could beat at least 4 other people. I was however shocked when I reached the finish buoy first ahead some guys like Rush Sturges and Joey Hitchins. I know felt pretty good advancing on. The semi finals were a much tighter and more intense race. Instead of coming out first and staying first like my first race, I was chasing down the pack right away with a bad start. But I fought hard and dug deep to get into a battle at the finish line and touched in 4^th place, just good enough to advance to the finals. And again, just like the day before, I couldn’t help but feel a little anxious lining up besides guys like Benny Marr, Tyler Curtis and Nicholas Troutman. However, as soon as the whistle blew, those feelings were gone and all I was thinking about was the next stroke. Staying with the lead pack for the entire race, it came down the the crux move in Coliseum that would determine what order us first 5 would reach the bouy in. With Marcos missing the eddy, and Dane Jackson cruising in for the victory, it left Nich, Alec and I fighting for that second place.

                                                  Photo: Erik Parker Photography

      I can’t really explain how I felt when I touched the bouy and realized that I was second and some of the names I had just beat. It put a smile on my face from ear to ear. Top Three for boater-cross look very similar to that of freestyle.

 

Men                                                    Women

 

Dane Jackson (USA) 1^st Place            Nouria Newman (FRA) 1^st Place

Kalob Grady (CAN) 2^nd Place              Katrina Van Wijk (CAN) 2^nd Place

Nicholas Troutman (CAN) 3^rd Place      Marian Saether (NOR) 3^rd Place

 

 

      With none of us actually knowing the results from the freestyle event the day before, and all of us having unsure ideas how we did, there was an awful lot of excitement for the announcement, we all wanted to know the top 5 and who would be joining the 2014 Whitewater Grand Prix in Quebec.

                                             Photo Cred: Jessica Droujko

     After listening to the order of the freestyle placings and then again of the days boater-cross. I was on Cloud Nine before the overall standings even began. The realization was unbelievable. Results meaning that I had qualified for the WWGP 2014 and that I had better find my big boy pants and start getting ready for a competition that humbles the best of the best and start getting ready for next spring. Top 10 overall standing are as follows

 

Men                                                              Women

 

Dane Jackson (USA) 1^st Place                     Nouria Newman (FRA) 1^st Place

Kalob Grady (CAN) 2^nd Place (tie)                  Katrina Van Wijk (CAN) 2^nd Place

Nicholas Troutman (CAN) 2^nd Place (tie)       Marian Saether (NOR) 3^rd Place

Ben Marr (CAN) 4^th Place (tie)                        Katie Kowalski (CAN) 4^th Place

Tyler Curtis (CAN) 4^th Place (tie)

Marcos Gallegos (CHL) 6^th Place

Tyler Fox (CAN) 7^th Place (tie)

Rush Sturges (USA) 7^th Place (tie)

Mikael Hyla 9^th Place

Abel Thevenet 10^th Place

 

     I would like to throw a huge thanks out to Kokatat Watersports Wear, Predator Helmets and Titan kayaks for always keeping me on the water, defiantly would not be where I am without there support.
Also to Joel Kowalski for organizing and coordinating the event.  Ottawa Kayak School and WIlderness Tours for the hospitality and support for the event.
And to Patrick Camblin, Tribe Rider and the Whitewater Grand Prix for unbelievable Media Coverage of the event.

https://www.wildernesstours.com/

http://ottawakayakschool.com/

http://tribealliance.com/

http://www.whitewatergrandprix.com/

Chile Highlights Edit

This is an edit of my winter spent down in Chile and Patagonia. Such an amazing time in amazing places with amazing people on some of the most amazing rivers in the world.
Thanks to everyone who made this trip a success, especially my sponsors; Kokatat Watersports Wear, Titan Kayaks, Predator Designs, Core Paddles and Snapdragon Designs. I can not wait to do this trip again in the future!

Rio Baker

The Rio Baker is the largest river in Chile, I was lucky enough to have the experience of paddling on this infamous river. The journey deep into Patagonia combined with the size and power of this enchanting river make it the perfect kayak trip to do with the boys.
Unfortunately, the Rio Baker is threatened by a large scale hydro project that involves 2 dams on the Baker and 3 on the nearby Rio Pascua. Please visit http://www.internationalrivers.org OR http://www.internationalrivers.org/campaigns/patagonia-sin-represas to learn more and to contribute to this great cause!
Patagonia Sin Represas.

Futaleufú and the new FR7

I was starting to feel good in the water, confident, stronger and less worried about injuring myself again. Mid January we packed our stuff and started the drive down south to the mighty Futaleufú in Patagonia.

 

Futa is definitely the place to be right now, the perfect place to heal up completely and enjoy kayaking to the fullest. Such a good river.. so much fun boating every day on big warm water and great weather surrounded by some of most beautiful scenery you’ll ever find. In love with this place!

 

Many sections, good rapids and great people make for a perfect day on the turquoise blue waters of the Fu. We’ve paddled every day since we got here, enjoying every section and rapid the river has to offer and even a great play wave that comes in when the level is right.

 

Good friends, asados and the great kayaking lifestyle make it the best place I can think of right now. Actually I am super stoked on the river and the place as I didn’t remember it to be that good on my previous trip down here during winter 2007. I guess I’ve changed and learned to enjoy things a bit more.

 

I was  also paddling with  the new Predator FR7. Super good helmet, resistant and durable and still super light and comfortable. Stoked to try some new colors!

Photo credit to: Jakub Sedivy, Kalob Grady, Aleix Salvat, Marçal de la Fuente

Back in Chile

Mexico last fall was awesome, a really good trip. Unfortunately I got injured on my last week staying there, so I flew to Chile with bruised ribs and not super positive. After a few days in pain I realized I’d be missing the WW Grand Prix in Chile which was happening early December. I was pretty disappointed and sad about it, however the worst part was that I knew I’d have to rest and not kayak for at least the next two months in order to recover from  the injury. I stayed at my good friends’s Pali in Santiago, discovering the city and doing some PT both for my ribs and still injured ankle from the summer…

Time went by in Santiago, slightly getting better day after day I decided to head to Pucón just before Christmas to spend a few days with some friends. Termas, asados, shooting video and driving shuttle… that was the daily routine. I also climbed the volcano, the Villarrica (2.840m) with a guide friend of mine so I saved the 80US it costs.

The week after new years I got my boat from a friend and started to paddle. I started at the the lake and then the Liucura with Rodrigo from Kayak Pucón.

It was a good place to start, I felt really bad in the boat; out of balance, no power… and pretty out of shape after two months without any physical exercise. The first days boating were great though, it was like starting over again. It was so good to finally seat back in a boat and float down the river again… missed it so much!

 I was super stoked to be back in the water and even if the pain was still there I knew the injury was almost healed and it was just a matter of time to start to feel good in the boat again while getting fit and stronger. I was super fired for the season to come.

After a couple weeks paddling the Liucura and Trancura daily I was starting to feel better in the water, which was actually dropping pretty fast, so it was time to leave and migrate south.

The Rio Baker

The Rio Baker, the King of all Chilean rivers. This pristine, turquoise-blue river has a drainage basin that covers almost 27 000 square kilometres of Patagonia. The river itself sources out of Bertrand Lake and flows for 170 Km along the East side of the Northern Patagonian Ice field until it empties itself at 31 000 cfs (cubic feet/second) into the Baker Channel and the Pacific Ocean. This behemoth of a river and its all its beauty has been at the top of my list for almost 6 years now. This is my dream came true.

 

“When the majority of your life has been dedicated to travel, you have to learn how to adapt to your surroundings, its just hard when it feels like you are on the moon.” Travis Rice – Art of Flight The section of the Rio Baker we travelled to lies just to the North of a small town called Cochrane. To put in it in Perspective of how far south we were, Cochrane lies 2700 kilometres south of the capital Santiago. The start point for our trip was a little closer, only 740 kilometres away in the small, well known town, Futaleufu. From here, Marcos Gallegos, Gerd Serrasoles, Aleix Salvat, Marcal de la Fuente and Myself set off for this legendary river. It took 3 days; including a first descent mission, sleeping on the floor of Marcos’s fathers restaurant and hours upon hours of gravel roads. The Journey down to the Baker is one of the most scenic I have ever experienced and I am sure it is one of the most breathtaking drives on the planet. If you ever get the chance to adventure down to the Baker or anywhere in Patagonia, I recommend that you accomplish your driving during daylight and try not to blink. The drive to the Baker took us over snowy mountains, past glaciers, around lakes and even through a tunnel. With every bend and twist in the road, my camera was out taking video or snapping pics. I find it very easy to say that Patagonia is a rather photogenic place for all levels of aspiring photographers.

One of the great things about the Rio Baker is the ability to scout a majority of the rapids from the road on your way to the put in form Cochrane. We spent our first morning examining and scouting the first gorge. We spent a large amount of our time looking at the first 2, I don’t think any of us had been near or even seen any river this big before. Despite it looking large starting down a couple hundred feet from the road, none of us knew how big however until we dropped in later that day. I know I was intermediately humbled when I dropped over the first horizon line and was looking straight into a 25 ft. tall monster of a wave. Sure it had looked large from the road, but this, this was a whole different meaning of big, powerful whitewater.

 

Double Drop, the very first rapid on the Baker lies just above the 1^st Gorge at the confluence of the Neff and baker Rivers. This rapid has an absolutely mammoth sized right line that to my knowledge has only been run twice, and a more manageable left. The left line allows you to get a feel for Baker whitewater and provides a solid warm for the Gorge just below.

 

The section of the Baker we were kayaking consists of 3 gorges, more commonly broken up into 2 sections: the 1^st & 2^nd Gorge create the top section with a 3^rd Gorge just below. The 1^st & 2^nd Gorge have huge rapids with minimal flat water and offers an excellent freestyle wave just after the Hanging Bridge. Somedays, this is where we called our takeout and headed back to the top with a quick shuttle for some more laps. Other days, we continued downstream, dropping into the 3^rd Gorge . The 3^rd Gorge has plenty of big quality whitewater to offer, as well as the only mandatory portage on the river. It however does carry the weight of a nice 8 Km (5 Mile) flat water paddle downstream to the take out.

The 1^st Gorge has 4 substantial rapids and a few smaller ones. With waves rising, breaking, forming and crashing at over 2 stories high in all rapids, the Baker gave me an immediate feel that I was too small to be in such a place. The gargantuan whitewater surrounded by the towering cliffs and mountains in the distance all factored in on this effect. While half the challenge for me was tucking under and powering over these massive waves, the other half was in navigating the large whirlpools and boils that formed by the great volume of water being confined in such a narrow place. These whirlpools always seemed to form in the most convenient places taking you off line and showing the true power of the river. A small bay separates the 1^st & 2^nd Gorges, this is where I loosened the grip on my paddle a little bit and really allowed myself to take in the scenery of this remote and beautiful place. Mountain goats climbing ridges high above and indigenous birds and Condors swooping and soaring overhead. The wildlife, the snow caped peaks, the valleys, and the Rio Baker; all these things combined to make, for me a perfect moment. The first time I paddled out of the 1^st Gorge, it felt like time went into slow motion to emphasize my perfect moment and allow me to fully appreciate where I was. The 2^nd Gorge provides more breathtaking scenery and some enjoyable whirlpools to play around in, but no major rapids lie within this section of cliff. It empties out into a nice calm section that separate the top gorges from the 3^rd Gorge below.

 

The 3^rd Gorge again offers some of the largest, quality whitewater on the planet, with more huge waves, holes, diagonals and whirlpools waiting to test you. However, due to the combination of the only mandatory portage on the Baker, a lengthy 8 Km paddle out and a long shuttle, it seems to be a less run and less talked about section of the Baker. I do suggest though if you ever make your way to the Rio Baker. Drop into this 3^rd Gorge, it is well worth it. The big, cruisy rapids again combine with the surrounding cliffs and wildlife to show off this magical place. Everyday we ran it, I just thought of the paddle out as section that the Baker made just so you could enjoy the views, its way of saying take a minute, look around and enjoy! 

 

Like I said earlier, the Rio Baker has been on the top of my list for several years now. I have felt a need to paddle its pristine waters since seeing my first pictures and videos when I was 13 years old. I don’t even know if it was the prestige of the river, the acclaimed size or the remoteness and adventure involved. I just know one of my great dreams of my young life has been fulfilled and it has left me feeling truly happy inside. Being back for only a couple days know, people are asking me what its like and how it was. Trying to explain, I am finding myself lost for words and don’t really know how to put the experience into words. I think the only way to understand the beauty and size of the Baker is take the trip down with the boys and drop into the 3 Gorges of the Rio Baker. I do know one thing though, as we drove away from the banks of the Rio Baker, back towards Futaleufu, I had a smile on my face and knew that a piece of my heart will forever lie within the canyon walls and pristine, turquoise waters of the Rio Baker.

 

As always, a huge thanks to my parents for the love and support over the years. As well as to my sponsors; Kokatat WaterSports Wear, Titan Kayaks, Predator Designs, Core Designs & Snapdragon Designs for keeping me on the water!

defy ordinary,

                       Kalob Grady

p.s

I wish the Baker could flow freely forever, unfortunately that is not the case. The plans for a 7 Billion dollar hydro project have already been approved for the area. The projected plans include 2 hydro dams being built on the Rio Baker and 3 on the nearby Rio Pascua. The largest hydro project in Chilean history is being headed by the Chilean // Spanish owned company, Endessa. If completed, the project will provide 2400 MW of power that will help offset the energy demand that is currently growing at 6% a year in Chile. The dams will also flood nearly 15 000 acres of prime agricultural land and displace families in the area. The project name, “HidroAysen” is currently roadblocked on the proposed 1912 Km of transmission lines needed to transport the energy to Chile’s thriving North and its gigantic Copper industry. The power lines are planned to traverse through seismically active and volcanic areas, even a 160 Km section under the ocean. Locals say that dams are the beginning of the end for Patagonia and will continue bringing development and destruction to the wild land, untamed forests and breathtaking mountains of Patagonia. World wide protests have played a huge part in delaying the construction of these dams. Join the fight to protect the wild south of Patagonia. Log onto www.internationalrivers.org to learn more. PATAGONIA SIN REPRESAS!

Christmas Day Huckfest

What do you do on your typical Christmas morning? Many would say open gifts while surrounded by family members, or maybe have a nice family breakfast. For us however staying at the Pucon Kayak Hostel, events went a little bit differently. We awoke to a morning mission to check out Tres Saltos, a set of park and huck waterfalls close to Pucon. Arriving at Tres Saltos, we realized the flow was to low and we reverted back to our original plans of a Christmas day Medio Palguin Huckfest.

Scouting the lip of Medio Palguin.  Photo: Seth Ashworth

We headed to the put-in of the Upper Section, hoping to get a good warm up in on the run down to Medio. However, just like the day before, we arrived to the Upper with it at an almost flood stage level! Being nervous already for the big drop downstream. The water level defiantly added some intensity to the day. The Upper turned out to be a nice warm up for the main event downstream. Arriving downstream at Medio is always a great feeling, standing at the top of the waterfall is unexplainable. However, it being Christmas day, the excitement was through the roof. Scouting the drop and watching a couple of guys run first, you can’t help it but to have a smile on your face. Medio just creates that kind of atmosphere.

 Going Over the lip.  Photo: Issac Holden

Sitting at the top of any drop brings a lot of excitement, but at the same time, your kind of nervous. Just knowing in the next couple seconds, things can end in very different ways. My first time running Medio, a couple weeks ago went rather wrong. Landing left in the green water and severely hurting the muscles in my back. After a couple weeks, I felt like it was time for redemption on the 70 footer. What better day for redemption than Christmas day. So sitting at the top of the drop this time, you can imagine what was playing over and over again in my head. Sliding off the rock, gliding toward the lip, putting thought aside and just thinking about the next stroke that needed to be taken. Over the lip, stroke taken, tucked tight. The landing was sort of like getting hugged by pillows. Such a great experience to be able to step up to a drop that scares you, or has not gone the best for you before. Being able to overcome the fear and ride the adrenaline over the lip. Then looking back up, staring at the waterfall, empty of adrenaline, just so stoked at what has just happened. I don’t think there is any greater feeling, and this, I think is the feeling that keeps us coming back time after time, for drop after drop.

 

Getting Ready for the tuck.  Photo Cred: Seth Ashworth

After a sick Christmas morning of hucking and happiness on the Palguin, we ventured back to the Pucon Kayak Hostel and kicked off an epic Asado. A large assortment of meats found there way onto the grill that night. Lasting for hours, I think this might have been the best Christmas dinner I have ever eaten (Just don’t tell my mom). Putting that together with my best Christmas morning ever. I can safely say, it is going to be quite hard to repeat a Christmas day with as much excitement, as much fun and surrounded with as many good folks as this one. It was a pleasure to spend the day with you guys on such a sick waterfall. Thanks to Carson Lindsay, Geoff Calhoun, Jakub Nemec and Dag Sandvik for the sick day! Also to Seth Ashworth, Katie Kowalski and Issac Holden for the photo and video support.

 

NORWAY – Gerd Serrasolses Highlights Summer 2012

NORWAY – Gerd Serrasolses Highlights Summer 2012 from SB Productions on Vimeo.

Some of my paddling and traveling highlights during summer 2012 in Norway. Awesome rivers, amazing landscape and great friends made the perfect summer adventure in Europe’s kayaking mecca.

Big thanks to Evan and Fred from SMH for the footage, as well as Anton, Sweden for the pics, my bro for his support, Mathias for showing me around and being spec helpful, Martin for sharing his amazing place with me and Ali, and everyone I paddled with in my favorite European destination (only from May to early September though!).

Main Fooatge:
Serrasolses Bros Prod
Substantial Media House

Additional cameras:
Aleix Salvat, Jorge Thorsen, Martin Vollen, Mathias Fossum, Anton Immler, Alícia Casas

Shot on: Canon EOS 7D + Go Pro Hero 2
Photo by: Mathias Fossum

More:
kayakgerd.blogspot.com
serrasolsesbrosproductions.blogspot.com

Titan Genesis Meets the Ottawa River

Edit from my fall on my home river. Sick new boat on the market, the Titan Genesis. Really glad I got my hands on one!

Autumn session

Here a short movie of an autumn session in Millau.

Quelques coups de rame avant l’hiver…

Jo