BC in Review..

Last summer, Bryan Kirk, Todd Baker, and I took a ride in the Wave Sport van up to British Columbia for some paddling action.

First stop was Skookumchuck, BC where we met up with Kelsey Thompson and the Lussin sisters.

Kelsey Thompson (Photo by: Kim Russell)

Kim Russell (Photo by: Bryan Kirk)

Bryan Kirk cleanin' it up in a rainbow (Photo by: Kim Russell)

Todd Baker with a helix in the Fuse 48 (Photo by: Kim Russell)

After five or six days at Skook with perfect levels, we made our way to Squamish where we hit up the Cheakamus, Callaghan and a few other local rivers.

The crew on the Callaghan (Photo by: Kim Russell)

Bryan Kirk on the put-in falls on the Cheakamus (Photo by: Kim Russell)

Good luck to everyone at Worlds! Kick some arse!

See you on the river!

Kim Russell

BC in Review..

Last summer, Bryan Kirk, Todd Baker, and I took a ride in the Wave Sport van up to British Columbia for some paddling action.

First stop was Skookumchuck, BC where we met up with Kelsey Thompson and the Lussin sisters.

Kelsey Thompson (Photo by: Kim Russell)

Kim Russell (Photo by: Bryan Kirk)

Bryan Kirk cleanin' it up in a rainbow (Photo by: Kim Russell)

Todd Baker with a helix in the Fuse 48 (Photo by: Kim Russell)

After five or six days at Skook with perfect levels, we made our way to Squamish where we hit up the Cheakamus, Callaghan and a few other local rivers.

The crew on the Callaghan (Photo by: Kim Russell)

Bryan Kirk on the put-in falls on the Cheakamus (Photo by: Kim Russell)

Good luck to everyone at Worlds! Kick some arse!

See you on the river!

Kim Russell

Redsides

For years, river levels on the Mckenzie River have stayed medium-high throughout summer and various features haven't come in to their full potential. This year, however, water is dropping fast and some new play features are in.

Dave Porter and Todd Baker (Photo by: Kim Russell)

Home of the notorious "Redsides Rodeo" from years ago, Redsides is back!

It's a medium sized, wave - hole located on the McKenzie River in Oregon. Fast and dynamic, you can do both wave and hole moves.

A couple weeks ago a group of us from Eugene, Oregon made the half hour drive to one of the best summer playspots in Oregon. Check out the photos.

The crew in the eddy (Photo by: Todd Baker)

Kim cartwheeling at Redsides in her Project 45 (Photo by: Todd Baker)

Quinn Connell looping the Fuse 48 (Photo by: Kim Russell)

Todd Baker playin' around (Photo by: Kim Russell)

Althea Sullivan and I chillin in the eddy (Photo by: Todd Baker)

This weekend from August 28-30, 2009 is the Redsides Rodeo. Registration begins at 10:00 am on Saturday, with the competition beginning at 11:00 am. The event is being coordinated by Dave Villalobos of the University of Oregon Outdoor Program in conjunction with Worldkayak and the City of Eugene.

Below is a summary of the event from their site:

"Gone missing for many years, we are bringing back the Redsides Rodeo. Located at the Redsides Hole on the McKenzie River (2 miles east of the town of Blue River) the Redsides Rodeo will be an open and friendly kayaking competition. Camping will be available Friday evening through Sunday afternoon (at Bittersweet Campground) $20/car.

Registration will begin at 10:00 am Saturday (The competition begins by 11:00 am)

Afterward there will be a spaghetti dinner with a prize give away (everyone who participates...judges, timekeepers as well as participants could win!!)

For more information, contact Dave Villalobos (dvillalo@uoregon.edu) "

Website: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=132688688400&ref=mf

Hope to see you out there this weekend! Let's bring back the Redsides Rodeo!

Kim Russell

How To: The Blunt

The Blunt:

It's a simple move, but one that requires some good knowledge of your edges.

Here's how its done:

1. Find yourself a steep wave (the steeper the better), preferably one with a little bit of a pile on it to keep it sticky.

2. Surf out onto the wave and give yourself some time to get comfortable on the wave.

3. Once your comfortable, surf your way to the top of the pile (spinning to the top works well), and you're ready to begin the move.

4. To throw a right blunt you will want to take a nice vertical stroke on your left side while taking one big bounce on your left edge (think about kicking your feet down on the left edge) with your boat facing about 10 o' clock (if 12 is straight upstream).

5. Mid bounce, switch edges and throw in a back stroke on your right side while maintaining head position upstream. The faster you switch your edges, the bigger your blunt will be.

6. Once your stern lifts from the water, and comes around, you will end up facing downstream (with head position maintained upstream).

Put in a backstroke on the left side of your boat to set the boat down and stay on the wave.

It's that simple! The harder you kick your feet and the faster your switch your edges, the bigger you will go!



Hope to see you on the river!

Kim Russell

(All photos Copyright Seth Swallen)

Need a Mental Boost?

Whitewater kayaking is a mind sport. As a paddler you must be confident in your abilities and able to focus your mind, letting everything else fade away but the drop.

Here's a few tips for those who need a little mental boost:

1. When your on the river, know your abilities. No matter how gnarly a rapid looks, if it is in your ability range and the line is good to go, remind yourself that. Remind yourself you CAN run this rapid, it just looks gnarly. Don't let your head get the best of you.

2. Any kind of negative self-talk, anxiety and emotions hurt your focus. If you have low confidence, you can't help but focus on all of the negative things rather than on things that will enable you to paddle well. Taking a 180, Positive talk gets you relaxed and energized before a drop or rapid. Don't say "There is no way I am going to run this rapid today." Say, "I'm going to try my hardest today and paddle the best I know how." If you run the drop, Sweet. If not, you didn't beat yourself up for portaging. Sometimes the better part of valor is taking the dry line (just make sure to keep a positive outlook).

3. When scouting a rapid, once you see the line, visualize yourself in the rapid. Visualize where you are, the strokes you will be taking, and finally, you greasing the line. Visualize both the process as well as the the outcome. Try not to worry about things you have no control over, and stick to those you do. The more different rapids you experience, the more you realize how similar they are. Use past experience to predict what will happen in a rapid.

4. Remember: You shouldn't focus on the past because its out of your control and you can't do anything to change it. Sometimes a bad experience is one that is hard to come back from. Just remember the past is the past and anything and everything can change.

5. Finally, while kayaking is a mental sport there are some days where you may just say "Screw it" and give it a try. Follow the above steps, make sure you have safety set and give er'!


If anyone has any other tips or hints to break through the mental block that sometimes occurs in kayaking, feel free to post back! It's always great to hear new ideas!

See you on the river!

Kim Russell