Wet House DVD

by Erik Olsen on

Paddle hounds might like to know about a
new DVD that is out called Wet House, an award-winning paddle film by Filmmaker
Ammen Jordan.

The film showcases the kayaking skills of some of the top and most diverse names in
the sport including Bryan Kirk, Andrew Holcombe, Nikki Kelly, Tanya Shuman, Jimmy Blakeney, and Steve Fisher. The DVD
took three years to pull together and, while I haven’t yet seen it, apparently features some wickedly cool paddling
scenes. The film won the National Paddling Film Festival Paddler’s Choice Award and was selected Paddling Film of the
Year and Best Whitewater Film at the Reel Paddling Film Festival. You can watch the trailer here, which shows some pretty slick short boat moves. 

Paddle Pack

by Erik Olsen on

We’re
just getting into paddling season and I’m thinking hard about what kind of trip I might take this year .Ideally, I’ll
head someplace tropical and will try to pull of a multi-day tour somewhere like, say, best case scenario, the
Galapagos. Ohh, yeah.

But more likely, it’ll be someplace closer to home. And cheaper. I may actually
pick myself up a new boat this year, and so while I was looking around, I thought about a compact, fold-up. I doubt I’ll
go that direction, but if I were to buy one, I might consider these intriguing boats by First Light kayak.  The kayaks weigh in at under 20 pounds, appear to
be pretty compact and overhead bin stuffable, and simple to assemble (not the case, I understand, with some
collapsibles). Anyway, check out the site, which is loaded with info and even some fine little videos showing the kayak in action. Neat.

Paddle Blog

by Erik Olsen on

I got the heads up via an email about a fine
paddle blog that is up and running, from the Luke Smallman, the gu who brought us Snowgo. I figured I’d post the link.
Lots of great stuff here from posts on paddling to photos and trip logs. It is nicely done, and will document Luke’s "long held ambition": to paddle
the 125 mile non-stop kayak marathon that is the Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Race. Stay tuned.

Spring Break: Adventurous Family Vacations

by Neil Woodburn on

Spring break is just around the corner.

If you haven’t booked your vacation yet, and don’t fancy entertaining the kids at home, The Sunday Times has come up with an impressive list of family vacation options that promise to be adventurous and exciting. Be warned, however; these are not your ordinary Disneyworld-type of family getaways. We’re talking about camel safaris in Egypt, dune riding in Namibia, Kayaking in Malta, exploring Incan ruins in Peru, and a variety of others that are guaranteed not to feature Mickey Mouse. This is the very first list of “Family Vacations” I’ve ever come across where I would love to go on every trip mentioned–and I don’t even have kids. It is truly a remarkable selection of adventures.

The descriptions accompanying each of these trips include costs, tour outfitters, and the minimum age required f children.

Banff Mountain Film Festival Comes to Town

by Neil Woodburn on

We posted a few weeks ago about the Banff Film
Festival’s annual road trip in which they take the
very best outdoor/mountain films submitted to their annual competition, and trek them around the world for various
showings. This weekend the tour finally made it to my home town.

I have to admit, I wasn’t as impressed as
I have been in the past.  It wasn’t a bad show, but the collection of short films usually leaves me inspired
and motivated and eager to really embrace life in the outdoors. It didn’t so much this year. 

The
showing included the usual snowboarding/skiing selection which wasn’t as awe-inspiring as past efforts as well as
two rock climbing films which I found a little boring.

I was, however, impressed with a 7-minute film
called Balancing
Point, another about kayaking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and a very funny one about the thoughts that run
through your head while riding up a ski lift called Solilochairliftquist. The real crowd pleaser, which also
won the Best Film on Mountain Sports category, was Praszczur
(Grandpa).  It was a little slow, but if you find it good fun to watch an 80 year-old Polish man dragged down a
mountainside before finally getting airborne with his paraglider, than this is the film for you.  My personal
favorite, Hockey Night… in Ladakh, featured some out-of-shape Canadian diplomats who take on a
Himalayan hockey team located high in the mountains of northern India.

Overall I still highly recommend
checking out the Banff Film Festival tour when it arrives in
your home town. Different films are screened on different nights so I may not have caught the very best ones on the
night I went.