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	<title>Freeky</title>
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	<link>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky</link>
	<description>rockin´the free boatin´</description>
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		<title>LA LOGIA III -The film tour begins-</title>
		<link>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2010/10/28/la-logia-iii-the-film-tour-begins/</link>
		<comments>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2010/10/28/la-logia-iii-the-film-tour-begins/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 Oct 2010 00:15:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>freeky</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/?p=229</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It´s been a while working on the film. Now, we can proudly introduce the new film of EL NOGAL PRODUCTIONS and the tour now begins. LA LOGIA III &#8220;La ultima chance&#8221; will be rolling around Argentina for a while, and then we will bring it to Europe and Mars (mars is not confirmed but I [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It´s been a while working on the film.</p>
<p>Now, we can proudly introduce the new film of EL NOGAL PRODUCTIONS and the tour now begins. LA LOGIA III &#8220;La ultima chance&#8221; will be rolling around Argentina for a while, and then we will bring it to Europe and Mars (mars is not confirmed but I think it will happen). Be alert, we are working to go as many countries as we can&#8230;maybe yours is next!! we hope! stay tuned and watch the trailer! (click on the image to see the trailer)</p>
<p><span style="color: #000080">Hemos trabajado un tiempo en el film&#8230;</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000080">Ahora podemos decir que estamos orgullosos de nuestro nuevo film de EL NOGAL PRODUCCIONES y la gira comienza. LA LOGIA III &#8220;La ultima chance&#8221; será  presentada en algunas ciudades en Argentina como BUENOS AIRES, MENDOZA, BARILOCHE y MAR DEL PLATA. Luego será el turno del tour Europeo, con fechas a confirmar. Quedate sintonizado para las fechas que vienen&#8230;.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000080">Aquí la nueva tapa del DVD de LA LOGIA III y su TRAILER (click en la imagen para ver el trailer)<br />
</span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-ijJr65a8Y" target="_blank"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-230" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/la-logia-iii-xx.jpg" alt="la-logia-iii-xx" width="642" height="892" /></a></p>
<p>Nos vemos en el río</p>
<p>Santiago</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>LAST CHANCE TOUR report 2</title>
		<link>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2010/04/20/last-chance-tour-report-2/</link>
		<comments>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2010/04/20/last-chance-tour-report-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:27:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>freeky</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/?p=217</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In our first report we talked about how we approached into the Indian Himalayas to find new playground, new first descents and how we made our way into our first river of the trip. Our next river was called Balikila, a small creek feeding into the Alaknanda, wich we could see from the other side [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center">
<div id="attachment_158" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 403px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/buscando-el-balikila.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-158   " src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/buscando-el-balikila-1024x685.jpg" alt="on our way to Balikila river, trying to negociate with our driver. De camino al río Balikila" width="393" height="263" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">on our way to Balikila river, trying to negociate with our driver. De camino al río Balikila</p></div>
<p><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;     &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;  Normal 0   21   false false false  ES-AR X-NONE X-NONE                           &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;                                                                                                                                            &lt;![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]&gt;--> <!--[endif]--></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="EN-US">In our first report<span> </span>we talked about how we approached into the Indian Himalayas to find new playground, new first descents and how we made our way into our first river of the trip.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="EN-US"><span> </span>Our next river was called Balikila, a small creek feeding into the Alaknanda, wich we could see from the other side of the river on the way out from our first river we ran.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span style="color: #002060">En nuestro primer reporte hablamos acerca de cómo nos aproximamos al Himalaya Indio para encontrar nuevo terreno, nuevos primeros descensos y como hicimos nuestro camino hasta nuestro primer río de nuestra expedición.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span style="color: #002060">Nuestro próximo río de llama Balikila, un pequeño creek tributario del Alaknanda, que pudimos ver desde el lado opuesto del valle, en nuestro regreso del primer río que corrimos.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center">
<div id="attachment_168" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 501px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/pa020164-copy.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-168  " src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/pa020164-copy-1024x768.jpg" alt="the put-in" width="491" height="369" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">the put-in</p></div>
<p><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;     &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;  Normal 0   21   false false false  ES-AR X-NONE X-NONE                           &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;                                                                                                                                            &lt;![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]&gt;--> <!--[endif]--></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">After negociating with the driver, we drove to find a road that could take us further up the valley and see if we could run it that day… After approximately 7-8 km we found a bridge with some houses around and a very steep section above it….</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #002060">Después de negociar con nuestro chofer, manejamos para encontrar un camino que nos lleve valle arriba para encontrar un punto de entrada al río. Luego de manejar por aproximadamente 8km encontramos un puente con algunas casas alrededor y una sección con mucho desnivel arriba del puente. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center">
<div id="attachment_169" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 501px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/pa020168-copy.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-169  " src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/pa020168-copy-1024x768.jpg" alt="cool sections with steep technical moves. Secciones divertidas con desnivel y rapidos tecnicos" width="491" height="369" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">cool sections with steep technical moves. Secciones divertidas con desnivel y rapidos tecnicos</p></div>
<p><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;     &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;  Normal 0   21   false false false  ES-AR X-NONE X-NONE                           &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;                                                                                                                                            &lt;![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]&gt;--> <!--[endif]--></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">we decided to put in by the brige and run down to the Alaknanda river. The scenery here is absolutely beautiful, and the river consisted in a big boulder-technical class III-IV with some steep small sections, and the “nataly falls” named after Leon did the first descent on it…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #002060">Decidimos entrar en el puente y correr hasta la confluencia con el Alaknanda. El paisaje aquí es absolutamente hermoso y el río consiste en piedras gigantes y rápidos técnicos clase III-IV con algunas secciones más empinadas y las “nataly falls” bautizadas después de que Leon hiciera el primer descenso sobre ellas…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center">
<div id="attachment_171" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 440px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/dsc_0197-copy.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-171  " src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/dsc_0197-copy-1023x685.jpg" alt="crystal clear water, but dont drink it! Agua cristalina, pero no la bebas!" width="430" height="288" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">crystal clear water, but dont drink it! Agua cristalina, pero no la bebas!</p></div>
<div id="attachment_170" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 298px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/dsc_0213-copy.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-170  " src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/dsc_0213-copy-685x1023.jpg" alt="Leon runing the scariest drop in this section &quot;nataly falls&quot;. Leon corriendo el rápido más dificil de esta sección &quot;nataly falls&quot;" width="288" height="430" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Leon runing  &quot;nataly falls&quot;. Leon corriendo  &quot;nataly falls&quot;</p></div>
<p><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;     &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;  Normal 0   21   false false false  ES-AR X-NONE X-NONE                           &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;                                                                                                                                            &lt;![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]&gt;--> <!--[endif]--></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Everything was mostly read-run as we were feeling very confident with eachother, you realize how trust can make things much safer, easier and funnier <img src='http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' /> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color: #002060">Casi todos los rápidos fueron “read-run” ya que nos sentíamos cómodos entre los integrantes del equipo. TE das cuenta que la confianza en el equipo hace las cosas mucho más seguras, fáciles y divertidas… </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color: #002060">Nos vemos en el reporte #3!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">See you on report #3!</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/freeky9.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-172" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/freeky9.jpg" alt="freeky9" width="349" height="424" /></a></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center">SANTIAGO LO GRECO</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>LAST CHANCE TOUR reporte de viaje #1</title>
		<link>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2010/03/26/last-chance-tour-reporte-de-viaje-1/</link>
		<comments>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2010/03/26/last-chance-tour-reporte-de-viaje-1/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Mar 2010 22:47:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>freeky</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/?p=151</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[India-Nepal trip report #1 There some rivers, countries, cultures that atracts everybody´s attention. India and Nepal are two of those countries. Not only kayakers, but all kind of people travel thousands of km to visit these areas. For us, it was the same. I wanted to do a trip to India and Nepal since a [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="MsoNoSpacing">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center"><em><strong>India-Nepal</strong> </em>trip report #1</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center">
<div id="attachment_149" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 440px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/img_8000.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-149  " src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/img_8000-1024x682.jpg" alt="camino al norte" width="430" height="286" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">un descanso camino al norte - A stop on our way north</p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span lang="EN-US">There some rivers, countries, cultures that atracts everyb</span><span lang="EN-US">ody´s attention. India and Nepal are two of those countries. Not only kayakers, but all kind of people travel thousands of km to visit these areas. For us, it was the same. I wanted to do a trip to India and Nepal since a couple of years ago, but never really found the chance, until the last summer in Norway. I Found out that a couple of friends wanted to do the same trip, specially in the area of northern India, wich was like music to my ears. And so, we decided to meet in New Delhi at the end of september, and make our way north from there. The team consisted in Leon Bedford (Australia), James Thorp (Australia), Monica Godkey (USA) and myself.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #003366">Hay algunos ríos, países, culturas que atraen la atención de todos. India y Nepal son de esos países. No sólo kayakeros sino todo tipo de gente viaja miles de km para visitar estas exóticas regiones. Para nosotros fue lo mismo. Desde hace tiempo tenía el sueño de poder hacer un viaje a India y Nepal, pero nunca se presentó la oportunidad sino hasta el verano pasado en Noruega. Me enteré que un par de amigos estaban planeando un viaje a India, enfocando su atención en la región norte de India, con intención de explorar ciertas regiones casi inexploradas, para mí fue como música para mis oídos. Después de algo de planificación (sin saber mucho a dónde iríamos) nos reunimos en Nueva Delhi para comenzar. El equipo estaba formado por Leon Bedford (Australia), James Thorp (Australia), Monica Godkey (USA) y yo.</span><span style="color: #0f243e">
<dt></dt>
<p></span><span style="color: #0f243e"> </span><span lang="EN-US">Once in New Delhi we started making our plan. India´s whitewater is nearly unexplored, most of the kayakers only run the big rivers (Ganges, etc) and there are just a few teams that had explored India´s potential for creeking, which offers much more than the big volume rivers. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span lang="EN-US">So, we only had some information about a couple of teams that had run creeks in the area of Uttarakhand, a province located in the north-east, on the border with Tibet and Nepal. </span><span style="color: #0f243e">
<dt></dt>
<p></span></p>
<div id="attachment_155" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 501px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/200910081431491.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-155    " src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/200910081431491-1024x576.jpg" alt="un local estudia con detenimiento esta &quot;extraña embarcación&quot;" width="491" height="277" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">un local observa con detenimiento esta extraña embarcación - A local taking a close look on this &quot;strange boat&quot;</p></div>
<p style="text-align: left">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #0f243e"><br />
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span lang="EN-US">WE drove for 1 day up to “Rishikesh”, a little touristic town situated by the river Ganges. From here we collected some more information about rivers up in the north, tributaries of the ganges and p</span><span lang="EN-US">ossible first descents…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span lang="EN-US">Next day we drove for about 7 hours until a town called “Chamoli”, from here we were ready to start. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #0f243e">Una vez en Nueva Delhi, comenzamos a hacer nuestro plan. El potencial de ríos en India está muy poco explorado. Muchos kayakistas sólo corren los “grandes ríos” (Ganges, etc) y sólo hubo unos pocos equipos que se aventuraron a las montañas en busca de los “creeks” y sus tributarios.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #0f243e">Sólo contábamos con información de algunos equipos que habían corrido algunos ríos en la provincia de Uttarakhand, ubicada en el límite con Tíbet y Nepal.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #0f243e">Con esta info, nos movimos con vehículos hacia la ciudad de “Rishikesh” una ciudad situada a orillas del río Ganges, puerta de entrada a los Himalayas. En este pueblo recolectamos más información sobre tributarios y posibles primeros descensos…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #0f243e">Al día siguiente manejamos unas 7 horas hasta llegar al un pueblo llamado “Chamoli”, punto de partida para empezar los descensos.</span></p>
<div id="attachment_150" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 624px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/img_8016.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-150 " src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/img_8016-1024x682.jpg" alt="img_8016" width="614" height="409" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">El put-in para el upper Nandakini</p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #0f243e"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span lang="EN-US">Our first river is called NANDAKINI, a tributary to the Alaknanda which is tributary to the Ganges. The information we had about this river was that there was a team running a section from a town called “Ghat” down to the confluence with the Alaknanda. WE decided to push further upstream, to run our first descent of the trip. We followed the road pretty much until we couldn’t drive any further. That was our put-in. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #0f243e">Nuestro primer río se llama NANDAKINI, un tributario del río ALAKNANDA que a su vez es tributario del río Ganges. LA información que teníamos de este río era de un equipo que había corrido una sección desde un pueblo llamado “Ghat” hasta la confluencia con el río Alaknanda. Decidimos explorar una sección más arriba y conducimos hasta que se acabó la posibilidad de seguir. Este fue nuestro “put-in”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #0f243e"><br />
</span></p>
<dl>
<dt><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/vista-del-nandakini.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-156 " src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/vista-del-nandakini-1024x685.jpg" alt="aguas claras en el  río Nandakini" width="717" height="479" /></a></dt>
</dl>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #0f243e"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span lang="EN-US">The run was better that the lower section, with continuos class III rapids with some steeper parts, up to class IV (maybe harder at higher water levels). At the end of the run we were happy….first run, first descent.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #0f243e">Este descenso fué muy bueno con rápidos contínuos clase III y algunas secciones con más desnivel con algunos clase IV (quizás más interesante a niveles de agua más altos). Al final de este descenso estábamos muy felices: primer río, fue un primer descenso…</span></p>
<div id="attachment_157" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 655px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/drop-n-nandakini.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-157" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/drop-n-nandakini-1024x685.jpg" alt="drop-n-nandakini" width="645" height="431" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">uno de los tantos drops que ofrece el río Nandakini</p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #0f243e"><br />
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #0f243e"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #0f243e"> </span></p>
<div id="attachment_159" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 563px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/nandakini-t-out.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-159" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/nandakini-t-out-1024x685.jpg" alt="nandakini-t-out" width="553" height="370" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">el take out, un show poco visto para los locales</p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span lang="EN-US">On our way back to Chamoli, we spotted a tributary feeding into the Alaknanda on the opposite side of the river. That was our mission for the next day. We couldn’t see the name of the river on any of our maps, so we were totally sure that was another first descent awating for us.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #0f243e">A nuestro regreso del Nandakini observamos un río que estaba al otro lado del Alaknanda, pero no encontrábamos ningún nombre en los mapas…esta fue nuestra misión del día siguiente. Revisamos nuestra información y estábamos seguros de que se trataba de otro “primer descenso” esperando por nosotros…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #0f243e"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span lang="EN-US">We showed the river to our driver, and he drove us far up until we decided it was enough distance to run down to the confluence. Soon we found out that the name of this river was “Balikila”. One of the best runs we did in our journey through northern India. At this point I was feeling like we were so lucky to see the places that we were visiting…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span lang="EN-US">Stay tuned for the next report…</span></p>
<div id="attachment_158" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 727px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/buscando-el-balikila.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-158" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/buscando-el-balikila-1024x685.jpg" alt="buscando-el-balikila" width="717" height="479" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Negociando nuestro camino a nuestra próxima misión, el río Balikila - Negociations to get our next mission, Balikila river</p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #0f243e">Al día siguiente, conseguimos un vehículo y le señalamos el río a nuestro driver, para que nos lleve lo más arriba posible y poder comenzar nuestro descenso. Pronto descubrimos por pobladores locales que el río se llama “Balikila”, uno de los mejores descensos que realizamos en India…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #0f243e">Quédense atentos al próximo reporte…</span></p>
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		<title>&#8220;Old run, new life&#8221; [rauma experience]</title>
		<link>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2009/09/08/old-run-new-life-rauma-experience/</link>
		<comments>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2009/09/08/old-run-new-life-rauma-experience/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:08:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>freeky</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/?p=127</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Leon droppin´the 1st one Lower Rauma is not an “everyday” run in Norway. Even when some of us did it before, everytime you go there to run it, you feel different, before and after. That day was one of those days. Our crew for that run consisted in Leon Bedford, Colin Furmston, Josh Firth, and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="mceTemp mceIEcenter">
<dl>
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<p><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/leon1st.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-137" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/leon1st-1024x576.jpg" alt="leon1st" width="614" height="346" /></a></p>
<p class="mceTemp mceIEcenter">
<dl>
<dt><em><strong>Leon droppin´the 1st one</strong></em></dt>
</dl>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="EN-US">Lower Rauma is not an “everyday” run in Norway. Even when some of us did it before, everytime you go there to run it, you feel different, before and after.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="EN-US">That day was one of those days. Our crew for that run consisted in Leon Bedford, Colin Furmston, Josh Firth, and Thorpie Thorp from Australia;<span> </span>Jussi Tanskanen from Finland Gigo Castillo from Chile and myself. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="EN-US">Lower Rauma really shows the highlights of Norway in one single run. Big slides, drops, more slides and a massive waterfall called “flemming fossen” at the end of the run for those feeling inspired.</span></p>
<p class="mceTemp mceIEcenter">
<dl>
<dt><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/jussi2nd.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-136" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/jussi2nd-1024x576.jpg" alt="jussi2nd" width="614" height="346" /></a><em><strong>jussi boofin´the 2nd</strong></em></dt>
</dl>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="EN-US">From the first moment you will feel small as you run those beautiful and powerful rapids. </span></p>
<div id="attachment_135" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 624px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/josh3th.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-135" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/josh3th-1024x576.jpg" alt="josh3th" width="614" height="346" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">josh holding his breath @3th</p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="EN-US">The good thing about Rauma: everything is happening in a pool and drop type of run which gives an extra sense of confidence when you make your decision to run each rapid.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="EN-US">Faces of high tension, happiness, fear and joy are there during the run….all the time</span></p>
<div id="attachment_134" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 624px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/colin5th.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-134" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/colin5th-1024x576.jpg" alt="colin5th" width="614" height="346" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Colin getting the precious boof @5th</p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="EN-US">For us this was a different run…After some good lines through most of the rapids, we arrived to the “big slide”. This looks awesome, and it feels even better when you run it, but yeah, from time to time it claims for victims. Last year I was there with my friend Diego Castro doing a double run on this rapid, I was right behind him when I saw him dissappearing under the horizon line formed by the “autoboof” drop at the end of the slide…too far right! And Diego ended up with two broken ribs.</span></p>
<div id="attachment_133" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 624px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/thorpie7th.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-133" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/thorpie7th-1024x576.jpg" alt="thorpie7th" width="614" height="346" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Thorpie riding the 7th, my faivourite</p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center"><span lang="EN-US">This time was Josh turn, who first went upside down on the slide making some good marks on his face, then, after a quick roll, his boat went vertical down the last drop and hit the rocks at the bottom making his foot looks like a big football the next morning. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="EN-US">After he got some help to get out of his boat, we were quite happy to know that nothing serious happened. But there was something else waiting for that run. Flemming Fossen is right there and some of us looked at this waterfall many times waiting for that moment. We stood up by the lip of the waterfall just trying to find that “inner voice” that tells you what´s right and what´s wrong. Gigo made his mind to run it. </span></p>
<div id="attachment_132" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 624px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/joshfoot.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-132" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/joshfoot-1024x576.jpg" alt="joshfoot" width="614" height="346" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">josh getting some help after a bad line @7th</p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center"><span lang="EN-US">This is a technical entry and a high freefall of nearly 20 mts I guess. You start by an eddy right above the lip, and you have to ferry across all the way to the other side to escape from a death line, then, almost by the lip, you hit a curly wave, trying to get on top of it, and then drop with the flow as you feel the adrenaline rush all over your body….awesome….</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="EN-US">Gigo took a pretty good line, but the curly wave on the lip, launched him into the air, making an unvoluntary boof and landing flat at the bottom. Luclky the only one that got hurt then was the boat as we saw gigo smiling and celebrating…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="EN-US">After watching Gigo´s line it was difficult to decide….i had to think about it twice more, but I was feeling calm and confident with myself. And so, I got the line pretty well over the lip, and went with the flow with no problems….happy days…</span></p>
<div id="attachment_131" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 624px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/gigoflemmings.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-131" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/gigoflemmings-1024x576.jpg" alt="gigoflemmings" width="614" height="346" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Gigo opening @the monsterous flemming fossen</p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center"><span lang="EN-US">Thorpie also made his mind to run it. Gigo and myself were waiting at the pool below the waterfall and we saw him going over the lip and down….at first it looked like a perfect line, though, his boat kept rotating forward and we saw him disappearing in the mist. We waited those long seconds until we saw his boat coming out, and his paddle, but no signals of him. I started paddling hard to the waterfall and gigo went for the boat, realizing that Thorpie was still there unconscious. This was one of the most scariest kayaking images I saw so far…we pulled him up and to the rocks on the side. He was sleeping there for some good 5 minutes until he woke up. Finally after some stitches on his head and one night in the hospital Thorpie is out there back on the game.</span><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/gigoflemmings.jpg"></a><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/gigoflemmings.jpg"></a></p>
<div id="attachment_130" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 624px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/santiflemmings.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-130 " src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/santiflemmings-1024x576.jpg" alt="santiflemmings" width="614" height="346" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">myself going for the biggest horizon line in rauma</p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center"><span lang="EN-US">From time to time you will have those “calls” that put you in your place. That day was one of those. Kayaking is a sport that motivates your spirit, and the will to take care of your life as well as your friend´s, family….</span></p>
<div id="attachment_138" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 624px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/flemming2.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-138" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/flemming2-1024x576.jpg" alt="flemming2" width="614" height="346" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">and droppin´</p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="EN-US">Many people thinks there is no point on risking your life in that way, interesting topic, but, <span> </span>there is another face of the story… stay tuned, we will try to show this in our next movie coming up!!!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="EN-US">Santiago Lo Greco</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="EN-US">screen shots<br />
</span></p>
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		<title>A jewel of Costa Rica</title>
		<link>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2009/08/27/a-jewel-of-costa-rica/</link>
		<comments>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2009/08/27/a-jewel-of-costa-rica/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:45:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>freeky</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/?p=111</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This is me (Claudio) and my brother Kurt hucking pozo azul in the area of Sarapiqui on our kayaking trip to Costa rica . Aqui estoy de nuevo (Claudio) y mi hermano Kurt Corriendo &#8220;Pozo Azul&#8221; en el área de Sarapiqui en nuestro viaje en Costa Rica&#8230; disfrute&#8230;. Claudio Vega]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-112" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/pozo-azul1-copy-200x300.jpg" alt="pozo-azul1-copy" width="200" height="300" /></p>
<p>This is me (Claudio) and my brother Kurt hucking pozo azul in the area of Sarapiqui</p>
<p>on our kayaking trip to Costa rica .</p>
<p><img src="/Users/santiago/Downloads/pozo%20azul.JPG" alt="" /></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-113" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/pozo-azul-copy-683x1024.jpg" alt="pozo-azul-copy" width="410" height="614" /></p>
<p>Aqui estoy de nuevo (Claudio) y mi hermano Kurt Corriendo &#8220;Pozo Azul&#8221; en el área de Sarapiqui en nuestro viaje en Costa Rica&#8230;<br />
disfrute&#8230;.</p>
<p><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/pozo-azul2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-114" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/pozo-azul2-683x1024.jpg" alt="pozo-azul2" width="410" height="614" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/pozo-azul3.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-115" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/pozo-azul3-683x1024.jpg" alt="pozo-azul3" width="410" height="614" /></a></p>
<p>Claudio Vega</p>
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		<title>Tasting the States</title>
		<link>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2009/08/27/tasting-the-states/</link>
		<comments>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2009/08/27/tasting-the-states/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:52:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>freeky</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/?p=99</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here there are some pictures of some runs in the states , farmlands in the White Salmon WA, Punchball falls of Eagle creek WA and lower mesa falls Idaho. All those run we did it with my friend kurt hotchkins . we dirt bag all spring getting new runs in the States. Aqui les dejo [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;  Normal 0   21   false false false  ES-AR X-NONE X-NONE              MicrosoftInternetExplorer4              &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;                                                                                                                                             &lt;![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]&gt;--> <!--[endif]--></p>
<p style="text-align: center"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-101" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/006-768x1024.jpg" alt="droppin´" width="461" height="614" /></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&amp;quot" lang="EN-US">Here there are some pictures of some runs in the states , farmlands in the White Salmon WA, Punchball falls of Eagle creek WA and lower mesa falls Idaho. All those run we did it with my friend kurt hotchkins . we dirt bag<span> </span>all spring getting new runs in the States.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&amp;quot" lang="EN-US"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-105" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/6093_110939218638_659858638_2354037_5884305_n1.jpg" alt="6093_110939218638_659858638_2354037_5884305_n1" width="453" height="604" /><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&amp;quot" lang="EN-US"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&amp;quot" lang="EN-US">Aqui les dejo unas fotos de algunas corridas en los Estados Unidos, Farmlands en el río White Salmon (WA), Punchball falls del río Eagle Creek (WA), Mesa Falls en Idaho. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&amp;quot" lang="EN-US"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-107" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/6093_110939243638_659858638_2354042_1762927_n1.jpg" alt="6093_110939243638_659858638_2354042_1762927_n1" width="453" height="604" /><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&amp;quot" lang="EN-US">Estas corridas las hicimos con mi amgigo Kurt Hotchkins. Fué una temporada exitanto realizando nuevos descensos en USA.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 12pt;font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&amp;quot" lang="EN-US"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-108" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/p5100118-1024x768.jpg" alt="p5100118" width="614" height="461" /><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&amp;quot" lang="EN-US">Claudio Vega (Chile)<br />
</span></p>
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		<title>In the heart of the Pyrenees</title>
		<link>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2009/07/22/in-the-heart-of-the-pyrenees/</link>
		<comments>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2009/07/22/in-the-heart-of-the-pyrenees/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:05:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>freeky</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/?p=88</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Around mid of june, Asier, Eneko, jorge and myself  (Haritz) decided to meet up in “Torla” river, in the entry of Ordesa National Park, to run the “Bujaruelo” slides section, a classic run over the Aragonian Pyrenees (Spain). Luclky we had the company of Tomás, who was our photographer for this mission. We took a [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/img_6203-desktop-resolution.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-85" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/img_6203-desktop-resolution.jpg" alt="img_6203-desktop-resolution" width="426" height="640" /></a></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Around mid of june, Asier, Eneko, jorge and myself  (Haritz) decided to meet up in “Torla” river, in the entry of Ordesa National Park, to run the “Bujaruelo” slides section, a classic run over the Aragonian Pyrenees (Spain). Luclky we had the company of Tomás, who was our photographer for this mission. We took a look on the river as we were driving up to the put in, specially on “the big ramp”. At first look it doesn’t look difficult, although we knew that you must run this rapid well to avoid the right side of it at any cost.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/img_6028.jpg"><span lang="EN-US"> <img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-87" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/img_6028-682x1024.jpg" alt="img_6028" width="409" height="614" /></span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">The run started pretty easy, paddling through some small-rounded-boulder rapids, though Jorge had to quit due to a minor back injury. Asier did the run a weel earlier, but we still had to stop to check out some lines because of the gradient that the river has in this section, which consist pretty much in the main feature of this section. You would be surprised how much it drops in only 3 km!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/img_6218-desktop-resolution.jpg"><span lang="EN-US"> <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-89" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/img_6218-desktop-resolution.jpg" alt="img_6218-desktop-resolution" width="480" height="720" /></span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">After enjoying the first hour of white water fun, we made it to the portage, just before the main slides.By the time we arrived to the main slide (35 mts) The tension in the crew came up pretty high, specially to me, as the boys laughed about that, you can imagine the expression on my face…..Once we where sure about the line, we went for it! One by one, the adrenaline rush was an amazing feeling as we dropped this pretty one. The following slides came one after the other without much air in between and happy faces came along with them too….We did a successful run, “happy days-feeling” was burning in our veins, hugs and beer were the perfect elements for a good end of day….</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-90" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/img_6132-desktop-resolution.jpg" alt="img_6132-desktop-resolution" width="533" height="800" /><br />
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="ES">A mediados de Junio del 2009, Asier, Eneko, Jorge y yo ( Haritz), quedamos en Torla, a puertas del parque nacional Ordesa, para kayakear en la sección de las rampas de Bujaruelo, un clasico del Pirineo Aragonés ( España). Junto con nosotros vino Tomas, que fue el que nos sacó todas las fotos. De camino al rio, paramos para echar un vistazo al paso clave: la rampa grande; a primera vista no estaba demasiado complicado, aunque como ya sabiamos de antes, era muy recomendable hacer las cosas bien y no irse a la derecha.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="ES"><span> </span>El descenso comenzó tranquilo, abriendo camino por bolos pequeños, hasta que Jorge tuvo que evacuar por un tirón en la espalda. Aunque Asier ya habia corrido la sección una semana antes, tuvimos que parar u par de veces para mirar mejor algunos pasos que ganaban desnivel, y discutir la mejor linea. Una de las caracteristicas de esta sección es el desnivel que acumula en sus alrededor de 3 km de descenso.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/img_6179-desktop-resolution.jpg"><span lang="ES"><span> <img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-91" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/img_6179-desktop-resolution-1024x682.jpg" alt="img_6179-desktop-resolution" width="614" height="409" /></span></span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"><span lang="ES">Después de disfrutar de la primera hora de aguas bravas llegamos al porteo que precedia a las espectaculares rampas de este clasico. La tensión subio considerablemente cuando llegamos a la rampa de 35 metros, especialmente a mi, de la cuales se rieron un poco mis compañeros. Una vez evaluada la mejor linea por diferentes puntos, nos echamos por la rampa uno por uno, descargando adrenalina por todos los poros. Las siguientes rampas vinieron una detrás de otra, gozando con el rio en cada una de ellas. Cuando superamos los ultimos intensos 300 metros de rampas, sifones y troncos llegamos exitosamente al final de la sección, abrazandonos y tomando ruta para celebrarlo con unas cervezas.</span></p>
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		<title>Pure Love</title>
		<link>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2009/07/06/pure-love/</link>
		<comments>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2009/07/06/pure-love/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:07:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>freeky</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/?p=47</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It was late in the last summer when we took a look on Tora river (see article &#8220;back to Norway&#8221;) and we really wanted to paddle, including &#8220;Store føysen&#8221;, a couple of very nice drops above the normal section, in one of the tributaries to the Tora. We had to wait until this spring to [...]]]></description>
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<dt><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/rappel-2.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-62" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/rappel-2-1024x682.jpg" alt="the abseil to the put-in makes things extra interesting" width="630" height="419" /></a></dt>
</dl>
<p>It was late in the last summer when we took a look on Tora river (see article &#8220;back to Norway&#8221;) and we really wanted to paddle, including &#8220;Store føysen&#8221;, a couple of very nice drops above the normal section, in one of the tributaries to the Tora. We had to wait until this spring to get our chance to check out those drops and make our line down these pretty ones.<span style="color:#4f81bd;font-size:9pt"><strong><strong></strong></strong></span></p>
<div id="attachment_57" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 419px"><img class="size-large wp-image-57" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/armando-el-take-out-21-682x1024.jpg" alt="armando-el-take-out-21" width="409" height="614" /><p class="wp-caption-text">vertical take out...</p></div>
<p>We couldn&#8217;t find any good information about the drops, we just knew that you have to walk for a while &#8220;a few hundred meters&#8221; and then you will see the spot. The canyon is very narrow, and there is a huge rock that seemed to roll down the hill and now it looks like a perfect bridge across the canyon…..quite impressive.</p>
<div id="attachment_59" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 419px"><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/primer-drop-2.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-59" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/primer-drop-2-682x1024.jpg" alt="santi running the first drop" width="409" height="614" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">santi running the first drop</p></div>
<p>We just drove there, took our kayaks, with the idea that it would take a while to find the drops, so we started….after a couple of hours, we just decided that the drops where too far and actually, Miguel walked so far up, that he even couldn&#8217;t keep on walking because of the snow….mission failed!</p>
<p style="text-align: center">
<p>We came back home with the bad feeling of a failed mission, but we would have our second chance. A couple of days later we drove back to Tora, with some more information. We were pretty sure that the drops were closer than what we thought, and we might actually pass them without notice them. So we were right!! It was only 20 min hike, easy!!! We couldn&#8217;t believe how close they were….we sat there laughing for a while until we decided to make a plan for the run.</p>
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<dt><a href="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/segundo-drop-1.jpg"><span style="color:#4f81bd;font-size:9pt"><strong><strong><img class="size-large wp-image-60" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/segundo-drop-1-682x1024.jpg" alt="dropping the second..." width="392" height="589" /></strong></strong></span></a></dt>
<dd><strong>second&#8230;</strong></dd>
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<p>The level looked quite high but still good to go. To get the put in, you will have to rappel down about 10 meters, just above the first one, and the take out is quite similar as you would have to use a rope to get out of the canyon.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">
<div id="attachment_64" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 487px"><img class="size-large wp-image-64" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/miguel-primer-drop-1-682x1024.jpg" alt="miguel boofin´ the first one" width="477" height="717" /><p class="wp-caption-text">miguel boofin´ the first one</p></div>
<p>The most intimidating thing of this short mission it was that the second drop, the biggest one, didn&#8217;t had a pool as big as you would like, and just after the drop (with biiig boils at that water level) it comes a nasty one, and then one more, and one more…..you wouldn&#8217;t like your deck to pop or your paddle to brake in this one…….still, it was a clean run, mission accomplished!! Enjoy the pics!!</p>
<p style="text-align: center">
<div id="attachment_65" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 487px"><img class="size-large wp-image-65" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/segundo-drop-3-682x1024.jpg" alt="just about to land...." width="477" height="717" /><p class="wp-caption-text">just about to land....</p></div>
<p>Era tarde en la temporada (2008) cuando tuvimos la oportunidad de ver el río Tora (ver artículo &#8220;back to norway&#8221;) y decidir remarlo, incluyendo &#8220;Store Føysen&#8221;, un par de cascadas increíbles aguas arribe de la sección normal, sobre uno de los tributarios del Tora. Tuvimos que esperar hasta esta primavera para poder ir a ver las cascadas y correrlas.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">
<div id="attachment_66" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 487px"><img class="size-large wp-image-66" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/miguel-segundo-drop-682x1024.jpg" alt="miguel droppin´the second one" width="477" height="717" /><p class="wp-caption-text">miguel droppin´the second one</p></div>
<p>No contábamos con información detallada sobre la ubicación exacta de las cascadas; sólo sabíamos que había que caminar por un rato, algunos &#8220;cientos de metros&#8221; hasta ver este lugar. El cañón es muy estrecho, y en este lugar, hay una roca que parece haber rodado desde arriba de la montaña, hasta posarse gentilmente sobre el cañón haciendo las veces de un &#8220;puente natural&#8221; algo bastante imoresionante!</p>
<p>Manejamos hasta Tora, tomamos nuestros kayaks, y comenzamos a caminar con la sensción de que tomaría un rato largo hasta encontrar las cascadas…Luego de un par de horas, decidimos  que las cascadas estaban muy lejos, de hecho, Miguel caminó tanto en la montaña, que no pudo continuar debido a la nieve…misión fallida….</p>
<p>Volvimos a casa con la mala sensación de haber fallado la misión, pero tendríamos una segunda oportunidad…Un par de días después volvimos a Tora, con un poco más de información. Esta vez estábamos casi seguros que nos habíamos pasado las cascadas sin notarlas, ya que parecían estar más cerca de lo que pensábamos…Y así fue, era una caminata de sólo 20 minutos, fácil!! No podíamos creer lo cerca que estaban y cómo no las habíamos visto cuando las pasamos dos días antes. Nos reímos un rato, hasta que empezamos a hacer el plan para correrlas.</p>
<p>El nivel parecía bastante alto, pero todavía aceptable. Para llegar al put-in, hay que realizar un rapell de 10 metros justo arriba de la primer cascada, así como la salida del cañón también exige el uso de cuerdas para salir.</p>
<p>Quizás, lo más intimidante de esta misión era que después de la segunda cascada (la más grande) había que salir inmediatamente a un Eddy pequeño en la izquierda, ya que después viene otra cascada más grande y muy sucia, y después otra, y otra y otra….No era el lugar correcto para romper un remo o que el faldón implosione y exija una nadada. Después de analizar todo, hicimos una corrida limpia, y volvimos a casa, misión cumplida!!!!! Disfruten las fotos!!</p>
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		<title>Southamerican Style</title>
		<link>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2009/06/26/southamerican-style/</link>
		<comments>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2009/06/26/southamerican-style/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:21:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>freeky</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/?p=25</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Time for our next one, this time it was another classic, Lågen river and its Rusty (I like to call it like that) canyon. We put-in at medium to high water this time, which made things to look very different from last year. As soon as you put in you will start with a nice [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="MsoNoSpacing">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center">
<div id="attachment_28" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 310px"><img class="size-medium wp-image-28" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/lagen-1-300x199.jpg" alt="runing the last section of this amazing canyon" width="300" height="199" /><p class="wp-caption-text">runing the last section of this amazing canyon</p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Time for our next one, this time it was another classic, Lågen river and its Rusty (I like to call it like that) canyon. We put-in at medium to high water this time, which made things to look very different from last year. As soon as you put in you will start with a nice grade III section to warm up, and not far from there you will have the first big one, which was looking like a big monster at that water level, with two main possibilities: a left line, just avoiding the biggest $%”#$# or right in the middle of it, trying to paddle through a big diagonal first, then a huge crashing wave, to end up by punching a big hole at the bottom….full on!!</p>
<div id="attachment_30" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 310px"><img class="size-medium wp-image-30" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/img_70651-300x199.jpg" alt="Diego Runing the first rapid" width="300" height="199" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Diego runing the left line @ first rapid</p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US"> Diego went first and took the safe line by the left, then Miguel fired up the center big-balled line and he just did it like a pro, so that gave the rest of us some extra motivation to hit the same line. Silvio took a smooth stroke by the big diagonal and then went into the big stuff….</span></p>
<div id="attachment_31" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 310px"><img class="size-medium wp-image-31" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/img_7079-copy-300x199.jpg" alt="Miguel at the entry of the first rapid" width="300" height="199" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Miguel showing some southamerican style</p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">So, as I was getting in my kayak to run it I just thought: “that is easier than what I thought!” then, I lined up my kayak to take exactly the same line than Silvio and Miguel, but this time, I went too relaxed to hit that diagonal, so, by the time I went into the big wave I was in the wrong spot….got surfed, and then , into the hole without any speed at all…</span></p>
<div id="attachment_32" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 310px"><img class="size-medium wp-image-32" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/logen-1stb-300x199.jpg" alt="Myself taking the big diagonal in the wrong spot!!" width="300" height="199" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Big line, wrong spot!</p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">surfing again, but this time, for quite a long time, though, swimming was not an option, a waterfall (portage at that water level) was waiting for me just about 70 meters from where the hole was playing with me. Luckly I managed to get out from there, and we kept our run going as we enjoyed the rest of the run like kids in a candy-store! Enjoy the pics!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div id="attachment_33" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 310px"><img class="size-medium wp-image-33" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/img_7150-copy-300x199.jpg" alt="where is the way out of this hole!!!!" width="300" height="199" /><p class="wp-caption-text">where is the way out of this hole!!!!</p></div>
<p><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;  Normal 0   21   false false false  ES-AR X-NONE X-NONE                           &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;                                                                                                                                            &lt;![endif]--></p>
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<p class="MsoNoSpacing">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">El próximo, esta vez era otro clásico, el río Lågen y su cañón rusty (me gusta llamarlo así). Entramos al río con un nivel de agua medio-alto, factor que hizo verlo muy diferente a la última vez que lo corrimos el año pasado. Tan pronto como uno se echa al agua, el río desciende formando un rápido largo y contínuo clase III, un muy buen comienzo para ablandar…</p>
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<p class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div id="attachment_34" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 310px"><img class="size-medium wp-image-34" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/img_7163-copy-300x199.jpg" alt="Half the way.....silvio" width="300" height="199" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Half the way.....silvio</p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">No muy lejos de terminar con esto, aparece el primer grande, un rápido que hace ver los kayaks de creek como si fueran playboats. Dos posibilidades: tomar línea segura por la izquierda y evadir el mounstruo que había por el centro, o simplemente tomar la línea del centro rompiendo una diagonal, para luego cargar sobre una ola rompiente con mucha fuerza (pero una ventanita en el medio) y luego un hueco bastante cerrado al final….</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center">
<div id="attachment_35" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 310px"><img class="size-medium wp-image-35" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/logen-1stc-300x199.jpg" alt="one u are sure u can´t help it....just padlle hard..." width="300" height="199" /><p class="wp-caption-text">once you are sure you can´t help it....just padlle hard...</p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Diego corrió primero, eligiendo la línea de la izquierda, y luego Miguel, quien estaba inspirado, tomó la línea del centro para probar que sí se podía, muy bien! Luego Silvio hizo lo propio y demostró lo que hacen los años de experiencia con su kayak. Cuando me metí en mi kayak pensé “esto es más fácil de lo que esperaba” entonces remé hacia la diagonal con demasiado relax…pum!! La diagonal era muy fuerte!<span> </span>Para cuando pasé la diagonal, me di cuenta que estaba en lugar equivocado, no iba a alcanzar la ventana que me permitiría mantener la velocidad para golpear con fuerza el último hueco; en cambio, después de que me detuvo por completo, me dejó sin fuerza para atacar al hueco, entonces ya se imaginan lo que pasó…</p>
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<dd>Silvio</dd>
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<dt><img class="size-full wp-image-36" src="http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/files/img_7190-copy.jpg" alt="Silvio" width="757" height="220" /></dt>
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<p class="MsoNoSpacing">después de una larga surfeada en el hueco, logré salir un poco exhausto pero felíz, ya que si hubiese nadado, muy probablemente el río me hubiese llevado gentilmente hacia el próximo rápido; una cascada que a ese nivel de agua era portaje!!!</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Después de esto seguimos remando y disfrutando de este río como niños en una tienda de chocolates!! Disfruten las fotos!</p>
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		<title>Back to Norway!</title>
		<link>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2009/06/20/back-to-norway/</link>
		<comments>http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2009/06/20/back-to-norway/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Jun 2009 07:41:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>freeky</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paddleblogs.com/freeky/2009/06/20/back-to-norway/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Greig Mccolm running Åmot, our local run So…..this is a new summer for us working here at the peaceful Sjoa Valley, in the heart of Norway. Myself and my partner Miguel Covarrubias wanted to get some warm up before to start running the big stuff here in Norway. After some runs over our local “homerun” [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ErGwjpNNhG4/Sjzn2sdHOsI/AAAAAAAAAMw/Thjotglqx_8/s1600-h/amot.jpg"><img style="width: 320px;height: 214px" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ErGwjpNNhG4/Sjzn2sdHOsI/AAAAAAAAAMw/Thjotglqx_8/s320/amot.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><span><span>Greig Mccolm running</span><span> </span><span>Åmot, our local run</span></span></p>
<p><span><span lang="EN-US">So…..this is a new summer for us working here at the peaceful Sjoa Valley, in the heart of Norway. Myself and my partner Miguel Covarrubias wanted to get some warm up before to start running the big stuff here in Norway. After some runs over our local “homerun” grade IV section called Åmot we were ready to go!</span></span></p>
<h3><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ErGwjpNNhG4/SjzpE19qbAI/AAAAAAAAAM4/eKY3TA5dJ1Y/s1600-h/DSC_0212.JPG"><img style="width: 320px;height: 214px" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ErGwjpNNhG4/SjzpE19qbAI/AAAAAAAAAM4/eKY3TA5dJ1Y/s320/DSC_0212.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a></h3>
<p><span>first rapid, Tora river</span><br />
<span><span lang="EN-US">First mission then was Tora river. A couple of hours driving west from Sjoa you´ll find this piece of white water-nature-art called Tora. This river has a very short and full on section. Slides and drops are coming one after the other, and depending on the water levels, you might have the chance to put in little further upstream and run an amazing combo…</span></span></p>
<p><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;     Normal   0         21         false   false   false      ES-AR   X-NONE   X-NONE                                                     MicrosoftInternetExplorer4                                                   &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]&gt;  &lt;![endif]--></p>
<p><span><span lang="EN-US">This time we were 6 paddlers, though there was one of our crew who decided not to paddle due to a leg injury he was trying to get heal as soon as possible…..good choice…</span></span></p>
<h3></h3>
<h3><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ErGwjpNNhG4/SjzqefnNv_I/AAAAAAAAANA/gN_8anxqXzs/s1600-h/DSC_0259.JPG"><img style="width: 320px;height: 214px" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ErGwjpNNhG4/SjzqefnNv_I/AAAAAAAAANA/gN_8anxqXzs/s320/DSC_0259.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a></h3>
<p><span><span>Miguel running one of the slides</span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span lang="EN-US">I think the best rapid in this 800 mts section is the last one which is a long slide, fast and fun!! Tora is a perfect run to do in the beginning of the season, mainly because you will have the chance to scout everything from both banks before you put in, and also because you could portage those rapids you don’t feel ready to run….perfect!!</span></span></span><span></p>
<p></span><span></span></p>
<h3><span lang="EN-US"></p>
<p></span></h3>
<h3><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ErGwjpNNhG4/SjzsEuEsjKI/AAAAAAAAANI/l7UPaYoLlIk/s1600-h/DSC_0224.JPG"><img style="width: 320px;height: 214px" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ErGwjpNNhG4/SjzsEuEsjKI/AAAAAAAAANI/l7UPaYoLlIk/s320/DSC_0224.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a></h3>
<p><span><span>&#8220;Under the bridge&#8221;&#8230;Martin Vollen</span></span><br />
<span>Otro verano comienza en Noruega mientras nosotros nos encontramos aquí en el tranquilo valle de Sjoa, en el corazón de este país increíble. Mi compañero Miguel y yo decidimos entrar en calor antes de comenzar con los “grandes ríos”. Algunas corridas sobre la sección que tenemos aquí cerca de nuestra casa, llamado Åmot y ya estuvimos listos para entrar en acción…</span></p>
<p><span></span></p>
<p><span>Nuestra pr</span><span>imer misión nos llevó a correr un río llamado Tora. Manejamos un par de horas hacia el oeste hasta encontrarnos con esta pieza de arte de la naturaleza llamada Tora. Este río tiene una sección tan corta como intensa. Slides y drops vienen uno atrás de otro, y dependiendo de los niveles de agua, también da la posibilidad de entrar un poco más arriba y correr una combinación increíble.</span></p>
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<p></span></h3>
<h3><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ErGwjpNNhG4/SjztuYRXWvI/AAAAAAAAANQ/44Bg-IOQp68/s1600-h/DSC_0327.JPG"><img style="width: 320px;height: 214px" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ErGwjpNNhG4/SjztuYRXWvI/AAAAAAAAANQ/44Bg-IOQp68/s320/DSC_0327.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a></h3>
<p><span><span>last rapid&#8230;</span></span></p>
<h3></h3>
<p><span>Esta vez fuimos 6 kayakistas, aunque uno de ellos decidió permanecer afuera, ya que todavía se recupera de una lesión importante en su pierna…buena desición.</span><span><span></p>
<p>Creo que el mejor rápido es el último, una perfecta despedida para esta sección de 800 mts. Tora es una opción perfecta para correr a principio de la temporada, ya que te da la chance de observar todos los rápidos desde ambas orillas antes de meterte al río, y, además da la posibilidad de portear los rápidos que no te gusten…perfecto!!</span></span></p>
<p>Hope you like the pics!</p>
<p>Photography by Greig Mccolm</p>
<div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5392049132637406945-7752813943590347622?l=freekymedia.blogspot.com" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></div>
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