Himalayan River Festival

Just got back into Kathmandu after almost two weeks on the river- first 10 days on the Sunkosi with the Nepali girls, team swede, team kiwi and Inka- it was a good, if long and very sandy trip- ill be sure and do a full write up soon once i get a chance to upload some photos- and from the end of the Sun Kosi almost straight away to the Trisuli for the Himalayan River Festival.

The Festival was a three day event- starting off with a slalom course, a freestyle event the next day, and the last day ended with a 10k downriver kayak race and a 15k downriver raft race. Organized mainly by Peak UK and Paddle Nepal, the festival was a huge success, with tons of competitor; both Nepalese and International. For the first time ever there were 3 Nepali Women competing as well- with lots of motivation to do well as first prize for ladies was a Jackson Kayak. Unfortunatley, most of the ladies from the Sun Kosi trip werent quite ready to compete this year- but after sitting, watching and cheering for three days, i think they all gained heaps of motivation and said they were excited to compete next year.

For the international ladies, first prize went to Christine Glissmeyer, an American chica from Oregon- Sophie Hoskins styled it for second place, representing the Nepali Girls trip, and Lili White from Switzerland took third. All of us ladies from the Nepali Girls trip were pretty on form after ten days on the river,and made a massive showing. There were at least 20 girls competing in all three events- which is huge! I've never experianced something like that before and hope it will inspire the Nepali ladies even more. All of the girls put in an awesome showing- some of the competitiors had only been paddling for a few months, and one for a few weeks! Emi- one of the Kiwi ladies who came out for the Nepali Girls trip hopped back in a kayak for a few days on the Sun Kosi, ran some rapids, did a few rolls, and went out for the freestyle festival. She took one swim- but was out there having fun and setting an awesome example for the Nepali girls. Malin Bergman, another NRG trip participant styled the slalom course, beating all the other girls by almost 10 seconds with a time that would have been competitive with the men. Two of the women competing for Nepal had been on the river trip with us, brushing up on their skills- and it definatley showd. They wowed the crowds and tore it up in the competition to finish first and second.

I did allright- taking sixth in the slalom course (i forgot how much fun slalom is- its an entirely different way of looking at the rapids and features on a river) and ending up in third for the freestyle after leading the ladies until the finals. It was my second freestyle comp, and my first attempt at having fun surfing a creekboat in a hole. It was funny to watch us all try- biggest beatdown was the way to go, with points awarded for each change of direction, as well as any trick pulled. During finals Christine pulled off a huge ariel loop (front summersault ) in her creekboat to take the win. Nothing like seeing the girls go as big as the boys! Unfortunatley, I put myself out of the running in the down river race after a slightly slow start and rescuing two swimmers, making sure everyone got down safely. In the end its all about the humor- which there was a lot of to be sure. Good laughs, good kayaking and good parties. Can't ask for much more than that.

After a strong start in the Slalom course, with Anton finishing 2nd and Will 4th, the boys didnt get great rides in the pre-lims of the freestyle comp, missing out on key points for the overall win. They did well in the downriver race, but missed out on the top three places. Im not sure about the end results for either the Nepali Men or International men, but will be sure to try and update when i can. The competition had tons of sponsers, meaning loads of gear prizes for the Nepali winners, helping contribute to their ability to work on the river. Robson paddles, Predator Helments, a Riot Kayak and other odds and ends were among the prizes for the Nepalis. Its great to see that kind of support for all the local boater out here who obviously work hard at what they do.

Im busy finalizing a write-up of the Sun Kosi trip, and trying to find some photos to post, but there will be an update soon. Will heads back to Uganda tomorrow, and i head off to back to Pokhara either for a brief trek in the Himalayas with some of the Kiwis, or onto some more paddling missions with Anton and Josh Neilson.

It sounds like the boys mission on the Bhote Khosi and Upper Seti went well- if slightly more hectic than anticipated. For details- be sure to check out Wills blog- http://www.thenileprogression.blogspot.com/ he hasn't put an update on yet, but will once he gets some photos sorted.

cheers!