Emily Parker

Emily Parker, a UK paddler, tragically lost her life on April 6th in a paddling accident in Scotland.

I was fortunate enough to coach Emily a few days on the Nile during her 3 week stay and was impressed by her enthusiasm, as well as her desire to improve and push her limits. She was incredibly positive and determined to make the most of her time on the Nile, both on and off the river.

Emily getting coaching at Superhole with LiLi coach and founder Sam Ward.

I received this in an email this morning : "Her funeral was today, was obviously very sad but there was a huge turnout and it was clear how many lives she'd touched and showed how close the (UK/uni) paddling community is."

to show your support, go here:

http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=62492

My sincere condolences go out to the entire UK paddling community, as well as any other friends and family of Emily's.

Canoe and Kayak NZ

NZ Kayak Magazine used one of my photos from the Himalayan River Girls trip on their cover of issue 52 !

There were a few more photos of mine inside in the article, and a great write up on the trip, including where the girls are now.

Pretty exciting! Here is the the cover... and here is the link to view the issue, with the complete article inside.

http://www.canoeandkayak.co.nz/Kayak+Magazine.html#52

Revival

After a lengthy hiatus, i've decided to give this guy another go. Its funny to sit back down and try and get in the blogging mindset. Thanks to google analytics ( www.google.com/analytics ) I have realized there are a few that still check this blog... So...

To do a quick wrap up, here is how 2009 finished off, and 2010 started off. I spent another 6 months in Uganda, working for Kayak the Nile (www.kayakthenile.com). We had an amazing season, and surprisingly, stayed a bit busy.

KTN's new vehicles- loaded up with boats!

I picked up more responsibility as Jared headed home to Canada for the first time in a few years- and Jamie ran around the world to different trade shows, and weddings, while of course attempting to plan his own!

I effectively ran KTN in Jared and Jamie's absence, and had a great time doing it- although it meant less time on the water. It was an awesome experience that helped prepare me for the winter season- though i didn't know it at the time.

Highlights of the 2009 season in Uganda would be the infiltration of NRE with Kiwis- my friend Josh Neilson (filmaker/ kayaker from NZ) came out for another stint- which proved to be great fun - and it meant that we spent the greater part of October 2008- October 2009 together- with two months in Nepal, 2 weeks in Colorado, and 3 months in Uganda. Josh spent much of his time in Uganda filming for his next film- REALM, check out his blog for information www.whitewater-koa.blogspot.com

Josh and Ben collecting footage... check out the Hump at low water!

This is what i love about the whitewater scene- that you get to meet new people, and then you see them all over the world!

Josh wasn't the only Kiwi- There were several returning and new faces in the crowd- Kiwi and otherwise.

Other Highlights would be the attempted River Festival. In past years, Jamie and KTN, along with NRE and the Nile Breweries have put on anything from a 3-5 day festival, including down river and freestyle kayak events- with loads of partying- and boaters from all over the world. This years festival was much tamer- though we still saw an influx of boaters arriving from all over the world for it! There was no official competition, just a low key river trip down the day 2 stretch which led to plenty of carnage! Rafts flipped, beers were lost, more beers were drunk, new friends were made.

One of the trucks loaded up for the festival

Morgan and I re-united and having fun at the festival!

One of the highlights for the KTN season was the 5 day course we put on for the Kampala International School- one of the Ugandan private schools. Over the course of 5 days we taught 30 kids how to kayak- starting them in the pool, and eventually taking them down the day 2 stretch. It was tons of fun, and everyone enjoyed it! Quite hectic for a few days though- trying to find 30 kayaks and 30 sets of kit to fit 11-18 year old kids in varying sizes proved to be a challenge, but everything worked out spectacularly.

working on rolling

I flew home in in December for my cousin Jesse's wedding. It was a beautiful event, and a great opportunity to see the family.

Chilling with some of the cousins- all grown up and all dressed up!

The wedding was in Cancun- I was so sad that I wasn't able to bring a Kayak to get to explore some of Mexico's legendary whitewater. Jesse and Lior were married at sunset next to the beach- pretty spectacular.

On the plane ride home from Mexico, my grandmother, Rita, suffered a small stroke and a minor heart attack. It made for quite the exciting plane ride home- we got to emergency land the plane and bypass customs as we jumped into an ambulance to high-tail it to the hospital.

Unfortunately, Rita ended up passing away 2 weeks later. A New Years day funeral meant more family time- reminiscent of a bad movie title.. A wedding and a funeral in 2 weeks! Still- I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know my family, especially cousins, better.

Clowning around with an ancient polaroid camera after Rita's funeral.

Rita was an amazing woman, and I am incredibly lucky to have had her in my life for as long as I did.

Rita and I in the Cancun airport, just before our flight back to New York

After the funeral I returned to Killington Vermont to work for another season- managing a ski shop right off the access road to the mountain. Its been a hectic season so far- I'll be sure to keep updating on winter antics, and even more exciting- upcoming spring fun!

photo upload a no go

I tried to upload photos taken of the silverback section of whitewater, but it turns out the files have all been corrupted. I will have to keep trying... But i haven't been able to get out paddling on my own much-Just as it looked like things were about to settle down, they've kicked up again. I've been working loads- and having a lot of fun with some more intermediate/advanced clients. Its been great because i've been able to push my own skills, in terms of coaching and on the river, and have even managed to do a few video sessions on some of the waves here. It is astounding how much more you gain from a training session by going back through and analyzing video- something i have really seen being put into practice from Lili coach/founder Sam Ward.

Jamie has gone to the UK for 10 days, and Jared has left us to go back to Canada for 6 months, leaving me in charge of KTN daily operations for the past week or so. Highly entertaining.. and good practice if i ever decide to attempt to run my own business! You start to realize how much working managing even a small company like KTN is.

It has been a busy month for much of the kayaking industry, with the World Championships for freestyle kayaking taking place in Thun, Switzerland last week. It has been highly entertaining, and mildly frustrating attempting to follow the news on what can be painstaking slow internet. I had lots of friends over at worlds, and a big crew of Ugandan residents/visitors were over there as well.

One of our guides, Ibra Mugembe, and Paulo Babi one of the rafting guides had the opportunity to compete for Uganda in the kayak championships- alongside another friend and former guide off the Nile.. All did well, With Timmy Flowers taking 76th overall, Paulo in 61st, and Ibra placing 36th, just missing a shot at quarter finals. Anton, one of the video boaters out on the Nile finished 26th overall- showing again how great this river is for training... and of course how much you can do with natural ability...

It was exciting and encouraging to see so many friends do well- the competition and the lengthy amount of time required to check results provided a welcome distraction from the work week. For full results, check out www.kayaksession.com

I have also just learned that Canoe and Kayak New Zealand Magazine has decided to publish an article on the Himalayan River Girls, and the progress they have made. One of the girls, Sussmita, was even able to go and compete at worlds in Switzerland. I'm sure it was an amazing opportunity for her, and a great way to build awareness within the international kayaking community. At any rate, Canoe and Kayak NZ has decided to use one of my photographs taken on the trip as their cover shot! Pretty exciting for me- I can't wait to see a copy.

Thats about it for now Photos to come, internet permitting... sigh..