Peak UK - News

Peak UK on Sky Sports

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:01:01 GMT

Jon Best takes Sky Sports for a blast down Nottingham Whitewater course and Mark Proctor talks 2012 at Lee Valley. Check out the boys and girls in action:

A quick trip to Chile...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:01:01 GMT

Peak UK team paddler John Blake sums up his trip to Chile.

Looking down the very fast Laja a must if its got water and we found the perfect levels!

Deep in the Rio Claro valley an amazing water fall run with dozens of breath taking drops.

It just gets better as you go and you soon forget the monster walk in.

Then to warm down the lengendary 7 Teacups.

Forgetting to tell Tilo about the grade 5 get out... oops!

New one for me this trip the Navados. WOW!

A sweet 3 week trip made better by the company of Anne Huebner, Alex Rohr Nick Murphy and Tilo.

Cheers for the pics guys.

John

IRF Rafting Course in Brazil

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:01:01 GMT

A few days ago I finished the first course IRF (International Rafting Federation) in Brotas-Brazil.
The course was dictated by my colleague and instructor Core (class 4/5) and me. Before continuing I have to say something about him. Above all a very humble person, member and Team Captain Bozo d'agua (2 times world champions, 8 times Brazilian champion, 3 times Panamerican champions and 4 times European champions) one of the strongest and most experienced person I have known in the last 15 years of river life.
Returning to the course, it lasted 4 days in which they were 3 days of training and a assessment day. The first 3 days were filled with rescue techniques such as fast swimming, jumping, wading in shallow currents, knots, anchors, pulley systems 3-1 4-1 tensioned diagonal lines, Flip drills and a good amount of other exercises.

Also the international river signals, Pedagogy of teaching, safety talk and many different types of scenarios. Between classroom work and river work we were between 10 and 11 hours per day including transportation.

The standard of the river guide's, the respect between them and their desire to learn makes you work hard for so many hours of enjoyment, well, the truth is that the climate and the temperature of the tropical waters makes it a pleasure. I like to think that by giving a course not only teaching I have also learned a lot. When some students bring with them other skills for example, firefighters, mountain guides, cave guides, rescuers and also different types of course rivers guides with many years of experience working in different rivers- it gives you a lot of new useful techniques!

Some of course participants are junior Rafting team members from Brazil, the current world champions in the last World Championship in Costa Rica 2011.

Well, soon I will keep sharing my experiences in this awesome river life...

Video from the Bollocks to Poverty team.

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:01:01 GMT

Mike Richardson and Tom Osterwold hit the road along with support man Xavi Ahuwalia and camera man Jamie Prout for a tour of Scotlands finest rivers in an atempt to raise awarness for Bollocks to Poverty.

Joe Clarke tests the new Custom SS2

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:01:01 GMT

Winter training is going well and the weather is very mild so couldn't have asked for more so far, but was surprised when Pete produced me a custom topdeck with some of my sponsors logo's on it! It arrived just before Christmas so I didn't have much time to test it on the rough stuff at Lee Valley and Nottingham. But having tested it further I am very impressed the material is slightly thinner than that of the winter top decks but it is very waterproof and with the current temperatures it's more than warm enough.

Having spoken to Pete further he should be taking stock of some slightly higher quality material for custom printing so everyone will be able to customize there topdecks which I'm sure is going to make a brighter and more interesting look on the water for the first time ever!

Many thanks to Pete and all the guys at Peak UK for the topdeck and all the hard work you put in to developing kit to make it better, its definitely working!

Article by Joe Clarke

First Decent Toboggan Fall on the Apucarana River

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:01:01 GMT

Fabian was the first kayaker to huck the Toboggan Fall on the Apucarana River in Brazil. A slide 70mtrs long with the first 40mtrs being 55% incline. Heres a video courtesy of Paulo H. Rosatto:

Odense Canoepolo International Full Results 2012

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:01:01 GMT

Mens results:
1. Viking (UK)
2. Rothe Mühle Essen (DE)
3. Göttingen (DE)
4. Poland National Team
5. KCNW Berlin (DE)
6. Denmark National Team A
7. Deventer (NL)
8. Groningen (NL)
9. Denmark National Team B
10. Hannover 1 (DE)
11. ACC/BWS Hamburg (DE)
12. Belgium National Team
13/14. Denmark NT U21/VW Canoe polo (PL)
15/16. Hannover 2 (DE) /Merimelojat 1 (FI)

Ladies results:
1. Keistad (NL)
2. KCNW Berlin (DE)
3. Göttingen (DE)
4. Poland National Team

Viking Polo - Odense International

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:01:01 GMT

After some hard training over the Christmas period, the first tournament of 2012 took the team to the Odense International in Denmark. A change to the normal line up saw promising young player, Ross Montgomery in for the injured Martyn Williamson.

Saturday Started with an early game at 7.30am against Hanover, Viking shot out of the blocks firing on all cylinders and quickly overcame the young German team 11-2 looking very slick indeed.

After breakfast and a long wait, Viking's next game was against the crowd favourite, the Danish National Team. A completely different prospect from their first test, a much fitter and physical team who were well organised. This showed when Denmark scored two early goals before Viking recovered to draw 2-2 at half time to then go on to win the game comfortably 5-2.

Viking's final game of the group was against a big and physical German team, Rothe Mule Essen. Winning this game would see them top the group ready for the quarter final and enable them to carry on their fantastic start to the competition. Essen made a good start to the game, using their physicality and gamesmanship to go into a 2-0 lead but Viking remained calm and used their fitness and speed to ease past them 9-6, putting out a statement to the rest of the competition.

This set up a big quarterfinal early on the Sunday against a very good Dutch team, Deventer who have proved somewhat of a stumbling block for Viking in the past.

After a poor nights sleep (largely because of Montgomery's snoring and faulty airbeds) Viking got to the venue early for a thorough warm-up ready for their toughest game yet. Everyone was up for what would've been a fantastic final with the stands full of onlookers. Viking got off to an unbelievable 2-0 start with some fantastic team moves and audacious finishing from Tom Baston. Deventer hauled themselves back into the game briefly before Viking swept them aside with their movement and quality shooting, winning the game 6-3 to set up a semi final with the Polish National Team.

The Polish National Team were somewhat of an unknown quantity, seeming to have a few of their normal players missing, the only thing Viking knew of them was that they were a fast and strong team.

After a slight break and some relaxing, Viking took to the water for their semi final already thinking about their possible final opponents.

The game was physical and fast flowing but by the final whistle Viking strolled into the final winning the game 9-1 and put on quite a show in doing so.

In the final Viking had to face Rothe Mule Essen again knowing that they would be a completely different animal to the team they faced in group phase of the tournament.

Viking didn't start well, not coping with some interesting tactic from the German side and were quickly 2-0 down. Viking drew level before loosing a player to the sin bin for 2 minutes. However whilst facing a numerical disadvantage, Viking scored with an outrageous long shot from Nick Archer.

After weathering wave after wave of Roth Mule Essen attacks, Essen equalised and managed to take the lead again. Never letting their heads drop, Viking were soon level through a powerful shot from Andy Petrie.

At the end of normal time the score was 4-4 but Viking had no doubt they were going to find the golden goal required to win their first competition of 2012.

James Bowers won the sprint and Viking took their fast movement and ball handling skills to the Rothe Mule Defence. Within the first minute Geoff Murfin received the ball in the middle of the Essen defence and smashed a shot home.

Viking winning the Odense International for the second time and setting up a promising season for the current league and cup champions.

Article by Andy Petrie

Choosing the colour of your new boat.

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 01:01:01 GMT

As you may be aware, looking good on the water is as important as paddling well, and in order to perform well you need to look the part too thus concluding looking good is vital. So when it comes to the crucial moment of picking the colour of your next boat there are a few key points to bear in mind...
To help you grasp this technical concept we have put together the following case study and step by step guide.

Meet Jon.

Jon's in the market for a new creek boat. Jon paddles well, but in order to paddle better he needs to make sure that his new boat colour does not conflict with the harmony of his kit.

We brought Jon into the factory and documented the results.

Step 1.
The first step is important; it not only saves enormous amounts of time and manpower but can also save you from going insane. We need to narrow down the extensive colour choices to two- yes that's right just two. This can be done by analysing the current kit of the candidate and taking favorite colours into consideration. Boats in the colour ways chosen should be presented to the candidate in close proximity to get the best varience. Once established we can begin the seeding process…

Jon has an orange One Piece Suit and a blue River Guide BA. Jon narrowed his colour choices to yellow and orange. Upon Jons choice a yellow Magnum and an orange Magnum were unveiled and set up side by side.

Step 2.
The candidate should be outfitted with the relevant kit, preferably his/her own, and adopt the same attitude as one would paddle with.

Jon put on his kit and his attitude.

Step 3.
A camera should be used for this stage. Get the candidate to sit within boat no.1. Take a series of photos from different angles, in different lights and try to catch the candidate off guard- this will help capture the natural demeanor of the candidate and replicate their personality of when they are out paddling.

Jon sat in boat no.1 and was told to act normal. Photos were taken but not unveiled to Jon at this point.

Step 4.
Repeat step 3 but in boat no.2.

Jon repeated his actions for boat no.2. and another series of shots were collected.

( if at this stage the outcome is still looking uncertain and the candidate is not yet mentioning notions of ‘ yep I think its got to be yellow’ then subsequent kit can be gathered, paddles, throwline and even sunglasses can be included to enhance the candidates imitation of them on the water )

Step 5.
Analyze the photos. If you have used a digital camera then images can be exported onto your computer and the results are instant. If you are still using a film camera the roll must be developed and results can take up to 7 days.
Sit down with the candidate and look through the images taken. Discuss the plus point and negatives to each shot and if the result is unclear then enlist the friends of the candidate to help with the final choice- after all they are the ones that will have to paddle with you and their opinions should be taken with greatest consideration.

Jon was keen to make the best choice and spent a long time contemplating the results of the photographs. Jon took a night to sleep on it. Mind made up Jon came back to Peak UK the following day and picked up a red Magnum.

New Year in Morocco

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 01:01:01 GMT

My life of late has been amazing filled with fun and adventure with some great people in some incredible places across the world.

Starting of the year, the next chapter in a memorable way that sets the pace from the year ahead is important to me. I am known for living my life to the full between the hours of 10am and 10pm, not really being into the drinking and late nights of the party scene. So New Years Eve tends to be pretty chilled and instead I prefer to celebrate the start of the New Year on New Year's Day. For as long as I can remember I have spent New Year's day kayaking somewhere exciting and different, with good white water, surf or sun, with a group of friends. This year was no different. This year started in Morocco, kayak surfing on the Atlantic waves.

Paddling my brand new Airtime Alushe kayak I spent the week surfing twice a day every day on the beaches along the coast of Morocco. The conditions were perfect. Starting small the waves built throughout the week and were unbelievably clean. It was interesting learning how to ride the waves in a different style of boat to what I am used too. It took awhile to get the hang of using the boats edges and I got many beat downs as I learnt how to adapt to carving across, as opposed to bouncing down, the face of the wave. During the week I jumped into a play boat for some quality airtime sessions and had the chance to go surfing and body boarding.

Morocco was a great destination for kayak surfing. Its wide variety of surf breaks, warm weather, beautiful sunshine, Moroccan culture, people and food made it a great boating destination and one to which I will return.

Happy New Year all. I hope you have a successful, adventure and fun filled 2012.

Claireo

Lledr - Glen Mashup

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:01:01 GMT

Peak UK boys and girls hit Wales for some christmas Lledr / Glen action. Check out the GoPro headcam footage...

Lledr - Glen Mash Up from Jon Best on Vimeo.

Out of reach...

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 01:01:01 GMT

Hello followers of Peak UK! I have found that after nearly a month of living in Brazil, having access to any river equipment is almost as difficult as crossing the Amazon by land... The reasons are varied, outlets, dealers and distributors are completely unknown. Internet would be one way to buy but the majority of people here only use the internet to email or chat with friends and relatives from other regions and only speak portuguese.
I found myself in front of the computer almost every day last week showing them river equipment, kayaks, etc. It was really amazing how interested my colleagues from the river were and how many questions they had.

I also saw what happens when the equipment you have is very old, inappropriate or of a low quality. A clear example is to see many open spraydecks. Almost total absent of any jackets, and PFD's are missing patches, torn and are discoloured from many years use. Completely different to what we're used to seeing in European countries and North America.

Lately i have lent my personal gear to many of them, almost everyday because of the situation. I am convinced that having better equipment will improve their paddling.

It felt great to see how some of them got the courage to run Baxi ( a classic fast line in the middle of the town falls) For the first time in kayaks. It was an event they spoke about for many days after.

Tony missing the boof!

Happy holidays to everyone and a great new year! Meanwhile i have to go back to work for the eager customers waiting to get on the river.

Fabian

The 10th Himalayan white water challenge

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 01:01:01 GMT

The 10th Himalayan white water challenge took place from 9th to 11th of December 2011 on Lower Bhote Khosi River, three hours drive towards the Tibetan border from Kathmandu. This year there were 4 events: a down river race, a boater cross, a raft race and finally the freestyle rodeo. This year the boys were allowed to switch kayak in between races so we saw some very old and long kayaks being used once again!

Day 1:
The first day was a down river race on lower Bhote Khosi, about 6 km long of nice class three / four rapids and ending at Equator Expedition's Sukute beach resort. First place was taken by Nim bhr Magar, in second came Umesh Shrestha, and third Som Bhr Magar. Min crossed the finish line in around 30mins, an impressive one minute ahead of the second and third place finishers.

In the afternoon, the boater cross was organized at the Sukute Beach camp. A 500m long run with a tricky gate sequence on the far left eddy sorted the men from the boys. The boater cross ran in 7 groups of 4 paddlers, the two best of each group went through to the next level until winners were crowned. The final results saw Umesh Shrestha (Equator Expeditions) take the win closely followed by Paddle Nepal's Nim Bhr Magar and Mahadev Katuwal.

Day 2:
In the morning all the paddlers went up to run the Upper Bhote Khosi for a fun run to get the day started. Many non competitors also joined this fun moment with no event pressure involved. It was a great addition to the spirit of the Himalayan Challenge. Some Nepalese kayakers got to run this section of the river for the first time and it gave a chance for the raft reams to warm up before the afternoon's raft race began. The raft event was a tough 10km long race down the Bhote Khosi with 7 teams paddling all the way down to Angel Resort. Final results saw Paddle Nepal top team in a time of 50mins, with Rafting Star second in 52mins followed closely into third place by Ultimate Rivers.

Day 3:
The rodeo took place on the lower Bhote Khosi river. After a long search for the perfect spot, Anup and Min dai selected a small technical wave accessible for beginner and confirmed freestyler. Anup Gurung and Camille Leblanc judged the event. Judges were generous by giving points for trying special moves rewarding the bravest paddlers. 23 paddlers entered the competition, 14 got selected for the semi final and six for the final.
The final results saw Jiri (Czech paddler) take the win with some impressive moves, with Som bdr Magar (Paddle Nepal) in second place and top Nepali and Dinesh Rai (Equator) a close third.

Combining all three kayak events placed Umesh Shrestha from Equator Expeditions as this year's Himalayan Whitewater champion, closely followed by the now veteran to this event Nim Bdr Magar from Paddle Nepal. Nim's baby brother Som Bdr Magar from Paddle Nepal placed third. Well done guys. Peak UK gear prizes will be awarded soon. (Once we manage to get them cleared through Nepalese Customs!!) Thanks to Paddle Nepal, Equator Expeditions, Nara and Camille and Anup from JigiOutdoors for making this year's event happen once again.

GoPro kids Get Their Buzz Back

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:01:01 GMT

Rambo and Simon Tapley charge up the GoPro and head for a big surf session on the east coast of England and then into the hills of Yorkshire for a high water run of Ingleton waterfalls and the Aysgarth. After having deck issues in the surf and taking a good beat down before swimming, Rambo wanted to thank Simon for his heroic T-rescue in between sets and Peak UK for keeping him dry.

New Wave Coaching, the Scottish Highlands

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 01:01:01 GMT

During the wet and wild month of October we ventured up to the highlands for a weeks whitewater development. With some of the best whitewater the UK has to offer as near as 15 minutes, we couldn't lose.

With plenty of rain, we spent the morning adjusting our skills to a high water local run, with plenty of volume we had some great waves, stoppers and boils to keep us guessing. We we're looking at carrying speed, angle of attack and all the required skills to enjoy a volume run. From here we moved to a tighter run closer to home, with some clean boof spots which produced a great training venue for the team. Before retiring to the hot tub.

Over the week the guys started applying their skills to a steeper environment, developing their boofs, punching over stoppers and dealing with the boily water, but enough of chatting below is a video of what we got up to.

Scottish Whitewater from New Wave Coaching on Vimeo.

We'll be up be back up in Scotland for 2012 so we'll see you on the water!

www.newwavecoaching.co.uk