Hands up who’s heard of the Piatau, not many I would surmise. Joe Public will have heard of rivers such as the Zambezi and the Nile. Boaters will have heard of the Futalafeu and the Marsyandi, but I wager there’s not many people who have heard of the Piatau, unless you are Ecuadorian or have …
Ahh, Scotland, it was probably winter 03 or o4 I first ventured north of the border to do some paddling, I remember doing the Gary and the Meig, the Meig is one of those rivers you do not forget doing, just like the Chaoruinn, you don’t forget the WTF am I doing here moments, or …
Is a question I am asking myself. Italy, pretty much my favourite boating trip, its always a toss up between this and the Zambezi. It’s winter 22/23 and I am pondering. I’ve just done a week in Scotland with Andy Holt, a great trip, good people and more water than we knew what to do …
It comes from the French, to pleut. A week in Scotland, boating, in October, sounds good and it was! I’ve not been boating much in recent times so I book myself onto a week with Andy Holt of Escape to Adventure. Kayak courses & guided trips. The forecast is great for our week, rain, rain …
When I’m 64, I hope I am paddling rivers like this, the Kiachnish, just outside Fort William. It’s Simon’s birthday today, and this is how he spent it. The write up in the guide doesn’t really do the river justice, this is an adventure, at 7k it’s a fair stretch of water for the UK, …
Tsarap Chu, Ladakh, India The peace and quiet of the high Himalaya, our put in manages to be in the exact same place as two JCBs, working the roadside verge George Younger, Spade kayaks. a short carry from roadside to river is mind bendingly difficult, laden boats, altitude, shortness of breath, steep banks, dodging the …
My route back to sitting in a kayak has been a recent trip to Nepal. Kayaking pretty much ruled my life between 2003 and 2009, circumstances change and whilst my head tells me I am a kayaker the truth is that the frequency of trips to the rivers had reduced to such an extent that …
A couple of hours drive, just east of Pokhara lies a small valley through which the Madi Khola flows. it’s one of the smaller Himalayan rivers, almost alpine in appearance and is rightly described in the guidebook as a fesity little number and a jewel of a river. The Madi is lower volume than the …
The Stikine has been described by some as the Everest of kayaking, but you cant pay someone to be led down the Stikine, its a right of passage held by less than 100 people who have made the journey since the first descent 30 years ago. Daz made his successful descent on his third visit …
I have seen the debates on forums calling for the re design of the grading system. A lot of the people who contribute to such discussions are experienced paddlers of many years. People who, I would suggest, understand the variances of white water, different conditions and that an alpine grade 4 is somewhat different to …