So last year my good friend Simon Wyndham filmed and produced 'Eddy Mead Whitewater Kayaker' during the 2014 Adidas Sickline. The link to this awesome clip is here: https://vimeo.com/110261569
We didn't want to do that again as obviously it's now been done and it's a lot of equipment and effort on Simon's part. What I did want to do however is whip up a few episodes of our experience of the week leading up to the race.
I filmed it all on my Gopro, Garmin Virb and Nikon DSLR and although these were thrown together in an hour whilst eating dinner I hope they are entertaining. Watching people paddle down the Wellerbrucke can be very repetitive so I wanted to make it mildly amusing and throw some funny clips in there.
I ended up putting 3 episodes together which are linked below, enjoy!
Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXgiTtRiqp8
Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orRqmjZDQrI
Episode 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PYiu5ko0bY
Friday, 16 October 2015
Thursday, 8 October 2015
CIWW Sickline Mission!
It was that time of the year again and myself, Jessica, Simon and Emily started the long journey from the UK to the beautiful valley of Oetz. We drove through the night and arrived in the early hours of the morning, so we grabbed a few hours kip in the Wellerbrucke carpark then went to check in to our apartment at the Nature Resort.
After unpacking I was keen to hit the water so I met a friend and we headed to the Wellerbrucke all excited! At this point of the week the river was at a medium level and I had a great practice session on Champions killer and then a couple of the whole course, amazing first day!
The following day my fellow colleagues from CIWW arrived and we spent the last few days leading up to the event spending as much time on the water as possible sussing out the quickest route down the rapids. I used my Fuse jacket for most of the week which was perfect with its comfy glideskin neck seal. It kept the icy water off but was lightweight and breathable enough to keep me cool when the sun was shining, couldn't have asked for a more perfect cag!
As the week went on the river got lower and lower and this made the river less pushy, but it also made it more technical and hard to be fast! During most of the week I used my Palm Camber shoes which I wasn't sure on as the sole is slightly less grippy than the gradients and the put ins at the Sickline are usually loose dirt and wet rock. I was blown away at how comfy and grippy these things were, I had no problem climbing down the slippy paths all week. On the 3rd night five of us headed for a soak in the Aqua Dome which is a set of outdoor hot springs set in a stunning valley. We went at night time so it was quite impressive watching the sun go down over the mountain ranges surrounding us.
On the Thursday I did one training session in the morning to allow some recovery before racing on Friday. So in the afternoon four of us hiked up to the lake above the Wellerbrucke which had amazing scenery. We obviously had to stop for coffee and cake and spent the afternoon relaxing in the sun before hiking back down and watching people squeeze in those last laps on the Wellerbrucke.
I slept well and woke up pretty relaxed on the morning of qualification. My mandatory training run wasn't until 11:30 but I got up early to watch my friends as they were on at 9:30. Before I knew it, it was my turn. I always hope for a good training run as it sets the tone for your race, and luckily for me I did have a sweet race run, blasting through Champions Killer.
Lining up is always tense time. I try and keep as calm as possible and visualize a perfect run. You only get two runs which both count to your final time, no second chances. So there is just no room to mess up!
You are set off in 20 second intervals so I quickly snapped my deck on and splashed some icy cold water in my face. I was glad to be using my Palm Impact spraydeck as it is really easy to put on with out compromising strength. "GO!" I cruised out of the eddy and got my speed up boofing through 'Minus 1' with a sweet line through champions killer. I got hung up on a couple of rocks but overall it was a solid run which came out at 1:26:09, not bad but needed to be better.
My second run started great but I had to make a small correction above champions killer which I think lost me a second. I quickly put the power on and again flew through champions killer. I knew I had to make time up on the bottom section and I had a great run through there. I again got a 1:26 which in the end put me in 58th place, 10 place short of the next round. Its tough pill to swallow but every year I am improving so hopefully next year will be the year!
Our last few days consisted of relaxing, watching the finals and finally packing up and heading home. I had an amazing time at Sickline as always and I look forward to heading back there for another shot next year! Its such a great event with great facilities and a really friendly and fun feel to it even though its a serious event. Thanks to everyone who made my trip so much fun and thanks to the guys who organize such an incredible event!
The following day my fellow colleagues from CIWW arrived and we spent the last few days leading up to the event spending as much time on the water as possible sussing out the quickest route down the rapids. I used my Fuse jacket for most of the week which was perfect with its comfy glideskin neck seal. It kept the icy water off but was lightweight and breathable enough to keep me cool when the sun was shining, couldn't have asked for a more perfect cag!
As the week went on the river got lower and lower and this made the river less pushy, but it also made it more technical and hard to be fast! During most of the week I used my Palm Camber shoes which I wasn't sure on as the sole is slightly less grippy than the gradients and the put ins at the Sickline are usually loose dirt and wet rock. I was blown away at how comfy and grippy these things were, I had no problem climbing down the slippy paths all week. On the 3rd night five of us headed for a soak in the Aqua Dome which is a set of outdoor hot springs set in a stunning valley. We went at night time so it was quite impressive watching the sun go down over the mountain ranges surrounding us.
On the Thursday I did one training session in the morning to allow some recovery before racing on Friday. So in the afternoon four of us hiked up to the lake above the Wellerbrucke which had amazing scenery. We obviously had to stop for coffee and cake and spent the afternoon relaxing in the sun before hiking back down and watching people squeeze in those last laps on the Wellerbrucke.
I slept well and woke up pretty relaxed on the morning of qualification. My mandatory training run wasn't until 11:30 but I got up early to watch my friends as they were on at 9:30. Before I knew it, it was my turn. I always hope for a good training run as it sets the tone for your race, and luckily for me I did have a sweet race run, blasting through Champions Killer.
Lining up is always tense time. I try and keep as calm as possible and visualize a perfect run. You only get two runs which both count to your final time, no second chances. So there is just no room to mess up!
You are set off in 20 second intervals so I quickly snapped my deck on and splashed some icy cold water in my face. I was glad to be using my Palm Impact spraydeck as it is really easy to put on with out compromising strength. "GO!" I cruised out of the eddy and got my speed up boofing through 'Minus 1' with a sweet line through champions killer. I got hung up on a couple of rocks but overall it was a solid run which came out at 1:26:09, not bad but needed to be better.
My second run started great but I had to make a small correction above champions killer which I think lost me a second. I quickly put the power on and again flew through champions killer. I knew I had to make time up on the bottom section and I had a great run through there. I again got a 1:26 which in the end put me in 58th place, 10 place short of the next round. Its tough pill to swallow but every year I am improving so hopefully next year will be the year!
Our last few days consisted of relaxing, watching the finals and finally packing up and heading home. I had an amazing time at Sickline as always and I look forward to heading back there for another shot next year! Its such a great event with great facilities and a really friendly and fun feel to it even though its a serious event. Thanks to everyone who made my trip so much fun and thanks to the guys who organize such an incredible event!
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