LVM #26 "The Southeast Issue" premiere 4/24/2008
What: LVM #26 "The Southeast Issue" waterfall huckfest with Thomas Oliver's "On The Down Low"
When: 9:30PM
Where: Fine Arts Theatre
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April 24, 2008
April 21, 2008
LVMTV::Little White Giant Slalom Race goes off
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LVM Giant Slalom went off.
We want to thank Wind River Cellars! for their support with the prizes and the party. The winery is always such a rad place to be. While relaxing on the deck we may have captured the best timelapse in the history of LVM. Picture Mt Hood, sunset, spring clouds all in one.
So this is how it all went down.
We arrived in Portland around 2AM Wednesday and from there we made our way to Eric Boomer's house. Boomer has had a pulled muscle in his back for the last few months and has been kayaking zero times in 2008. We spoke over the phone a few times before our arrival and he said he was fine and fired up to go paddle. We woke up the next morning and Boomer suggested we go look at The Money Drop. This is an impressive 60 foot tall waterfall, but is overshadowed by the unstable geology of the area. The locales told us how this drop has changed from a 70 footer to a 20 footer to a 40 footer and is now a 60 footer. We thought yeah right and went for a look.
Sure enough we arrived to a small landslide and you could see the forces of nature happening all around. The best way to describe it is a landslide in suspended animation. The whole place gave us the creeps!
Boomer fired it up and boofed the hell out of it to avoid possible debris lurking under the surface. We thought how odd it was that we just witnessed Boomer's first strokes of 2008 here in this place.
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We got out of there before the whole place caved in and once in the car we got a call from Evan Garcia that he and LJ Groth were going to run the Metlako Falls. Pioneered by huckmaster Dave Grove this waterfall is clean and nasty big. We rappelled down to the lip of the drop for a really unique, from the lip shot none of us had ever seen before. Evan went first and stuck it followed only moments later by LJ who also stuck it. We all screamed! It was awesome.
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It was now time to hit up the Little White. Several of us put on the river and had a great run at 3.4 - 3.5. The river had been upwards of 4 feet only a few days earlier and had the potential to go through the roof with 300% snow pack in the surrounding mountains. The river was at a perfect level and we all bombed the whole way down stopping only to scout the possibility of putting the LVM Giant Slalom course at Boulder Sluice. We had a good vision of the course there and headed down to Spirit. We pretty much all got spiritual.
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After getting back to the car it dawned on us that everything above happened on Day 1.
Friday April 18th 2008
Practice on the Little White during the day and then we had our first competitor meeting that afternoon at Jack's. Jack's is a smoky Chinese Restaurant that was the perfect setting for the first official competitor meeting of the LVM Giant Slalom Championship.
At first we were met with some local frustration an entry fee. We totally understood and explained that everyone who entered got free cold beverages, free food, a chance to win hundreds of dollars of wine from Wind River Cellars, a timed race run on Saturday and a Giant Slalom course set up and timed on Sunday and of course the chance to compete for $4000. Soon everyone began to envision the possibilities of the slalom course and all present were stoked.
Saturday April 19th 2008
It was time to start the first half of the LVM Giant Slalom Championship. Saturday would consist of a point A to point B race from the top of Getting Busy to the bottom of Wishbone. We ended up with 19 racers with one female. The Little White is a tough course and the weather was not warm. Needless to say the list of racers below represents some of the most core individuals in whitewater.
The race was tight with Hood River locals Tao Berman claiming first and Todd Anderson claiming second. Coming in third from Idaho was Ryan Casey.
WOMEN
1. Lana Young 23:18
MEN
1. Tao Berman 15:36
2. Todd Anderson 15:52
3. Ryan Casey 16:12
4. Geoff Calhoun 16:18
5. Ryan Scott 16:41
6. LJ Groth 17:12
7. Austin Rathman 17:15
8. Matt Gaudette 17:32
9. Keel Brightman 17:36
10. Chris Korbulic 17:46
11. Joey Stumpfel 18:06
12. Bo Wallace 18:08
13. Mikkel St.Jean Duncan 18:31
14. Dan Rubado 18:47
15. Mark Cecchini 19:03
16. Ben Hawthorne 19:29
17. Glen Dagerstein 19:35
18. Jono Ramsey 20:03
Saturday 4 20
The racers all arrived at Boulder Sluice a little afternoon to get their first peek of the course. Everyone was charged to see the setup. Geoff Calhoun came up to us and expressed how long he had been waiting to see something like this. It was good to see everyone contemplating the moves and planning their runs.
We started in reverse finish order from the day before and no one was given a chance to get a practice run. It became evident early on that a crux was the move from Gate 2 to Gate 3. It was a difficult right to left move that required a stout combination of technique and power. After run #1 it was Ryan Casey in first followed by Tao Berman then Todd Anderson. Top 5 from heat #1 times in seconds below.
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1. Ryan Casey 1:20
2. Tao Berman 1:24
3: Todd Anderson 1:30
4. Mikkel St. Jean Duncan 1:41
5. Keel Brightman 1:42
Heat 2 was rowdy with Tao Berman missing the #3 Gate and Ryan Casey boofing so far at the main drop of Boulder Sluice he flew past Gates #5 and #6. Several racers cleaned the course and the results turned out as:
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1. Geoff Calhoun 1:21
2. Todd Anderson 1:25
3. Mikkel St. Jean Duncan 1:28
4. LJ Groth 1:30
5: Matt Gaudette 1:33
After all the results were tallied Todd Anderson walked away with the trophy and the Wind River Cellars giant bottle of wine donated by Wind River Cellars.
OVERALL RESULTS
Women
1. Lana Young
Men
1. Todd Anderson
2. Geoff Calhoun
3. Tao Berman
4. Mikkel St. Jean Duncan
5. LJ Groth
6. Keel Brightman
7. Glen Dagelstein
8. Matt Gaudette
9. Ryan Scott
10. Jono Ramsey
11. Ryan Casey
12. Chris Korbulic
13. Austin Rathman
14. Joey Stumpfel
The race was a huge success and everyone had a great time bombing down the Little White. Our next stop is the North Fork of the Payette on May 30th so if you are a west coaster your last chance to qualify will be then.
Stay tuned we will have complete scoring info, more photos and a video update coming over the next few days. Peace.
April 15, 2008
LVMTV :: The Giant Slalom begins at The Little White
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The Whitewater Giant Slalom Series
Brought to you by LVM
Details of Little White Race Qualifier
Registration: Saturday 8:30-9:30
Location: At Drano Lake (LW takeout) at the parking-lot on the left just before the normal parking area (aka the big parking lot with the porta potty's)
Competitor Meeting 9:30 both days
Race Start time 11:00 both days
A shuttle for boats from the takeout to the put-in will be provided and we would appreciate all competitors to please try and carpool to reduce the amount of traffic as much as possible. Parking for the put-in should occur at the empty parking lot on River right at the bridge. Please do not over-fill the normal parking area.
Entry fee $25...There is no cash purse for this event, but $4,000 up for grabs on the Green River Giant Slalom championships on August 30 and 31. Entry fee does include food and a DVD on saturday night at the party.
Party will be at the Wind River Cellars/ Winery in Husum, WA...Maps will be provided at registration. Please send an email to lvmvideo@gmail.com with any questions.
The Whitewater Giant Slalom is the evolution of whitewater kayak racing. With the evolution of technology and technique, athletes of all sports continue to push the stage at which they compete. In the sport of kayaking rivers that were once considered to be on the edge of navigability are now commonly ran by hundreds, if not thousands, of people every season. This new stage is where the most skilled paddlers focus their attention and for this reason LVM brings you The Whitewater Giant Slalom Championship.
Regions
The Giant Slalom Championship is set up with three qualifying regions: The West Coast Region, Rocky Mountain Region, and The East Coast Region. Each region only allows participants residing in that area to compete for the trophy. This assures that each region has a true champion. The top twenty from each region are then invited to attend the championship on the Green River in North Carolina, where a cash purse will be distributed and a Whitewater's Giant Slalom Champion will be crowned.
Anyone from abroad is invited to race. If their time is in the top twenty of a region they will be invited to the championship, but will not bump out any of the local competitors. No racers can attempt to qualify more than once.
Format
The race will be held over two days. Day 1 will be the downriver race: a simple point A to point B race with the competitors leaving in one-minute intervals. The times of the racers will determine the seeding for the next event held on Day 2-the Giant Slalom itself. This will consist of a course set up in the morning featuring several route markers that must be negotiated in numerical order. No practice runs will be allowed. Each contestant will get two runs, which will be combined for total score.
The Markers
We have three types of markers: traditional single pole markers, floating markers, and eddy markers. The pole and floating markers are completed by passing on the appropiate side, designated by color. Anything goes as long as you pass the marker on the designated side without a touch. The eddy markers are completed by touching them with the bow of your boat. Check out this video.
Safety
For the most comprehensive safety, the participants must take part. No one is more experienced in safety than the competitors themselves. Half of the participants will go down the course and set up safety positions with everyone in eyesight of each other. After the first group goes there will be a short break to switch safety groups.
Rules
Marker touch: 10 second addition
Marker miss: 50 second addition
Boat Length: 9 feet max, no minimum, one boat allowed for competition, no boat altering
Men and Women classes (must have 5 competitors to be considered a class)
No junior or over 40 classes this year, but may be added in the future.
Entry Fee
$25 (Includes free DVD, and dinner)
Prize Money
$4000 prize money and a lot of glory!
Locations/Schedule
We have divided the U.S. into three regions., East, Rocky Mountains and West Region. We are primarily holding one race in each area that acts as a qualifier. Our mindset in selecting locations is based on reliability of water levels, as well as fun factor, access, and a host of other considerations. Due to the unpredictable influence of climate, all dates and locations are subject to change. Continue to check LVMTV for race updates.
West Coast Region: (20 qualifiers)
The west coast regional will be split between The Little White/White Salmon race April 19-20 and the PBR Whitewater Revival May 30-31. Due to the short amount of time between this announcement and the upcoming Little White Race, we are offering two chances to qualify. The Top Ten from each will be invited to the finals.
Rocky Mountain Region: (20 qualifiers)
The Rockies regional will be held on Oh-Be-Joyful creek on June 21st and 22nd. This date may be moved back depending on the rate at which the snow melts.
East Coast Region: (20 qualifiers)
The east coast regional is yet to be determined. We have several options here and will finalize the location in the near future. The tentative dates are July 26 and 27.
The Championship:
The championship will be held on the Green River in North Carolina on August 30th, 31st…at 200%.
Summary
The Whitewater Giant Slalom Series is meant to represent a few key things.. First we want to have the races on rivers that we all love to paddle, so that no matter what place one gets, they still have a great time. As well, we invite everyone and hope to see a large contingency of racers vying for those top twenty qualifying positions. The purpose of the Giant Slalom Series is to push the sport of whitewater kayaking. With the Giant Slalom course a paddler is forced to use new lines and even the playing field for all racers-everyone is paddling it for the 1st time. Check back next week and we will have more updates, but for now all you west coasters make sure you make it up to the Little White Salmon to represent.
