A week after Teva Mountain Games came the Lyons Mtn. Games. This was one of the most intense creek races I have ever paddled, and a super fun play hole was also at the event. The first day was the playboating. Mike Paterson and Jonny Meyers killed it. Mike was in second after prelims and third after finals. Jonny got fifth after finals.

Mike Patterson about to throw down at Lyons Play Park.

The creek race was extremely technical. Adrienne Levknecht  took first place with a very impressive finish. I took second place, Jonny Meyers took third place, and Mike Patterson took fourth place. Overall, it was a great race and a great playboating competition.

One of the many safety boaters at the South Saint Vrain Race

Mike Patterson running the crux of the Saint Vrain Narrows

Some “point of view” footage from the 2011 season the Midwestern United States.

Click Here.

Enjoy!

The Team Van is now in Millau where the weather is perfect and all the local paddlers have been taking part in freestyle demo day held at the local Hydrostadium.

 

The team van then became the centre of the day with people staying for hours and as the word spread more people came to see us in the evening.

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Dave Thompson and Darren Clarkson King take on the uber impressive Llanberis waterfall. This is the second time for Dave, having done it eighteen years ago!

Waterfall Madness from Paul Higginson on Vimeo.

Recently i’ve been getting more attention at the put-in’s and take-out’s of my local play runs. Lord knows it’s not because of my sick phonix monkeys or dashing good looks – it’s because of the boat on my shoulder. The new Pyranha VARUN sure draws alot of looks, comments and questions. I’ve noticed this is part of something larger happening in the world of playboating/river-running. People are interested in returning to boats that can play the whole river – not just those few choice, deep, powerful playspots that you may or may not have on your home class III run. Call it “oldskool” if you want, I prefer to think of it as a return to the roots.

Above: Pyranha – the choice of discerning video-kayakers around the world. Songer Whitewater Raft Pen, Fayette Co., WV (GDalton, 1996)

Around 2 or 3 years ago, while paddling an aerial-specific looping machine, I began to realize I was passing by many of the “old favorite” play spots on my home play run. Sure I was having more fun in the hole at Salida, CO or at Geek Wave on the Gauley; but I was having less fun on my bread-and-butter local runs. My buds and I began to talk about getting our hands on something more all-around playful, maybe even digging up a ’90’s era playboat from our past. But those old warhorses lack the modern outfitting and comfort - not to mention some of the easy playability - we were looking for. And like I said, they’re old.

Back in the day: Me in my good old Pyranha Blade! “Tumblehome,” Upper Gauley, 1997.

That’s what I’m talkin’ about: Trafford works over Wigwam Rock, Maury R., VA. Photo props to Josh “Class V” Mays.

Then Pyranha unveiled the new VARUN. The VARUN is the answer to my playboating prayers. Finally a boat that can work every single feature of my everyday play run – the runs we paddle when the creeks aren’t running, the stuff we paddle on a hot July day when we actually want to get our head wet. A boat that I can stick dead vertical onto some rock with barely a pillow in front of it, then splatwheel myself silly until my abdominals scream out in mercy. A boat I can surf on every micro-wave my buddies pass by without noticing, then truly get after it on the “real” wave downstream. A boat I can stick in a seam and cartwheel until the world spins in a dizzy blur and I have to stop lest I hurl up the Tudor’s Breakfast Biscuit that tasted so good earlier this morning. Then we hop in the truck, go back up, and do it again. And again. Repeat until sundown. The icing on the cake: the VARUN has state of the art Connect 30 outfitting and I didn’t have to clean out a rat’s nest and black widows from some old cracked hull found under my neighbor’s shed. And on the weekend, when you make the trek to the New or the Gauley, etc. you can still stick those loops and blunts that you just can’t find on your little home river – the high-end moves we could hardly dream of in those old Blades, ProZones, and InaZones. The VARUN is the Swiss Army Knife of playboats/river-runners. Put one in your pocket!

 

OldSkool/NewSkool: The Varun and an ancestor. Working the abdominal muscles in Goshen Pass, Maury River, VA

Last week, after busy work schedules kept Trafford and I from making the trek to a favorite local creek, we consoled ourselves with an after-work play session on the local class III. After a few highly-aerobic laps in the VARUN I had to agree with Trafford when he noted that we were paddling a lot harder than we would have on the class V creek we had missed that day. It’s true, I was getting a much better workout in the VARUN than I would have in my BURN; or in my former playboat for that matter.

 The Varun gets it at “Mogwai,” Goshen Pass, VA

Everyone else is noticing too: you just have more fun in the VARUN. I’ve seen easily twice as much interest in the VARUN than any other boat i’ve ever paddled. I predict good things for this boat.

See You On The River. I’ll be the guy vertical in the Varun; big smile on my face.

For those of us who don’t get to enjoy a full year of non stop paddling due to many reasons like a job or maybe more appropriate winter.  We are all pretty excited for summer.  But what if you don’t have a car?  No friends too.  Bummer. 

This post is not intended to change your social habits, but it might give some ideas if you perhaps lack a vehicular mode of transportation that sports four wheels.

In comes the kayak trailer!  The newest fad to hit the world of paddling.  While I haven’t seen another one yet I’m just sure it is destined to be a big hit. 

If you got a bike just tear apart that old kids trailer and buckle those wheels onto some sort of frame.  Tack up a little hitch and your raring to go. 

It’s that simple!  And with your awesome fuel economy you’ll be the envy of all your friends and will definitely be invited on all the sweet trips.