Here are some interviews and quick clips I got from race day. Don’t worry it’s not 45 people going off Gorilla over and over. Enjoy.
Green Race 2010 from ross herr on Vimeo.
More scenes from the Green. Interviews with Woody, Tommy Hillike, and Cory Volt. Some green house timelapses and more shots from race day. Enjoy.
www.kayakingRoss.com
So everyone knows the score, the dust has settled, hangovers are starting to improve, and it’s time to move on from the greatest show in sports. This years 2010 green race was another awesome event. The entire week of paddling is my favorite of the year for sure. Everyone is pumped, learning new lines, anxious about race day, and excited to party. This year the title is leaving with Mike Dawson to New Zealand but he has already promised to return next year to defend himself. I couldn’t believe how many people were in the gorge. From “Go Left,” down you could barely hear the water beneath your boat over the roar of the spectators. The only negative words I heard all day was there just wasn’t enough carnage. People are really stepping up their game. In the top 40 racers there were ties all over the results page. Also, this year had more long boats than seasons past showing that the kayak industry understands the need for long fast race boats. The Stinger is labeled as this years fastest boat with two of the top three podium spots. I wish i hadn’t paddled the stinger so I could have an excuse for my embarrassing post of a time. It just means next year i’ll have to stay healthy during the week of training and put it together when it really matters.
If you were there this year, and are anything like me, you will definitely be there again next year. The Green Race is a special event that I can’t think of a reason to miss out on. Over a hundred athletes, thousands of spectators, no prize money, just pure competition. Here are some of the photos from race day. I’ll keep going through and adding more. If you want a picture just message me here on my site and I can reply with some higher resolution pics. I have thousands of pictures for the week that i’ll be putting together soon so come back.
These boys were up early to make sure the after party went off with awesome food.
Hale’s speech got everyone fired up, despite the cold
Jules ready to kill
Those aren’t brown claws, the hand paddlers of the Green
Looking up at the crowd after my run
Meg hiked in a bag of wine,
Exactly what i needed at the finish.
My favorite picture of the day.
There were a few backwards lines to be had
but Gorilla was fairly kind this day.
It seems more people had issues with Go Left this year than Gorilla. Here is Corey Volt enjoying himself after a swim at go left. My ribs are going to be sore for a while from my run-in with it earlier in the week.
It was cold
The people are what make this event so awesome
White pants in the gorge?
Isaac on his way to winning short boat class
Adrianne killin it for the women
Passing
Ben Fraker, C1 killer, didn’t let breaking his T-grip off his paddle hold him back. He finished the race and ran Sunshine with what was left of his paddle. The C1 division really gave-er this year with some good carnage too.
Chris Young cam flying off the left of Sunshine. After i took this pic he told me that he hadn’t picked up his kayak since 2008 until friday before the race. My new hero. He said next year he’d have a long boat for sure.
Butter put in some serious time trying to help get this boat out.
Greg Gerrard, might not have been on his line but wanted to make sure the crowd was having a good time
well thats it for now. it’s all still such a blur from waking up sunday, driving 16 hours to be back at school today and planning already for next year.
Spring break comes early for me in the Upper Peninsula. With everyone in my classes talking about their trips to Florida, Mexico, and Costa Rica they looked at me a little funny when I told them I was going to Saluda, NC. I just told them they wouldn’t understand and I would trade cold rivers for a sun burn in Cabo any day. So I woke up Sunday morning to a good sized snow storm and hit the road, little did I know snow would be a trend of the week.
Several cups of coffee and countless bad songs from my Ipod later I arrived Monday morning ready to go. The Green River is an amazing place. Yes everyone it seems has a story about this place, and I thought it was over hyped until I came down last November and realized for myself that this is a special place worth telling stories about.
I was very lucky to have Woody, John, and Will to paddle with every day. When you have a run this great in your back yard it is crazy how comfortable you can get on these demanding lines. The first two days on the Gnarrows had great levels holding steady at 10.5 inches on the stick. The snow that fell could have been missed but with my new Stohlquist dry suit it wasn’t going to hold me back.
On day three Nathan Borth joined me for a quick playboating/brain freeze session at eternity hole.
Letting the Biscuit make me look good.
Nate Borth
After that momentary lapse in judgement it was back to the Green. Thursday was the day where I was reminded that the Green is class V and you never really know what might happen. It was Nates first time down so we took our time and I showed him the lines. He hopped out at the go left so he could watch me run it and scout it for himself.
Me running Go Left.
After running it with clean lines I eddied out to set safety for Nate. Then, Nate proceeded to find out why they call it “Go Left or Die!” With a lack luster stroke he put himself in the heart of the hole and proceeded to show me all the rodeo moves he learned at Eternity hole the day before. An Epic hole ride to say the least. Unfortunately it didn’t let him go and he ended up swimming out. Here is a pic of one of his many sweet rodeo moves. His full beat down will be in episode 1 of Driven
After getting him to shore I chased his gear all the way out of the narrows only to see his boat go under the log at Nutcracker.
With a boat rescue out of the question Nate was off on his hike out of the gorge and I continued down stream solo. Little did I know the mini epic was not over yet. I dropped off Sunshine with a good line, landed, went to take a brace and realized my paddle snapped on landing. I hit a clutch hand roll and ended up in the eddy just below unharmed. It looked like I was going to test my C1 skills out through the boogy water. Thanks to Billy Murphy, Billy Jones, and their friend for hanging out with me while I learned that even on backyard runs a breakdown paddle isn’t a bad idea.
Luckily I had an extra paddle back at the house so I wasn’t out of commission and Nate’s boat miraculously came out of the cave the next day. Two more trips down the green and no rain in the forecast meant I was off to Rock Island.
Until next time.
This summer be prepared for FREE, thats right, a FREE web series all about anything and everything kayak related. Follow a group of passionate kayakers on their journeys to beautiful places and awesome adventures. This 5 part web series will have it all. If you don’t like great kayaking, cool places, and good stories DRIVEN probably isn’t for you. But if you do. Sit back, continue to check in, and enjoy DRIVEN.
Here is the teaser made from some of last years antics. Filming begins today in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina.
Driven Teaser from ross herr on Vimeo.
Kayaking is a lifestyle and a sport. The people you meet, the places you go, and the things you do all drive you in some way. Follow this story and find out, what drives us.
A free 5 part web series.
Premiering April, 2010
kayakingRoss.com
Please enjoy and leave feedback if there is something you want to see. Special thanks to Liquidlogic kayaks and Stohlquist Waterware for making it happen.
Ross Herr
