This weekend I placed 8th out of 44 pro men at the Teva Games in Vail. It is now the third year that I have finished 8th in Vail. I guess it is my lucky number.
I arrived in Vail late Wednesday night after creeking in Crested Butte. I took advantage of the Homestake Creek Race and paddled Thursday afternoon without a line. I was paddling well and confident for the competition. Then EJ got back from the creek race and had a new 2010 Allstar for me! I did not want to switch boats the day before competing, but could not resist at least trying it. And I’m glad I did! I will have a complete review coming soon, but simply put, it is amazing.
On Friday I wanted to practice without a line and then be rested for the competition so I put on the icy cold Gore Creek at 6:30am. That was a mistake. At 7:30 I was freezing cold and stop to thaw out and eat breakfast. It turns out that the EJ and Nick showed up at 8 which was still early enough to beat the line. Anyways, my dedication payed off and I had great rides which put me in 3rd place after prelims. I hit both phoenix monkeys, a mcnasty, both godzillas, and a loop in both rides which scored 820 and 870 points.
I was so excited that I made the same mistake again before semifinals on Saturday. This time I put on by 7:30am though. Later than 6:30, but still freezing cold and the line never came. Anyways, I was feeling confident and ready when the semifinals came. I watched everyone before me and knew that I only needed one ride over 810 points to make the cut to 5. My first ride started off great with both monkeys and a mcnasty. I had 45 seconds to do a loop and 2 space godzillas, but somehow I could not put it together. Second ride, same story. I could hit my hard tricks, but fell apart on the easy stuff.
Later that day Steven Wright, NIck Troutman, Dustin Urban, Casper Von Kalmthout, and Andrew Holcombe (finishing 1-5 place respectively) put on an impressive show in the finals. The new Allstar went ridiculously huge and the crowd responded. It was the most exciting finals that I have watched. Check out video finals highlights at www.jacksonkayak.com, watch the whole thing at www.worldkayak.com, or check out www.tevamountaingames.com for prelim and finals results.
After 4 summers in Colorado I finally made it to Crested Butte, Colorado to do some creeking. I only had 1 day and wanted to get on all 4 creeks so my co-workers (Josh and Liz) from RMOC and I decided to do the quadruple crown.
When I left Salida at 7am I was wondering why people didn’t do the quad crown very often. I thought that all the creeks are close together and they are short runs so they shouldn’t take long. Then it hit me as I started hiking up Oh Be Joyful with my Rocker on my shoulder. It had been 7 hours since we first put on the Upper East but we only had one creek left so I wasn’t about to back down. At the take out of Oh Be J I checked my watch and it had taken us a full 10 hours to complete the quad crown. Four creeks in one day is exhausting, but well worth it. Not to mention the 2 hour morning drive and the 4 hour drive to Vail I had in front of me.
If you are thinking about the quad crown I would recommend it, but I have some advice. First, bring a buddy with a truck with high clearance so you can make the river crossings. Second, bring a shuttle driver is possible because it will speed up the day. Third, know the lines and wood conditions so you don’t have to scout. And fourth, don’t plan on driving 6 hours that day.
I’m a little late, but thought I should say something about the BV Pro Rodeo. This year the rodeo was the same weekend as paddlefest. That meant lots of people, events, clinics through RMOC, good sales and a gear swap. It’s a great kickoff to the season so check it next year.
Anyway, back to the competition. I practiced for 5 days in Buena Vista before the prelims on Friday. I was paddling decent but I didn’t feel ready to compete because I had just had 9 months off kayaking while I was attending school in Wisconsin.
In competition I hit mcnastys, loops, space godzillas, and a backloop. They were good rides, but not quite good enough. I placed 6th and just missing the cut for finals. Being on the bubble is hard but especially because I was 6th last year to. Maybe next year...
Over the past year my dad and I have been filming and editing a new instructional video. It has finally been completed and is now available at select dealers as well as on our website at www.anybodycankayak.com.
Our video offers a new distinct way to look at instruction. My dad and I have spent the majority of the past four summers in Salida, CO. Salida has two excellent holes which offer the perfect training grounds for any playboater. We have paddled, coached each other, and analyzed our boating through video almost every day which has lead us to discover the techniques described in our video.
These techniques have allowed me to consistently place in the top ten at pro events. My dad is 55. He is slow, weak, and inflexible. He’s not competing pro, but is doing great for an old guy. Our belief is that if he can playboat, anybody can playboat... they just need the right instruction.
The video offers clear and concise instruction. Much of the video is in slow motion, freeze frame, and graphic overlays to focus your attention on important parts. These features create clear visual demonstrations as well as syncs the audio and video so you can see what we are talking about. Other features include learning techniques, golden rules, topic overviews, and topic summaries.
For more information check out: www.anybodycankayak.com www.youtube.com/anybodycankayak
To see me in action check out: www.youtube.com/gregparker24
This summer I spent teaching kayaking at the Rocky Mountain Outdoor Center in Salida, Colorado. With two great playholes right in town it is a great spot to spend the summer. Most nights after work I went out for a session and was done in time for dinner.
At the beginning of the year one of my goals was to get a 5 trick combo. Due to the high water and then a quick drop the hole wasn't at ideal level for very long and I didn't get it. I did hit a couple 4 trick combos though. I also made up some other new fun tricks and worked on some less common tricks, both of which I am calling novelties for the sake of my video. Hope you enjoy!
I first surfed the Cañon City Wave 8 years ago in an XXX. Ever since I have been waiting for it to come back in and this year it finally did! In June the wave came in out depending on the level and it provided some great wave boating.
The wave is about 4 feet tall and has a little foam on top. There is a great eddy, no lines, and it is an easy day trip from Salida during my days off from work. It’s not huge but it is really fun and I could stick blunts, backstabs, and a couple of mcnasties. Enjoy the short video.
This weekend the Teva Mountain Games went off in Vail. It is a 5 day festival of outdoor sports, art, and music. The venue included kayaking, biking, running, dog comps, and the IFSC Bouldering World Cup. It was fun to watch the best in the world compete in their respected sports as well as compete in front of big crowd.
The freestyle competition was the best that Vail has held due to the changes to the feature. Vail installed a bladder system so that the hole can be changed using a touch screen. On friday in prelims 37 men paddled to make the cut to 15 for the semifinals. I had poor rides and just made the cut in 14th place with 126 points combined.
On Saturday due to the reverse order I was the second person in the first heat. I had good rides and my high score was 98 points. As the finals went on other paddlers had great rides and I slowly moved down in the standings. When it was all said and done I was in 8th place. I wanted to make the cut to finals, but I am happy with my performance and that is all that matters.
The finals was exciting to watch. There was high scoring rides and it came down the last rides when EJ had the chance to retake the lead away from Dustin Urban.
Mens 1. Dustin Urban 2. Eric Jackson 3. Nick Troutman 4. Stephen Wright 5. Jason Craig 6. Bryan Kirk 7. Andrew Holcomb 8. Greg Parker 9. Jon Meyers 10. Kelsey Thompson 11. Dane Jackson 12. Jonathan Shales 13. Ben Guska 14. Jud Kaiser 15. Tino Specht
Womens 1. Emily Jackson 2. Tanya Faux 3. Ruth Gordon
The Lyons Outdoor Games were held this last weekend in Lyons, CO. Aside from dog competitions and bike demos they had a freestyle competition, creek race, and boatercross.
The creek race was held on the South Saint Vrain, a low volume manky creek. I showed up the night before so I didn’t race, but it was fun to watch. Tao Berman won followed by Andrew Holcomb and Jason Beakes. Surprisingly, nobody got hurt.
The boatercross was a 4 person team relay. The course included 25 pushups, a 100 yard sprint with your boat, stepping through tires, paddling downstream, through 2 upstream gates, and then a paddle toss over a gate but under the bridge before tagging the next person. It is an entertaining event for both spectators and competitors. Dane Jackson, Jason Craig, and Jonathon Shales asked me to be on their team and I agreed but it was a mistake. Dane and Jason did the first 2 legs and we behind by a lot. Jonathan went third and made up a lot of time and I passed a guy on the last leg. We were 4th out of 5, but it was better than last.
The freestyle competition took place in the A Hole, a small flushy feature. Almost all the tricks went but they were hard to execute and even harder to stick in the hole. Fortunately it didn’t take much time to paddle up the eddy.
In prelims on Saturday the cut was from 22 to 10. I had two decent rides and just made the cut coming in 10th place with 173 points combined. Last week at Buena Vista I was on the other side of the bubble so it was a relief to make it in. During semifinals on Sunday I went first. My first ride was bad but my second ride scored 97 points. After watching everyone else’s rides I was surprised that I had just made the cut again.
In finals we each had 3 rides. The best ride counted to determine the final place. Nick Troutman’s first 2 rides were awesome, but nobody else had high scoring rides. I was still in 5th going into the third ride and knew I had to do something different. I decided to throw my harder tricks first when I had energy and I saved the easy tricks for later in my ride. This worked and I was moved into second place with 120 points, but everyone had another ride. Stephen Wright stepped it up with a 148 point ride which put him in second and then Eric Jackson also had his high ride at 124 points moving me to fourth. Jonathan Shales had his high ride as well but at 110 points it wasn’t quite enough. Below are final results.
Men’s Freestyle 1. Nick Troutman 2. Stephen Wright 3. Eric Jackson 4. Greg Parker 5. Jonathan Shales 6. Dane Jackson 7. Bryan Kirk 8. Clay Wright 9. Andrew Holcombe 10. Kelsey Thompson
Women’s Freestyle 1. Emily Jackson 2. Elaine Campbell 3. Natalie Kramer 4. Eleanor Perry 5. Amy Leppo
Creek Race 1. Tao Berman 2. Andrew Holcombe 3. Jason Beakes 4. Erik Jackson 5. Clay Wright 6. Todd Anderson 7. Bryan Kirk 8. Nick Troutman 9. Kelsey Thompson 10. Geoff Galhoun
Saturday was the first annual BV Pro Rodeo. The South Main Project, an environmentally friendly neighborhood created by kayakers, hosted the event at the top hole of the play park. Twenty two pros came to the event to compete for a $2000 cash purse.
The hole was dynamic and flushy and only 5 advanced to the finals, so competitors had to be on to make it. In the first heat Jonathon Shales and Dustin Urban had great rides. I had good rides in the second heat which put me in third place, but there were still many great paddlers to come. In the third heat, Nick Troutman and Jason Craig threw down to bump me into 5th place. The last competitor in the fourth heat, Dane Jackson, had high scoring rides which placed him into second. It came down to the last ride in prelims and I just missed the cut which earned me the name “bubble boy” for the rest of the day.
Top pros that didn't make the cut include Erick Jackson, Stephen Wright, Bryan Kirk, Andrew Holcomb, Clay Wright, Jed Selby and the list goes on. It was interesting to see younger generation dominate this competition. We will have to see how the rest of the season goes.
In finals, the best of two rides advanced to the top three. Jonathon Shales and Jason Craig didn’t make the cut and finished in 4th and 5th. From there the best of three rides determined who won. Dustin Urban had an awesome first ride at 122 points. Nick Troutman came close with 119 points to finish second and Dane Jackson finished third.
Here are the results that I remember. Complete results should be posed at the BV Pro Rodeo site soon.
Mens 1. Dustin Urban 2. Nick Troutman 3. Dane Jackson 4. Jonathon Shales 5. Jason Craig 6. Greg Parker 7. Stephen Wright
Womens 1. Emily Jackson 2. Ruth Gordon 3. Katie Urban
Below is a short video of the highlights from my competition rides.
