Meeting up with Fred in Amsterdam our European odyssey began! Arriving in the land of whitewater and fjords we were greeted by a long train ride through countless tunnels and right past many of the rivers we would soon run. It took us a while to find the crew in the small village of Voss, but once we did...it was on!
We drove directly to the Brandset River. Greeted by amazing clear water and countless sick slides, holes, and drops this river really delivered a true intro to what we were going to find the next month! What cam next is a blur of amazing kayaking, meeting tons of people, partying all night in the Veko Extreme Week tent, and scaring ourselves daily on the local rivers.
My personal favorite river in the area has to be the Teigdal. It starts off a fairly low volume creek with technical gorged in waterfalls and slides of the tastiest variety...and as it continues down the valley gaining water, the Teigdal climaxes in a orgasmic blend of beauty and raw emotionless power at the Double Drop! A perfect 30 treat layer right off a 30-40 foot step-down church falls! Quite a sight to behold and an even better feeling deep inside the loins!
We were blessed to watch Aniol really push the limits of what is possible in a kayak here, day after day...with fearless motivation Aniol back freewheeled both tiers a few different times. On his last attempt, after already cleaning this moves 3 times prior, he got off line and landed hard on a rock shelf. After a few weeks of Norwegian doctors terribly diagnosing him...we finally found out he fractured his L5 vertebra. Aniol will be back on the charge before we know it! Pssssssssssss Cobra!
Here is the rundown of the days we paddled in Voss:
Day 1- Upper & Lower Brandset River
Day 2- Upper & Lower Brandset (high) + Teigdalselvi Double Drop
Day 3- Teigdalselvi
Day 4- Urdlandselvi
Day 5- Exsingdal 70 footer + Teigdal
Day 6- Jordalselvi
Day 7- Brandset race training
Day 8- Brandset Race + Team Race
Day 9- Money Drop
Day 10- Double Drop High
Day 11- Day Off
Day 12- Teigdal (Aniol Hurt)
Day 13- Todo Urdland
Day 14- Lower Myrkdalselvi
Day 15- Tysselva + Leave Voss
Here are some photos that I took during my stay in Voss.
Aniol Back Freewheeling the first tier of the Double Drop.
Anton dropping into a high than recommended Lower Myrkdal
Benji Hjort at the top of the massive Tysselva Slide...we had some high water on this beast.
Myself on my first lap down the Double Drop...used the old trusty Jefe Grande for two days before my boat showed up!
Dr. Gnar operating a full cavity search on the Teigdal!
Mr. Dirty Gerd running a big volume slide on the Myrkdal.
This is my personal favorite shot I took. Sam Sutton having the line of the day on the Tysselva Slide!
POV booting the sh*t out of Double Drop!
Bomb Flow strap job!
This is the Nick Turner drop from Valhalla, he named it Lucas Falls after his late bro who passed away on the North Fork years ago...Urdlandselvi!
Another beautiful Norwegian horizon line!
Here are some photos that our Swedish friend Mikael took in Voss.
Eric Dugil going very fast in the pink boat and WINNING the Voss Race!
Dialing the lines in on the Brandset race course.
Race Day. Came in 4th place in a field of true racers...not bad for a so called park and hucker ;)
Josh Neilson showing us the lines...very scenic place!
Aniol on the ‘HIGH' day at Double Drop!
Myself launching a massive boof up top!
Freddy Getting Freaky...look at how much water is going off this puppy.
Aniol ran it 3 times that day...heavy flow!
High Fives!
COBRA STYLE
Dr. Gnar doing an autopsy...
They put a sign there just for me!
Aniol on some juicy money drop!
Myself about to go deep in the money sauce!
Gerd getting tight on the first drop of the Urdland...
1st stage of the double...Urdland!
2nd Stage of the double...Urdland!
Anton second boof of the double set!
Gerd running Lucas Falls on the Urdland...right above the confluence with the Raundal.
Sweden doing some work on the Urdland!
Making our way down the Myrk!
This rapid is called Holy Diver!
Gerd Holy Diver!
Anton Holy Diver! Lower Myrk!
Mr. Basso...feeling the fear on the Myrkdal!!!!!!
So Voss is just one of those places...like Hood River, Pucon, Asheville, Etc...It’s got a ton of boating really close to a cool town. So its a win win for kayakers and extreme athletes alike! I feel in love with this place when the sun didn’t set and we were able to paddle 2-3-4 rivers a day! Its all time epicness and we only scratched the surface of what there is! Thanks to everyone who made our stay in Voss so epic. Mathias Fossum, Erik Martinson, Mark Basso, and the local community for putting up with our non-sense!
Later E.G.
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