Adrenagliss Summer Festival

I was talking about it in a last post, and it didn't fail it was a good weekend !!!!!
Great show, good atmosphere, big sun... all was there to have good moments!!

This weekend was also the opportunity to meet all the Adrenagliss team riders and celebrate the first anniversary of Adrenagliss!!

The program was simple, water jump, fashion show, drinks, restaurant, concert ... nice isn't it?
I've to advised you to come next year!!


back flip


Val on the top of the kayak ramp

Val does a "lazy" trick

Gautier trying a swith Backflip

Rico in the air

Front flip and back flip

Jerem


Front loop doesn't work...

Simon in back flip no hand

Samuel

Val


Max, Adrenagliss boss, in a kickflip with his bodyboard


Eric


Sébastien


Yoan


The models... alala...


It's not often I have a model in my arms in front of crowd, believe me it's fun! ;-)

Many thanks to Max and Alban, the Adrenagliss boss for this good weekend!!
Get together next year!!

www.adrenagliss.com

Teva Extrem Outdoor Games - Italy

On June 7th to 14th I was in Italy for the Teva Extreme Outdoor Games in Val Chuisella and Ivrea.

The program of the week... kayak!! ;-)

For several years the Teva Extreme Outdoor Games were organized in Val Sesia and this year was a big change with two destinations.
Furthermore, this edition was in the same time the first Extrem Kayak World Championship by team of nations.

This year we did 6 races:
- individual long race, Chuisella
- team long race, Chuisella
- induvidual slalom race, Ivrea
- sprint individual, Ivrea
- team slalom race, Ivrea
- boater cross, Ivrea
+ Top 20 super sprint (Chuisella)

Wake up at the Chuisella campsite

Tuesday:
After a wet night in the tent, we make our french camp at the campsite in Chuisella.
And it is with joy that we discover the races sections on the sumptuous Chuisella. It's beautiful, steep and there're many lines.

Wednesday:
We go again on the river, and we enjoy the hard section of the Top 20 super sprint.
On this section, it's super steep and fast, and the correction is never far away ...
Well, the evening we've to be in Chuisella for the registration and an aperitif with all the kayakers and the organizers.

Thursday:
The morning, hostilities begin with the individual long race. This race determines the first 20 that will run the Top 20 super sprint on the hardest section of Chuisella.

Results:
http://www.tevaextremeoutdoorgames.it/result/long.pdf

Eric, Max and I win our spot for the Top 20 super sprint.
Unfortunately Max, who was wounded at his left shoulder can't compet...
Indeed several selected paddlers leave their spot for this race!!

We've to say this race was rather hard, thresholds, a 10 meters drop, slides and a big hole to finish!

Val in the 10 meters drop

I decide to make my race and finish it alive if i can... and it works, I'm 7th!!
Few, maybe no paddler has achieved the perfect race, now you know how this race was so hard!!

Dejan Krajl in the drop


The 10 meters drop

Mike Dawson

Of course, our national Eric Deguil was 4th after a race nearly perfect, too bad...


All the kayakers of the Top 20

The results:
http://www.tevaextremeoutdoorgames.it/result/top20.pdf

Friday:
This morning it's team race, France is represented by Fabrice Poueyto, Eric Deguil and Max Mitaut for the first team, the second with Stefun Pion, Devigne Laurent and me.

We start well and on the first big drop Laurent who was in 3rd position breaks and opens the nose of his boat on 40cm.
So Stefun and I finish the race together without Laurent... At the end of the race section we enjoy some freewheels.
We are good last...

Soon after, our frenchies coming fast and finish 2nd behind New Zealand and ahead of Slovenia.


Val freewheeling

Just after the race, we did a photo shooting with all the sandiline paddlers.
Raph Thiebaut made it and join in the same time the sandiline team, welcome Raph!! ;-)

Femke, Eric, Mike, Enrico, Stefun, Val and Dejan

Let's drive to Ivrea.


Eric opens a new huge waterfall!!

When we arrived in Ivrea, Eric and I open a new section... the children garden..
Next we organised our french camp and enjoy the evening with all the kayakers.

Saturday:
Let's paddle the slalom race on the hard and strong slalom course of Ivrea, the slalom race of Enrico is dificult and it's easy to miss a gate.


Val

Again, I decide to do my race and it works again, I'm 8th!!


Fabrice Poueyto

With some bad ribs problems, Fafa does his best all the week!!


Eric Deguil

Eric does again a super race and fail 5th...

A big bravo to Dejan who wins the slalom race, waouw it was a great race!!

The results:
http://www.tevaextremeoutdoorgames.it/result/slalom.pdf

Now, let's paddle the sprint race!!

I do 2 good runs and I finish 17th

The results:
http://www.tevaextremeoutdoorgames.it/result/sprint.pdf

Thilo brunner and David Arnaud in the helicoptere to make some photos and videos.

End of the afternoon, here we go for the slalom team race.

And again, Laurent wounded can't compet the slalom team race.
Stefun and I decide to take the start of the slalom team race... so we do it funny!!


Chek in the middle of the race.

We have to cheer our frenchies, they do a good run and finish again 2nd just behind the New Zealanders.
They're VICE WORLD CHAMPION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The results:
http://www.tevaextremeoutdoorgames.it/result/team.pdf

We finish this good day with this beautiful medal and the party starts!!

The party is always awesome like every years, the DJs are so good, all my friends are here... But tonight, we compet for the now famous "Trophy Party"!!

Eric and I win easily the Trophy Party before a captivated crowd !! ;-)


Val, on the way to win the Trophy Party!!

Sunday:
The following morning, the first 34th at the Teva Cup ranking do the boater cross.
The war starts!!


Val and Sam at the war!!


The afternoon, for the semi-final and finals we've to touch sime pipes with the hand in the eddys, a good way to make a more dificult race!!

The results:
http://www.tevaextremeoutdoorgames.it/result/Boater%20X.pdf


The podium of the World Chmapionship by team
1 New Zealand, 2 France, 3 Slovenia


Carla, the organizer


Femke and Val

The results of the Teva Cup:
http://www.tevaextremeoutdoorgames.it/result/TEVA%20CUP%20.pdf


AT the end I'm 12th and 2nd french after Eric Deguil.
My goal was to be in the Top 20, I did it!!
I'm not happy of the Team races... :-(

A big bravo to all the Frenchies, all the sandiline team, the organisation and all my friends!!

See you next year!!


Photos:
Fabrice Poueyto
Raph Thiebaut
Thilo Brunner
Peter Linter
Christine Grollemund
Valentin Grollemund


The videos of the event made by the organisation, David Arnaud, Gautier Grollemund and Olaf Obsommer.




Good job guys!!


The "Top 20 super spint" on Chuisella river

www.tevaextremeoutdoorgames.it

Adrenagliss Summer Festival

www.adrenagliss.com/summerfestival/index.htm
www.adrenagliss.com

Ok, it's a event in France (near Toulouse, southern), but maybe you'll be here to enjoy this nice event!!
It's free for everybody!!

Come all, the schedule looks pretty good!!

Kayak Session #30 - Upper Tarn river

The new issue of Kayak Session is here, in this issue you can read an article about the Upper Tarn river, France.

I've the chance to have a photo of me in the rapid "Le Gorille" on the section of the sources of the Tarn river.
Gautier, my bro, has one photo on the first page of the article.

Many thanks to Philippe Doux (KS publisher) and Raph Thiebaut (text and photo).

www.kayaksession.com

Into the wild Pyrenees - France

I'm in Pau for a week at Eric's home and his flatmates to paddle the flood and steep rivers of French Pyrenees!!

Friday, I came in Pau just after school to join Eric who came back from Cape Verde where he rode the volcano Fogo in a kayak with Camille de Faucompret, she were in snowboard!!
Yeah frenchies are crazy!!



Well, we're ready for lot of pretty nice adventures and a great kayak week!!

Saturday, we were on the upper Brousset at 1700m.
It was a magic place, and the river was wonderful under this great sun!!


Val in the first rapid, the entry was under the rest if the avalanche


Eric goes big in the second rapid, and probably open the right line

Sunday, direction the Neste du Louron.
All seemed runable, but many trees blocked the last goges... :-(
Too bad, it will be for a next time!!

Well, we do the fisrt gorge!!
It's very steep, fast, pretty good... and the best thing it's a first descent!!


Eric in the waterfalls section


Val goes in the last waterfall

Monday, we take the roadfor the Gorges of Luz.
These one are flood, it will be hard inside!!
In the gorges, it's very big and we have to fight hard to be clean and safe and arrive at the take out without problem.


Fabrice "Fafa" Poueyto in the start of the second gorge.


At the game "who can fight the river?", Pierro loose!!
Pierro swam at the entry of the second gorge and achieve to catch and climb on a rock.
30 minutes after, Eric did a second descent of the second gorge to give him a safety cover, food, water, etc...

Pierro stay on the rock 3 hours, it was impossible for us to pull him out by the river, the cliff was too high but it was possible to climb it.
The last way to pull out Pierre was the air!!
The guys of the PGHM (mountain rescue) was really happy to join us for that!!
Pierro enjoy his helicopter trip and payed his round of beers!!

Tuesday, we decided to go to watch a new virgin river section.
This one was near Gavarnie


Eric in the drop

Wednesday, we came back to the Gorges of Luz.
The gorges was very flood, I have to say you it was real war on the river!!
We did it 2 times, the second one was more flood than the first!!
It was FAAAAAAAAAT!!
We did the 5km of class V of the river in 20 minutes with Eric!!


Eric try his new onboard camera system


Val, before the gorges


The warm up before the dam and the gorges

Thursday: We come back to Gavarnie to watch and maybe paddle a new river section enfluent of the Gave of Gavarnie.
There, something big is waiting for us, a 12 meters (40ft.) waterfall with some slides and drops.
Eric and I decided to paddle the waterfall...


Eric


Val

After that, we go on the classis section of the Gave of Gavarnie with a very big water level, and we had to stop at the middle of our descent...

Friday: The water levels are too much hight in the French Pyrenees and we can't paddle there, so we had to go paddle in the Spanish side of the Pyrenees.

On the road Fafa, Eric and I enjoyed a beautiful sea of clouds and the grassland where we eat.

On the Spanish side, we find the Rio Veral with a little water level... it was a nice descent.
I came back in Pau Friday night while Eric, Fafa and Loïc took the road for the flood Rio Aragon Subordan.

Saturday: On the road to come back home, I stoped in Flip Flap (St Pé de Bigorre) where I joined Marc Girardin, Max Mitaut and others.
The Flip Flap was enormous and flood too, and we really enjoyed this great playspot!!


Max, blunt

Marc and Max did a massive Power Flip

Marco carving in his Element

Val

Many thanks all for this pretty nice week!!
La machina del amor!! haha ;-)

Photos:
Fafa Poueyto
Eric Deguil
Julien Le-naour
Nicolas Fayol
Val Grollemund

Kayak Session Video Guide - Rivers of Corsica

The teaser of the Video Guide - Rivers of Corsica.
The DVD is coming on fall 2009

Footage: Marc Gacond, Gautier Grollemund and Stefun Pion
Editing: © kayak session publishing 2009