I'm sitting at the airport heading back to Germany after a pretty fun two weeks visiting friends and family and even making some new friends.
After getting the basic stuff done for my new ski instructing job back in Germany I got out on the river. I found a boat on professor paddle, a Pacific North West whitewater group and after that met up with a guy that I had been told to meet up with from a friends in Switzerland. It turned out to be a great kayak on the Skykomish with pretty nice juicy flows.
I rolled once on boulder drop not knowing what to expect and dealing with an unfamiliar boat but all and all it was a great escape from bouncing between relatives and I can't wait to get back out kayaking in the PNW. Spring will be amazing!!
After that I headed out to Spokane to surprise my grandma and visit with my aunt and uncle whom I haven't seen in quite a few years. We had a big thanksgiving meal at my aunt and uncles house and watched some tv which was actually very relaxing.
The next day we drove back to Seattle and I got ready to fly and no I'm sitting in the airport.
Good times but I'm looking forward to winter in Garmisch and some fresh tracks...hopefully I can squeeze a hut trip in there too!!
The past weekend I finally got the chance to check out the Kaiserklamm onBrandenburger in Austria as well as every other section on that river. It turned out to be one of the best days of the years and some of my best paddling. I felt super good even though this river happens to be my first class V river so that felt awesome and with only one roll I can't complain! I got one picture from someone in the group that was on the walkway along the side of the canyon but unfortunetly no gopro because I had just sold it so I could buy the newest one. Oh well. Here is the picture as well as someone elses gopro! I'm almost not even visible in the furthest upper right corner. Enjoy, Owen
It looks like I will be headed stateside for a quick two week trip due to a hiring process that is beyond me but it will be fun to catch up with relatives and friends, introduce myself to possible employers for spring, and last but not least....get a little boating in. I have alveady lined up a few things that I need to get done pertaining to the job back here in GAP but beyond I have a wide open schedule. I have been trying to sell my old kayak to compensate for the flight and a few purchases so hopefully that happens because it will make life a little easier. I have already lined up a boat and paddle for me to use for one or two days so that could be fun to get out on the Skykomish and Snowqualmie with some local boaters to check it out! On Wednesday I went out kayaking on the Loisach only to rip out my neck gasket so promptly sent in my dry top to Kayak Acedademy in Seattle and they are going to do the repair as I'm packing bags and getting stuff finished up over here. Hopefully when I arrive it is all finished up and ready to hit the water!! -Owen
This summer has been a good one full of kayaking with a little climbing thrown in on the super low water days. I got away to Switzerland for a week for a kayak instructors course which was a great and I ended up getting level 2 kayak instructor so thats good! I actaully just got a new boat (Pyranha Burn) that is in excellent condition and hopefully will be abe to make back a bit of money when I sell my old one for around 500 Euros.
Currently I'm working hard on getting another job in Garmisch before my current one expires on January 26 but its turning out to be a tough process. I should be interviewing for a hotel job sometime in the next week and I'm working out the kinks of getting hired as a ski instructor for the Edelweiss. I guess they only hire from the states for that job so I actually might have to fly to the states before I can get hired for a job that is less than a km from my house. I hope everything works out but if not I guess I will be back in the states (probably Washington or Montana) by the end of January which would be okay too as long as I have some money saved up to reapeat the job search process. Hope all turns out okay!!
-Owen
Last week I got the chance to hang out with Gabela, a good friend from colorado that finally made it out to Europe. We had a great time hanging out and Garmisch and even got to climb the Alpspitze and Zugspitze as well as some fun sport routes in Oberammergau. Here are some pictures from her visit! -Owen
Since Slovenia I haven't written a single blog post...my bad. I will do my best to catch up with everything right now.
After Slovenia I continued kayaking the Loisach almost everyday with one small break to check out a new river, Breitach in the Allgau which ended up being a very good time and worthy of another run when the water levels get back up again. Here's a small edit from that trip...
After Breitach the Loisach and the area all around Garmisch flooded so the Upper Loisach starting in Ehrwald was running in full force so we hit that up for two runs. Here's an edit with the flows at around 150. The last drop is the highlight of the run but rolling to get under bridges will not be forgotten.
After the flooding the weather cleared up and we had an awesome Saturday at My friend Jeremy's wedding in which I was the best man. The weather was about as good as it could get with some sun and some rain! Good times.
This last weekend I headed over to the Sanna, a river that I've been thinking of paddling for a while but have been to lazy or scared to try for a while. It turned out to be a fun run with some big holes. It was a different type of kayaking than I'm use to with a larger volume of water and large wave trains but fun nevertheless. I didn't have my go pro for this one but did get a shot of Quirin styling a hard rapid about a km from the Sanna put it. Pretty sick! Turn your head, sorry!
Now I'm back at home after just losing my license for the month because of a (hefty!) speeding ticket but hoping to be heading back to Slovenia with some friends for more good times this weekend if I can get the time off! We will see what happens but either way it will lead to paddling.
-Owen
My dad and I just got back from a week of kayaking on the Soca river in Slovenia. It was a great trip with very good weather. Here are a few pictures and the little edit I made with the gopro footage I had. Enjoy!
-Owen
Next time I will bring my fly fishing stuff!
The pass into Slovenia from Austria with WW1 buildings
