Colin's story...

I'm mostly going to post up some pics of Colin paddling in New Zealand, Washinton State and Africa. I might get him to add some chat of his own in the near future - he's a very busy man, don't you know.

Billy's story

I'm the one that's writing most of this.... once it's up and running I'm sure Colin will add some input of his own. For now, you'll have to put up with my ramblings.

When we finished at university, somehow getting degrees despite our misdirected efforts, Colin and I really did head in different directions. I decided to get a "real" job working in a lab, and Colin took off to New Zealand for 18 months with a bunch of the guys who we paddled with. We'll pick up his story soon.





















Lab work was alright and I became a weekend warrior... however I had lost a lot of my kayaking buddies so focused on other sports I enjoyed. These included mountain biking and climbing, although I still managed to fit in a couple of kayaking trips. I took a trip to Morzine in France (above left) where I thought I got quite good on my bike until the above (right) happened in a race in the UK. It resulted in a couple of broken ribs, a fractured shoulder blade and some weird stretching of my shoulder ligaments.

I climbed in the Alps and Malta (well, there was probably more drinking in Malta). This has really inspired me to climb more, and I really enjoy the physical challenge of bouldering and sport. Traditional climbing is still a little too expensive for me to get into as well, although I can see myself heading down that path as I age.

One of my favorite quick blast kayaking trips was to the Val Sesia region in the Italian Alps. We had past through their too late for their season the last time we were in the Alps, but this time I had 6 days of perfect river levels, even if that meant me bivvying in the rain. Personal favorites included the Egua and the upper upper Semenza.



So although this trip was pretty spectacular I didn't feel that I had managed to get anywhere near enough paddling in the years that working in the lab. As Colin and my other friends returned from their travels, I was in the process of leaving my job. There were other issues in my life at that moment and I had a very stressful summer which culminated in me deciding to get away to Nepal. This was probably the best decision I ever made. Nepal is an incredible country, the people, the scenery and the kayaking are all amazing. I joined up with a couple of friends, and also met folk whilst I was there. I got to paddle the Tamur, Madi Khola and Upper Modi Khola.
























The only problem I found with Nepal was that you cannot get enough time there. You're so busy getting immersed in the culture and pace of life, that before you know it, it's time to leave. I have a lot of unfinished business out there and I made the decision that I had to return. I also plan to learn how to paraglide out there, oh yes, I'll try and get some shots from up high from each country we're in. This time we will be in Nepal for 2 months... plently of time to get some good missions under the belt. Time to hit up the Humla Karnali for sure.

So then we went our separate ways...

The following year turned out differently, although we both went on trips to Norway, we did it separately. Sad times. Well, not really, the paddling and beauty of Norway blew us away. We also got to paddle with a bunch of different folk.

A brief history of grime...

So a quick catch up... Colin and I met each other avoiding university lectures in Edinburgh. Instead we would chase the worst weather Scotland had to offer and throw ourselves down the resultant swollen rivers. I don't have digital images of our first few runs together, and this is probably for the best.

An early memory of one of the first times I paddled with Colin was piling into a little, red Ford Fiesta and driving to the North Esk. It was the 2nd of January 2002, and it was bloody cold. In fact, paddling the river wasn't really an option, we walked on top of most of it. There was about 4 inches of ice over it. The rapids were runnable, just about. We got about halfway down before our friend broke their nose and we decided this was a stupid idea. On our way back to Edinburgh the boats that we'd attempted to tie down with frozen ropes flew off on the Forth Road Bridge. I pretended to be asleep.

Sometimes we got things a little better....


This Scottish formed friendship lead us to take trips to the Alps in the Summer. We decided that warm weather kayaking really did make things a lot nicer. We enjoyed our first trip to the French Alps so much, the following year (our 2nd of real whitewater), we spent a month touring the rest of the Alps. France, Italy, Austria, and Switzerland all got a look in and it was great. We pushed ourselves hard and managed to stay in one piece.

At the end of our 3rd year of paddling, we decided that we should head to British Columbia, Canada. This was a big trip and lots of hard work raising the money was necessary to raise the cash for 6 weeks in the land of bears. It was also a big step up. Meeting a load of folk that clearly decided we were somewhat mentally unstable, we got sent on some mad missions.

The Whathsan River gave us some 'interesting' falls. I provided some 'interesting' lines (see left). The rest of the river was of similar water - flat sections interspersed with downright frightening drops.

Another river that was recommended to us was Blanket Creek and, in particular, Sutherland Falls. This turned out to be a 60 footer. Colin provided the entertaining line on these (see below).



















We also paddled a lot of other rivers (and I promise we did so with a lot more skill than demonstrated here), I merely use these images for your entertainment. I also would like to point out that these imaged are courtesy of Dr Matthew Wilkes, who was along for the ride. He wasn't a doctor then, by the way, so this isn't why he came if that's what you were thinking.

All in all BC was a top destination.. so Col and I plan to return. Oh and it's beautiful too.