Kayak Session Magazine – December 01, 2019

INTERVIEW

“EMBRACEYOUR

MISTAKES-THEY

AREJUSTAS

VALUABLEAS

YOUR SUCCESSES.”

Daythree'sfinalpicnic.BoxCanyonTongue

River first descent, 2018. ©Erik Boomer

Climbingdownto geta closerlook

at theriverahead.TwinGalaxies,

Greenland, 2016. ©Erik Boomer

2019 firstdescentof Upper

PriestFalls,ID,withChris

Korbulic. ©Chris Korbulic

KS:TellusmoreaboutKaiakin Brazil. Howdidit allstart?

BS:It was5 years, 110 episodes,and6 seasonsfilledwithblood,sweat,tears,andlaughter.

Wemadeandfilmedfirst-descentsonallsixcontinents.TheshowgotitsstartwhenPedro

broketheWorldRecordwithhisdescentofthe130-footSaltoBelo,whichwentdowna

fewmonthsbeforeTylersentPalouse.UnlikeintheoutsideworldwherePedromostly

becamea footnote,inBrazil,hemadea bigimpression.Thefactthathenotonlyturned

it intonotorietyforhimselfbutintothisamazingopportunityforChrisandmespeaks

volumesaboutPedroOliva.Didyouknow he first descended Rainbow Falls in Hawaii?

Thatwasontheshow.Googleit!

KS:Youwerealsopartof anearlymissionto theRonduGorgeof theIndus,a piece

ofwhitewaterthathasbecomeincreasinglypopular.Howdoyouviewtherecent

accomplishmentsof paddlerslikeAniol,Benny,Sven?Whatis yourtakeonprogress

in oursport?Havetherebeenrealgains,oris theremorehypethannecessary?

BS:I lovethehype,especiallywhena riverliketheIndusthroughtheRonduis at thecenter

ofit. AndI lovethefactthateachofthekayakersmentionedis froma differentcountry.

Wecouldaddotherincredibleriversandpaddlersfromsomanyothercountries:Chile,

Argentina,Brazil,Indian,Nepal,Uganda,NewZealand,SouthAfrica...Weshouldalsomake

a pointtoaddasmanyfemalepaddlerstothatlist.Females are under-represented in our

sportbutarethemostimportantgenderinoursport.

Yes,therehasbeenincredibletechnicalprogressionontheclassV endofoursport-

especiallybythoseyoumention,butsomanyotheraspectshavelanguished.Female

participationandrecognitionis oneexample.Theexplorationsideofthingsseemstobe

whereit alwayswas—a fewbigsplashes,butotherwisea prettyesotericaspectofthe

sport.Undoubtedly,socialmediahasincreased the mentality of going after the well-known

goodsthataresuretoimpressonIG.

KS:Howdoyouviewtheevolvingroleandimportanceof socialmedia?

BS:It'sanincredibleplatformto tellalmostinstantstoriesfromtheriver,butspendingtoo

muchtimelookingatwhatotherpeoplearedoing,andnotenoughtimeplanningand

executingyourdreamsisalsoanenormouspitfall.Everytechnologycanbeusedand

willbeusedfortheultimategoodandultimateevil,andsocialmediais noexception.

KS:Manyof theindividualsyougotyourstartwitharenolongerpursuingpaddling

full-timeor activeonsocialmedia,andmanyarelikelyunfamiliarwiththeirnames

orcontributionstothesport.Howcanwecreatea strongerwhitewaterhistoryor

legacy?Shouldwe?

BS:Therearesomanytalentedpaddlersinoursport.Butsomanytalentedpaddlers

refuse to share even the most basic of stories beyond, "That was fire," or, "Church." Don't

getmewrong;I amnottalkingtrashonlingo;"Shrig."I amtalkingaboutthelackof

realcommunicationonwhyanyone wants to risk their life for a 100-foot falls or other

“un-survivable”whitewater.

Weneedtoestablishandcommemorateourwhitewaterhistoryandthelegacyofthose

thatpavedthewayforthesporttoday.Kayakingneedsmoreauthors,historians,and

documentariansmorethanweneedmorepaddlers.It'stheglaringdifferencebetween

kayakingandclimbing,forexample.Weneedtogoandinterviewallofthelegends,

foremothersandfathersrightnow.KayakersthatpaddledwithWaltBlackadararestill

alive,andweneedtohearandrecordtheirstoriessothattheycanbetoldtothenext

generations.It'sespeciallypertinentconsidering many of the rivers they explored have

sincebeenlosttoresourceextraction.

AllthatI askis thatpaddlerssharetheexperiencehonestlyandresisttheurgetotellus

how“sick”it was.I knowfromexperience that there is so much more to the river than a

singular adjective can express.