Thanksgiving Z-dam Session

December 7, 2005

I got back to Richmond to see my family for Thanksgiving.
It was great to eat turkey, chill at home, and visit. But it was also
great to spend a day on the Potomac running the Falls at 3.6 with Joe
Stumpfel, and a day on Z-dam on the James. Z-dam is an incredible hole
that’s formed by a fishladder that’s been built-into a river-wide dam.
The dam forms eddies on both sides, which is awesome for surfing. This
is the perfect feature to learn ANY hole move: HUGE loops, cart/split/clean/super-clean
wheels, godzillas, tricky-wu’s, orbits, Mcnastys, Fonix Monkeys, and anything
else possible! I watched the James River Gauge like a hawk from the minute
I got home…watching it rise and hoping that it’d reach the magic level:
5.4. I got out on a REALLY cold Friday and was fortunate enough to be
able to paddle with a bunch of very cool guys from Richmond. These photos
were taken by Matt’s dad, Warren Johnson, who was shooting from shore.
Enjoy!

Live from Richmond, VA

Stephen Wright