Beautiful Hot Summer Days = Perfect Paddling Conditions by Jessie Stone | Aug 25, 2019 | WhitewaterBeautiful hot summer days have made local paddling – in all local spots- an amazing treat this summer! In Switzerland there have been great water levels in my two local runs – the Saanen and Simme Rivers, and if that weren’t enough, the wave in Thun has been in! That...
Worlds Spanish Style by Jessie Stone | Jul 26, 2019 | Event Coverage, Events, Playboating, Rockstar 4.0, Whitewater, WW Disciplines“So who is your kid?” I was asked by Dr. Isabelle from Canada during our meeting in the stairwell at the Pessets Apartments where many paddlers and their families were staying during the recent Worlds in Sort, Spain. “I am the kid!” I responded. Isabelle took a moment...
Reno River Festival 2019 by Jessie Stone | May 17, 2019 | Event Coverage, Events, Playboating, Rockstar 4.0, Whitewater, Wrap Ups, WW DisciplinesThis year the Truckee River was a terrific high flow with an enormous snow pack in the Sierras and warm weather arriving just in time for the 2019 Reno River Festival. With high water in the whitewater park, there were a number of great play features to choose from...
Wave – O – Saurus: A NIle Sized Wave in New England by Jessie Stone | May 12, 2019 | Internationalisation, Playboating, Rockstar 4.0, United States, Whitewater, WW DisciplinesWave O Saurus – a Nile sized wave right here in New England Ok, I admit that I have not been to Wave O Saurus in the last few years. Four years ago, the Amtrak police were out in force to ensure that no one crossed the tracks to paddle Wave o Saurus. For some strange...
Reflections on US Team Trials 2019 by Jessie Stone | Mar 25, 2019 | Event Coverage, Events, Internationalisation, Playboating, Rockstar 4.0, United States, Whitewater, Wrap Ups, WW DisciplinesI once read that Michaela Shiffrin said, “Just give me the hill – that’s what I love – me testing myself on the course” In many ways that sums up how I feel about competing. It’s never been about me against someone else or beating someone else. It has always been...
Well be Back – News from the Nile by Jessie Stone | Mar 3, 2019 | Internationalisation, Playboating, rivers, Rockstar 4.0, Trip Reports, Trips, United States, Whitewater, WW Disciplines“Well be back!” That is how most Ugandans greet you when you come back to Uganda after being away. It means welcome back! And in January 2019, that’s what I heard many times on arriving in Uganda! I was a bit nervous to see what the river level would be and what...
2018 – A Year of Surprises!! by Jessie Stone | Jan 11, 2019 | Playboating, Rockstar 4.0, Whitewater, WW Disciplines2018 has been full of surprises. Most have been good and some have been life changing. Though I have known and been waiting for the Nile to be dammed for a long time, it did finally happen in November this year. Despite many people’s effort to stop this effort and to...
Happy Birthday on the Nile by Jessie Stone | Nov 23, 2018 | Internationalisation, Playboating, Rockstar 4.0, Trip Reports, Trips, United States, Whitewater, WW DisciplinesLast year’s birthday in Argentina was hard to top but this year’s celebration went on the entire week that Emily, EJ, Dane, Clay and Andi were in Uganda. EJ, Clay and I had first come to paddle the Nile together in 2003. It was an eye opening experience in so many...
The Inner City Kids Kayaking Camp – 15 years and still going by Jessie Stone | Aug 14, 2018 | Family Zone, Internationalisation, United States, WhitewaterThis past week was our 15th annual inner city kids kayaking camp! When I say the number 15, it’s hard to believe that the camp has been going on that long as every year we do the camp, it feels like a new, very fun, and exciting experience. This is true for me at...
The Jamie McEwan Triple Crown 2018 by Jessie Stone | Jul 27, 2018 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Event Coverage, Events, Playboating, Whitewater, Wrap Ups, WW DisciplinesJuly 14th and 15th this summer was the 9th year of the Jamie McEwan Triple Crown, and this year in the middle of the summer we had water! This was very exciting as two years ago for the July event, we had drought conditions and had to turn the event into a paddle...
The Hairy Lemon by Jessie Stone | Jul 15, 2018 | Internationalisation, rivers, United States, WhitewaterEven though the end of the Hairy Lemon has been looming for several years now because of the construction of Isimba dam and the flooding that it will cause, receiving the news suddenly on July 5th ( while I was at the Lemon) that this weekend would be the last weekend...
The Grand Canyon of Switzerland by Jessie Stone | Jul 8, 2018 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Internationalisation, United States, WhitewaterAfter a whirlwind trip to Colorado (with a really fun Paddlefest in BV which included seeing all kinds of old friends and the opening of the Surf Chateau restaurant and hotel) and the West Coast, I headed back to Switzerland. Juerg had promised that we would do a...