Mexico

Hola Me Amego's!!! So here I am, reporting live from the warm warters of Mexico. Where the waterfalls are big and the traverntine is sticky. Curently i'm located in Ciudad Valles at Aventura Huastecae where Lance Reif, Chris Bear, Aaron Koch, and myself have been running some of the local rivers.














Day one started us off on the Mexican classic, the Rio Micos. Unlike anything i've seen, the Micos is made up of whats called Traverntine. Traverntine is formed from water thats high in calcium, it builds up on anything in the water... trees, rocks, lost paddles...exc As a result it makes really sticky pool drop waterfalls and slides that are over hung. interesting and fun...

Day 2 took us to the El Salto. More travertine... weird...

Lance playing the role of "Rodeo Superstar" good ride, cartweels on both sides

Chris Bear

Aaron Koch

John McConville photo by Chris Bear

The 5th Canyon of the Santa Maria

El Toro

Back to to Micos where Chris decided to run the big one, EL TORO (the bull). The bull is a beast, it hits hard and fast. To best explane i suggest checking out the video Chris put together after running the Bull.

El Toro video:

http://broadbandsports.com/node/22262




Rio Verde...An orange and a gun.

Today we picked up a mexican with an orange and a gun. He sat down in Aaron's Jeep, shared his orange and showed us the way to the river. Hiking down to the river i had a run in with a "jumping" cactice, it jumped up, scared me, bit me,i swated at it, it bit me again, and i was left with bit marks from the jumping cacti. oh well, down to the river we go.



The first Canyon we came to was amazing. It started with a 40 footer that Chris, Lance, and myself ran. Then went right into a 15 footer followed be another 15 footer. Cruisin down streem we found ourselves at the lip of a 100 foot waterfall called Llovinosa. We lowered the boats over the edge and walked down the class 5 goat path to the side.



The Rio Verde has been my faveroit run we've done so far. But the trip is just getting started, tomorrow we head South to Veracruze in hopes to find good water on the Alseseca...


Live from Mexico,

John McConville

Changing Seasions

Back in WI now... spending some time with the folks before setting off on my next adventure. It's amazing how fast the summer always seems to come and go. Looking back, i find myself getting lost in the wake of the all the good times spent in WV. Worked 67 days on the water this year between the New and Gualey river. I love my job! Thats been the greatest part of my summer, loving my job and all the people i work with. Class VI had a great video staff this year, full of personality. :)





Chillin with the Class VI crew out at long point.














Gauley Season Rocked!! We were lucky enough to have a really warm fall with great fall colors. I learned righty phonix monkies and took 6th in the Animal Race. I also got really good at getting juiced at the bottom of Wood's Farry. Gotta love a good mystery...

































Russel Fork...

Lance and I made it out for race weekend on the Russel. This was Lance's first time down and my first time seeing it at 1,000cfs. The race had a huge turnout of 52 competitors. Records were broken, swimmers were swimming, and respect was gained. I ended up with 23rd and a time of 11:30. I really liked the solo timed racing style compared to the Gauley's mass start. It becomes a personal battle with yourself, seeing just how hard you are willing to push yourself. One sec here, one sec there... I know where i lost time and i'm excited to push it harder next year.























Climbing...

This summer i became very involved with climbing. Wild Bill, Curt, and myself (both class VI videographers) spent many afternoons climbing till our fingers bleed or we til we couldn't see anymore. I'll never forget the first time climbing with Curt, we ended up climbing in the dark with our headlamps on. For me climbing has been another great way to stay in shape and push myself mentaly. Its amazing to see how far you are willing to push yourself mentally and physically before saying "let me down". There's nothing worse than being lowerd down after a vicious battle with the rock and losing... Then its back to square one and a rematch another day.

























All in all, it's been an awesome year in WV and i miss it already. But like the fall colors, its time to change and move into winter. For me this means heading south of the boarder, Mexico here i come.....

The Animal Race

The Animal race is nothing short of just that... an Animal race. If you want to win this one you better drop everything and just go.. never stop, not even to look back. The mass start reminded me of motocross racing, everyone charging forward for the hole shot. Tons of fun and great competition. I ended up with a time of 55:28 and 6th place in slalom.

One of the video boaters for Class VI (Sara Van Wesep) was filming when the racers came down. So i through a short video together with what she got. enjoy


Check it out here

Check out race results at... http://usawildwater.com/


Live from WV,

John McConville

Life in WV

Gauley Season is upon us!!! Oh yeah. :) After paddling around 75 miles of whitewater on the Gauley river these past 4 days its nice have a day off. The first weekend was awesome and week 2 of Gauley is 3 days away.

Looking back through some of the photos of the summer it reminds me of why i love living here. I'm thank full to be living here in WV with the New river Gorge outside my back door. World class boating, climbing, biking, scenery, and people is what make this place so beautiful. I love every bit of it...

The week before Gauley a tropical storm dumped water in North Carolina and brought the New up to 6 feet. This was a great change of pace from the low water Weeks before. Owen and I both were getting some big air at Ender Waves. Upper railroad and Greyhound were stomping at a good level too.


















Last week Monday i meet up with some really cool climbers from Kentucky. We hiked from Rodgers campground down to butchers buttress for 4 different climbs. I'm really starting to get into climbing, its another sport that's both mentally and physically demanding.



















Mill creek has been my favorite place to take photos. There was a really cool mist in the air the day this photo was taken.





































I find myself spending alot of time at the place i work. But with views like this from the overlook its hard not to love this place...



Live from WV,

John McConville

Midwest Freestyle Championships 2008

After a long 15 hr. drive back to WV I've had plenty of time to reflect upon this past weekend. What i came up with is... I LOVE paddling! Especially when I get to paddle with all my friends in one place at the same time. This past weekend was more of a family reunion than a competition. I'd like to make a shout out to Team PBR and everyone involved that made this weekend possible. Thanks for a great weekend. :)

My week started off with helping teach a freestyle kayak clinic with Colin Kemp. There's nothing more rewarding than helping someone progress there own skills and push the limits of what they though was possible. Seeing someone land there first loop and come up with the biggest smile on there face. Its what keeps me coming back again and again. We all know that feeling of accomplishing after doing something new, that wave of energy that surges through your body. All in all, i really enjoyed helping teach this kayak clinic and watching all the progression that happened over the weekend.



















Coming back to this event has been something I've been looking forward to since last year. Last year i placed 3rd with like 140 points, and the year before i scored 3 point. Year after year I've progressed my own skills and have pushed my own limits of what i thought was possible. This year the progression continued which lead to my first freestyle comp win and a score of 185 points. After 2 years of paddling and countless hours spent on the water I'm proud to take the name of Midwest freestyle champion. Whats next?.?.? maybe the world freestyle championships, EJ better watch out. lol making finals at the worlds has been a goal of mine since I've started kayaking. I know if i want to make this a reality that I have alot more countless hours of paddling and pushing myself even harder to get to that level. I think I'll take lots of small steps to bring myself to the top of the staircase instead of running to the top and talking the risk of falling back down. Anything is possible if the right steeps are taken.

In the end, the Midwest Freestyle Comp was once again a weekend to remember. Everything from the freestyle clinic, to Team PBR, 4 square, the night of the living donkey, and even having Pearl there to watch Jim Jensin take 2nd place. Everything that happened and the people that made it happen, thanks for a great weekend to remember. Speaking of the people that made it happen... thanks Cole Jacobsen, Chad Kehn, Colin Kemp, David Lemke, and Julie Walraven for making this weekend happen.

































Live From WV,

John McConville