News 2010

Kootenay Whitewater Festival
Borderline Boaters 7th annual whitewater festival. This year was the best turn out and fundraiser yet. Endless Adventure hosted the party featuring Wild Moutain Honey musical talent, The Pine Years & Dope Sounds. The Mr Kayak Man 2010 went to Mike Grant, Carl Jacks won the down river rodeo and James Roddick provided skookum instruction. Thanks to all the volunteers, sponsors and of course all the participents!

Shuswap Paddle Party-June5&6
Wandering into the grounds of the Shuswap paddle fest was like tumbling down the rabbit hole. I quickly realized that the event had more emphasis on the party than the paddle. Tents strewn across the grounds with limbs hanging out the doors were an indication of the previous nights exploits. Artful signs were posted on trees with a concert line-up that resembled fests like Shambala or Koots Roots. The Endless Adventure team set up camp and a demo area halfway between the grounds and the river where the rafts set up shuttle. We had a great spot in the woods with our tents set up and a slew of new Jackson Kayaks for anyone to demo for free. The first event was the ball race starting at the crack of noon only 2 hours after the supposed time. The format was a 3 boater team with one beach ball, first ball to make it from the put in to the kicker ramp wins, only rule was no skirt pulling which I am pretty sure was ignored. Soon after the start of the race three swimmers left their kayaks and I was dodging a yard sale as well as aggressive local boater to try and find our ball. James Roddick, Kelsey Thompson and myself were trying hard to get our ball down the river amongst the assault of hacking paddle blades and pushy big water. The Endless Adventure team came in first and the rest is history.
Click here to read more on Our Kayak Hot Dogs Blog Site!

Stand Up Paddle Boards are here!
A rediscovered sport is sweeping the nation for the young and old.  In the early 1960s the Beach Boys of Waikiki would stand on their long boards and paddle out with outrigger paddles to take pictures of the tourists learning to surf. This is where the term "Beach Boy Surfing" originates, another name for Stand Up Paddle Surfing.  Fast forward to the early 2000’s where SUP was practiced by big wave surfers like Laird Hamilton, Gerry Lopez and many others in order to train when the waves were low.
The general public started to see the benefits and versatility of the sport on oceans, lakes and even rivers.  People were using their old windsurf or large surf boards with modified canoe paddles to mimic the trend.  Within the last few years new and old surf companies started making specific boards for the sport offering stability and ease of padding.  Paddle companies like Werner catered to the emerging sport with SUP paddle designs.  Endless Adventure is excited to show case Surftech paddle boards.  Surftech is the leading surfboard producer with big name surfers and shapers testing the limits of the new sport.  Come to Endless Adventure to demo a sweet SUP by Laird Hamilton, legendary big wave surfer.  The sport is a great workout and easy enough for anyone to enjoy.

Little Miss Gelato in Crescent Valley
Tasty Little Miss Gelato at Endless adventure. All sorts flavours to cool you off. So wether you are beach bumming or just driving by, stop in to check out their new gear and pickup some gelato. Flavours include: Chocolate Brownie Gelato, Coffee Gelato, Raspberry Sorbet and many more. A 500ml container is the perfect size to share with friends on the beach. Happy sunshine!

Beginner Immersion Week!
What better place to learn the exciting sport of kayaking than on the Slocan River.  Warm summer water surrounded by mountains and wildlife and a full service campsite make Endless Adventure the place to start your kayaking journey. Enjoy a vacation and instructional course all in one-stay in our campground across the Slocan river, enjoy delicious meals breakfast through dinner and learn to kayak from some of western Canada’s best instructors. 
        Our 5-day beginner program starts on the beach with morning and afternoon sessions that focus on basic kayaking strokes and concepts.  Gradually we enter the perfect learning environment of the Slocan River to work on ferrying, rolling, braces, and eddy attainment.  Our goal is to get you paddling class III rapids by the end of the week with a solid roll and a safe and memorable experience. 
        This unique course allows students of all ages to experience the magic of whitewater during the day and an opportunity to explore the Slocan Valley in the evenings.  Our Riverbed Campground is located on the Slocan Valley Rails to Trails across from the river and nearby mountain biking trails.
        The course includes top of the line equipment rental, meals Monday Breakfast through Friday lunch, camping, and first-rate instruction.
Dates: July 26th-30th 2010
Cost: $599
Value: Priceless

Endless Adventure Festival Tour!
Endless Adventure is very proud to announce dates for this year’s summer festival tour. Western Canada’s festival scene is growing every year bigger and better events. The crew at Endless Adventure is excited to add some new events to our tour this year representing our local paddling area and meeting new paddlers. Our team will be available to offer free kayak and equipment demos and sponsor events with prize giveaways and a chance to win a trip to Ecuador with Endless Adventure International. One of the lucky festivals will be auctioning off an all -inclusive High Roller trip worth $1399 USD. Stop by our booth to say hi and try some kayaks from Jackson Kayak and Liquid Logic.
Dates: 3 Rivers Rendezvous, Pincher Creek AB May 22-24
Shuswap River Fest, Enderby B.C. June 5/6
Wenachee River Festival, Cashmere, WA June 11/12
Kootenay Whitewater Fest, Crescent Valley BC June 26/27
Nakusp Music Fest, Nakusp BC July 16-18
Clearwater Kayak Fest Clearwater BC Aug1/2
Kananaskis Fest Canoe Meadows AB Aug 14-16

Welcome James Roddick.
For the last 5 years our Kayak Academy has welcomed people of all ages to experience the magic of whitewtater through our instruction.  This year we are super stoked to announce James Roddick to our instructor team.  Not only did James help teach our head instructor Chris Ryman on his fateful first kayak course, James instructed many of the greats including current World Champion Nick Troutman during his years as director at Ottawa Kayak School.  Roddick has traveled the world competing and guiding in exotic locations such as Chile, Costa Rica and more.  James will be teaching our new Week of Kootenay Rivers, many of our Weekender courses and will be available for private courses.

Kootenay Week Of Rivers.
Ever wonder why the West Kootenays are often missed in BC guide books?  The best-kept secret in whitewater is out!  To the dismay of some locals more and more paddlers are seeking the stellar whitewater of the area.  Want the inside scoop?  Join the week of rivers.  This jam packed 5 day program showcases some of the areas classic runs such as the Salmo River, Wilson Creek, Little Slocan, Kaslo and many more.  Let our professional kayak guides take all the worry and hassle out of the logistics and planning while you concentrate on maximizing your enjoyment of some of the best whitewater runs in British Columbia.  Not only will you be paddling every day but, we take care of providing first-rate scenic campsites and shuttles.  Every day we will be on a different river run ranging in class from III-IV+. CLICK HERE for more info.

Intermediate Youth Week.
Attention all young soon to be kayak rodeo stars!  The Endless Adventure Kayak Academy is now offering a youth kayaking week for intermediates.  This 5-day course offers the chance for students to reach the next level of kayaking.  We will be river running everyday focusing on improving and building on basic and advanced skills.  Safety, playboating, responsible creeking, and trip preparation are just a few of the many skills you will learn in the course.
CLICK HERE for more info.

Gear Swap back for 2010.
On May 1st and 2nd the Famous Endless Adventure Gear Swap is back.  This outdoor water adventure “Swap Meet” is an opportunity for you to sell your old equipment and pick up new stuff for the 10 season.    The event will also be awareness and fundraiser for the Borderline Boaters Paddle Club, a not for profit water-user group that has a “leave no trace” policy and promotes responsible waterway management. Come on down Saturday May 1st and Sunday the 2nd  to Gear Swap 2009 in the Endless Adventure Parking Lot at 1286 Hwy 6 downtown Crescent Valley  (Beside Evergreen Foods) For more information or if you have any questions please call 1.877.386.8181 or email us info@endlessadventure.ca.

Check out our 2010 Events Schedule!
Summer 2010 is going ROCK. We are doing Demo's at Festivals, Hosting a Kids Day Camp and Giving away prizes at every event. Don't miss a Beat, get on the River!

Youth Development in Ecuador.
Endless Adventure/ Chris Ryman donates his time twice a week to build confidence, teach paddling skills and provide a positive rollmodel. Read more on our "BLOG".

Hiking with David Suzuki
Our star staff of 2009 got an amazing opportunity to hike the Valhallas with environmentalist David Suzuki. A three day adventure in the Slocan Valley was beautiful and memorable. "David caught a fish and was really interesting to talk with." Laurence Bachard guide extraordinar.

Two can tango with the Dynamic Duo
The Endless Adventure Team was stoked to paddle Jackson Kayak’s new tandem whitewater kayak, The Dynamic Duo.  While not all descents were totally successful the new kayak design put a whack of people into the river that wouldn’t normally even exersise the idea.  Young and old experienced or not, the Duo is a great way to show a friend the magic of whitewater while you control the kayak from the back seat, the only draw back is you miss out on the priceless expressions of your partner.
This summer our most experienced kayak instructor John Duncan took out his 4 year old grandson Donovan for a trip down the lower section of the Slocan River.  JD tried his hardest to burry the bow of the duo and make sure Donovan got a good taste of whitewater, literally.  The trip was a success, JD was able to share the wonder of whitewater with his grandson and Donovan caught the whitewater bug for life. 
The Dynamic Duo is the answer for the whitewater nut that is always subjecting their loved ones to unsuccessful river kayaking attempts.   For more info check out http://www.jacksonkayak.com/kayaks/product.cfm?product=dynamicduo

Aug 1 & 2 - Clearwater
After attending the first Clearwater Festival two years ago the kootenay crew has been itching to get back to the land of big volume playboating.  This year Endless Adventure decided to sign up as a gold sponsor by donating an Ecuador trip through our sister company Endless Adventure International.  The company Subaru was loaded to the max with 15 demo kayaks, gear, tents, hammocks and the favourite ENO lounger hanging chair.  We left Friday afternoon and drove through some of the hottest temps on record coping with an overheating engine and a stinky kayak instructor named Mikkel.  We pulled in just in time for a beachside demo attended largely by kids and families.  After landing over 30 participants in kayaks for the first time we headed to camp for a weekend of paddling and party.  Offering free demos all weekend long Endless Adventure showcased the latest kayak designs from Jackson Kayak and Liquid Logic.  While none of our kootenay crew placed in the finals for the exciting downriver race, we managed to sweep the freestyle rodeo with Mikkel placing in first, Chris Ryman in second and Ottawa River old schooler James Roddick in third. Sweatshop Union entertained the festies on Saturday night and really got the dance floor jumping with old and new tracks.  The band took a break so organizers could auction off our donation.  The High Roller Ecuador trip went to Dave Sitar of Edmonton who outbid numerous keen paddlers with a final bid of $975.  Congrats Dave, see you in Ecuador.  The attending crew from Endless Adventure would like to thank all the organizers and volunteers of the Clearwater kayak Festival.  Thanks again and see you next year!!

The 2010 Star Series have arrived!
The team at Endless Adventure is proud to announce the arrival of the new 2010 Superstar, Allstar, and Star.  The new design is based on a commitment from Jackson Kayaks to deliver exciting new kayaks every three years for the Fun, Star, Hero, and Rocker series.  The new version is similar in volume to the 2007 series but shorter with more concentrated volume in the bow for huge Arial hole moves like the loop and space Godzilla.  The new kayaks carve incredibly well and surfs almost any size hole with ease.  A perfect kayak for summer levels on the Slocan River and for Trail and Hero hole.   Jackson has also started to experiment with new colour blends like the kayaks of old with blue and white ty-dye patterns.  Come to Endless Adventure to demo the new 2010 star in your size.  For more information check out www.jacksonkayak.com

British Columbia Magazine publishes photo of our Head kayak Instructor, Chris Ryman
Last year, Mens Journal printed a 2-page photo of Instructor/Owner, Chris Ryman plunging over Sutherland Falls in their October 2009 issue.  This summer British Columbia magazine has printed a photo from the same shoot in the “50 things to do before you die” issue.  The magazine suggests you “hear the roar of a waterfall” as the 48th thing to do before you die.  The Ryan Creary photo shows Chris Ryman about a fifth of the way down the waterfall starting to tuck as a way of prepping for the impact.  The magazine also goes on to suggest that you should hear the roar from a designated viewpoint instead of following the way of the “kamikazee kayaker” in the photo.  You can pick up an issue from almost anywhere magazines are sold.  The mag has lots of great suggestions for your own personal bucket list with all adventures based in the beautiful province of BC. For more information check out http://www.bcmag.ca/

July 17-19 Nakusp Music Festival
Our second year at the Nakusp Music Festival a Splashing success. Endless Adventure presented a free kayak demo for Nakusp Music Festival participants for the second year at the public beach near the main stage.   While bands like The Zombies, Blues Travelers, and Trooper rocked their hearts out on stage, Endless Adventure staff helped people discover the magic of kayaking with a backdrop of mountains and blue bird skies.  With a total of 17 kayaks ranging from kids kayaks, light touring kayaks, and inflatables we were able to outfit anybody who wanted a crack at the sport.  Moments before The Zombies hit the stage lead guitarist Keith Airey cleared his thoughts while paddling one of our kayaks.  Well over 250 people tried their hand at kayaking with us and I am sure the majority of those people will be looking for their next kayak adventure.  Our Endless Adventure staff would like to shout out big props to the organizers and volunteers of the Nakusp Music Festival for making our experience on the beach and concert a fantastic one. Be sure to check out one of North America’s top 10 music festivals and visit us at the beach next year for a free kayak demo.

June 27 & 28 - KOOTENAY Whitewater Festival
Endless Adventure and Borderline Boaters present another smashing success with our annual Kootenay Whitewater Festival. The classic Whitewater Festival took on a new face this year offering the same high-level instruction for beginners with a greater focus on developing our local intermediate paddlers.  Instructional clinics ran all weekend long ranging from the total beginner to playboating and creeking specific courses.  The weekend was chalk full of friendly competitions like the exciting Boater cross race, S-bend Freestyle, and of course the award of Mr./Miss kayakman/woman.  The boatercross race went to local speedster Geoff Gaudet, Chris Ryman nudged Mikkel St.Jean-Duncan for the freestyle title, and Jim Gilman won the Mr. Kayakman title for his enthusiasm both on and off water.  Photographer, Adam Gagnon was gracious enough to cover the event and provide high quality images.  You can look for the pics on his website www.AdamGagnon.ca the festival party was one for the record books with house DJ’s and Juno nominated rapper Josh Martinez.  Festival participants and local partiers stomped the grass under the moonlight until the wee hours of the morning.  The event wrapped up with the awards ceremony and raffle where our local youth kayakers scored new helmets. Paddles, and kayaks thanks to our many sponsors including Jackson Kayak, MEC, Aquabound, Nelson Brewing, Whitewater ski resort, and Global Underground.  Special thanks to all the volunteers and organizers.  See you next year.

June 17th - Kavu Elements Tour
Oil & Water Self-Propelled Tour ends at
Endless Adventure
The Self-propelled tour has been a huge success in promoting self propelled sports and alternative energy sources on a global scale. .  You can follow their adventures in their 2008 documentary The Oil and Water Project available at Endless Adventure.  The award winning film follows “Baby” an old Japanese fire truck that runs on recycled vegetable oil as it travels from Alaska to the southern tip of South America and beyond.  Professional kayakers Seth Warren and Tyler Bradt have spent the last few years of their life promoting their cause and paddling some of the world’s best rivers.  The global tour has come to an end in the Kootenays as the crew shows their final film presentation at Endless Adventure. Seth Warren did not quite know what he was getting into when he decided to hit up the Kooteanys as the last leg of his ambitious tour that has taken him all over the planet of the last 2 years.  Seth followed Mikkel St. Jean-Duncan and Chris Ryman as they paddled local classic Koch Creek and surfed the enormous Brilliant Wave.  Seth and crew even got a glimpse of Mikkel completing a low water decent of Big Bad Beaver Falls a 62 foot drop that was first descended by Chris and Mikkel the previous year.  “Usually I show up and the local paddlers take me to their play spot which is a 6 inch trickle of a wave, you guys are nuts! This is a serious wave.”   Says Seth after his first look at the world class Brilliant wave.  Endless Adventure would like to thank the crew from Self Propelled who were amazing ambassadors of the cause.  You are welcome anytime.

June 13 & 14 - WENATCHEE
River Festival
Endless Adventure made its first festival stop this year down at the Wenatchee River Festival in Cashmere Washington during the second weekend in June.  With a full fleet of Liquid Logic Demo boats, and tons of Ecuadorian shwag, the crew represented south of the border.  The river festival was scaled down this year with an ailing American economy, so what better time to give away a free 10 day kayak tour in Ecuador with Endless Adventure International!  Endless Adventure teamed up with the local Leavenworth Mountain Sports to offer free demo boats to all festival participants and great deals on new gear.  The weekend was a great success paddling new rivers, meeting new friends and spreading the word about our new tours going down in Ecuador!

May 2 & 3, 09
The best Gear swap of all we sold 75% of peoples equipment and raised $100 for the Borderline Boaters paddle club. KBS radio was on site on Saturday doing a live broadcast. This weekend was the launch of the "Family Fun Adventure Contest.

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