Last week, kayaker Pedro Olivia crushed the previous world-record run (108 feet high) and careened across the lip of Brazil’s 127-foot Salto Belo falls. Now, we’d never attempt anything that epic, but watching the stunning footage (below) of Olivia’s run did inspire us to want to break out our paddles and find a falls of our own.
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So we turned to filmmaker and pro kayaker Trip Jennings, one of our 2008 Adventurers of the Year, for a little guidance. The guy knows his stuff: He’s claimed first descents on rivers in North America, South America, and Asia. And in 2006, he nabbed a world-record paddle of his own by kayaking over a 101-foot waterfall in Oregon.
We enlisted Jennings to draft a Top 10 of the best waterfall runs in the U.S., right before he left for a paddling expedition in Bolivia. Stay tuned for what he finds there…. In the meantime, grab a paddle and get started on Jennings’s life-list paddle list.
“I chose these runs not because they are the baddest, tallest, or hardest,” he explains, “but because they are the classics that have been run hundreds and thousands of times. For aspiring Class V junkies, this is the list to print out, post above your bed, dream about at night, and check them off one by one—then post photos on Facebook when you run them. I rated them based on two very subjective factors: First how classic they are, and second, how much I like them.”
We enlisted Jennings to draft a Top 10 of the best waterfall runs in the U.S., right before he left for a paddling expedition in Bolivia. Stay tuned for what he finds there…. In the meantime, grab a paddle and get started on Jennings’s life-list paddle list.
“I chose these runs not because they are the baddest, tallest, or hardest,” he explains, “but because they are the classics that have been run hundreds and thousands of times. For aspiring Class V junkies, this is the list to print out, post above your bed, dream about at night, and check them off one by one—then post photos on Facebook when you run them. I rated them based on two very subjective factors: First how classic they are, and second, how much I like them.”
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Fabulous!Thank you for the post.
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Posted by: Hai | February 27, 2012 at 05:21 AM
It's illegal to run. If you run it during the spring, summer or fall you will get in trouble.
Posted by: Quản lý Nhân sự | December 30, 2011 at 03:31 AM
There's no beauty in this world that can compare the beauty of nature. Gods perfect creation stuns with it's beauty and I just can't imagine why there are people who tries to destroy it's beauty.
Posted by: Employee Incentive Program | August 18, 2011 at 07:22 AM
Wow that looks like a whole lot of fun. I cannot image feeling confident enough in your abilitys for such a task.
Posted by: rent a car Switzerland | April 27, 2011 at 09:00 AM
after watching 172 hours no more outdoor sports for a day or 2 .
Posted by: Car Hire Split | January 31, 2011 at 04:59 AM
i must say these guys are crazy they know very well that we could loss our life and i just consider that they have passion to do Waterfall Kayaking
Posted by: Edinburgh Accommodation | August 02, 2010 at 09:08 AM
These guys are crazy! 127 foot..!!
Posted by: car hire girona | December 22, 2009 at 03:50 AM
Wow that looks like a whole lot of fun. I cannot image feeling confident enough in your abilitys for such a task.
Posted by: Mr. Hunting Scopes | April 09, 2009 at 10:04 AM
I've heard too that Celestial Falls is illegal to run.
Posted by: Tudor Bran | April 01, 2009 at 08:04 AM
Important note on Celestial Falls:
It's illegal to run. If you run it during the spring, summer or fall you will get in trouble. (or so I heard)
Posted by: Trip Jennings | April 01, 2009 at 12:00 AM
Celestial Falls is really scary, I wouldn't advise kayaking it unless you are extremely experienced. Someone gets hurt every year it seams like. This is a really great top ten list about kayaking. You can post this to our site http://www.toptentopten.com/ and then link back to your site. We are looking for top ten lists and our users can track back to your site. The coolest feature is you can let other people vote on the rankings of your list.
Posted by: Vince | March 31, 2009 at 09:49 PM
Sprout Run sure is easy to get to from DC, but walking up a two lane highway after kayaking through rebar and drift wood doesn't seem like the ideal afternoon paddle
Posted by: Dave C | March 31, 2009 at 02:46 PM