Vail and on to Cali

- The crew scouting East Meets West Drop on Upper Sth Yuba - Photo Josh Neilson

So with our car loaded up with all our gear and 5 of us crammed in we headed out 3500km toward Vail Colorado!
2 nights and a day later we made it to Vail to find our amazing house for the week! Right downtown and massive! It was awesome!!!

Teva Mtn Games in Vail - photo - Mike Dawson

So we Kiwi proofed the house by taking down all the breakables and then went to bed! Over the day people turned up and got stuck into catching up on stories from the past missions!
By Wednesday night everyone was all caught up and ready to race the next day!

Freestyle feature in Vail - Photo Mike Dawson

Early Thursday we all headed up to the race course to scout our lines and get ready!
The day was full of carnage with a mix of good an bad lines! I had a sweet line but once again this year missed out of the finals by less than half a second!
The kiwis continued to dominate the race scene and this saw Sam Sutton come home with the gold!

- Priceless - Photo Teva

- The Boys on the Podium for down river sprint -

Over the week there were more podium finishes by the kiwis which was great to see! In true form we also indulged in some good partys at the Kiwi house and throughout Vail!

Some other action in town during the week! - photo Mike Dawson

Once the week was over I changed cars and headed for the WEST!!!! California!!!
On the way out we stopped in at Arches National park and checked out the amazing rock formations and cooked ourselves in the 40degree heat!!!
Finally in California we had a few days sorting out flows and swimming in pools to keep cool!
Day one on the river was a quick blast down Slab Creek which was super fun!
The Next day kayaking was also sick until i decided to run Vslide! I hit the line but went deep and connected very hard with the bottom of the river! The impact was on my right shoulder and Head! Everything went black with purple and pink stars. I Came up and headed to the side! I still had movement but knew that it was not too good! Lots of pain! We still had a few miles to get out so decided to rally it and get out quick! I got in behind Ben Jackson and we bombed the rest out! There were a few moments where i got hung up in holes but thanks to Jamie behind me he tackled me out of them!!
Finally at the car i was stoked to be out and not hiking out of the Californian Posion Oak infested mountains!!
So that pretty much has stopped my kayaking right now till I can see the Dr again! I have ruptured my AC joint so in a week ill know more about how long im out for!

- Vince going big on the wakeboard! - Photo Josh Neilson

- Sanga going for the forward flip - Photo Josh Neilson

With our days off we went up to clearlake to visit Mal and friends and go wakeboarding and enjoy some drinks in the sun! The Next day we rallied up to Big Kimshew Creek where i drove shuttle and the boys ran the shit!!! Im super jealous to not be on the river especially for this one! Kimshew is one of the best runs in the world!!!! Oh well ill be back!

- Sanga on Kimshew Falls - Photo Jared Mitchel

- Sanga on Frenchies - Photo Jared Mitchel

Keep your eyes peeled and fingers cross for my return to the river and more updates!!
Take care
Josh