Quebec Stakeout

QUEBEC STAKEOUT

Every year our crew of whitewater addicts congregates to the lands of Northern Quebec... Generally our mission is to seek and destroy the biggest river waves we can find. See the Quebec section of Dream Result for a better idea (DreamResultMovie.com)

This year however has been very different. Eastern Canada is experiencing the lowest water levels in recorded history. (meanwhile California has the craziest snow pack ever). For example, most our favorite rivers were running at around 1/3 of their normal flow for this time of year. This forced us to adapt and turn the mission into a creeking expedition. The result was amazing and we came away with some epic footage and good times...

Logan Grayling dropping in on a first D (8 chutes river)

yours truly following

Some highlights included a swim tally of seven for the boys, (including me on the chutes Blanche) as well as Erik Boomer's heroic descent of Chutes Magnan, a few other first descents, and a spot that could potentially turn into the World's biggest river wave! Even with low water this feature was still huge, and we feel like with double or triple the flow we may have found a proper monster....

World's biggest river wave? Maybe with higher water...

First known descent of Chutes Blanche
My second run down I aimed for the center....
And swam....

Ben Marr on the Mastigouche....

An epic rooster tail first D I rallied on the last day. A fine line to land between two rock ledges falling about 20 feet.... It took me 3 tries to get it right...

There is a reason Quebec remains one of my favorite places to paddle. There is still a lot to explore and I am already looking forward to next years Stakeout...

Iceland and Norway are next... More updates soon!

Erik Boomer runs Chutes De Magnan

Erik Boomer runs 100+ ft Chutes De Magnan

Photos by: Ben Marr, Patrick Camblin, Casper Van Kalmthout, Rush Sturges


We arrived at Chutes De Magnan on April 29th and took a few hours to scout. Upon first inspection I was unsure if there was a reasonable line. The drop cascades an estimated 100+ feet down a chasm of mankiness... The unpredictability of the rock, speed and difficulty of the entry, and the overall stoutness made the rest of us weary. However, there's a reason Erik Boomer is the "Honey Badger" of kayaking.


We took the night to think about it and fell asleep to freezing cold temperatures and howling wolves... I rallied the troops at 7:30 to catch the morning light.



Boomer mentioned that he had been a little cold the night before sleeping out under the stars... I told him next time he could share the tent with me as I had extra space. He responded:

"Yah know what Rush. Sometimes it's good to just get a little cold."

I think this quote summarizes Boomer's easy going attitude and overall positive outlook... A rare breed...

After about 1 hour of scouting Boomer made the call that he was going to run the monster. I have to admit, I thought the line went, but it was a hard line to hit. The next level of stoutness... I was nervous for the Boom Dawg...


We had 12 people which made it easy for safety and 6 camera angles. Big thanks to Foxy, Dave, Brenna, Blake, Sam, Max, Dylan, Patrick, Joel, Logan, Benny & Casper for all helping out with the huck.

What happened next was one of the craziest things I have ever seen go down. I can't believe Boomer survived and came away unscathed. Basically, everything we talked about going wrong went wrong without the repercussions....

Magnan demonstrated the forgiveness water can have... The rooster near the top of the drop threw Boomer sideways. He then proceeded to rag doll down the remaining 90 or so feet of jagged rock. (he completed 2 air screws)

I was pretty certain he would be unconscious or at least concussed. Amazingly, he had only cut his thumb a little bit. We breathed a sigh of relief as we saw him pop up throwing air fists...


As far as sheer "buck up and huck" factor, I rate this drop as one of the gnarliest things ever run in a kayak. Palouse, Sunset, and many others are different and all crazy in their own right, but Magnan is truly something beastly. Mad props to Boom Dawg for stepping up to the plate on this one...

The footage will be featured in my next film, Frontier. We now continue on to more drops in Quebec...