Sunday, April 19, 2009

Two 50 footers in Two Hours

My brother and I had been eying down Bridal Veil Falls (55ft.) and Money Drop on Rock Creek (58ft.) for quite some time, but it wasn't until this weekend that we finally fired up both drops. On Saturday Tate Taylor, my dad, my brother and I all piled in my dad's car to celebrate the warmest day of the year with an all out huckfest. Our first stop was Bridal Veil, and as soon as we decided the flow was good my brother and I started setting up safety and checking our lines. I was first off the stout and after a smooth line right down the middle, I punched through the soft hole at the bottom. As I resurfaced, I was able to look up at the drop in a state of euphoria and take in the feeling of a new personal record. My brother was also able to clean the drop with a smooth line, and paddle safely to the shore.

A short video of my run (filmed by spectator Larry Ellis)


Within an hour of having launched Bridal Veil we arrived at Money Drop only to hear the ecstatic yelling of boaters below. When I arrived at the lip I saw a couple paddlers in the pool below, and got to evaluate the lines of two more. My brother and I decided, that because this drop ------------------------------------------------------------------ had such a fast lead in Disconnecting from Money Drop ------------------- the key was to kiss the deck before even reaching the lip. After a quick evaluation we grabbed our boats and set up for our own runs. My brother was first to go and had a super clean line, airing out into the huge boils below. He was quick to roll up and give me "the go-ahead." As I flew off the lip in the perfect tuck I truly felt I was flying , until of course I smacked the bottom and felt my paddle snap in half. In the pool, I rolled up with my single bladed paddle and eddied out with my brother. We admired the 7 ft. boils for a while, then I C1ed my way through some class II rapids to the take out eddy. Overall it was an incredible day; I was glad my brother and I cleaned each drop, and again Tate Taylor came out with amazing photos.

Standing below my biggest drop-- Stoked

4 comments:

yanz said...

wow.. u hav an adventurous family..
n did u hurt ur nose in that photo? thats painful..
*cheers*

Sid said...

Todd! I couldn't believe you had a commment on our blog! So cool to see other pictures and a video of that day! We had some fun things to tell people when we got home from that trip! It was scarey to watch you go over the falls but pretty cool to witness and we were glad we got to be there! You are awesome!

Dan said...

Hi Todd, I'm Sid's husband. I updated our blog with your info so people know who that "crazy person" was. :) I don't really know you but I am a fan now. Keep up the good work.

LukeDavisWakefield said...

Wicked stuff Todd! Good to hear the season is finally here. Which drop is next for you?