YOUNG SWEDISH AMATEURS

UGANDA 2011

2011-02-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

I wrote a litle something for my sponsor Houdini and thought I'd share it. It's all in swedish and written for non-kayakers mostly, but here it is anyway.

Photo; Erik Westberg

Hur kan man på bästa möjliga sätt inledda 2011 tro?
Vad sägs om några veckors forspaddling i ett främmande och exotiskt land med badkarsvarmt vatten och monstervågor?

Ett utmärkt alternativ tyckte min vän o

Photo; Erik Westberg

Och givna vapendragare Erik när jag för några veckor sedan föreslog en tur till Uganda och den Vita Nilen.
Den Vita Nilen, även känd som Victoria nilen, är tillsammans med den Blå Nilen de största bifloderna till Nilen och har sin källa i Afrikas størsta sjö Victoriasjön.
Bara några kilometer nedströms från sjön, i utkanten av staden Jinja, ligger Bujagali Falls och enligt många en av världens finaste stäckor för forspaddling och Rafting.
Älvens volym är minst sagt enorm, vattnet är varmt och forsarna är respektingivande men sællan farliga. Bujagali falls och den så kallade Silverback sektionen har på senare år blivit närmast legendarisk. Forspaddlare från hela världen reser hit, främst under vårt vinterhalvår, för att avnjuta bästa tänkabara paddling och en allmänt enkel och bekymmerslös tillvaro.
Vissa stannar några veckor medans andra tycks vilja stanna för alltid.

Photo; Erik Westberg

Vi själva hade tänkt återvända och såg därför till att göra det bästa av tiden och paddla massor!
Vi lämmande höjdpunkten Silverback till sist och började istället med att resa norrut till ön Hairy Lemon. Hairy Lemon drivs av sydafrikanen Paul och är något så ovanligt som en forspaddlings resort mitt i Afrikas djungel. Ön är stor som en fotbollsplan och rymmer ett tiotal hyddor, en tältplats och en enkel bar/matsal. Ett stenkast från öns södra strand ligger underhållningen; en stor fors med två perfekta surfvågor som båda uppkallats efter Ugandas inhemska öl. Club Wave funkar på förmiddagen under lågvatten och Nile Special funkar i högt vatten under kvällen.
Allt detta gör Hairy Lemon till den perfekta tillflyktsorten för paddelsvultna nordbor som oss. Vi surfade, åt mat, surfade lite till och somnade sen ovaggade kl 20.00 varje kvæll. Underbart.

Efter två veckor var vi utmattade, allt för solbräda och redo för nya utmaningar.
Vi drog vidare tilll Jinja och Bujagali falls och möttes av livade gator, restauranger och massa trevliga människor. En välkommen kontrast till det lugna ö-livet vi levt på Hairy Lemon. Dessutom trappades paddlingen upp rejält. Forsarna var verkligen enorma och nervositeten infann sig titt som tätt. Läskigt och utmanande men enormt roligt! Som en fin bonus avslutade vi varje paddeltur med en vansinnesfärd på motorcykel med kajaken i knät. Nilen uppfyllde alla våra höga förväntningar med råge!

När vi reste ner tidigt i Januari gjorde vi det på sätt och vis i sista stund.
Den övre delen av Nilen har nämligen dragit till sig krafbolagens ögon och inom bara några få månader kommer en 850m bred kraftverksdamm stå klar. Delar av den såkallade Silverback sektionen kommer att förvandlas till en stilla sjö medans andra torrläggs helt. Trots att Uganda är i stort behov av energi ( 97% av befolkningen saknar elektricitet ) är det sorgligt att se sådann speciell plats och älv gå förlorad.

Nu, sittandes på ett plan en halvtimme från Arlanda med en fullbordad resa i bagaget är det lätt att vara tacksam över att en gång börjat paddla fors. Att alltid ha något som kan rycka dig ur vardagen och ge upplevelser som denna är få förunnat. Länge leve Nilen och länge leve forspaddling!

Nordic Champs 2010

2010-07-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

While I am writing this we are making our way back home from Skjåk, Norway and the Nordic Championships. We've had one awesome weekend surfing the famous Skjåk wave together with our fellow scandinavians. Great water levels, sunshine and a perfect relaxed atmosphere.

As expected Norwegian Tyler Curtis managed to hold on to his gold from last year with solid rides thru out the competitions. Tomas Kaukola from Finland came second, not far behind Tyler and I kept my bronze from last year. I did ok and scored a few big moves but I'm really gonna have to step it up for next year. All in all it was a great event and I'm looking forward to see Sweden host the Nordic's next year, perhaps even in our very own Häll hole.

In and hour or two I will finally arrive in Dala-floda after being away for month, just in time to organize and get everything ready for DaFlo and Master of water.

Later

Good in the hood..

2010-07-07T02:35:00.000-07:00

Water god's been treating us good in the woods! The favorite Bitch wave has been keeping me busy the last couple of weeks with some nice late night sessions!! Even famous canadian paddlers Tyler Curtis and Logan Grayling had heard of the good levels and joined us one night on there trip thru Sweden. Check the video edit! Pz

Bitch wave time out from daniel warberg on Vimeo.

California update; first week in the wild west.

2010-07-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

After a couple of weeks in Australia, a epic trip thru Mexico, me and my buddy Simon started making our way up the coast from LA to paradise; northern Cali. It's not called the wild west for nothing. The only word I can think of to describe it, would be wild..

More stuff is coming, but here is a short edit from my first days hooking up with my boys Kevin Weasly and Mike Peacher, showing us how its done in the west:

Later/ D

DaFlo & Master of Water 2010

2010-06-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

DaFlo info at Vidga

Welcome

OH NINE!

2010-05-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

Last year we had a great kayaking summer in Sweden and Dalarna with high water thru out the summer. The local creeks where often running and some new discoveries where made, some not all that good but exploring new creeks is always fun. Anyway, while we're waiting for Daniels report from Mexico, which should be intressting by the way, I'll share this edit Daniel put togheter from last year.

Apart from creeking back home you'll see a few cosy clips from a tiny surf day in Stavanger.. as you can tell the Guigui still flies!
Enjoy!

OH NINE! from daniel warberg on Vimeo.

How you doin?!

2010-02-06T07:09:00.000-08:00

Busy times in Norway.
Busy working that is, not blogging as you can tell.. Well, time flies by and month has past since the last update. Apart from a short Christmas trip to Sweden we've been working our asses of and not much else. A night out in town every now and then and a tiny bit of surfing. Quite a lot of snow fell in late December and most of it is still on the ground, making this the longest winter ( white winter ) in Stavanger since the 60's. This makes every thing a bit slow and there's not much to do.

Daniel and Anna is having a romantic holiday in Hemsedal at the moment before Anna is heading back to Sweden. Yesterday Master fuckup himself Anton arrived to the house filling, Annas place. Not sure if he will contribute with the same excellent cooking- and cleaning skills but we are hoping for the best.

If we are lucky Daniel will return with some sweet skiing footage from Hemsedal to make this blog a bit more entertaining..
Snakkes!

The first week in Stavanger

2009-09-27T08:53:00.000-07:00

The first week in Stavanger has gone by quickly, we've kept ourselves busy searching for jobs, surfing and kayaking. Our appartment is sweet and we already feel right at home.
We havent had much luck with the job searching though, appart from Anna who just started working in a bakery just outside town. Fresh bread and cake every day now, love it!

The town is cosy, the surf is not always great but it goes pretty much every day. We mostly kayak, wich seems like the better option when the waves are messy, but we're all keen on board surfing and I can't wait to get my new board.

Well, there's not much more to say, enjoy the pictures below and stay tuned for some video fotage from the surf.

Life in Norway

Surf, breakfast, tax office, skate, stretching, filming and editing..

First weekend in Stavanger

2009-09-21T03:05:00.000-07:00

We left Oslo early Friday morning and arrived in Stavanger to meet up with the landlord in the afternoon. Our new apartment was exactly what we needed, situated just a few minutes from town and just big enough for the four of us. We quickly felt at home and celebrated with an awesome dinner and some wine.

The day after we drove out to Hellestö and Bore to check out the surf. I sold my board a couple of month ago and haven't bought a new one yet so we both took our boats. Hellestö was small and windy, but we're stoked on some surf and got on the water anyway, happy just to be in the ocean again. After an hour or so we drove an other 20 minutes south to find sweet waves at Bore. Nothing huge, but big enough to throw some Panams and kickflip, friendly lineup and not to crowded.

When we got back home the food was on the stove and we enjoyed another sweet dinner before heading down town for a couple of beers. Stavanger seems like a perfect town to be in, not to big and not to small, cosy restaurants and pubs, friendly people and loads of stuff to do.

Sunday was skate and hangover day. We checked out the concrete skatepark ( where I quickly fucked up and hurt my wrist ), cruised on our longboards and did some lame attempts to find jobs on the internet.
Today it's Monday and it's time to get organized. We're all working on CV's, working out taxcards and getting ready to meet potential employers.
Lets hope for the best. Adios!

Norway edit on Vimeo

2009-09-17T12:26:00.000-07:00

Norway Trippin from daniel warberg on Vimeo.

The Dala-Floda season ends

2009-09-17T10:22:00.000-07:00

Anna after loading the car with 3000 SEK of food

Two weeks has gone by since the World Championships in Thun and it's been two awesome weeks. I came back to Dala-floda last Tuesday after spending a few days down south of Sweden and now it's time to move on to our fall- and winter time resort Stavanger in Norway. It's been our plan for a couple of month now and today we finally left. Daniel, Anna, Elin and I packed up the car with all our toys and headed west.

We stayed one night in Oslo at the Hessner family house

We spent a couple of days searching for jobs and places to stay without much luck but yesterday, in the last minute, we found a nice 2 room apartment in central Stavanger. We still need to find places to work but it's Norway we're talking about so it shouldn't be a problem. So the plan is; work, eat, train and sleep until we got enough cash to travel the world. Should be a great couple of month.

There's not much white water to run around Stavanger but the surf is supposed to be great with several good breaks close by. I've got the GuiGui strapped on the roof and can't wait to try it out in some big surf.

Well, we'll try to update the blog more often the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned. Daniel got a new "lighter" version Norway film which will be up within days.

So Long!

Evening skate session in Oslo

Norway summer trip#2

2009-09-07T13:40:00.000-07:00

Link to Norway summer trip#1

After our first Norway trip, me and Mike drove back home to Dala-Floda for the Da Flo Bravefest. After five amazing days of crazy dancing, reagge, naked swims in the river, head ace and kayaking, it was time to go back to Norway!
"Doing what we do, you never know what to expect ; two broken feets, angry fisherman's and sweet water falls was just some of what Norway had to offer this time..."

One reason we went home was to compete in Master Of Water. Speeder race, boater cross and freestyle, with one overall winner. Didn't do very well, only managed to win a pair of pink, too small Crocks! Witch was fake!! But I deserved them..

After that me and Mike packed up the car and this time Jasper Polak from Holland and Bjarne Sahlen joined us in the bus. The plan was to head up to Stranda, to meet up with Fredrik and a couple of locals.
The first day started out real good hitting a sweet little creek, Embla. The Norwegians knew the lines, so we could just race down the hole thing without having to scout it. Amazing feeling but it takes away some of the fun. Looking at the different lines, rocks, currents, dangers and possibilities in a drop or river you're about to run, is a big part of kayaking that I really like.
After lunch we decided to run a short, steep, low volum creek. We splited up in to two groups, my group stayed behind to do some filming. Half way down I jumped out to scout the next drop where Fredrik was about to drop in. He hit bottom and his foot rest fliped over, breaking both his feets. We got Fredrik across to the right side where we could carrie him in his boat up to the road where a heli met up taking him to hospital. Season ender and 3-6 moths in wheelchair..

The two next coming days we just spent at the hospital with Fredrik until they flew him home.
We decided to start making our way back towards Sweden running some rivers along the way; Rauma, Pyttåa, Ulvåa and finished it of with Ula having some really good times!

ChecK out the latest ~::Young Swedish Amateurs::~ Norway VIDEO! - IT'S REAL HOT! But pretty big.. It works, but it takes a while.. Will make a small one and put Vimeo when I have made enough money to buy a Mac... But by then, you will probably have a internet connection fast enough to download it in like 2 sec!! Maybe i will make it, i dont know..

For you living in Uganda or Dala-Floda with a slow connection, I made a sweet little Slideshow. Dope pictures from Mike and B.J Bjarne!

love/ dan-the-man!

The World Championships 2009

2009-09-05T02:45:00.001-07:00

So here we go ; time to get this over with. A few days has gone past since I competed but I havent really felt like writeing and I still dont. Its hard to know what to say.
The day came and obviously I was not ready for it even though everything felt fine.
I was in the last heat so I spent lots of time by the wave getting ready for my runs, I managed to stay relaxed and I didnt feel as nervous as I would have expected.

My starting time came and I got on the water, all psyched up and ready to go. I had my routine lined up in me head and was ready to do it. I got on the wave and there was nothing. As soon as I got on the wave I knew it wasent gonna work out. I had no speed down the wave and it felt imposible to make a proper set up. The few moves the I actually threw was slow and without pop. Three really bad rides out three.

There was not much I could do. I got off the water and tried not to think to much but still it was rough. At that time it was great to have my sisters and a good Swedish crew at the site. We went straight to a nearby restaurant, ordered tequila shots and enjoyed a nice dinner. Despite my failure we had big reason to celebrate, Anton had three awesome rides and made the cut for the quarterfinals.

The day after it was Marias turn to enter the competition. She had a good stable routine and managed to stick to it. She also made the cut for the quarter`s.

Maria and Anton competed again yesterday but none of them advanced thru to the semi finals.

Anton ended up 26th and Maria 11th. After the quarterfinals it was time for the anual King of the wave contest which we all entered. Lots and lots of carnage and great times.

2009-08-30T03:53:00.000-07:00

I really felt a lot better yesterday so I managed to squeeze in two training sessions, one at team training in the afternoon and one at late night.
The wave is, as you might imagine, really busy at all times and huge cues builds up whenever there's no scheduled training. Therefore you might have to
train late at night or really early in the morning. We made a plan last night after dinner and it worked out perfect. We went to the Mocka bar around 11, chilled out there for a couple of hours and then checked out the wave right before 1 o’clock.
The eddy was not far from empty and the wave was in on a perfect flow. We got on the water a few minutes later.

My afternoon session was horrible. I couldn’t stick two moves in a row and was no where near the bigger moves. The wave was flushy and flat and was in a bad mood. The midnight session on the other hand was just what i needed. A few longer runs, Helix both ways, and a couple of Pan am’s and big back Blunts.
We got out of the water at 3, tired but stoked.

Today we're not training until late so we're all getting a bit of rest; me and Tomas are watching movies and reading at the hotel while the other guys are out for some sightseeing up in Interlaken.
Sun is shining though so it's probably time to go check out the wave and get some breakfast.

A car load of Swedes including two of my sisters and bunch of friends are leaving Sweden by car today, heading our way. They should be here around Monday evening, just in time to cheer us on when the competition starts on Tuesday.

Day 8

2009-08-29T01:43:00.000-07:00

So here I am, back on my feet again after 36 hours in bed. I havent been feeling well the last week and three days ago I got worth, a lot worth. I ended up staying in bed being sick to my stomach. Perhaps I ate something bad, perhaps its the water och maybe just to much junk food. But anyway, I am back on my feet and can hopefually get back in training to night or to morrow.

More and more people are showing up, competitors and spectators. The arena is taking shape with huge stands, restaurant and a big air ramp. Its gonna be a great event for sure!

Now Im off to eat some food, I need all the energy I can get

2009-08-27T00:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we finally got to train on the wave during our 30 min team training session. We spent the morning in surfing an other sweet wave down town Bremgarten, 1,5 h drive from here. Some of the guys even went training this morning at 3 am, but I was defintly staying bed. I havent been feeling all that well the last couple of days, to much on my mind and stomach ache day and night. But it's the way it usually is before competition. Perhaps I'll try to go get on the water to night if I've got the energy.

The wave felt small but nice, what we expected really. Most moves goes even though the set up is tricky. We got schuled training every day untill next week so hopefually we get to know the in time for the competition starts.

Anyway, we are having a great time. Lots of time to realx, eat good food and watching world class kayaking on the wave. The competiton arena is defintly the best I've seen so far, in the middle of towns, snow covered mountains all around and room for huge crowds.

Here's a few shots from our trip here, paddling and hanging out in Plattling.

Dinner by the wave in Plattling

Syncro-looping, Anton and me.

Lovin the wave.

Surfer in Plattling

Streeetching...

Me being lazy...

Day 3. Arriving in Thun

2009-08-25T05:24:00.000-07:00

Now, after three days on the roads, we have finally arrived in beutiful Thun, Switzerland. We started out in Stockholm last friday, packing the car and picking up stuff all over town before taking of down south. Our first stop was Värnamo where we spent the night or atleast slept a few hours before we kept driving thru Denmark and Germany. Late Saturday night we arrived in Plattling, in south east Germany, where we decided to stay and paddle the next day. The water was sligtly low but we still had a great time looping and playing in the friendly hole. This is where next Worlds will be held in 2011.

The drive from Plattling took us another 8 long hours. In Thun we checked in to our wonderfull Härberge as quickly as we could and then straight into bed. We share this motell-like place with the Finish- and Japanese team. The rooms are tiny and the street outside is full of hookers, but its cheap and close to the wave. We love it.

Our four person bedroom.

The wave will be "tuned in" tonight and tomorrow is our first day of training. I cant wait to get on the water, even though the sessions are gonna be short and crowded, the Thun wave is special to me. A week from now the rest of the Swedes will arrive and the competiton starts.
And by the way, its 35 degree C down here.

Kvack kvack...

Emån in high water

2009-08-24T02:28:00.000-07:00

Me and Anton bombed up to run Emån, in the deep woods of Orsa. We got calls saying the water was crazy high and someone had even seen dead cows floating past the takeout..
When we got there, the water had dropped but still high flows.. The section is about 20km and offers many different slides and rapids. Anton stepped up and ran Helvetesfallet that only has been run by one person before (Dennis Franzen).
That pretty much made the day, and we both were happy!

Video edit is also coming soon/ Daniel

Day 1. Leaving for Thun

2009-08-20T13:57:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning with a sore throat and terrible ache in my ears, obviously one session without earplugs is all it takes for my ears to swell up. So I ended up leaving early for Stockholm while Daniel and Anton went to Orsa to run Ämån on a super high flow.
So I finished my packing, got my boat in order and left town. The train ride went smooth and I even got to see a friend on the way down, it made my day.

I'm staying at Simons place tonite, a cozy basement apartment in Midsommarkransen, where I've spent a lot of time lately while working in Stockholm. Sometime tomorrow David will pick up the bus and eventually we'll squeeze all our stuff in it and head south. We'll sleep a couple of hours down in Småland before driving thru Denmark into Germany where we're picking up boats and then on to Thun.

Team Sweden; David Sandberg, Capten Erik Westberg, me - Mats Wålstedt, Tomas Rundgren, Anton Immler, Marcus Junkka and Maria Lindgren

Off to Worlds in Thun

2009-08-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks from the Swedish champs and on has been all about work and getting ready for the Worlds Championships. I spent last week in Stockholm working with our new team sponsor Addnature.com, a company where I use to work full time during the winter. An awesome place to be with great colleges and a nice relaxed atmosphere. When I got back last weekend the water levels where still in between everything, to low for the Bitch wave and to high for Häll hole, but we kept our selves busy playing around in Fänforsen. In the beginner of this week the water came up and the Bitch wave came back in. The wave is small but perfect for Worlds-training. I worked on Cleans, Pistols and different routines. Anton came back home from Uganda last week so it's been great catching up, paddling and hear stories about all the crazy shit he's been up to. Mostly stories from the bar which was no surprise coming from Anton.

At the moment I'm trying to get my stuff sorted to leave for Stockholm tomorrow and then on down south on Friday. We're expecting to be in Thun sometime around Sunday.
I can't wait to back down there, paddling the carbon boat again, catching up with friends and enjoy the beautiful town. I will try to update the blog as much as I can during the trip.
Wish us luck and hold your thumbs, we need it!

These two action photos are taken by a young ( 13 year old ? )and upcoming photographer Petronella Frans from Dala-floda at the Swedish Freestyle champs.

The African is back in town ( for a couple of days atleast ). The Dala-floda part of Team Sweden.

Swedish Champs

2009-08-17T13:46:00.001-07:00

Last weekend the Swedish white water championships took place in our home town Dala-floda.
It was a busy weekend with four different events; freestyle, slalom, downriver race and boater cross. Freestyle was first up. The water level was as bad as it gets really, to high for Häll hole and to low for the Bitch wave. Therefore we ended up doing the freestyle event in Hagforsen not far from the farm where I grew up. The hole was small and flushy but most hole moves where possible. I finally managed to make it all the way and take the gold medal after years of silver and bronze. Maria Lindgren won in the senior ladies and Erik Rehn won the junior men’s.

After winning the freestyle I was happy and could easily stay relaxed thru out the weekend. Slalom was good fun, downriver race was a bit unstable but I did ok and the boater cross was hilarious even though I screwed up the semi's. After the four events the results was summed up to crown an overall winner. Isak Öhrström, the humble slalom boater from Östersund, won easily from being second in three events and winning one. I managed to grab a second place, a few points ahead of Tomas Rundgren from Björbo.

An awesome weekend for sure!

A late ski edit.

2009-07-31T12:48:00.000-07:00

A short edit of me and my friends skiing in Hemsedal during the past season.
Enjoy!

Bitch Wave Video

2009-07-28T04:17:00.000-07:00

Our friend Erik has put together a short video from last week.
Enjoy!

Training Camp Pictures

2009-07-24T06:22:00.001-07:00

We've been paddling hard on our homeriver Västerdalälven the last couple of days. It's been raining hard and the river has been rising real quickly. The Bitch wave was great in the beginning of the week and now it's almost to good to be true. Big, glassy and super fast.

Our mate Dennis Newton came over from UK in the beginning of the week to coach the team and it's been great. Lots of progress for sure. We've got heaps of pics and video, here's a few shots and a video sampel, but there's more to come.

Norway summer trip#1

2009-07-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

Some time around may, our long, dark and cold winter in Sweden is over. The snow starts melting and the sun pops out, all creeks get running and you get to meet up with all your kayaking buddies that's been hiding at a ski resort, school or somewhere around the planet during the winter. That's my favorite time of the year kayaking in Sweden.
Then after a month of intense boating, things go back to normal. That's the time you pack the car and go to Norway! Me and Mike went down to Voss for 10 days where the Ekstremsportsveko was about to start and to meet up with our good friends Tommy and Fredrik.

Day 1 me and Mike hooked up with Ian Garcia and the Kiwi's to run Jordalselvi. About 150 m from the put in, there's a 12 m drop. First guy I watch running it folds his boat in half hitting the bottom and swims. Mike had a clean line but also hit's bottom and dents his boat, I had a hard time trying to staying motivated. I hadn't spent many days in the boat so far during the season and didn't feel super confident, but everything went good and it made a great start to the week.

Mike had a sweet line down the middle of Money Drop(in to the pocket..)

A couple of days with blue skys and sun made the water in the creeks super high. We went up to run Train station section on Raundalselvi, a 7 km run in a big gorge with a unscouteble must-run section.
The recommended level is between 15-30 m3, in 70 m3 stuff got sporty. About to drop in to the must-run, I see a big hole, Tommy swiming and Mike trying to roll up. The eddie on the right that we were expecting was not to be seen, and just 300 m downstream Mike ends up in a hole having a nasty swim. Except for for the swiming, a sick run, but you should have less water.

Me and Mike competed in the Brandset Extreme Race, a challenging 1 km race down the technical low volume creek with some slides and drops. After a couple of small mistakes my run was just over 2 min, Mike was a bit faster but we both missed finals.

Below the first slide

Upper Brandset, a lot of water

The shiit

Voss pretty much had it all, downhill biking,
a surf wave, nice lake, skate ramp, good partys,
skiing and some of the best kayaking in the world! What more can you ask for?

I just had to do it..

Last day in Voss we drove up the mountain for some skiing

Sweet!

Norway trip#2 coming soon! /Daniel
Photos by Mikael Ekström

Searching for the goods

2009-07-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

Short update from Dala-floda.
We've spent the last couple of days in our good old hometown Dala-floda. The rain has been pouring down and the rivers are still high. Last week was all about training for me with ten sessions between Monday and thursday, mostly freestyle. But we also got a chance to go lookin for some first decents.

We ran Skräddartorpsån and Skräddartorpsfallet in the begining of the week, a nice forsest creek outside Ludvika very typical for this area. We took our time filming the first big drop and got some great cableway shots wich we hope to show you soon.
Then during last friday we went to Säter to check out a small creek in the middle of town.
It was super high and the one rapid we saw was just slightly too gnarly to run at that level.
It was'nt deadly, just not worth it at the time. We had a great day scouting anyhow.

From tomorrow and on thru out the week I'm training with the team and coach Dennis Newton from the UK. We where ment to go to Skjåk Norway to pratcice on the Eurowave but due to high levels it seems like we're staying in Dala-floda/Björbo.

I know Daniel is working on his awaited Norway update, so stay tuuuned!

Säter

Playhole? Säter...

The Bitch and the Guigui

2009-07-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

The wave is still in and i took the chance to try out the new carbon Gui Gui boat today.

My first run was absolutely amazing, the boat is so fast and so snappy you wouldn't believe it.
Felix's turns into Helix's and clean back roundhouses turns into clean back blunts. It's awesome and I can't wait to try it on the World's wave in Thun.

Of course I didn't get my first and best run on tape but you can get an idea of what it's like.
Now I just need to figure out how to make squeeze the different moves into a 45 second run. Usually I stick quite a few moves but I take way to much time surfing around and setting up.

Still, the editing is none.

Worlds training at the Bitch Wave

2009-07-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

It's been raining like crazy in Dalarna during the last week, typical Swedish weather they say and I love it. All the creeks are running and the river has gone up to spring levels. I've spent the last couple of days training for the Worlds at the Bitch Wave in Björbo. It's still a little bit low but it works fine.

Below you'll find a short ego-video clip from today. The editing is terrible, you've been warned!

The Funäs Valley

2009-07-10T05:33:00.000-07:00

While Daniel and the boys seems to have a grand time in Norway I'm still in the tiny village Funäsdalen, staying with me mate Erik. I spend the days resting, updating homepage and trying to get rid off my stubborn cold.

Tomorrow I will head down south again in order to join the festivities in Dala-floda and then perhaps I'll continue down to Stockholm if I can find some work. Nomad life and I love it.

Yesterday we climbed the Via Ferrata path to the top of the Funäsdalsberget, a nice 1 - 2 hour walk-climb. Enjoy the pictures by Erik W.

Master of Water 2009

2009-07-07T07:20:00.000-07:00

I just arrived to the Funäs Valley after a couple of hours in the car with Malin and Joni. I'm totally knackered and look forward to a week of rest and eventually some training to get my body back on track again. The last couple of days might have been the best ever; The festival went on super smooth with heaps of people, nice weather and awesome music. The Swedish reggae/hip hop band Svenska Akademien was defiantly one of the festival highlights. I’m not kidding, the made the barn wobble.

The Masters of Water comp took place during Saturday in Fänforsen, Björbo. The water level was fine and 35 kayakers entered the competition. I managed to win three out of three (sprint, boater cross and freestyle) disciplines which also gave me first place in the totals and the winner of 4000 sek.

I was planning on spending the money in Norway during this week and next but in the end i realized that’s the last thing my body needs. So I ended up here instead which is more then ok. Erik and Mattias the Meatball are looking after me well and i might even try to hit the downhill slopes if i can find a bike to ride. Here's a few shoots from the race. I'll make sure to post a few photos from the festival asap.

More photos at Facebook.

By Pelle Nyberg.
By David Sandberg.

The Nordic Championships

2009-07-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days has been crazy to say the least. First the Nordic champs last week and then the DaFlo and Masters during the weekend. Everything worked out really well and we all had a great time. I ended up third at the Nordic's and won the Masters. Here's a few pics from Norway, there's more to come during the next couple of days so stay tuned.

Now I'm off to Erik and the Meatball in Funäsdalen to rest and eventually get back into traning.
Daniel and the boys just left for Norway again heading for Valldal and Sjoa.

Nordic Champs Training

2009-06-30T12:09:00.001-07:00

Photos by Erik Westberg

Still in Sjoa

2009-06-30T02:31:00.000-07:00

As Daniel and Mike are heading back home for Daflo and Master's, after a great week in Voss, we're still in Sjoa. The water levels has kept on rising and the competition has been postponed until tomorrow and will be held on a sweet litle wave on the Playrun.

We've been paddling hard the last couple of days so today we're just realxin at the camp for a couple of hours before a short session on the wave.

Straight after the competiton we had back home to start the prepartions for the weekend event in Dala-floda.

Me practicing in the Guigui

Sjoa, Norway

2009-06-26T07:43:00.000-07:00

While Mike and Daniel are creekin ( and swimin ! ) their ases of at the Ekstremsportsveko in Voss we're stuck freestyle kayaking in Sjoa. It's not as bad as it sounds, the sun is shining and the waterlevels are high. We're here training for the Nordic Championships wich will be held somewhere in the Sjoa area next week. The competition was meant to take place on the infamous Skjåk wave a couple of miles north from here but the water came up to high. Now it's most likely to be held on the Jurgen wave right upstream from the raftingcentre. We spent this morning in Ringebu, a nice mellow wave, perfect for blunt and backblunts. Now we're just chilling at the Riksanlegg where we're stayin and will go for a run at the Play section this afternoon.

While we're enjoying Norwegian whitewater and warm weather the rest of the Da flo-crew, back home, is working hard the get everything right before the fist festival vistitors start to show up. If you havent registered festival or the Masters of Water comp yet, do it now! Visit

http://www.vidga.se/ and http://www.kajaktiv.se/

Mike's update from Ekstremsportsveko

2009-06-26T06:54:00.000-07:00

Mike and Daniel seems to be having a great time in Voss!

A few incidents along the way, but so far there safe and sound, lets hope it stays that way!

Follow their updates on Mike's homepage mikaelekstrom.com ( in Swedish ).

A brand new toy

2009-06-25T07:38:00.000-07:00

After six month of waiting the Guigui has finally arrived! The seat had to be moved back slightly but now I can easily fit my tall legs and big feet. Can't wait to get it on the water, I heard it loves rocks and shallow pourovers!

Master of Water 2009

2009-06-17T15:36:00.000-07:00

Days and weeks are flyin by and the summer has finaly made it to Sweden even though the summer wheather is elsewhere. Anyhow, in about three weeks time the Masters of water will be held in Fänforsen, our home rapid, along with the Daflo festival.

The Master's competition is all about havin fun on the river. Kayakcross, sprint race and fat-trick-freestyle. Heaps of boaters, good vibes and lots of price money.
Find more info and register on http://www.kajaktiv.se/

Info about the festival; http://www.vidga.se/

Welcome!

Corsica 2009

2009-06-17T15:22:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the sickest kayak-porn-blogg on the web! This is the place to be if you wanna know what's goin down in our ( The Greek and i ) world of white water kayaking and good times around Sweden and the world. We'll start off with a few pictures from my last trip to Corsica. There's more to come, Stay tuned!

Ljungan

2009-05-26T08:01:00.000-07:00

On our way to Åre a couple of weeks back we made a detour to Ljungdalen to paddle Ljungan with our good friends Döds-Erik, Döds-Mattias and Döds-Joni. We had a great day on the river with great waterlevels and some sunshine now and then. Daniel even got a chance to paddle the seldom ran waterfall, Hästfallet. Enjoy the pictures!

Döds-Mattias

VIDEO 2009

2009-01-01T06:37:00.000-08:00

HEMSEDAL SHRED from daniel warberg on Vimeo.

Norway Trippin from daniel warberg on Vimeo.

Bitch Wave July.

Bitch Wave July. Edit: Erik Westberg

VIDEO 2008

2009-01-01T06:10:00.000-08:00

Flip Rip. Edit: Daniel Warberg

Skate Shoes. Edit: Daniel Warberg

Uganda. Edit: Daniel Warberg

Träning i Hällhole, Fänforsen.

Rivsjövasslan First Decent, Älvdalen. Edit: Daniel Warberg

Paltvalsen medley. Edit: Erik Westberg

VIDEO 2007

2009-01-01T01:00:00.000-08:00

Trollforsarna WW Challenge del 1. Edit: Erik Westberg

Trollforsarna WW Challenge del 2. Edit: Erik Westberg

Trollforsarna WW Challenge del 3. Edit: Erik Westberg

Slätvattensträning på Flosjön, Dala-floda.

Träning i Hällhole, Fänforsen.

About us,

2006-07-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

Mats Wålstedt
.
Age: 24
Years in kayaking: 11
Hometown: Dala-floda during summer...
Occupation: Bum?
Creeking or Freestyle: Lots of freestyle paddling at the moment but I don't really prefer one in front of the other. Freeestyle in the morning and creek boating in the afternoon is the way to go.
Favorite rivers: Ottawa, Kaituna and my homeriver Västerdalälven.
Hobbies Besides Kayaking: Surfing, bikeing, skiing...
Places I've been to: Around Europe, around Asia, Oz, NZ, Canada, Corsika...
Sponsors: Houdini Sportswear, Kajaktiv, Robson Paddles, Jackson Kayaks, Teva.

Daniel Warberg
.
Age: 21
Nickname: PAN AM DAN!
Years in kayaking: 7
Hometown: Dala-Floda
Occupation: What ever gives food and roof over head.
Creeking or Freestyle: CREEKING!
Favorite river? Brandset in Voss, Norway.
Hobbies Besides Kayaking: "I like to party!"
Places I've been to: Around Europe, Australia, Uganda, Asia..
Sponsors: Houdini Sportswear