I went to Castle River Rodeo Campground again this year with my good friend Andy for the long weekend kayaking festival. This was my 6th year participating in the event and once again it was a really good time.

Photo by Janson Smith

Organizer, Chuck Lee, and his crew of volunteers put on a great event each year with all sorts of river runs and clinics available for paddlers of all levels. Andy and I hit up the “Upper-Upper Old Man” and also the section known as “The Gap”. We also ran the Castle River Falls and the Castle Canyon run. Here’s a video from near the headwaters of the Old Man River shot on the GoPro HD Hero 960 that I was given for Christmas. (Which I love by the way).

Each year they have a boat stacking competition — we were eliminated in the semi-finals — which is too bad because the winning team each got a brand new helmet. Here we are in a round where we did NOT get eliminated.

Photo by Janson Smith

This year I helped start a new tradition that they’re now calling H2O Limbo. Just Liquid Sports provided the prizes in three contests — one for men, women, and kids and I came in second in the mens which earned me a new pair of neoprene gloves! (Thanks Rob) The guy who beat me must have been about 65 years old and could limbo better than just about any guy I’ve ever seen.

Photo by Janson Smith

Some dude ran Lundbreck Falls again this year — I did not. Luckily there were no injuries at the falls. Here’s the photo I snapped:

Photo by Jeff Milner

And the video from my iPhone (thanks Andy):

There is a photo of me running the same falls in 2008.

Frisbee Lovers Toss Around League Idea.

Unfortunately tragedy struck on Sunday night. After we had returned from our trip running the Five-Alive feature on Carbondale River a couple of times, Chuck Lee, the organiser of the event broke the news that one of the participants had been taken to the hospital in an ambulance. He explained that a group of kayakers were going over Lundbreck Falls and that on this particular run the boater was held under the falls for several minutes. He was revived once or twice but that’s all he let us know at the time. He emphasized again the need to always be vigilant and to remember that these kinds of things don’t just happen in other places, they can happen here too. We held a moment of silence in respect for the victim.

It was a sobering thought because I had never heard of anyone getting caught in the flow of water under the falls, and to think I, myself, have braved the 12 meter drop and walked away without so much as a scratch.

Jeff Milner going over Lundbreck Falls in June 2008.

I found out later that night who was involved in the accident. I had hoped that it would be someone that I didn’t know but that’s not how it turned out. His name is Jaron and I had bumped into him just the morning before at the put-in for the Upper Castle run. I have paddled with him and his twin brother Dave a couple of times over the last two years.

I looked up some old paddling footage and found some with him in it:

He’s the one in the yellow and orange boat, yellow jacket, and blue helmet. His twin brother is also in the video.

I didn’t know him that well, but it was obvious that he had a passion for kayaking. Both he and Dave are the kind of enthusiastic friendly people that you want to spend a sunny day with floating down the river and enjoying nature. I remember talking to Dave for a long time about his decision to become a teacher and although I have many other influences for my decision to go back to school, it was that conversation that tipped me over the edge.

Kayaking isn’t always considered an extreme sport where you expect to hear about someone dying but every year there are a few news stories where someone drowns in a river. Almost always they are inexperienced or not wearing PFDs, or there is alcohol involved somehow so Jaron’s death comes as a great shock to the paddling community.

I am almost ready to give up on the playoffs. With the obvious exception of International hockey, the teams I cheer for so rarely get to the finals. The Calgary Flames didn’t even make the play-offs this year. At least the weather is getting nice so I will be out playing Ultimate and road hockey a lot this spring.

Odds to Win Group A of the the 2010 Olympic Ice Hockey Championship
Canada 2/9
USA 5/2
Switzerland 50/1
Norway 400/1

Odds to Win Group B of the the 2010 Olympic Ice Hockey Championship
Russia 1/3
Czech Republic 9/4
Slovakia 18/1
Latvia 400/1

Odds to Win Group C of the the 2010 Olympic Ice Hockey Championship
Sweden 1/2
Finland 7/5
Germany 50/1
Belarus 150/1

(Thanks Sandeep)

I took some photos and videos at the event:

LETHBRIDGE, AB — JANUARY 17, 2010 Jill Quirk, who competed in the World Championship, Pan American & World Student Games Teams, was the final torchbearer and cauldron lighter in Lethbridge. Here she shares the flame with the local community.

YouTube - No Mas Presents: Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No by James Blagden.

(via)

YouTube – Damien Walters Showreel 2009.

[Three Rivers Whitewater Rendezvous 09 | YouTube]

I make a couple of appearances in the video — I’m the guy with the bright yellow helmet, blue PFD, and red dry top.

Eurisko was an underdog. The other gamers were people steeped in military strategy and history. They were the sort who could tell you how Wellington had outfoxed Napoleon at Waterloo, or what exactly happened at Antietam. They had been raised on Dungeons and Dragons. They were insiders. Eurisko, on the other hand, knew nothing but the rule book. It had no common sense. As Lenat points out, a human being understands the meaning of the sentences “Johnny robbed a bank. He is now serving twenty years in prison,” but Eurisko could not, because as a computer it was perfectly literal; it could not fill in the missing step—“Johnny was caught, tried, and convicted.” Eurisko was an outsider. But it was precisely that outsiderness that led to Eurisko’s victory: not knowing the conventions of the game turned out to be an advantage.

Gladwell responds to a couple of criticisms aimed at the section dealing with Rick Pitino and college basketball.

Club info for the Pinch’o'Crow Rendezvous 2009.

This Victoria Day long weekend I’ll be headed to Pincher Creek for some kayaking adventures at the annual Pinch’o'Crow Rendezvous. Organizer, Chuck Lee, and his crew of volunteers put on a great event each year with all sorts of river runs and clinics available for paddlers of all levels.

The Pinch-o-Crow Creekers are hosting the 11th annual WW Rendezvous on May 15-16-17-18, 2009 again this year down in the “Centre of Adventure”. We will be organizing and leading trips on the Castle, Crowsnest and Oldman Rivers. There will also be chances to go paddle Cameron Creek and the Carbondale, Elk, Wigwam, Highwood, Waterton or Belly Rivers while you are down here. Only three days and too many rivers to paddle.

The range of rivers is from class I-II to III-V (but it’s not too difficult to portage around class 5 waterfalls). Speaking of water falls, every year there are a few kayakers that put on quite a show running Lundbreck Falls.

Here’s a photo of me running it last June:

JUNE 14, 2008 — LUNDBRECK, AB Jeff Milner takes the plunge over the 36 foot drop of Lundbreck Falls. Taken with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi by Tom Buchanan. Used with permission.

Filmed over the period of a few months in and around Edinburgh by Dave Sowerby, this video of Inspired Bicycles team rider Danny MacAskill features probably the best collection of street/street trials riding ever seen. There’s some huge riding, but also some of the most technically difficult and imaginative lines you will ever see. Without a doubt, this video pushes the envelope of what is perceived as possible on a trials bike.

Whether or not you’re planning to watch any of the games tonight, take ten minutes to enjoy The Sweater, a classic Canadiana short from the NFB.

In this animated short, Roch Carrier recounts the most mortifying moment of his childhood. At a time when all his friends worshipped Maurice “Rocket” Richard and wore his number 9 Canadiens hockey jersey, he was mistakenly sent a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey from Eaton’s. Unable to convince his mother to send it back, he must face his friends wearing the colours of the opposing team. This short film, based on the book The Hockey Sweater, is an NFB classic that appeals to hockey lovers of all ages.