To truly know someone else, walk a mile in his shoes; to truly know one’s self, huck a mile’s worth of waterfalls.
For no other reason than to test their mettle and prove it can be done, two Norwegian and two British extreme paddlers are teaming up to conquer just one mile in one month. Not impressed? Consider that it’s a more upright expedition than most, as the team attempts to drop 5,280 vertical feet (one mile) of waterfall in just 31 days.
Bliss-Stick team paddler Mark Burton, Liquidlogic’s Martin Vollen, Dagger’s Ed Cornfield and Pyranha’s Per Christian Pedersen will have to maintain a 170-foot per day average as a group. A 50-foot waterfall counts as 50 feet toward the goal, but only once. Then, the group has decided, they must move on to find another drop.
Waterfall, free fall road trip
Although still plotting the course and schedule the foursome has chosen Norway for their free fall road trip. Burton explained there are plenty of suitable drops all within short distance of each other, many close to the main roads, eliminating the need for time-consuming portages. He said there could be a couple of first descents, but for the most part all four paddlers will know the drops already, cutting back on time needed to scout unfamiliar runs.
“The big thing for us is time. we all love to huck, so getting us off the edge won’t be the problem, it’s the travelling between,” says Burton. “I’ve always enjoyed running drops, but I want to see how much we can do physically and mentally; I think we are going to learn a lot about ourselves.”
“And I love the fact that for a month I don’t have to work my ass off to get someone to go hucking with,” adds Vollen.
This article first appeared in the Early Summer 2008 issue of Rapid Magazine.
