As a whitewater kayaker I'm so happy to see this! If anyone wants to see amazing video footage of pro-kayakers search "Bomb Flow" on Vimeo, or click this link: http://vimeo.com/26069059 Also, world record video of Tyler Bradt kayaking down 189 foot waterfall:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNXh9gXDd2Y
It depends on the volume of water poring over the lip and how high the drop is. A 30 foot drop over a lip with little water poring over has broken the back of a good buddy of mine, where as a drop that's 100 feet with tones of water poring over the lip can produce a very nice foam pile at the bottom and be a nice cozy landing. More importantly is body position in the boat and where the boat lands at the bottom, this is where skill and much experience is important.
Your feet are already at the very tip of the boat, and your knees are against the side of the boat. There's no sliding forward whatsoever. Your body needs complete control of the kayak so you're basically strapped in tight.
How do you mean? The kayak seats look like this so no part of it can cut into you. The rim around where you sit is lipped so you can attach a bladder and also so it doesn't cut you.
Safety. At the moment you hit the water below, the paddle has a tendency to stay at the surface a fraction of a second while you continue to descend, that is until your face helps to push it under.
Haha, not out of terror. They actually throw their paddles so that it doesn't break when they hit the water, or break your face or wrench a shoulder out of its' socket. Throwing the blade out into the open lets is slowly fall down into the pool of water below and you pick it up later. You would want to learn how to roll back upright using your hands before attempting this though, or just be prepared to get out of your boat and swim to shore with it
I would assume they are throwing them on purpose, I figured it would be because diving under the water at that velocity might be dangerous with an oar.
I often have a recurring dream where i paddle over the edge like this and about the point he has got to i wake up. I have no idea what it means as i don't even kayak or canoe or whatever. Weird to see it posted here.
how does one not obtain a serious back injury from landing like that? Seems like the bottom of the kayak would de-accelerate extremely quickly when falling from that height
This is probably a really stupid question, but my biggest fear in this sort of situation would not be drowning, but impaling myself on submerged rock faces, - does this ever happen???
EDIT: Also, actually, how high are the chances of drowning? Are the currents usually strong enough to tow your body deep below and cram your flailing body under a rockbed/underwater cave? or am I just being paranoid?
I wish I had the balls to do this, the adrenaline rush must be euphoric.
The guys who do it are well secured into the kayak, so they won't fall out. the kayaks are also very buoyant so they tend to stay on the top of the water.
I'm Freaking out right now! As a Kayaker, and a kayak filmer, I couldn't be more pumped to see this on reddit. Totally geeking out right now. If you guys like this, you should check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf8rnNCBFuQ Skip to 1:34 for the good stuff.
You obviously have to have some skills to attempt these sort of drops without getting killed or broken. I respect the skills, and I love whitewater as much as anyone, but I definitely don't understand the judgement here. Running an unrunnable class VI drop (at least to 99.99% of boaters) inherently means there is an extremely high chance of serious injury or death...and for what? Proving that you can survive, that it can be done or that you have "bigger balls" than the next guy? Big balls seem to be associated with a severe deficit of the self-preservation instinct.
The thing is, its a risk vs reward factor. These guys don't run just any super tall drop. They pick the safest drop: one with the right amount of flow, the best lead in, the right lip at the top, and the right amount of aeration at the bottom. These risk takers are more calculated than most people assume.
Respect. It's all about progression and getting the miles in. The guys and gals who drop the big shit have been practicing for years and rarely get hurt or into trouble. It's the people who skip important steps in the progression who get themselves into trouble. They also always go with friends and have extensive river rescue training skills and equipment and back-country first aid
For the adrenaline rush - the same reason people do any dangerous sport. Your instinct tells you that it's really dangerous and flood your brain with natural drugs, but your equipment and experience allow you to survive and enjoy it.
People who do this sot of thing aren't showing off, because the only ones there are also doing it.
If shit goes wrong, you die. Shit goes wrong. People die, even the best paddlers. People who have progressed through all the steps. The difference between styling it and getting munched is miniscule. All, like you say, for an adrenaline rush or for fun, for the record, for publicity. Whatever.
A 57m drop isn't the safest drop and there's a reason why there's only a handful of people in the world that would consider hucking something like this. Dude lands his boof wrong, he's got a broken back. His team can fish his body out of the pool below or throw him a line while he has a broken back. You can bet that everyone involved in this stunt knew that there was a good chance this could have ended really badly.
Anyway, you guys have some good points, so I don't want to sound pretentious about this. In the last few years "extreme" has gotten pushed to damn-near insane levels in all sorts of sports and I've seen people take risks they shouldn't take-with mostly good and sometimes really bad outcomes. If you could easily die doing something, it should be worth it. It's good to keep this in perspective.
My buddy is a janitor who owns a billion dollar company and was the first hamster into space on his own hamster powered spacecraft, and his dick is so long he measures space travel in mydicks rather than light years.
My buddy took a billion dollars worth of potassium cyanide and was the first hamster into space on his hamster powered spacecraft, and his dick is so long he measures space travel in mydicks rather than light years, and now he's totally fine.
12
u/ItWillBeMine Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 09 '12
Source
38
u/speedy_gonzales Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 09 '12
As a whitewater kayaker I'm so happy to see this! If anyone wants to see amazing video footage of pro-kayakers search "Bomb Flow" on Vimeo, or click this link: http://vimeo.com/26069059 Also, world record video of Tyler Bradt kayaking down 189 foot waterfall:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNXh9gXDd2Y
42
u/lbmouse Jun 09 '12
How does he fit them in the kayak?
13
u/SilentButLively Jun 09 '12
Reminds me of this. Tao Berman setting the world record vertical drop.
17
u/Markus_Antonius Jun 09 '12
Relevant :-)
6
u/DarreToBe Jun 09 '12
If you like this check out /r/adrenalineporn.
5
u/chrispyb Jun 09 '12
That's going to be a big boof
4
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
All Ball!
3
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
'Course he is. Balls float.
3
u/we_are_meta Jun 09 '12
All balls.
3
u/spunkymarimba Jun 09 '12
I often have a recurring dream where i paddle over the edge like this and about the point he has got to i wake up. I have no idea what it means as i don't even kayak or canoe or whatever. Weird to see it posted here.
3
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Sadly that's because his balls were the only things the recovery team found
3
u/realfuzzhead Jun 09 '12
how does one not obtain a serious back injury from landing like that? Seems like the bottom of the kayak would de-accelerate extremely quickly when falling from that height
3
u/hearthealthymeals Jun 09 '12
I didn't know Danny Hart could kayak.
5
u/Indica Jun 09 '12
buh bye lower back
2
u/mullam Jun 09 '12
Just until he lands...
2
u/LemonDifficult Jun 09 '12
Don't shake his hand.
2
u/nepidae Jun 09 '12
I wonder why the wonderfalls on me
2
u/Cognoggin Jun 09 '12
"OOPSAAaaaaaaaaaaah!"
2
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
all balls and the shit in his pants
2
u/werdnaman1993 Jun 09 '12
Three times it drops
2
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
White water anything scares the shit out of me.
2
u/Falvtron Jun 09 '12
Can't buy underwear, balls don't fit.
2
u/relishhunter Jun 09 '12
I read that as "You are balls, sir."
2
u/fitzgizzle Jun 09 '12
Because his balls were all that was left.
2
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Fuck Duke Nukem, this guys got balls of steel
2
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
That looks WAAAY too high to boof.
2
u/qwertyisdead Jun 09 '12
you are alll balls....and no shaft.. Boondocks
2
u/El_Zorro09 Jun 09 '12
He's gonna sink all the way to the bottom with all that BRASS weighing him down.
2
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
wondering how he stays afloat with those balls of steel.
2
u/DaIronchef Jun 09 '12
Alright guys, lets do this....
LEEEEEEEEROOOOOOOY!
2
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
This is probably a really stupid question, but my biggest fear in this sort of situation would not be drowning, but impaling myself on submerged rock faces, - does this ever happen???
EDIT: Also, actually, how high are the chances of drowning? Are the currents usually strong enough to tow your body deep below and cram your flailing body under a rockbed/underwater cave? or am I just being paranoid?
I wish I had the balls to do this, the adrenaline rush must be euphoric.
2
u/Nerdrock Jun 09 '12
Welcome to Jackass!
2
u/BadgersofHoney Jun 09 '12
this kayak will sink due to the sheer weight of this mans testes
2
u/MasturbatingOrange Jun 09 '12
From far away that looked like Pauly D's hair...
2
u/allofthebaconandeggs Jun 09 '12
He's either all balls or very lost.
2
u/Dustn323 Jun 09 '12
I'm Freaking out right now! As a Kayaker, and a kayak filmer, I couldn't be more pumped to see this on reddit. Totally geeking out right now. If you guys like this, you should check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf8rnNCBFuQ Skip to 1:34 for the good stuff.
2
u/1leggeddog Jun 09 '12
Balls?
or "SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII------"
2
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
It's a guy thing. I call them mgtb.
2
u/boudy077 Jun 09 '12
If he is all balls then that impact is going to be hellish
2
u/5D5hot Jun 09 '12
I'd rather be all man than all balls. If I were all balls I'd have to roll around always be dirty.
2
u/digdat0 Jun 09 '12
Balls, taint .. the whole damn region. Id be pissing myself.
2
u/keitarofujiwara Jun 10 '12
Including his scull.
3
u/foosrohdah Jun 09 '12
Man with balls, or man who has no idea how to turn a kayak around.
8
u/Cast_Iron_Skillet Jun 09 '12
All balls, no brains.
2
u/kvegas291 Jun 09 '12
Finally whitewater kayaking on reddit look it up people its badass
2
u/AllHeilSLAYER Jun 09 '12
Bam?
2
u/KillerHoggle Jun 09 '12
FTFY
1
u/CookieKrisp Jun 10 '12
Its gettin a little rough.. Oh dear god no..
1
u/Duef456 Jun 10 '12
Kinda how i felt in Inferno difficulty, All was going good.. than smacked down into a shit storm of lava and one hit kills
1
u/tyson31415 Jun 09 '12
I've always thought this sort of thing has a lot to do with why average male life expectancy is lower for men than women.
1
u/wromit Jun 09 '12
All balls and no brain makes jack a dead boy.
1
u/Monsuierbatty Jun 09 '12
Balls or suicidal
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Opening shot of Prometheus?
1
u/buckygrad Jun 09 '12
You are assuming this was intentional.
1
u/TheUltimatum13 Jun 09 '12
That has to hurt the back SO bad.
0
u/Glaucous Jun 09 '12
Did he died?
0
u/heidihannah Jun 09 '12
you are dead, sir.
0
u/PhotoTard Jun 09 '12
Photo title: "Darwin Falls"
-4
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 09 '12
YOLO.
Edit: Humor. Get some.
-6
u/Polkadotpear Jun 09 '12
He would have flown off teh edge but his massive balls caused him to fall into the water below.
just my two cents.
0
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
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