S T A N D I N G W A V E S
Committed. PHOTOS RYAN CREARY
COPYCAT CREEKER 100-FOOT JOHNSTON FALLS: THE FIRST BIG STEP TOWARD A NEW WORLD RECORD
NO WATERFALL DROP IS MORE REVERED than Tao Berman’s 1999 descent of Banff National Park’s Upper Johnston Falls. It was the first to approach the 100-foot mark and undoubtedly the most recognizable event in extreme kayaking, breaking the previous record by 20 feet and still standing as the highest falls run without swimming. The event was witnessed by 100 sightse- ers and several camera crews and was almost immediately broadcast across the world. Even without most of the fanfare, imitation is still the highest form of flattery, and for Canmore, Alberta’s Logan Grayling, it may also be a 98.4-foot steppingstone to something higher. Nineteen-year-old Grayling was a Grade 6 student who had never paddled
when Berman set the world waterfall record just 25 minutes from his house. John- ston Falls was a common school class trip. “I didn’t even know what whitewater kayaking was at the time. I had seen the falls dozens of times, but had no idea anyone had gone over it or even what that meant,” Grayling said. “I do now.” Since Grayling began paddling the big stuff a little more than two years
ago, he’s been hiking into the park, trading in math quizzes for real life calcu- lations. He says as his skills improved, so did his confidence that this tourist attraction could be “knocked off” so that a new, younger generation of pad-
dlers could emerge as leaders. “Since [Berman’s drop] no one has been able to step up and run it, and let
me tell you, it’s huge and f-ing intimidating. But I wanted to do this for myself, to prove to myself I could; to show that people can still push the limits of the sport and see what comes next,” Grayling said. With only a couple of cameramen and about half the spectators of Ber-
man’s drop, Grayling ran Johnston Falls on June 13. He estimates the flow was about two feet higher at the top and only a foot higher in the basin than in 1999. So technically, this could be some sort of new record, though he admits it is difficult to prove. The only hitch to the descent was that Grayling grazed his cheek on a jutting rock about 75 feet down, the very same rock that broke Berman’s paddle eight years earlier. Most importantly for Grayling is what’s next. “Now I know what my body can handle, we’re moving on. I’ve got a couple
of spots that I can’t tell you about that are waaaay higher than Ed’s,” he said, referring to Ed Lucero’s 2003, 105.6-foot record drop of Alexandra Falls, NWT, which he swam. “Hopefully this September we’ll have a new record to talk about.” —Neil Etienne
11
RAPID
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52