S T A N D I N G W A V E S
Dave Nieuwenhuis and Ben Marr survive to hoist their tombstone. PHOTO PATRICK CARTIER
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REST IN PIECES RED BULL’S QUEBEC RIP CUP LAYS CREEKING RUST TO REST JOIN US!
>> beautiful campsite on the banks of theMadawaska River
>> whitewater kayak and canoe programs for all ages and levels
>> paddling programs for kids >> river safety and rescue,WFA >> exceptional instructors
www.paddlerco-op.com 1-888-233-3929
THERE ARE NO POSTERS, no dedicated Internet sites nor any advertising beyond word of mouth, yet the Red Bull-sponsored Victoria Day weekend Quebec RIP Cup is certainly no strawberry tea or maple syrup festival. In the words of co-organizer Jean-Philippe Villemaire it’s a full-on, backcountry, early spring creeking team challenge designed to be “extreme, fun and soulful.” In two years it has successfully drawn out both big-named, international pros and unknown local paddlers, pitting teams of two against the clock and each other in a timed race, where the only goal is for both team members to make it through the gates at the bottom of the 1.3 kilometre, class V creek run alive and faster than anyone else—fre- quent swimmers included. “We wanted to organize an event that would celebrate springtime and the return to the rivers for kayakers. Nothing too big, just a good ‘get to- gether,’ but it had to be steep, challenging and it
also had to last at least 10-12 minutes to test the endurance of the paddlers,” Villemaire said. This year the RIP Cup was set to go on the Ca-
ché River just outside Quebec City for the second time. Villemarie says it is just enough to scare a few, but crazy enough so that everybody would be serious. However, the levels dropped drastically days before the event, forcing a last-minute “plan B,” which happened to be the nearby B Section of the Neilson River. Still, 200 spectators, twice as many as in 2006, lined the remote and rocky banks as 15 teams took their shot at the best time. With two plane tickets to Zambia, Ecuador or
New Zealand on the line, Dave Nieuwenhuis and Ben Marr stole the win away from Rush Sturges and Patrick Camblin. Their names will be en- graved on the tombstone trophy beside last year’s winners Steve Fisher and Tyler Curtis. Quebec’s own David Laroche and Jean Coulombe survived for third.—Neil Etienne
B O O K R E V I E W The Middle Fork of the Salmon River:
A Comprehensive Guide BY MATT LEIDECKER
DESPITE THE OLD ENGLISH PROV- ERB, Matt Leidecker’s The Middle Fork of the Salmon River: A Com- prehensive Guide is quite easy to judge by its cover and every page thereafter, as they are tear-resistant, waterproof and ruggedly bound in a narrow canyon format. Author of Impassible Canyon: Journey Down the Middle Fork, a Salmon River raft guide and photographer, Leidecker draws from his 16 summers guiding on the river, his education as a ge- ologist and his undeniable passion
for the region to create a phenomenal river guide including: geologic history; highly detailed, full-colour topograph- ic maps; mile-by-mile explanations of historic sites and rapids at high and low levels; details of more than 130 hiking routes and a special pre-trip planning section. It’s the winner of the National Outdoor Book Award so snatch this one up quickly if you want to paddle the Salmon before a second printing. —Neil Etienne $23.95 US •
www.mattlphoto.com
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