The Green Race lasts for five or so minutes. A slalom race lasts for a few minutes. With freestyle you get two 45-second rides. Squirt boating is all finesse. Wildwater is all power. First descents are awesome, but there are few reasonable ones left. Waterfalls are fun, but are little more than a stunt. A vertical mile on class V requires all of these skills. But, I am biased. Paddling all day is such a hoot. Most modern games are too short. You may be able to beat another person in a few minutes, but simply wanting to be as good as nature requires a lifetime. With kayaking we don’t win, we only aspire to be as fluid, maybe as perfect as the natural world.” —Jeff West in an email to Doug Ammons
Donations in support of the continued operation of Ace Funyaks can be made to the Jeff West Memorial Fund at
www.gofundme.com/1752o4.
check that the guy behind him was in control at the bottom. Then into the next drop we headed. There were few words at those times, but Jeff ’s ideas and strategy were behind it all. He motivated, inspired, encour- aged, and sometimes demanded things of us. He was our coach, mentor, team-mate and friend.”
CHR IS T OWNSEND
West and Chris Townsend first got to know one another on a 1999 trip down the Grand Canyon of the Colorado.
“Jeff West and I traveled the southeast and abroad experiencing the best the natural world has to offer. Jeff was already a world-class kayaker
when we met. However, over the years I watched him develop every ounce of physical and mental ability. I have never seen an athlete push himself as hard as Jeff West. In the last two years of his life, he left most of us behind; we simply could not keep up with him. “After his first successful decent of the Stikine, he started paddling
alone more frequently. Many of his paddling friends took phone calls from Jeff while he was on Bear Creek. He was having such a good time, he had to share it with someone. “The most interesting observation about Jeff may have been his
lack of desire for notoriety. He very rarely acknowledged any of his accomplishments and when people brought them up, he was dismissive. He would much rather be talking about his next mission.”
«»
www.rapidmag.com 73
PHOTO: GENIE FLEISHEL
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 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84