Monday, August 26, 2013

Stand-Up Paddleboarding

Trip Dates: September 2012 & July 2013



Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) is one of the fastest growing water sports in the world.  Many attribute its popularity with the ease of learning, while others say surfing legends, such as Laird Hamilton, have also played a major role in the sport's prominence.  Either way it looked like way too much fun not to give it a try.  We were blessed with an extremely warm September in 2012, so Jeff and I decided to rent a couple of boards from Mountain Equipment Co-op and try our luck paddling down the Bow River in Calgary.  We would be starting our trip in Bowness Park and then getting off the water at Sunnyside Bank Park, just west of the Centre Street bridge.  I ended up enjoying it so much that we rented the boards on at least two other occasions that month!  Here's a few pictures from the multiple trips we made down the Bow River last year.

The Jeep loaded up and ready to go!
Jeff on the Bow River
Jeff had an 11'6" fiberglass board
I had the same style board, but mine was 10'6" in length
Dan and I about to hit the water on my second trip down the river
Beautiful fall colours along the river
During my third trip I was with Christine, Ryan, and Ashley
Christine enjoying herself on the water
Mallard Duck
Ryan rented a kayak for the day and he let Christine try it out
Ryan on Christine's board
Taking a break on a beautiful sunny day
Me heading towards downtown
Christine and Ryan
Ashley
The $24.5 million Peace Bridge
In the spring of 2013, Jeff and I decided to buy our own SUP boards.  During the summer, Jeff works as a raft guide up north, so he has access to some pretty sweet pro-deals on paddling gear.  We each bought an NRS inflatable paddleboard.  With the awful flooding that happened here in late June, and the devastating aftermath, we haven't used them as much as we would have liked this summer, but that's alright, there's always next year!  We actually can't wait to try them at our lake at work when we start again in September.

The first day I made it out to Canmore we paddled on the reservoir below Ha Ling Peak
Paddling along the reservoir with the east end of Mt. Rundle in the background
Beautiful day in Canmore to be out on the water
Now that I own my own board you'll probably see a few more posts in the future about the adventures I find myself in while using it on the lakes and rivers in Alberta!

The first story I wrote for Calgary Guardian was called What's SUP? and talked about paddleboarding down the Bow River.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Tyler! Hope you had a great day in the lake. So based on your experience which is more fun to do, kayaking or stand up paddleboarding? Snowcoast Board Sports

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    1. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Not an easy choice by any stretch, but I've got a lot more experience on a SUP, so I'll probably have to go with that!

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