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.