Twitch and shout

Kayaking video takes audience to the edge

Twitch IV and slides from Jock Bradley’s Rippin’ Productions take you to the edge.

"That moment from the brink of the waterfall to the instant where you drop is like the feeling you might get driving off the edge of a table," says Stuart Smith, a member of the Canadian national kayak slalom team and a former member of the Alberta and British Columbia provincial kayak teams.

"If you picture yourself skiing down an avalanche, that would be the closest comparison to whitewater kayaking."

Smith has been paddling in the Squamish area for 20 years. Mamquam Falls is a favourite local drop.

"It’s quite the impact at the bottom."

Smith is just one of the featured kayakers in Eric Link’s new video, Twitch IV. Tao Berman is another.

"Once I was kayaking in Norway over a rapid I didn’t scout, and right in the middle of it was a hole which was starting to get me kind of trashed," says Berman.

In other words, he was sucked into a kind of whitewater washing machine set on agitate.

One shot in Twitch IV features a manoeuvre whereby Berman puts an end of the kayak into a current and part of the bow into a hydraulic, allowing him to somersault. His cartwheels and freestyle moves are part of the show.

Kayaking has come a long way from its beginnings in the Arctic regions, where the Inuit fashioned light kayaks from wood and sealskins. They were used for hunting, fishing and travelling from one remote place to another. They never did cartwheels.

Today, kayaks are made of polyethylene plastic, and cost anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000. Paddles cost up to $600. High-end waterproof clothing can cost as much as the rest of your gear.

And it’s always changing.

"Models and hulls change every six months, so there is quick turnover," says Bill Lamond of Wild Willies, a local outfitter that specializes in kayak equipment. "In the last 10 years there has been a move towards shorter boats. We try and keep up with it"

Whitewater kayaking can be dangerous when taken to extremes, but that’s half the appeal for athletes like Berman, and the people who watch movies starring guys like Berman.

"Ironically one of the closest calls I’ve had was in a class 2 section of water where I was doing tricks," he says. Rapids go from class 1, easiest, to class 6, the most extreme.

"I got pinned underneath a rock where my leg got twisted.

"I just guessed which direction I thought was up, because sometimes you can’t tell and get easily disoriented with all the water (rushing overhead).

"It sounds scary, but that’s where experience kicks in.

"Actually in situations like that this extreme calm (overtakes me)," explains Berman. "I just get calm as I’m trying to figure out how to survive."

Professional athlete Brandon Knapp and video newcomer Josh Bechtel are also featured in Twitch IV, which was shot in North America, The Dominican Republic and Norway.

Filmmaker Eric Link kind of fell into the craft of shooting extreme sports.

"Originally I was a teacher in Michigan and moved to Washington state, where I figured I could get a teaching job and kayak as well," he says.

He headed to the Cascade Mountain region of Washington which has a variety of deep dip waterways for the most extreme tastes.

"I started filming some kayakers, and I still haven’t got that teaching job," he laughs.

Link’s series of videos include Twitch (1999), Twitch 2000, and Still Twitchin’ (2001), which are available online.

Twitch features Berman’s then-world record free fall of 80 feet on the El Rio Salto River in Mexico. Link also captured Berman topping his own record with a free fall of more than 90 feet in Banff National Park in Twitch 2000.

In his latest video, Sean Baker completes a new altitude descent record, a timed descent down a gradient you can drop.

Soundtracks complete the dramatic effect, with songs from Vancouver bands SuperBeing77, BIGFATSCRATCH, and Murray Yates with Templar.

Location scouting requires huge amounts of time, according to Link.

"The word is definitely out in terms of kayaking, and some of the best chutes and waterfalls are in the Sea to Sky corridor," Butler says.

"There are so many companies that come in now and film up there, and so location scouting is much more competitive than it used to be," says Link. "I can tell you in Twitch IV we were near some creeks between Squamish and Whistler, but that’s about all I can say."

In addition to the premiere of Twitch IV, the audience will get a slideshow by whitewater photographer Jock Bradley, of Rippin’ Productions.

Captain Holidays Kayak and Adventure School in Whistler, which was involved in the filming of Link’s new movie, is sponsoring the Whistler film premiere. All proceeds from the premiere go to the club.