I paddled with Bob Foote several times in northern California where we both then lived in 1980-82. He was at that time practicing to be one of the first open canoeists to paddle the Grand Canyon. (Jim Shelander was the first in 1979 in a Mad River Explorer.) His Grand Canyon run in a Mad River ME, as publicized on the cover of Canoe Magazine in 1985 (below), made Bob one of the most famous whitewater open canoeists in the world since that time. He went on to become an ACA ITE in whitewater canoeing, an IT in kayak, and an instructor in flat water Freestyle along with his eventual wife Karen Knight.
Bob arranged and led dozens of open canoe trips down the Grand Canyon for decades beginning in the 1980's, which included many paddlers from clubs I paddled with in the eastern USA.
The video below is not in HD but has lots of slow motion photography. This gives a dramatic sense of the extreme tossing, turning and up-flinging of the canoes, but also probably gives the impression that the wave troughs are shorter than they actually are because of the foreshortening of telephoto lenses. Nevertheless, the canoeing is quite exciting and some surfing and open canoe rolls are included.
Bob can be picked out in the video because of the white helmet he traditionally wore with electrical tape forming a centerline with a V, as in this famous cover photo:
You should note how relaxed Bob is while paddling in the giant explosion waves. He describes the feeling as one of almost Zen-like calm focus. He appears to be paddling a Dagger Genesis, which he designed along with Steve Scarborough's help. Given that the Genesis was announced in the 1992 Dagger catalog, I suspect the footage was shot in the early to mid-1990's. The rapids depicted are Hermit, Granite, Deubendorff, Crystal, Lava Falls, and some surfing at Chuar. Water volume was about 12,000-15,000 CFS, which is a moderate level for the Grand Canyon.
Bob arranged and led dozens of open canoe trips down the Grand Canyon for decades beginning in the 1980's, which included many paddlers from clubs I paddled with in the eastern USA.
The video below is not in HD but has lots of slow motion photography. This gives a dramatic sense of the extreme tossing, turning and up-flinging of the canoes, but also probably gives the impression that the wave troughs are shorter than they actually are because of the foreshortening of telephoto lenses. Nevertheless, the canoeing is quite exciting and some surfing and open canoe rolls are included.
Bob can be picked out in the video because of the white helmet he traditionally wore with electrical tape forming a centerline with a V, as in this famous cover photo:
You should note how relaxed Bob is while paddling in the giant explosion waves. He describes the feeling as one of almost Zen-like calm focus. He appears to be paddling a Dagger Genesis, which he designed along with Steve Scarborough's help. Given that the Genesis was announced in the 1992 Dagger catalog, I suspect the footage was shot in the early to mid-1990's. The rapids depicted are Hermit, Granite, Deubendorff, Crystal, Lava Falls, and some surfing at Chuar. Water volume was about 12,000-15,000 CFS, which is a moderate level for the Grand Canyon.
