Extreme Exposure: Kelly Slater’s artificial wave may have found a home
In this week's edition of Extreme Exposure—a weekly column featuring news and photography from the world of action and outdoor sports—Kayaker Dane Jackson wins one of the most difficult river races in the world.
Has Kelly Slater’s Artificial Wave found a home?
The photos and video coming out of Kelly Slater Wave Co.’s artificial wave park in central California have been endless, but there’s been no word on when one would be built and open for the public. Until now. A report in the San Diego Union Tribune this week detailing redevelopment plans for Seaport Village on the waterfront in San Diego says that six different development plans have been submitted for the area. One of the six proposed plans (this one from McWhinney development firm and DJM Capital Partners) is set to add one of the waves created by the 11-time world champion to its project. The plan also includes a fitness club, shopping, living spaces and a massive high dive. Said the developers in the proposed plan: “(The KSWC facility) will create a unique experience for amateur surfers, adventure enthusiasts and families to discover the joy of board sports in a recreational destination.” If the plan is approved construction would begin in 2019.
Dane Jackson wins Idaho’s North Fork Championships
In it’s fifth installment, the North Fork Championships on Idaho’s North Fork of the Payette River hasn’t gotten any less difficult for the world’s best whitewater kayakers. In fact, organizers made sure the sport’s most important river race got even more challenging. After kayakers slid down a 20-foot ramp and launched into the river, competitors had to paddle through gates, much like an Olympic slalom event. Only this elite course ran through an extremely dangerous Class V rapid known as Jacob’s Ladder. In the first move of the course, race officials forced competitors to make it over a difficult hydraulic and catch an impossible eddy just behind it. This was before the crux move lower down the rapid. Only around half of the 29 paddlers were actually able to make all the challenging moves. And Dane Jackson was one of them as he took his first win in Idaho. “Stoked to take the win (during) one of the stoutest years (ever at) the North Fork Championships,” he said on his Instagram page, paying homage to the difficult setup.
Southwest Heat Wave is Killing Outdoor Enthusiasts
An unprecedented heat wave is wreaking havoc. Desert temperatures are reaching 120 degrees in parts of the southwest. A wildfire in Santa Barbara, Calif., is raging out of control and in Arizona, three outdoor enthusiasts have died from heat-related illness, including two hikers and a mountain biker. The unidentified mountain biker was a 28-year-old woman who died three hours into a ride on the Desert Vista trail north of Phoenix. Temperatures in Arizona and the southwest deserts are expected to be above 110 degrees all week. Safety officials in the region are issuing warnings to runners, hikers and bikers that it’s best to avoid mid-day heat.
