Scouting the Lower Cheakamus with Mount Alpha in the back
My second season living as a raft guide in BC was kind of same, same. I moved to Whistler instead of Squamish to be closer to The Cheakamus and the Callaghan, while I still worked in Squamish, but other than that, not much changed. Big mountains, cold rivers, insanely fun rapids, wood in the river, short kayaking trips to the USA, a lot of good times with crazy friends, a lot of work, epic scenery, insanely long drives that don’t feel that long anymore, annoying gravel roads, my dog Pipi and a lot of kayaking. And an overwhelming amount of it. It sounds crazy but it can get too stressful when there are so much fun things to do around. I find it hard to organize well and just want to do it all at the same time and I couldn’t have done it without help of my lovely and far less messy girlfriend Ana and our freaky roommates and friends.
I moved to New Zealand for the south summer and I’m glad all that chaos is behind me. Looking back I’m super proud of spending almost 40 days on the Ashlu, did 2 big trips to the Washington state and one to the Eastern BC and one to interior BC. My teenage brother Jurij came to visit me and even though BC was his first time creeking, we managed to come in second on the Callaghan team creek race. It was one of my proudest moments ever. At the same time we lost Jurij’s father and my step father Bojan to cancer. He was a long time president of Slovenian Kayaking Federation and the reason we both started kayaking. Even though he hasn’t kayaked for ages, he had an unbelievable passion for this sport. Enjoying such an awesome sport and a lifestyle and sharing it with my brother was a great gift he left us with. He will be missed and never forgotten.
In the meantime, I am back to New Zealand after 4 years, doing the same old, rafting and kayaking. The amount of friends I have and the experiences I have had all over the world because of this sport and this lifestyle is something that I see as a blessing. And being four years older than the last time I paddled the Kaituna, the biggest thing that has changed is me becoming a way better kayaker (in this sport there is always space for improvement) and especially a richer and better person. And yes, there is always space for improvement in this area too.
With my girlfriend Ana and my brother Jurij after the Callaghan race.
WASHINGTON STATE:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
AROUND SQUAMISH AND WHISTLER
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
EASTERN AND INTERIOR BC:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
ONE INTERESTING DAY, SCOUTING AND KAYAKING THE LOWER CHEAKAMUS GORGE
This slideshow requires JavaScript.