Bit of a Different Winter
So post Norway, with the end of University we have all gone in different directions:
- George has successfully transitioned to adulthood and got a proper job software engineering, still kayaking when he can.
- With flights booked and all plans in motion to spend the winter in Nepal and Laos paddling the Humla, Thule Beri and Upper Arun, I ended up tearing through my Achilles' tendon pretty seriously in a bicycle accident and consequently getting septic. This resulted in September being spent in the hospital and some rather interesting plastic surgery that has rendered my ankle forever weaker and my yearly plan somewhat upside down. I am on the mend and can get in a boat again now but am still on crutches and unable to climb. Bad times...
- In a much better state of affairs, Sam has become a big deal.
Still being at university, Sam applied for the British Universities Kayak Expedition (a bi-annual event where students organise an expedition to explore new rivers and hopefully publicise a new paddling destination) and got it. Whilst his suggestion of Greenland as a destination wasn't successful, they are instead heading to Madagascar, a somewhat warmer clime.
To get selected you have to attend a selection event in North Wales, there is a good write up about it here:
http://www.teampyranha.com/?p=17172
(Sam says that there is a slight discrepancy in what people seem to think levels were like...).
You can follow the expedition's progress on Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/British-Universities-Kayaking-Expedition-2015-Madagascar/728714840541799?pnref=story
and on the web here: http://www.kayakmadagascar.co.uk/