I watched this video clip the other day, with KAVU PR guru Shawn Carkonen and hang glider Jeff Shapiro. We sat there in silence for at least 5 minutes. I've been associated with the sport of kayaking for more then half my life and there has never been any image so impactful....EVER. I was totally and utterly speechless.
I've had the chance to hang around Tyler all last week. His local presence rapidly accelerated to celebrity status after the newspaper ran an article about the crazy descent of World Record Breaking 186 foot Palouse Falls.
Here is a snap of the falls: Interestingly it is actually bigger then it looks.
What I love about Tyler is his great modesty. We were at the bar the other night and some groupy came over and said "Your Tyler Bradt....I need to buy you a beer because I heard I was in the presence of greatness." Tyler said sheepishly "I don't know about that but I will take that beer."
20 minutes later he was on the phone doing a live interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN.
Tyler is no stranger to running big drops. The above photo is a shot of him running 107 foot Alexandra Falls totally clean. He didn't even flip at the bottom! He has also run many of the previous world records like Metalko Falls and this one down in Mexico.
Just when I thought the sport of kayaking was plaining out....all this stuff comes to works. But rest assured, Tyler is doing this intrinsically, and when you see him on the street he is the same old goofy guy we all know and love.
I've done some of the craziest rivers ever with Tyler, including a section of the White Nile in deep dark Africa called "The Murchison"
This is called the Matrix wave and it crashed right on my head. You can see my little paddle blade sticking out there.
Then of course Tyler came in and pulled a jib move right of the lip.
We owe the success of this descent to South Africa Hendri Coetzee. He is probably the most seasoned African river explorer of our time having paddle the source to sea of both the White and Blue Nile Rivers.
A photo of Hendri cracking the whip on Tyler. Very different personalities.
I had a conversation with Hendri the other day and he has some very interesting ideas brewing.
"I now find in the deepset darkest forest in the deepest darkest country in deep dark africa. I am in the congo doing some research for anti poaching for a couple of American Phd’s. Its pretty far out. First camp is only 5 days walk from the nearest town but then it gets remote as you go deeper. The skit is, me and a ex soldier, poacher, type dude walk through the forest looking for traps and signs of animals through areas that have never been mapped or seen by anyone else apart from a few forest hunters."
"It’s a freaking jungle. Have found someone who walks like a real man, even if he is only 5 feet, the little bugger passes through trees to magically appear on the other side, while the white guy has to wrestle for every step forward. Its slightly tiring and the jungle can be unfriendly"
Hendri is learning how to pass through the jungle quietly. Next month, he will set out on the last biggest first descent known to man as he will starting paddling the Congo River from it's source and attempt to pass through the lost dimension to the sea.
There is a legend of two frenchman that once attempted this never to return. The Congo is the most un-mapped region in the world. If he makes it...he will come out with stories that will be the most historical account of adventure in ALL time history.
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