OKC Ausflug auf den Glockner

Vergangenes Wochenende haben die Burschen vom Osttiroler Kajak Club gezeigt, dass sie nicht nur paddeln können und folgten dem Ruf von Obmann Thomas Zimmermann auf den Glockner (3798 m), den höchsten Berg Österreichs. Wieder einmal gelang es Thomas "Zimml" Zimmermann sowohl die Legenden als auch die Jung Guns des OKC zu motivieren. So blieb das Boot in der Garage und stattdessen wurden die Bergschuhe eingepackt.

Traumhaftes Wetter am Morgen des zweiten Tages

Gute Weitsicht unter der Wolkendecke

Morgenstimmung

Ein kühles Blondes am Abend in der Stüdlhütte (2803 m) während Showmaster Luki Gomig für Stimmung sorgt.

Zustieg Richtung Gletscher mit Glockner im Hintergrund, Tag 2.

Neuschnee am Weg zur Adlersruhe (3454m) der höchsten Schutzhütte Österreichs.

Konzentration zwischen Kleinem und Großglockner

Grat zum Gipfel, die Seilschaft Motz Wurzer, Stefan Robitsch, Hannes Reider, Beni Kraler und Markus Mayr.

Verschneite Bedingungen am höchsten Punkt Österreichs (3798m)
Auch wenn man kein Gipfelkreuz sieht ist das KEIN Fake und wir haben es uns auch nicht nur bloß eingebildet :)

50iger und Glocknersturm, unser Bootshauswart Günter Oberwalder hat gleich zwei Gründe zu feiern

Alles in allem ein super Wochenende mit Freunden in der Heimat, was will man mehr. Ein großes Dankeschön an Zimml, Harri Hofer, unsre Bergführer und alle anderen die dabei waren.

all Pics: Beni Kraler

Red Bull Dolomitenmann 2010

Beim härtesten Teambewerb der Welt, dem Red Bull Dolomitenmann, hieß es heuer für das LaOla-Kleine Zeitung Team am 11. September in Lienz/Osttirol, wieder ordentlich Gas geben.

Stefan Widauer, Beni Kraler, Manfred Lobenwein u. Georg Oberhammer

Nach Konstellationsänderungen im vergangen Jahr, gingen wir heuer wieder in Originalbesetzung an den Start. Nachdem es die Wochen zuvor ordentlich regnete, war am Wettkampftag - fast schon wie üblich - traumhaftes Wetter in der Dolomitenstadt und über 450 internationale Top-Athleten kämpften in den Disziplinen Berglauf, Paragleiten, Wildwasser-Kajak und Mountainbike ums Durchkommen und natürlich für ihr Team. Stefan Widauer lief in 1h 35 die 1950! Höhenmeter, übergab an Paraglider Manfred Lobenwein, der es in der Luft über den Dolomiten ordentlich krachen ließ, einige Plätze gut machen konnte, und nach einer Traumzeit meine Wenigkeit in die Fluten schickte.

                                                                                                                                                                Pics: philippbenedikt.com

Auch bei mir lief alles tiptop, konnte in den wilden Gewässern Osttirols kühlen Kopf bewahren und übergab schließlich nach guter Zeit (zweiter Kajakeinzelwertung - "Amateure") an Mountainbiker Georg Oberhammer, der das Rennen seines Lebens fuhr und die Leistung sicher ins Ziel brachte.  

Schließlich konnten wir insgesamt über 90 Teams auf der Strecke lassen und belegten den hervorragenden 4.Gesamtrang. 

Georg Oberhammer im Ziel am Lienzer Hauptplatz

Siegerehrung Dolomann 2010

Dass die Party wieder legendär war brauch ich glaub ich nicht zu erwähnen, das weiß jeder der schon mal dabei war :).

Munich High Water from Beni Kraler on Vimeo.

Worldcup Plattling cancelled and Munich wave sessions

Due to a lot of rain and high water in Plattling, the second part of the Worldcup couldn't take place and was therefore cancelled. Organizers tried to make an event possible until the very end, but water levels wouldn't go down at all. Instead of paddling on the next World championship's feature people escaped the rain and spent the time in the cafes of Plattling, went to Sauna or to a really cool Aqua park.

Some of us heard rumors that a big wave in Munich was running, and after checking water levels and some fb stalking we decided to give it a try. After packing, my Russian friends Vanya, Miha, Oleg, Andrew and me hit the road to Munich. That's what we found:

All in all we spent four really cool days in Munich, surfing the wave, hiding from police, sharing some German beers, living in a nice hostel and going out in Bavaria's capital. Good memories and happy days.

Worldcup Augsburg

First Worldcup this year took place in Augsburg, Germany on the artificial Eiskanal which was built for the Olympic Games 1972. Freestyle paddlers from everywhere came to the infamous Washing machine, the spot for the event, to paddle, compete, meet friends and have a good time. This year's Austrian team was younger than ever, but things went ok still.

Although not everybody in the team was happy with their rides and some of us more comfortable to paddle in waves, the results were still ok being the first Worldcup. Our German mates proved to be the better hole riders for sure and kicked our ass:).

The "machine" in the washing machine - Martin Koll.

Relaxed atmosphere at the competition spot

                                      
Winner of this Worldcup was Pringle from the UK with sick rides in front of Peter Csonka from Slovakia and Mat Dumoulin from France. As usual in Augsburg the party turned out pretty crazy. All in all this Worldcup showed that the Austrians can compete with the best concerning the amount of beers consumed, but also could paddle more in holes to get fit for future hole competitions. 

Uganda 2010 Movie

Style the Nile from Beni Kraler on Vimeo.

Corsica 2010

Some pics of this year's kayaking trip to Corsica. 
Paddlers: Hannes, Michi, Hans, Brigitte, Kodi, me and more

Thanks to Hans Meyer who showed us around the island!

Since I was the one who took this pictures, unfortunately no shots of me:)

The White Nile Kayaking 2010

My time in Uganda flew by and 10 weeks of traveling are already over. I had an amazing time with sick paddling days, meeting old friends and making new ones, surfing the waves and paddling the Nile’s big rapids.
I was too lazy to write something for this blog back in Africa, since Internet in Uganda is rare and I was keen on paddling and not on hanging around in Internet cafes. So this is just a short wrap-up, for more stories meet me with some beers.

I arrived in Buj mid of Dec and first met Swiss paddler Julian and the Norwegian gang Soren, Stian and Roger. After hanging around in Bujagali for a bit, going for couple Silverback runs and paddling day1 section, the journey continued north to Hairy Lemon Island, to hit the surfwaves Nile Special and Club. Christmas came with a party, next to Nile Special including big fire, beers, food and a night session on the wave.
End of Dec four Austrian friends escaped the European winter and made the Austrian team on the Nile grow. New Year’s came with a crazy party in Sombreros club in Jinja with African beats and enough beers for everybody.
Also Leonie from Switzerland and later Russian mate Vanya (check out his new sick helmets, www.reactive-ck.ru) came over to join the tour and made a revival of the 2009 Uganda trip complete.

Some pics of people and landscape:




After lots of cool sessions on the water we decided to give our sore bodies a rest and headed north for a couple days to see some more nice locations. Destination was Sipi Falls and Elgon national park, a mountainous and scenic place, where we hiked through the jungle. This short trip was completed with a three day hike up Mt. Elgon (4321m), to get a glimpse of the weird and amazing African mountain scenery. It was a good break to all the paddling, I got some fresh air up there and came back full of energy to hit the rapids again.
In the meantime I was happy to get some more practice in Jessy’s Clinic, working together with the staff of last year and Stella, a Ugandan, and also Lili and Otto, two American Med-Students.

Finally Vanya, who is by now almost local in Uganda, helped us to rent a house in the village of Nakato next to the big surf waves of the river, Club and Nile Special. We opened a paddlers’ home for kayakers, who are sick of the Hairy Lemon and like to lead a simple life in a small, quiet and beautiful village on the banks of the White Nile just next to the waves. During the best times, Nakato Paddle House accommodated seven paddlers from three different nations - easy, cheap, amazing food, the perfect getaway from the Hairy Lemon and the city’s rush. Altogether the life in the village was probably one of my best experiences in Uganda, since we were living right next to the local people, seeing how their daily routine looked like and interacting with lots of kind people. Especially the kids were amazing and helped us out at times. In reward we supported them a bit financially and gave them money for school.

On the whole, the trip was pretty sick again, paddling with friends from all over the place, immersing into a totally different culture and enjoying the big waters of Africa. However, it's really sad to say that the Nile will not be like this in the near future. Due to a massive dam project, lots of land and rapids will be drowned in a big lake with many people losing their land and homes. Also it's gonna be a hit on the locals living from the rafting industry. Although a part of the river is destroyed, other big rapids are still intact and the Nile will hopefully remain a cool place for kayakers.

For now, I’m trying to get used again to the hectic life in Europe:). Also, a lot of video footage waits to be cutted, so stay tuned for a short movie the next weeks/ months:)

Beni