veko

welcome back to another segment in the continuing saga of american adventurers in norway. a lot has happened since the last post went up. mostly we have been slaving away guiding rafting trips. it occurs to me now that having a photo of rafting might be appropriate. i know that might be appealing to some of you blog fans out there, but for the most part i think the photos of us rafting are about as exciting as a picture for someone working at a desk.


photo by mw

my brother, philly bear, has come and gone after a two week visit with us. there was actually so much work going around, we were able to toss a few bones his way. philly timed his visit to norway perfectly, as he was able attend the world famous voss extreme sports week.
the epicenter of the festival is a circus tent located next to the town lake, where each night a video of the days action is shown and a concert is put on. the night of the opening ceremony (keep in mind it doesn't get dark here): two helicopters buzzed the crowd outside the tent on their way to an appropriate altitude to drop four parachuters. moments after their landing, an airplane buzzes the crowd, then climbs high into the sky to drop at least a dozen more skydivers: some trailing banners, others smoke plumes. throughout this action packed week the sky over the tent is filled with parachuters, paragliders, and folks bungee- jumping from a platform underneath a para-sail. if you venture out of town you can see athletes from all over the globe competing in mountain biking, free-skiing, BASE jumping, and whitewater kayaking among other gravity sports.

although we came to voss to compete in the kayaking races as well as each night's party:

photo by liza duncan

team racing:


the real attraction comes from all the rivers in and around voss.

photo by jj sheperd

here are some of the highlights of our on-the-water adventures:
amos at the nose-breaker:

photo by philly williams

the author revisiting a drop on the jordalselva:

photo by philly williams

i was very proud of philly. he kept up with us all week, and i am sure really enjoyed the various rivers we dragged him to:

photo by mw


photo by mw


photo by mw

thanks again for tuning in.
mefford.

photo by liza duncan

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