Food For Thought...

This summer I'm working as an Assistant guide/intern for elements.eu.com in Sweden and Norway.  While doing so I find myself learning an immense amount about guiding on a whole new level than I expected.  Giving clients what they want not only as far as an incredible experience in the wilderness but bringing a whole new level of outdoor catering to the table... pun intended.  At Elements Rob (Owner and Director) takes great pride in offering clients both.  I have asked Rob to write this article for me.  Please check out Rob's personal and the Elements blogs as well.  Enjoy, Ryan thelifeofrobyates.wordpress.com/

and elementseu.wordpress.com/

I spend a lot of my year, looking after people on the water in canoes & kayaks, around campsites, in historic accommodation, in the bush and whilst hiking in the hills.  One of the things that people always ask, is how we provide such good food for our friends and clients whilst in the wilderness.  Well I am not going to give away all my secrets (you will have to buy the book when I finish it), but here are few thoughts to start.
Firstly it worth saying that my usual ethos is to eat as well as possible whilst out, I aim to surprise and amaze people with how well you can actually eat whilst away from home.  The concept of restaurant quality food whilst in a camp site, is one I hold very close to mine and my company’s heart.

Secondly we eat as little (or no) pre-prepared dehydrated so called expedition foods.  Yes they have their place, but really have we actually forgotten how to cook, use our imaginations and not only that, it is at least 8 times the price!  I also however do believe in not carrying too much…. and this is a fine balance to strike.  So out with the Dutch ovens, and in with a good wok, pan and outback oven.
The danger with not relying on the freeze dried approach, is that we actually have to engage our brains and really understand food.  What fresh foods last longest, how can we help vegetables last longer and still be edible, how many calories of decent food does someone need to eat to remain safe and well on a trip, and lastly how are foods actually produced?  Do we understand the TRUE nutritional difference between rolled whole grain oats and some of the other so called porridges attractively available to us?

So where to start?  Get yourself a plan, either for the day in hand but usually for me it’s weeks in advance.  Next, in your plan you need to give cooking food time, care and patience.  If the MSR is going full tilt, probably you will burn something; under cook it or worse still deny some part of the dish of flavour.  So plan what you want to serve and when, ensuring your menu has flavour, texture, variety & enough quantity.  If it is on a trip, expedition or course, have a wholesome, quick, good looking tasty snack for people to eat within 30 minutes of finishing for the day.  This along with a hot drink usually buys you a couple of hours to allow your clients to explore and you to create a culinary master piece.
So on with the master piece, have your plan, ingredients and if clients want to get involved out of a desire to learn what you do let them help you. But I personally do not have it as an expectation of them.  Spend time in preparation, and arrange yourself to have everything to hand prior to starting cooking……

The next bit needs practice, so get practicing on friends, family and anyone else willing to eat your food.  Only perfect practice is good enough, so vary it and cook over open fires, wood burning stoves, MSR’s, gas stoves and of course at home in your own kitchen.  Challenge your imagination, try new ingredients and ask for honest negative feedback (as well as praise) as it’s the only way you will improve.

Lastly every meal is eaten generally by the eyes and nose before; it ever is consumed by the mouth (now that’s a little Heston Blumenthal), so ensure it smells great and looks stunning.  This will set people in the right mind set to truly taste what you have lovingly prepared for them.
In short good, wholesome foods cooked simply with love, and presented with passion makes for delicious eating and very happy friends and clients.

Landeck Gorge!

 So this video has been taken while we were running the Landeck Gorge section on the Inn River.  This is one of the first rivers we ran in Austria.  It goes at grade 3-4.  At the level in the video the river is well above flood stage.  Some of the waves may look a little small in the river but keep in mind that the camera is sitting on top of his head which is about 3 1/2 feet out of the water, and its a wide angle lens.  The video was taken by my friend Dave Foley on one of our runs.  When he's on top of some of the waves you can kinda of spot me about 3 boats up in a yellow boat.  Enjoy the teaser and there is tons more to come!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd5FtP0m5a4&feature=plcp

The Rivers we run

So this is one of  my favorite rivers that we ran on this trip.  It starts off like you see above.  That is me boofing off its 7 meter waterfall, and then immediately goes in Grade 3-4 read and run creeking and just doesn't let up for about 5 to 6 miles.  It had everything from drops to boulder gardens, to big wave trains, and a massive pine tree to avoid in one of the harder rapids.  Some other rivers that we ran were the Sanna (Grade3-4), at well over flood stage, The Tossens section on the Inn River (big grade 3), The Landeck Gorge section of the Inn river (grade3-4).  All of these rivers were absolutely huge, with the average wave height being anywhere from 6-10 ft tall and holes the size of my garage at home. The Lower Otz and the Swiss inn (grade 3-4 mid to high volume) was easily my favorite run of the trip.  This consisted of comparatively medium volume water with boulder gardens, big waves and plenty of holes to dodge.  This then dumps into the Inn River which at this section consists of my massive waves.  At one point I got waved to go to the right and when I did I found myself face to face with a 30 foot wide, 12 foot tall crashing, broken wave.  This is when I soon became a submarine and went right through the center of it, got tossed around, and spat out the back side of it and then proceeded to roll back up and continue on smiling from ear to ear.  Meanwhile all the guys in the group were laughing hysterically and smiling about just as much. Then we made it down to the Moessa, in Switzerland.  This was technically speaking the most difficult river I've ever paddled.  Its a short run and only takes roughly half an hour to do from top to bottom but once it starts it doesn't stop for the whole time.  Everything we did including this river we never stopped to look at we just ran it blind.  The water was a crystal clear blue, and you could see every rock in the river.  However this was not what I was focused on because the entire run was boulder dodging, with drops, reactionaries, and holes.  This required precise lines, that just never let up.  Every move has to flow directly into another or you end up like I did in the final rapid of the run and flip over in a reactionary and get bashed up a bit on all those rocks underneath.  However no harm no fowl.  I learned alot form this and all the other rivers I paddled.  One of the biggest things I've learned is that even though I'm doing well I still have alot to learn. This is one of the reasons I can't wait to find out whats around the next bend.  As I have well found through the past ten days of kayaking  and road tripping around the beautiful Austrian, Swiss, and Italian Alps, it can be just about anything.

Austria, Switzerland, and Italy

Arare (italian Farmer)

It's been an incredible trip so far, and i know my summer has just begun!  Ten days in and I've already been in seven countries and done over 15 runs on some incredible alpine rivers.  These are some of my photos from along the way.  Unfortunately there are very little photos of us kayaking because the rivers we have been paddling are all non stop.  NO SCOUTING! Just run the guts!  In paddling here I've learned alot not only about paddling but also about myself.  Its not about the grade, its not about going out and pushing the limits every single day.  Its about finding enjoyment in what you do, having a good timne with friends, and making new ones along the way.  Enjoy the photos and there will be more soon.

RUN THE GUTS!

WOW!!!  so three days into paddling in Austria and i am absolutely blown away.  Not only is the scenery incredible but the rivers are some of the best rivers I've ever paddled.  Everything we've done is all well above the high water mark in any of the guide books.  The first day we arrived in Prutz and immediately set up camp after driving 21 hours from the UK and then did two runs on the biggest class three river I've ever seen! The Tosens section of the river Inn is big bouncy waves and a few very large holes.  The entire time I've been paddling here i feel like this stuff should be in a video... (foreshadowing maybe???)  Anyway since then i lead the group down that same river the second time down it... I was scared shitless. We have since moved onto much harder, faster, steeper, and bigger water.  None of which is below grade 4 high volume water.  Day 2 an i did 4 runs on the Sanna river and the Landeck Gorge.  These were both incredible rivers with overlapping, massive holes.  Today we did the lower Otz. which was slightly lower volume but much more technical.  This has been my favorite river thus far with lots of rock and hole dodging.  This then empties out onto the Inn river which at this section is just huge wide waves.  I went into one massive undulating wave today and it collapsed right on top of me, submarining my boat and then spitting me out the other side.  All in all i am having an absolute blast.  I have been pushed mentally, physically, and in my skills every single day so far.  I have been airborn, submarined, and beaten the pulp out of in a massive hole, and I couldn't be having a better time.  Look for photos and video soon!!

First Day in the UK

So the adventure begins.  After Having my good friend Erik drop me off at JFK I then proceeded to sit around for a few hours, bang out a small paper, take a nap, and have a beer at the bar nearest my gate.  There I met an orthopedic surgeon who i can best describe as a well traveled, dirty old man...  With his stories of abroad (or two) and his younger days, I was kept well entertained for an hour while we finished our beers.  The flight itself was actually quite pleasant.  In an entire Boeing 777 only 79 seats had been filled.  This meant lots more leg room for my tall self.  Upon landing I went through customs and the chap there couldn't decide whether or not to give me a visa due to my amount of traveling in and out of the country.  Eventually he decided I was fine.  I met up with Rob who was just about as tired as I was and we took off across the English country side.  Stopping at two paddling centers within a ten mile span of each other... yes I just said two.  It still boggles my mind how prevalent paddling is as a sport over here.  Its not uncommon to be driving down the tight twisty roads of small towns in the country side and see a number of racing boats on car tops as you drive by.  Finally Rob and I stopped for lunch after my stomach began to grumble quite loudly.  Then with beget in hand we took off again.  We eventually made it back to his dads house which will be home while in the UK.  Its a gorgeous cottage that is situated right in a small town outside of Oxford.  The cottage itself was built a long time ago which can been seen by the 3 foot thick walls and the wonky floors.   Rob and I began getting things together for today and then took a much needed nap.  For dinner we went down the road to an old English pub that specialized in pies of all sorts.  I had a beef, red wine, mushroom, and horse radish pie along with a local ale named Hooky. Back at the cottage, we cracked open a bottle of whiskey and Robs home made raspberry rum in the garden and proceeded to play what I can best describe as a full contact game of Rummy except with some rules added and taken away.  Either way its a game that you have to be one your toes the whole time and with a bit of ale, rum, and good whiskey floating in your mind that became increasingly harder to do so as the night went on which made things that much more entertaining.  And now we come to present time where it is 0500 here and I am waking up with the birds outside my window.  Today we pack up more gear I get to see my new boat for the summer, and then we hop on a ferry from Dover to Calais, France, and begin our road trip across Europe to Austria.  From there its then straight days of whitewater kayaking in the Alps!!!!  Not that I'm excited or anything.  Its been five years since I've been to the Alps and i can't wait to get back to the mountains!