If you went down to the Mamquam River on May 24, chances are you saw an inundation of kayakers floating down the river.
Back for their fifth year, the Mamquam Meltdown brought over 90 kayakers down to the river to take part in a timed slalom event.
Co-organizer Maddy Loewen told The 蜜桃视频app that the community-driven event aimed at both beginners and intermediate kayakers went off without a hitch.
“It's a not-for-profit event run by me and my friend Jeff Thorslund, and we've been putting it on since 2021 as a way to bring the community together,” Loewen said.
“There are a lot of events that happen that are more based on Class 4 and Class 5 boaters, which [in comparison] is kind of like saying Black Diamond skiers. So, I wanted to just bring an event together that also includes the green and blue version of kayakers.”
Loewen has been kayaking since 2020, and it was her desire to take part in racing that inspired the idea for the Mamquam Meltdown.
“I started [the event] a year later because there were all these [advanced] races, and I was like, 'Oh, I can't do any of them,'” she said.
However, she joked that despite having now planned the event, she still can’t take part in the races as she’s too busy organizing the day.
What is slalom racing?
Loewen describes slalom kayaking as being the water version of slalom skiing.
“Essentially, you're starting from a certain point on the river, the timer is started, and you have to make it as fast as you can down the river while going through these gates that are hanging from above,” she said.
“There are two kinds of gates, there are the green gates, which means you go directly through them from upstream of the river to downstream; and then the red gates, which you have to go backwards through, so you're coming from downstream going upstream.
“We had nine gates this year, so you had to get through all of those before you reached the bottom. If you do miss a gate, then there's a time penalty. And then whoever goes the fastest is the one who wins.”
Despite being targeted towards kayakers, Loewen said that people were able to join in the race with any form of whitewater craft.
“If there were a paddleboarder, they could have joined. Last year, we had inflatable kayaks. We also had my friend Emma, who paddled the course this year in a canoe. So anything on whitewater, as long as you can paddle it, you can get on the river and race,” Loewen said.
But the Mamquam Meltdown is not only about competing. The event also included a barbecue, live music and group campout at the Mamquam River Campground.
“Some of the people work on weekends, and so since they can't make it to the race, it's still a way to have that part of the community that does work the nine to five on Saturday, still be able to join in later on,” she said.
So who won?
Coming in with the fastest time of the day was Blake Miller, who completed in the advanced category with a time of 1 minute 43 seconds.
Narrowly in second place was Phil Mitchell with a time of 1 minute 45 seconds, and third was Philip Gibbons, who completed the course in 1 minute and 50 seconds.
The fastest in the women's advanced category was Jen Chrimes with a time of exactly 2 minutes, followed by Sarah Baillie with 2 minutes 5 seconds, and Tara Stevens coming in at 2 minutes 16 seconds.
Loewen said that the event brought in kayakers from all over the Sea to Sky, as well as the interior, including Kamloops.
“[The kayaking community] is getting bigger, but it's definitely a much smaller community than the mountain biking and climbing community,” she said.
“But as soon as you break into it, it's suddenly everywhere, kind of like confirmation bias,” she said with a laugh.
For more information on places that you can kayak in Squamish, visit the
