Timmy Reyes has never been afraid to take chances in his search for perfect unridden waves. After serious injuries stalled his competitive career, he rerouted his focus to do what he loves which is straying from the beaten path to get the largest and best waves he could find. In the newest Smith Optics Great Days edit, we follow Timmy as he scours the Pacific Northwest and battles all the elements looking for the hidden Northern Pacific power the area is known for but has rarely been seen.
The world’s top wakeboarders shipped out to Hamm, Germany for a groundbreaking big air wakeboarding contest – the Red Bull Rising High. Featuring a massive kicker with a huge roller landing, riders were hucking some of the BIGGEST airs ever seen in the sport.
After seeing a picture of this waterfall for the first time, I was instantly intrigued. At the end of a long, but awesome Colorado trip, I was able to gather up the motivation to drive to Minneapolis, where this waterfall sits in the middle of the city. While it is very high profile and urban, tons of people, and in the very center of the general public, there is something strangely beautiful about this drop. It is complex, twisting, and questionable depth of landing, and has much more to it than just kayaking. A chain was put across the creek just above the lip that was almost a factor that prevented my decision to run it. At the last second, a log pinned against the chain, propping it up enough to get under in the river right eddy, and leaving no choice but to make a scramble ferry back to the left. After three intense days of thinking and scouting, it finally all came together. Very thankful for the outcome, and to wrap the first half of Summer up with a good run in an amazing place. A huge thanks to the safety team that showed up to help and support. While many people watching probably think we are crazy, the real danger in life is hiding in the crowd, and not trying. Do your thing. Call it what you want, but this is what we do, and this is the story of Minnehaha Falls.