
Kayaking on the Slave River
Far north in the North West Territories of Canada, the Slave River meanders calmly through ancient boreal Forests as it flows from Lake Athabasca to the Great Slave Lake. For most of its path the river flows calmly and with uninterrupted silence, yet between the old fur-trading settlements of Fitzgerald and Fort Smith, the Slave reveals it’s massive power, creating four sets of rapids so huge, that at their lowest point of the year could fill three times the mighty Nile!
The setting is grandiose with a huge sky over our heads and boreal forests that extend as far as the eye can see. Here spotting elks, moose, buffaloes or black bears isn’t uncommon and with a little luck you will even have the chance to spot the Northern Lights lighting up the sky during the short summer nights.
The Slave is the ultimate summer time freestyle destination, with literally endless possibilities and with new spots being discovered every year. No matter what your dream spot looks like, you will find it here. The Slave offers more world class features than any other river in the world, from fast and furious waves with crashing foam piles, glassy soul surfing waves, great shoulders, and combo holes. Among your future favourite spots you will discover Outrageous, Monstah Scheisser, Rollercoaster, Party Hole, Rock’Em Sock’Em, Chico, Playgraund Hole and many more!
For those looking to hone their big water skills, you will also get your fair share of thrills. Here you will find many different useful features, from chill wave trains of all sizes to stuff you will definitely not want to run! The Slave offers an incredible variety on the menu; one day you will be running creeky lines on the side channels and the next day you will have a hard time trying to orientate in a mile wide rapid.
You might be thinking… Well, if it is so great, why isn’t it more popular then? The Slave is very isolated and very far north making logistics difficult, making it up there requires some determined work, but we assure you WILL NOT REGRET IT. On the other hand, whilst in the past the Slave has been featured in several videos it has lost popularity among the top 1% of the paddlers having had less exposure in the last few years. Yet, for the remaining 99% of big waves and big water fans this IS the place to be giving the chance to experience the big wave feel in a safe environment and having the most enjoyable experience.