Pillow Rock - Upper Gauley - Mark Z. in his Prelude

markzak · Post by **markzak** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 4:40 pm

http://www.vimeo.com/15261491

How I would recommend running Pillow, avoid the river left and river right line and shoot right down the middle.

dgmonster · Post by **dgmonster** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 5:57 pm

Nice! I do not recommend the right line!(through inertia hole

)

markzak · Post by **markzak** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 6:16 pm

I ended up last year in my Atom rodeoing the crud out of that hole (inertia hole?), around and around and around, before being spit out upside down and rolling up and splatting the pillow hard at the same town. Not a recommended line, but very pleasing to the crowds.

dgmonster · Post by **dgmonster** » Tue Sep 28, 2010 1:59 pm

Yup that be the hole. Good for some how do they say "dynamic" surfing".

oopsiflipped · Post by **oopsiflipped** » Tue Sep 28, 2010 2:05 pm

nice line mark. i've never had a decent line at pillow.

FullGnarlzOC · Post by **FullGnarlzOC** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:27 pm

Thanks for showing what that line looks like Mark... as opposed to how I showed it looks like when u mess it up.

Much better ur way... the right way.

Craig Smerda · Post by **Craig Smerda** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 5:02 pm

I like riding all the way up the pillow and smacking the top of the the rock with my hand (if you get up high enough) or my blade. I hit the line this year without a problem... rode up the pillow... smacked the rock with my blade but didn't get it back to my onside fast enough, flipped and rolled up at the bottom. Alan Braswell was sitting in the eddy on the right with Woody he gave me a thumbs up... I laughed and told him I only should have gotten half a thumb because I flipped. Pillow can be "fun"

scott curtis · Post by **scott curtis** » Sun Oct 10, 2010 12:52 pm

i counted 8 strokes

golder · Post by **golder** » Mon Oct 25, 2010 6:56 pm

nice.
that line is quite a bit smoother than my attempt a few weeks ago.

milkman · Post by **milkman** » Mon Oct 25, 2010 7:36 pm

Looks like a textbook run of that rapid: Run just left of the rocks at the top, move left to avoid the next major hole, and then work your way right. Nice execution.

scott curtis · Post by **scott curtis** » Mon Oct 25, 2010 10:36 pm

eddie i saw your run too, another u tube video has a guy crunching the wave that got you , then eddying for a few seconds before passing the pillow . i tink i'll try that line for my first upper g ~

dgmonster · Post by **dgmonster** » Tue Oct 26, 2010 2:46 pm

if your in a short boat good luck! That rapid is so fast its hard to take Mark's line for your first run if your boat is slow. Things go by so fast and to hit the ferry for me anyways was not an option my first time down. Trust me I wanted to but I was like "omg, omg, omg, omg,omg.....few its over". Just my 2 cents

markzak · Post by **markzak** » Tue Oct 26, 2010 6:23 pm

Thanks all! Have fun out there and be safe!

scott curtis · Post by **scott curtis** » Tue Oct 26, 2010 8:15 pm

and scout~

markzak · Post by **markzak** » Wed Oct 27, 2010 1:45 pm

scott curtis wrote:and scout~

YES! I've run the upper G about a dozen times and scouted Pillow and Iron Ring EVERY TIME. And even having run iron ring at least 5 times, I still find no shame in shouldering my boat, which I do from time to time. No shame in portaging, ever.