DiggJoin DiggAbout

Extreme kayaking down UK's tallest dam watch!

youtube.com — Kamikaze kayakers in search of adrenalin highs hit 45mph at Mid Wales reservoir. A photographer captured the latest incident as one canoeist slid 300ft down the spillway at Llyn Brianne reservoir in Carmarthenshire, near the borders of Ceredigion and Powys.

made popular 51 days ago

Digg DudeWhat is Digg?

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. Digg surfaces the best stuff as submitted and voted on by the community.Take the Tour to learn more.

Related by Keyword BETA!

Daredevil kayakers take plunge down Britain's tallest dam

  • 381 diggs
  • Made popular 52 days ago
  • 49
  • www.dailymail.co.uk

Skateboarder Tony Hawk Is Still Riding High At 40 Years Old!

  • 651 diggs
  • Made popular 14 days ago
  • 92
  • www.latimes.com

No Sleep Until the Finish Line

  • 351 diggs
  • Made popular 200 days ago
  • 24
  • www.telegraph.co.uk

How are these related stories? Tell us!

show profanity settings
expand all
  • lucutus, on 11/18/2008, -0/+37The last run was the best!
  • doiveo, on 11/18/2008, -1/+3sweet jump. The first two must have killed his back.
  • bj1989, on 11/18/2008, -0/+22Dugg for that dam alone, never seen something like that.
  • soupdawg30, on 11/18/2008, -0/+1Looks like he's having trouble just staying on the water.
  • ifire, on 11/18/2008, -2/+14Ok, even though an article similar to this was on the front page yesterday... dugg for video.
  • imitokay, on 11/18/2008, -3/+2next up, extreme pancake eating on The leaning tower
  • Switchnig, on 11/18/2008, -4/+4OMG EXTREME!
    • chadfaaborg, on 11/18/2008, -2/+0I heard about this yesterday & though it must be quite insane. Now I see the video and can't help but think.....it's no different than sledding down a snowy hill when we were kids.
      • simg, on 11/18/2008, -0/+2with the added possibilty of drowning ...
      • donquixotex, on 11/18/2008, -0/+3and the other real possibility of flipping over or smashing against cement walls going at 45mph...
  • 5fifteen, on 11/18/2008, -1/+11Love the porn music.
  • pbone, on 11/18/2008, -0/+2Daaaammmnnn!
  • Luciapalooza, on 11/18/2008, -0/+445 mph...that's nuts!
  • Grummond, on 11/18/2008, -0/+4WEEEEEEEE!
  • borez, on 11/18/2008, -0/+10Full story:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7735242.stm
  • krekc, on 11/18/2008, -0/+7SNAP INTO A SLIM JIM!!
  • diggzoid, on 11/18/2008, -0/+1Can I go tubing there?
  • DeFex, on 11/18/2008, -1/+18Do a barrel roll!
  • Hercules, on 11/18/2008, -0/+1That was fun :)
  • edenseager, on 11/18/2008, -0/+2This was on the BBC News website, funniest thing I've ever seen on there.
    • moletimer, on 11/18/2008, -0/+1Then you've never read the 'Also In the News' section...

      I seem to remember a 'Man Dies In Cake Eating Competition' being featured before.
  • PEMDAS, on 11/18/2008, -9/+1Hey guys, just thought I'd leave a ***** comment. Seemed like the right place for that sort of thing.
  • joshuaer, on 11/18/2008, -7/+2not bad but it looked like a big slide. this video is much better
    http://digg.com/extreme_sports/Truely_amazing_9_ye ...
  • druc007, on 11/18/2008, -1/+0last one is the coolest
  • aseriesoftubes, on 11/18/2008, -0/+45This is even more extreme than it looks in the video because the camera is mostly angled up the spillway to catch the action. This still image gives you a better idea of what these guys are actually taking on:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/u ...
  • benjorino, on 11/18/2008, -4/+1Are you sure thats the UK's biggest dam?
    Theres a couple near where I live in Yorkshire that I swear look bigger.
    • graemee, on 11/18/2008, -0/+2They may have a steeper angled spillway. Would make them look taller.
  • doublefelix, on 11/18/2008, -0/+5The dangerous part with dams or waterfalls is always the hydraulics where the rushing water meets the standing water. The angle of entry here looks pretty safe. I think the only part that is extreme with this chute is the speed and the fact that if you do a barrel anywhere on that 300 foot slope you could be in danger of being sanded to a nub depending on water levels.
    • FreckleEars, on 11/18/2008, -0/+4The spillway has a hydraulic jump, not the dam has a hydraulic... whatever that is.

      Dam spillways = have a hydraulic jump
      Waterfalls = many types and generally have a plunge pool

      The real danger is not the change in the water speed or the angle (though they are dangerous) but the fact that there is a concrete jump at the bottom of that chute that is lower than the level of the standing water, which is used to force the water to ram back into itself and dissipate most of its energy. Hitting that concrete at those speeds is most certain death, luckily they choose to go when a LOT of water was being discharged. A dam in my hometown has a spillway chute with a grade of 86%... not like this one which is probably only around 45%.

      Sorry, I had to.
      • doublefelix, on 11/18/2008, -0/+1No worries. I am familiar with whitewater, not dams, though this looks like fun I'm sure it is intimidating as hell in person. I was just thinking that extreme skiing would be a good analog for this situation; as long as you don't fall, no problem. The last guy hit it just right, as long as you paddle aggressively and go faster than the surrounding water you'll maintain forward momentum even when the water wants to suck you back.
      • elxkid, on 11/19/2008, -0/+145 degrees is double black territory... Man thats steep...
    • donquixotex, on 11/18/2008, -0/+1or losing control and smashing against the walls...
  • tomd123, on 11/18/2008, -5/+0No offense, but is that seriously their tallest dam?
    • Bluemotion, on 11/18/2008, -0/+1you do know big doesnt mean efficient right?
    • behavedave, on 11/18/2008, -0/+1You must remember that in a country like Wales where it rains most days the call for large dams isn't as great as say Arizona. On top of that just the metropolitan region of Las Vegas is almost two thirds of that of the country of Wales.
  • cgruber, on 11/18/2008, -2/+5That doesn't look at all like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H5W1X3RWYE
  • slapded, on 11/18/2008, -0/+4dam.
  • Jamminn, on 11/18/2008, -0/+2Looks good fun :)

    Its just been on Channel 4 news.
  • VirusUK, on 11/18/2008, -0/+3I used to live about 10 miles away from that dam and it's definitely not the biggest in the UK, the are several more dams close by in the Elan Valley with is about 15 miles away which are much bigger and they are not even the biggest. Cool vid though.
  • benderillo, on 11/18/2008, -0/+1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Llyn_Brianne_sp ...
  • lostsymphonies1, on 11/18/2008, -0/+2This is the ultimate "waterslide" for grown ups
  • Nerolus, on 11/18/2008, -0/+121. Close the dam
    2. Build a ramp
    3. Open the dam
    4. Kayak as before
    5. WTF AIRTIME
  • maxami13, on 11/18/2008, -0/+4Forget kayaking, I'm going nipples down!
  • PacmanMafia, on 11/18/2008, -0/+7What about this? Is this what you do if you don't have any kayaks at hand?!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFlR6nSqSZg&feature ...
  • joshua5, on 11/18/2008, -1/+1No rocks, no currents, just a water slide. I COULD DO THAT.
  • franco9x, on 11/18/2008, -0/+1the last run was mind blowing. I've been kayaking for a while now, but i dont think i could handle that. I'd probably crash into the walls within 30 seconds....
  • alexkball, on 11/18/2008, -0/+1That looks like a lot of fun and I would totally do it if you could somehow guarantee I wouldn't get hurt.
  • DirtySanch, on 11/18/2008, -0/+1Kind of looks like he dancing in his kayak on the first two, especially with the music going in background.
  • Daiken, on 11/18/2008, -0/+4Jet powered kayak on Top Gear
    http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/zoom/jet-kayak-is-fast- ...
  • peccadillop, on 11/18/2008, -0/+1what good did those paddles do?
  • W0lf1o, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1Balls of Steel
  • writer0213, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1That is tight. They got some stuff.
  • zionKing, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1Same thing but more interesting video of it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rurDWvb53MY&feature ...
  • tjsmith84, on 11/25/2008, -0/+0Haha quality! That first one looked like it would have hurt!
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2009 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.