At 07:52 PM 11/6/00 -0800, Dave Kruger wrote: >Barbara Kossy wrote: >> >> [snip] Looking over the expanse of water softened by haze, with no nearby >> landmarks, again I became tense. I did the best I could, focusing my sight >> on a nearby paddler. On the way back I asked another paddler if I could >> paddle with him, just so I could have someone to look at as we paddled. If I >> looked over my left shoulder, and out into the empty flat gray bay, I had a >> sensation that could only be compared with looking into a deep elevator >> shaft, or over a sheer cliff into infinity. I felt I was loosing my balance. >> On a 19-inch boat this is not a welcome feeling. > >> Has anyone had similar experiences? > >Yup, and it is scary. > >Once, in a brightly back-lit haze on the water, with no reference marks. And, >another time, in full-on whiteout on a glacier while on mountaineering skis. I haven't experienced this in a kayak but I have while skiing. I was skiing Squaw Valley on a cloudy and snowey day. I rode up a chair and then started to make my way over to another area that is more protected where I felt visibility would be better. About half way there I went through an area where the snow was blowing over the ridge and down the slope and everything got white. I stopped, hoping to wait until the wind dropped a bit so I could see better. Then I felt my skis slip sideways. I was actually still moving but since I had no point of reference I didn't realize it. I sat down for a minute and it started to clear so I continued on. It was really wierd. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Nov 08 2000 - 08:11:26 PST
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