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<\/a><\/p>\nThey will join a host of other outdoor experts, including British climber Adele Pennington, the first woman to climb Everest twice, who are hoping to inspire a new generation of extreme adventurers at the first Flo-Llangollen Festival, a three-day fiesta of the great outdoors at the Royal International Pavilion on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 15-17.<\/p>\n
Erik, 28, and Sarah, 27, will be describing their Baffin Island experience as they braved tidal rapids, blizzards, crevasses and polar bears to cross the largest icecap on Baffin Island in a summer where it snowed almost every day with temperatures frequently below zero.<\/p>\n
Erik, now back home in Idaho, USA, said: \u201cI\u2019ve never been to Wales before so I\u2019m excited about coming.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an arduous trip across Baffin Island in the coldest summer they\u2019ve had for 30 years but it\u2019s given us a good story to tell and hopefully it will inspire others to get out and experience what the outdoors has to offer.<\/p>\n \u201cFor Sarah and me, our families took us out camping, rafting and sea kayaking from when we were kids and we just loved it and we\u2019re always looking for new things to take on.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the uncertainty that appeals. Adventure is everything that happens that\u2019s unexpected and that\u2019s what makes it fun.\u201d<\/p>\n Flo-Llangollen is being staged by River Legacy and supported by rural regeneration agency Cadwyn Clwyd and the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.<\/p>\n Organiser Sarah Henderson said: \u201cLlangollen is a perfect place for an event like this because of its fantastic facilities and the fact that it is easily accessible to so many people.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re delighted at the lineup of people we have coming and the range of activities they can try their hands at \u2013 from archery and exe-throwing to white water kayaking and rafting.<\/p>\n \u201cYou could be on a mountain scrambling course with mountaineer Adele Pennington who is coming here from Nepal while for canoeists and kayakers they just don\u2019t get better or more full-on than Erik Boomer.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re even putting on mountain biking courses because Llangollen has the steepest competition track in the world and we\u2019re giving people the chance to canoe across the Froncysyllte Aqueduct and that\u2019s pretty extreme.\u201d<\/p>\n Erik\u2019s Baffin Island trip saw him and Sarah build their own traditional kayaks from wood and skins before setting off down the Weasel River Valley with Erik tackling the wild glacier-fed river in the first week.<\/p>\n It\u2019s ranked as a Class Five, exceedingly difficult, with long and violent rapids, following each other almost without interruption, a boulder-strewn riverbed, big drops, a violent current and a very steep gradient.<\/p>\n But for Erik it was all in a day\u2019s work \u2013 he is the first man ever to take a kayak down the near-sheer, four-drop, 139 foot Racehorse Falls in Washington State, http:\/\/vimeo.com\/10736337<\/a><\/p>\n He and Sarah also had plenty of other hazards to contend with as they followed traditional Inuit routes across the frozen wastes of Baffin Island, often carrying their canoes and equipment and facing tidal rapids, snowstorms and the threat of polar bears.<\/p>\n Sarah, the youngest person to travel to both the North and South Poles and who grew up on Baffin Island, said: \u201cI love it there but there aren\u2019t any roads so you have to snow sled or dog sled everywhere unless you get a plane.<\/p>\n \u201cOur trip was very wet, you\u2019re constantly wet and cold which is tough but we ski-ed, hiked and kayaked across and we were definitely in polar bear territory.<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw their tracks and they were fresh. We didn\u2019t see them but they would have seen us and we had to carry a shotgun and flares just in case because we\u2019ve had previous scary encounters \u2013 some bears are just curious but if they\u2019re hungry they\u2019ll come straight for you.\u201d<\/p>\n David Shiel, Senior Countryside Officer at the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB, said: \u201cThe AONB are providing financial support for the event and are running a number of cycling events over the weekend – combining a cycle along the canal with a boat ride.<\/p>\n \u201cThe event fits into the general move to promote the activity sector in the Dee Valley – Cadwyn and the AONB supporting the Outdoor Forum in the Dee Valley and bringing businesses together.\u201d<\/p>\n The event aims to appeal to people of all ages and aims t get them out and active and Erik Boomer added: \u201cYou\u2019re never too old to enjoy the outdoors and do something different.<\/p>\n \u201cMy dad is 64 and has just learned to back-country ski and he\u2019s having a blast and is in the best shape of his life.\u201d<\/p>\n The three-day festival runs from Friday, November 15, and tickets start at \u00a35 with a wide range of activities available as well as accommodation, including camping \u2013 for full details see the website, http:\/\/www.flo-llangollen.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n For more information on Cadwyn Clwyd projects ring 01824 705802 or e-mail info@cadwynclwyd.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n