Hélène (pronounced Ay-len with a silent H) began her whitewater career in spring 2005 after moving to Washington DC from beautiful southern California.  She was desperate to find a water sport that would fulfill her need for both fitness and spiritual contentment – and boy, is she glad she had the sense to Google “whitewater Washington DC”!

It wasn’t obvious at first that whitewater kayaking was a good fit for her, as she spent much of her first class alternating between feeling frustrated at her lack of control and terrified of being upside down in her boat.  But there is something so magical about floating on water that she continued to come to the river (that, and she had paid for a bundle of classes in advance).  Soon, she was hooked!  Her favorite paddling experiences involve discovering new rivers with good friends, but summer evenings on the Potomac have their own charm that surpasses even her favorite ice cream flavor (ultimate moose tracks, or anything chocolate-based with chunks of goodness in it).  So you could say that Google changed her life.

In 2009 she became an instructor with LAKS.   Her favorite part of teaching is witnessing the spontaneous apparition of a gigantic grin on a student’s face after running their first rapid.  Here second favorite is when a student brings her homebaked chocolate peanut butter chip cookies – ok, this has never happened, but it’s worth a try.  Be the first!  Hélène has taken part in LAKS Cheat Training four out of the last five years and thinks this is the best spring paddling program around, and a great way to make close river friends too.  Go Team LAKS!

I hope you all have enjoyed meeting Helene.  She is a wonderfully positive person and fun to be on the river with.  We are glad to have her with us for a great season of paddling.