Rafting Life

Blog has Moved

2010-06-03T18:58:00.000-07:00

This Blog has now moved if you glance here be sure to click here and head to the new site which is at http://raftinglife.ca.
This new site has quite a few changes and I am hoping will be a bit more interactive. Look forward to hearing from you how you like it. Feel free to to get in touch under the contact area or check out thinks on the new facebook page.

Cheers

Dave Prothero

Lens Creek, Vancouver Island

2010-04-14T12:22:00.000-07:00

The Lens

Last weekend the flows were running good enough to get in a trip to Lens Creek. This is an absolutely fabulous run. Setting stuff up with Jakub Drnec and Joe Box. I left Comox at 7:30am, knowing it would be a long day with great returns.
With great music and my trusty Honda Accord the drive went fairly smoothly. A couple of stops for good coffee. Met up with the lads at the Park and Ride on the North Cowichan turn off.
From there we drove out into the San Juan Peninsula heading down the Harris main and then into the woods on the Lens Creek Main. First down the West Main which we discover is closed. Boy was it ever, logs and a big ditch. No Passable way through. From there we took the East, which was in fairly good condition. We made it on to the river by 1:00pm.
The Put-in was a nice spot to enjoy a nice little rapid. The action starts downstream a little ways where you drop into the first Canyon. This one is pretty short with only a handful of rapids. We had good flows with the rock at the put in being almost covered.
This provided great action in the second canyon. This is where the goodies are. Loads of sweet rapids with a bit of mank. Had some great light for photography. As Joe said " there is always sun on the lens". It made for a four or so hour day on the river with a nice float out in the end.

Jakub finishing up Stairway to Hell. This section would be difficult to portage and once through this drop the next would be very intertesting if you couldn't run it as you are in a vertical Canyon.

Jakub looking back up toward the waterfall on the Lens. Looked great at this level. Nice and deep where we jumped in. A couple of more drops from here.

Vancouver Island Classic…..Gordon River

2010-04-13T01:30:00.000-07:00

Gordon River… Upper and Middle

Easter weekend extravaganza. THis was a wicked weekend. With a number of other boaters, great levels and some serious driving, the Copper Canyon on the Chemainus river was done at 35cms and I also got a run on the Upper and Middle Gordon river, a classic Vancouver Island Run.

Over 700kms of driving for two very worthwhile rivers. The Chemainus river had heaps of rain coming down while I was there, The river was rising, hence no photos. We had a couple of portages, one due to wood in the middle of a drop, the other was the normal portage below the Headwall rapid. Having been to the Copper Canyon a number of times in the past it was neat to run it with higher flows, as the rocks that normally show in the drop weren't there. Imagine a 800ft wall reaching up on river right and a sweet drop directly ahead of you with a walk option on river left. Just sweet. The rapids were all pretty clean with a bit of push to them. The bonus on this river is at the end you have the opportunity that you can run Bannon Creek Falls. A Cool 42ft waterfall with a slide to drop to slide to drop to slide exit. Pretty cool. Will have video up soon.

We had one swimmer on one of the last rapids of the day. The rescue went fine even though he swam through the rapid below.

I spent the weekend with family as the group ran the Harris river a couple of times and Cameron creek. Joining up for them again in North Cowichan and the mighty Gordon river and its sweet classics of the Upper and Middle Gordon.

We had sweet flows and quickly polished off the Upper Canyon. Afterwards we dropped into the middle. Starting with Loop Creek falls, which at this flow wasn't very nice so we did the slide/ chute thing on river right. It is about a 15ft drop. then straight into a nice chute. It was an amzing day with loads of cool rapids, some scouting a couple of portages and some fun photo taking oportunites. It was unfortunate when we got to the end of the canyon to find that they had logged to the edge of the Canyon rim, and a number of large trees had fallen into the river. Could be cause for caution in later days.

Thanks to Braden, Jakub, Albert, and Chris for the fun times.

SRT weekend with Raven Rescue

2010-03-26T10:08:00.000-07:00

Swiftwater Rescue Training

Two weekends ago I had the opportunity to audit my SRT course on the island. Raven Rescue was running a course down near Parksville. I had just finished my Health Care Course so the timing worked well.

I jumped in my car and following Craig's directions arrived at the Englishan river in the morning just south of Parksville. The morning we spent with some dry land throw bagging and working on different scenarios. The afternoon was spent getting wet. Always my favorite part of the class.

The next day was spent on the Nanaimo river. There is a great little corner set of rapids which are great for praticing different rescue techniques. We spent the morning working on different anchor systems and mechanical advantage systems. Then we spent some time swimming in the Nanimo river. There is one sweet spot to pratice geting recirclated in a hole, which provided some great entertainment.

Great to get out and work on some rescue skills.

Picutres following the read more…cheers

Port Renfrew Kayaking Weekend

2010-03-21T00:09:00.000-07:00

The Ritz, Rivers and Scotch weekend.

This past weekend was a good one. I finished school on the friday, such a nice feeling. From there I headed off to a SRT course with Raven Rescue that took place on the Englishman and Nanaimo rivers. Good cold swimming in tose rivers. Good refresher on skills before heading off to Port Renfrew. Arrived there late on Sunday night and started to check out the flows. Love my little Ipod Touch, as it enabled me to wander down the street to check the river flows off an unrestricted wireless.
The next Moring I got up early to shoot some photos of Shayne surfing out at the mouth of the Gordon River. Nice rolling sets in his homemade surf Boat. Was loving my EOS 50D and 300mm f4 lens. Was able to sit on the beach and get a few nice shots.
By 10am we were loaded with one group heading off to the Gordon and the other consisting of Jeff, Shayne, Daniel, Denny and myself for the Harris River Canyon. If you have seen this river on the way to Port Renfrew you know it is a steep little section. Totalling 2kms long with 5% gradient it is exciting.

Being my first serious creek in awhile it was a good experince with a couple of walks. The last corner was a bit of a mission with some rope work a good ferry across above an interesting looking drop and lots of cool rapids. Two swims were totalled on the run, and one hike out. Which led to a drink from the bootie. UMMM tasty.
Arriving back at the Base in Port Renfrew, known as the Ritz we started to plan the next day. With Mike Neville and Willie showing up we indulged in some nice single malt scotch before crashing for the night.
The next days plan consisted of the upper Gordon river, a Vancouver Island classic, and the middle Hemingstion.
Both were beautiful runs. Unfortunately it was raining quite heavily so not many photos from that day.

It was a great time and finished it off with a quick run down the Cameron river near Mt Arrowsmith on Wednesday morning. A couple of logs too avoid, other than that it was sweet, succulent run a 6 on the gauge. Just a big long waterslide.

Enjoy the Photos!

Upper Browns River

2010-03-08T16:24:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of January I had the opportunity to get out on the Upper Browns river with Joe and Gillian Box. This is a seldom paddled river up in the Comox Valley.
This is a bit of a mission depending on the water level and good to do once and awhile. On this day we had a nice flow of 12-14cms.
We met up and stopped off at Kevin Lewis's place on the Browns River. The nice thing is you can take creek boats from the top and then switch to play boats for the last little bit down to the Puntledge river for big water play.
The drive to the put in is paved till you get to the base of forbidden ski hill, from there it is a bit more convoluted. Some washed out spots here and there. Though my Honda accord did make it up with only a few bumps.
We put in at the base of the Medicine Bowls, there is a portage shortly after this around a nasty slot. In January when we paddled there was a tree in the middle of this drop. It is basically the first corner you come to. Essentially 150m after putting on.
There are three drops near the top and then 6kms of fairly continuous class 3 - 3+. After switching to play boats we headed on down stream running the small falls on the Browns before meeting up with the high water puntledge.
Something interesting about going from 14cms to 350cms. The Puntledge was charging. In the trees and rippin along. This would be a quick trip down to the end.

Enjoy the photos.

Cameron River Vancouver Island

2010-03-02T18:23:00.001-08:00

Cameron River

Located on the way to Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. This is a great creek. The call came from Shayne Vollmers that it would be running around 5-6 on the gauge. This is a very nice level for the Cameron. Provides nice consistent cushioning and nice flow so you can bomb down a lot of stuff. We met up at the gas station just outside Qualicum. Picked up a bit of fuel(read coffee) and we were on our way. Read through the rest of the story by pictures. Little write ups under some.

Filling up at the local gas station. Coffee to go, habitat loaded.

Dan Dunn ready to go for a paddle. View of the take out.

Steve Hunt hiking into the put in. About 30 ft up the road.

The lads on the river with a view of snow covered Mt Arrowsmith in the background.

Dan Dunn on Corner rapid.

Shayne Vollmers on Slot drop

View from above, Steve Hunt running it in style. Love this little Tokina lens and watershed drybags which keep all my gear dry.

The logs which we were a bit interested to see where they ended up. This is where I landed my 8th roll of the day.

Steve Hunt on line and in control.

View at the last raid of the day. Final exam on the Lower Cameron, Dan Dunn rollin through.

Steve Hunt finishing the hike out of the Cameron… where is the elevator? Beautiful forest to hike through.

Dave Prothero heading off to run shuttle…

Vancouver Island Fall Season

2010-03-02T17:07:00.001-08:00

Vancouver Island 2009 Fall Season

The Author and Joe Box looking back up stream after the 2nd drop on Stotan Falls. One more slide to go before the finish. Then it is on to the play. Photo by Jakub Drnec.

Jakub Drnec running the first drop on Stotan Falls on the Puntledge river. Courtenay BC, Vancouver Island.

Well it has been a good season over on the west coast. Finally getting back into paddling after a year and a half off the river due to a broken shoulder, this fall has been pretty good. Huge flows on the puntledge. Some adventuring with a river board, taking my new Wavesport Habitat 80 down a number of runs a couple of new sections, a new river. Some waterfalls and lots of photography. All in all has been sweet.

Here you will find a number of photos showcasing a number of runs. A little write up about each will be included as well.
Follow the link for more

Annie Lagueux running one of the drops on the flood run of the Gordon river on the southern west coast of the San Juan Pennisualia. If you want to do an amazing run with 4 different sections. This is classic paddling. Wonderful grade 3-5…depending on the flow. Some waterfalls.

Gillian Box Running one of the rapids on the Lower Ash river. This is a infrequently run river till this year when a number of groups have hit up the upper and lower section. Check out some footage by Ryan Bayes here.

One of my favourite rivers on the island is in my backyard. The Puntledge provides easy access a great playboat section with a nice section of 9 class 3-5 slides on the top section. Here is Dan Dunn going for a loop at Tarp and Play. This is the main spot people paddle at the Puntledge Festival which is upcoming this May 28-30.

Here is Jakub Drnec and Joe Box having a play in the hole with the New Jackson Dynamic Duo. Check out this link to see more of it in action. Had a paddle down the lower puntledge in it and found it to be quite exciting and easy to control.

Another classic on the Island is the Nanaimo river, with a number of different sections. Here is Shayne Vollmers dropping through one of the holes on the lower section of the river.

The group hiking out after a good day on the Nanaimo river.

Close by to Nanaimo… in fact in the downtown core, about 2mins from the bus station is the Millstone river. This is a photo by Shayne Vollmers of the Author running off this nice little downtown drop.

More updates to come.

Fall Time Paddling, Vancouver Island.

2008-11-25T13:51:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago we had a bit of rain on the Island. It was warm, so the rivers picked up with lots of water. The Puntledge was having a release due to this and it's main tributary was running as well. A number of paddlers were in the area from Victoria, the Valley, Nanaimo, Europe and NZ.

I am still not paddling at this point but hope to be next year. I went out just to do some photography. The fall colours were beautiful and the river was at a nice level.

A few of the kayakers were keen to paddle the falls on the Browns, it is an interesting 12-15ft drop with a few different lines. The right line was a bit boxed in by a tree, the far left line is shallow in a couple of places. They decided on the middle line, Gord, Gillian, and Todd, had nice lines down the middle. The others were running safety and scoping out how it went for them. Tyler then headed up to run the drop next. Unfortunately things didn't go quite as well for him.

Tyler came off the top went a bit further to the left and ended up back under the drop. Apparently there is a rock back there as well, because that messed up a couple of his roll attempts. He ended up swimming, with Gord off chasing his boat.

Tyler was throw-bagged in, and Gord had got the boat stuck on some rocks out in the middle of the river. After a half hour or so the boat and paddler were reunited and they paddled off down to the confluence with the Puntledge. From there many play waves waited. I was able to connect with them for some shots on the lovely tarp and play wave. If you come to Vancouver Island in the early summer try to connect with the Puntledge Festival when BC Hydro releases 100cms for two days.

Fall time has arrived.

Checking the Level, also good to look here.

Short hike in from the parked car.

Heading to the put in.

Gord playing on a small hole near the put in on the Browns.

Gord and Gillian paddling down the Browns.

The boys look as Gord huck's off the drop.

Gord dropping in.

Arising from the deep.

Todd smooth sailing down the middle line.

Gillian cruising down the middle of the Browns Falls.

Tyler happy to find the boat stuck and not floating off down the river somewhere.

Gord with his catch.

Getting a rope out to the rock so we can pull the boat in.

Hmmm.......

Tarp and Play, Puntledge River.

Gillian throwing ends.

Carrie surfing it up.

Such a nice spot, Gord tearing it up.

Todd enjoying his Jackson 4Fun.

Photos by Dave Prothero Photography.

Slalom Demo, Puntledge Festival 08

2008-06-06T09:15:00.000-07:00

On June 1st, Andrew Mylly, president of CKBC whitewater, organized a six gate slalom demo on the Tuslom river. This was done at the same time as the Puntledge River Festival. With almost thirty people participating in OC1 & 2's, C1m & w's and K1w & m's it was a great way to check out this demanding sport.
Thanks to Andrew for organizing this demonstration and leaving the gates on the Island so we can hold more of these events here.

Andrew Mylly heading over the starting line.

Andrew focused as he heads between one of the up stream gates.

Bob Bilco, in a C-1, carving his way between the gates.

Sharon Tomlinson getting ready to paddle the course.

Canoe results.

Kayak results.

Please click on the sheets to enlarge them, to see the times and who participated.
Look forward, maybe, to a race on the Puntledge for next year....?

Photos by David Prothero
Dave Prothero Photography c2008

Puntledge River Paddle Festival 08

2008-06-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

Looking toward the Beaufort range and the Comox Glacier

Local Kevin Lewis going for a loop at tarp and play.

The 4th annual Puntledge Festival was a great success. With over 130 participants from Vancouver Island, Mainland, and beyond it's one of the largest river paddling festivals in BC.

The river consists of three different sections to meet the needs of different paddlers. BC Hydro releases water for the two days, ranging from 85-110 cms.

The Power line section to the lower fish hatchery is class 3-3+ at these flows. The section below the fish hatchery is class 2-3 at these flows.

From the first morning there were shuttles going to both put-in's from 9:00am, the last people getting off the river at around 8pm on Saturday evening, after two or three runs.

The main waves that people play on are The Three Little Pigs just after you put in on the river. Downstream is the Tarp and Play wave, this has a nice eddy with room for 15 boats. Above the lower fish hatchery there is also the river wide wave/hole, for those a bit more daring, ladder hole, and some smaller waves down to the hatchery.

For the lower run you will find Hatchery wave on river right, the Puntledge park surfing waves and Grahams waves, a little ways above the take out.

All of this makes for a nice day out.

Volunteers enjoying a nice day in the sun. Cam going for a bit of air time on the wave.

This year the event took place at Maple Pool Campsite, the camping was on a big grass area with fire pits spread around. The take out was an easy walk back to the camping spots. There was a mix of different crafts around from play boats, open canoes, closed canoes, creekboats, and one raft.

Though not part of the festival coverage there is, for the more experinced paddler, the upper Puntledge run and the Browns river to paddle on in close vicinity. The upper Puntledge consists of nine different slides ranging from 30 ft to over 200 ft. Most notable is Stotan falls which has two 16 ft drops thrown in for fun. I would like to see a race down this as a seperate event for next year...looking for suggestions and ideas.

Jiri following Jakub Drenc over the river left line on the first drop of Stotan falls.

Waking up at 6:30am to take some early morning photographs, found that a trailer needed to be constructed so, Shayne picked up some wood, Wayne drilled, Jeff held and tied it down, and voila a trailer was born to hold 20 plus boats. Not bad for early morning construction.

Wayne and Jeff hard at work early in the morning.

The trailer completed and boats being loaded. Look close and you can see the extra protection of duct tape. Thanks Shayne.

People enjoying a few drinks around a campfire on the first night.

Waiting for a turn on the wave.

Glen Geddes thrown down in Tarp and Play wave.

Al Leighton is glad he made the trip down from Prince George.

Stylish surfing on Tarp and Play.

And the winner of the wet-suit contest is....!

One of the UVIC kayak club putting on a bit of a fire spinning show Saturday night.

Saturday night once everyone had gotten off the river, there was a round of prize draws from all the sponsors of the event. Afterwards there was a talk by Jakub Drnec of the BC Creek Protection Society on Run of River projects that are happening around BC. Next up was a video on kayaking on Vancouver island followed by one on rafting in Iceland and Honduras.

Dog hanging out while out does a bit of playing in the sun.

Will enjoying a morning cup of coffee.

Snail out enjoying the sun on one of the trails down to the river.

Jeff Lewis going for a flip turn.

Charlene Rosen surfing it up

Lots of people lots of good rides at the Maple pool Campsite.

Jiri running the first drop on Stotan falls as the boys and Jakub look on.

Kevin Whiting running the 2nd drop on Stotan falls, from here you go left and down the 90ft slide below.

Play boats galore.

Jiri on one of the other local runs in the area. The upper Browns connects to the Puntledge at the power lines and is a class 3-4+ creek run with a couple of portages. Though people do run it in play boats, it's good to go with a guide and watch out for wood. Photo courtesy of Jakub Drnec.

Photography by David Prothero

Dave Prothero Photography c2008

4th Annual Puntledge Festival is coming up

2008-05-10T13:39:00.000-07:00

1st drop of Stotan falls at the festival release level. Pic by Shayne Vollmers.

Here is something to mark on you calendar for the end of May.

The 4th Annual Puntledge Festival takes place in the Comox Valley on May 30th -June 1st. This is a great time to meet up with old friends and try out one of the top rivers on the Island with guaranteed flows thanks to VIWPS and BC Hydro. You can see an article here regarding some help that is needed for trail reconstruction.

Surfing it up in Tarp and Play.

2nd drop on Stotan Falls and 1 more slide to go. Pic by Shayne Vollmers.

Other pic by Dave Prothero. c2008

Surfing at Okisolo Tidal Rapid.

2008-05-08T11:21:00.000-07:00

Coast Mountain Expeditions Discovery Lodge is a great place to base out of for the trip. Look forward to enjoying a hot sauna after a day on the wave.

Tired Of Lines at Skook, Head a little bit further north.

Last weekend I joined up with Shayne, Carrie, and Brian for a couple of days surfing at the Okisolo tidal rapids. This little known wave is located on the east coast of Vancover Island. To get there is a bit of a mission but as the photos will show it is well worth the effort.

Head north from Nanaimo till you hit Campbell River, from there you head to Quadra Island by the quickest ferry going. Then a forty minute drive will have you at the Discovery Lodge with your hosts Lannie and Ralph Keller.

We spent a couple of sunny days playing at the wave. It was running around 11 knots or 19kmph. This offered us lots of time to get the OC-1, sea, surf and whitewater kayaks out on the wave. Being not able to paddle afforded me lots of time to get get out and play with my camera and managed to shoot photos from a number of different locations and different angles.

With time in the evenings being filled with food, drink, a couple of slideshows and a sauna. All in all a great way to spend the weekend. Have a look here to find a good flow.

Enjoy the photos from this great location

Shayne trying out his luck in a pool above the rapid. No luck there, but pick up two good sized Ling Cod that evening.

Our handy motorboat transport. A must to get to the wave. Takes about 15mins by boat.

Albert Keller carving it up in a sea kayak.

Carrie Smith having some fun.

With only four people surfing, equals lots of time on the wave, Albert into his 10th minute on the wave.

Carrie Smith taken her little Rad for a ride in Surfers left.

Brian in his C-1 having a go on the wave.

Taking a close out.

Albert Keller carving down the face.

Ladies and gentleman we have lift off.

Brian and Shayne on the tandem surf session.

Vollmers blunting when the wave is near the peak.

Brian making it look easy in Esquif "Spark".

Shayne watching the shoulder come down.

All photos copyright of Dave Prothero Photography c2008.

Rivers of Vancouver Island

2008-03-22T16:33:00.001-07:00

Gordon river bay, west coast, Vancouver Island.

This is a bit longer version of the other video I put on my blog a little while back.

It covers a brief bit of 13 different rivers on Vancouver Island from the north around Sayward down to Cowichan and out toward Bamfield. These are just short sections. The whole video being less than ten minutes in length. There are still shots from other rivers and creeks on the island, these include the Heber, Ucona, Gordon, Cameron and Copper Conyon of the Chemanius river.

To get to the video please see www.youtube.com/raftinglife

Enjoy the photos here of some other spots on the island.

The middle Gordon river, Shayne Vollmers droppin in.

Tim sneaking on the upper Gordon.

Author on the first drop of Stotan Falls, Puntledge River. Photo by Shayne.

Switching boats, Top section creek boats, bottom section play, puntledge river.

Shayne Vollmers, playing it up. Puntledge river.

Jan Dettmer, Cameron river.

Joe Box, Falls on the White river.

Jakub Drnec, first drop on the Ucona river.

Peppi, running the last drop of the double on the Ucona river.

Shayne Vollmers in the midist of the canyon on the Heber river.

Photos by David Prothero.

SOUTH AMERICA CHAPTER, PART II

2008-02-26T12:55:00.000-08:00

Freddy going big at Magic Carpet.

The Rio Futaleufu

After getting down the Rio Manso, I headed off to the small town of Futaleufu just inside the Chilean border. One bus, a taxi and a short walk between the border of Argentina and Chile and then a ride hitched to town and I was there.

I was dropped off at Casa Azul, where the company Futaleufu Explore is based. This is the company that I would be working for the next couple of months. Something that would come not to be.

Over the next few weeks, I went kayaking, rafting, and catarafting on the Rio Futa and Rio Azul. Made some good friends, and managed to get down all the sections on the Futa. It is a pretty and powerful river. I was looking forward to when it got busier.

Unfortunately at the end of January I dropped a cataraft, that myself and Alonzo were re flipping, on to my shoulder. Giving myself a dislocation, an alluvial fracture and some nerve and tendon damage. Thus ending my season.

I am now back in Canada working on some things here and trying to heal.

See ya on the river

Santiago ready for the day.

Heading out for the start of day 3, Terminator to Casa de Piedra section.

Looking up to the top of Terminator rapid.

Josh punching through.

Freddy getting a good hit in the Himalayas.

The Lads just before the bridge to bridge

A little action at Mundaka.

Dave coming through the top part of Casa de Piedra.

Having a little dinner, Chilean time 10pm.

Arno hanging out in his new Diesel kayak

David heading down one of the last rapids on the Bridge to Bridge section.

Photos by David Prothero

Vancouver Island Paddling

2008-02-21T11:34:00.000-08:00

This is a short video of some footage from 12 different rivers on Vancouver Island.

As I am currently injured I am working on some old rafting and kayaking footage I shot back in 2004.

This is part of a larger project involving locations in Iceland, Vancouver Island and Honduras.

For Info on paddling on the Island please see the following websites, www.surfkayak.org, Vancouver Islands Whitewater Paddling Society. www.bc-ww.com for a list of rivers & creeks on the Island. www.bc-creeks.org to see what is happening with dams on the mainland and the island.

Enjoy.

Video by David Prothero

Additional filming by Chris Bozman, Al Dumas.

The South America Chapter

2008-01-25T06:21:00.000-08:00

The Rio Manso, Argentina.

Author, suited up and on the way to the office.

After spending christmas at home in Canada. Seeing the family and hanging out with friends and doing a few runs down the lovely Puntledge river, including one run on the upper section, which has 9 beautiful slides and drops. After all the fun and festivies where over it was time to pack the bags again and make for the south. Destination the Futaleufu river.
After a good amount of flying through Chicago, Washington, down to Beuno Aires, then further south to San Carlos de Bariloche I was absolutlely knackered. This might also have something to do with the fact I had a bit of wine at the airport wine bar in Washington, DC.
So arriving in Bariloche, a town somewhat similar to Whistler or Queenstown, at New Years with no reservation for a hosteria was fairly interesting. Meeting up with the folks at Patagonia Rafting, I was able to get sorted out with a place just outside of town. At the same time I hooked up a kayak for a trip with the rafters on the Rio Manso.
The Rio Manso trip is about 100kms from Bariloche. It takes about 2 hours more or less on the water and goes through some great rock canyons with some grade 3-4 rapids. There is also the possiblitly for a 3 day self support kayak trip out to the pacific through Chile. That section is more grade 4-5 rapids.
The day finished with a great asado of grilled chicken, carne, and lamb with salad and wine. After that it was the drive back to Bariloche before continuning the journey down to Futaleufu. Enjoy the photos.

The top end of the Rio Manso is grade 2-3 for the first 30mins or so before picking up in some nice little canyons.

Santiago and myself hanging out in an eddy.

Rafters getting a bit wet.

In amongst one of the nice canyons.

Crusing along in the Gus.

Author, lining up for the next drop.

Santiago busting through one of the harder rapids.

The raft, shot from above, about to get a nice hit.

Drifting out the end, where we were met with horses to carry the rafts up to the van. Also the rafting section finishes up directly on the border with Chile.

Thanks for the photos by Rodrigo Connor, photographer for Patagonia Rafting.

Swiftwater Rescue Technican

2007-12-21T15:48:00.000-08:00

SRT Level 1

Every couple of years this a course that needs to be redone. Just arriving home from India for Christmas, and leaving for Chile at the end of the month, I saw that Raven Rescue was running a course on the Nanaimo river. Though not the warmest location in the world, it would get me certified through 2010 with Rescue 3 International with the opportunity to audit the course for free within 3 yrs.
We had a pretty cool class of hydrologists, and people who worked around streams, creeks and rivers. This meant the course was geared toward swimming and lots of it. Good practice as always in water that was 2.5 degrees.

Enjoy the photos from this winter excursion. If in the area and interested in a course contact Craig Gerrard or Raven Rescue.

Setting up rescue systems.

The prusik knot.

Typical mechanical advantage system, or Z drag.

The Prussik Brake.

Gearing up for the swim.

Gear heading down to the bank of the Nanaimo river. Running at 30cms for the course, it hit 1200cms a few days before.

Setting up for the start of swimming on day 2.

Aggressive swimming.

Playing at a little hole swimming.

Shallow water crossings.

Live bait rescue and contact swimming.

Photos by David Prothero

Return to Vancouver Island

2007-12-21T13:08:00.001-08:00

Sunrise in the Valley.

Paddling the Puntledge

I recently arrived back to Canada from India and was lucky enough to have the Puntledge river running. This is a river that because of the efforts of the VIWPS, is one of the only rivers that BC Hydro releases for recreational use. There is a rather large festival here at the end of May, this coming year being the fourth of this event.
With a bunch of fresh rain, I was able to get in one run down the Upper run of the Puntledge which features 9 slides, with with two 18ft drops and another with a 400ft long slide. After that it was a couple of days of play boating in cooler temps of -1-0 degrees. A big switch from India.
We did have a good showing with 12-14 paddlers out each day. Some from Victoria a few hours south.

Enjoy the photos of some of the features.

Looking down toward Denman Is. from the Dyke road on the way to the Puntledge.

No more shorts and sandals for paddling. Snow Boating.

Gillian Luttrell rippin it up on one of the Three Pigs. This is the first set of waves that you come upon on the river. About four like this in a row. Have to hike back to the top, but it is worth it.

Getting the fire going.

Brian Oertli.

Brian tearing it up in his C-1 scooter.

Nice wave, eh.

Carrie Smith enjoying some playtime on the wave.

The cold weather does cut down on wait times for surfing.

Author takes a break from shooting photos to get out on the wave. Photo by Shayne Vollmers.

Shayne Vollmers getting in a blunt.

Photos by David Prothero

The Brahmaputra River, Northeast India.

2007-12-15T10:46:00.000-08:00

The Brahmaputra River or the Siang river as it is called in Arunachal Pradesh.

The drive to the Put in.

I first heard of this river when I worked with Kim Hartlin at my first rafting job on the Bow river in Banff, AB. I continued rafting and cooking in a variety of locations over the years, then I read an article in 2002 in Paddler of the first commercial trip down the river that Aquaterra had run.
5 years later I got on to a trip as a guide. What a great river. Beautiful scenery, huge rapids, big sandy beaches, camp fires and excellent food.
Just an interesting experience getting to the river. Flying into Dibrugarh along the Himalaya mountain ranges of Nepal and Bhutan, 8 hours on a ferry up the Brahamaputra to Pasighat, and then a two day drive to the put in just below Tuting.
Once at the top of the river, we would spend the next seven days heading down the river, rafting 180kms of this beautiful river.
We had a great group of lads and lasses on this trip, the weather was unreal and though the water was low, there were still those twenty foot waves that seemed to be in each rapid we went down. Some spots that where usually flat, now were big providing great entertainment.
Look forward to doing this trip again in the future. For info please contact Aquaterra Adventures.

Will let the photos say the rest. Enjoy.

Local man fishing with a boom net on the ferry ride up the Brahmaputra.

Local transportation.

The bamboo bridges that cross the river. All bridges were wiped out in the flood of 2000 when the river rose 150ft. Photo by Jam McManus.

Kayaking through Ninging rapid. Photo by Jam McManus.

Locals fishing for catfish and sucker fish. Made for an excellent snack before dinner.

Future Kayaker?

Looking back upstream at the last nights camp. Photo by Jam McManus.

Beautiful flowers.

Gappu enjoying an afternoon cup of Chai.

Local Adi tribes women doing traditional dancing.

Sanjay styling through one of the rapids. Photo by Jam McManus.

One of the kids who came by on the rest day.

Rana going for a nice hit on one of the smaller rapids. Photo by Jam McManus.

Photos by David Prothero

Kali Ganga, another paddling trip......almost.

2007-11-11T04:18:00.000-08:00

KALI GANGA

The boys, Myself, Andi, and Kanhan.

Last week, we had a bit of slow time at Aquaterra, so sitting around the campfire sharing a bit of rum we made a plan. Andi, Kanhan, and myself decided to go and check out the upper part of the Mandakini river.

We got our hands on a map of Uttarakhand and saw that a road ran up to the town of Kalimath. Figuring that this would be a good place to start, we hired a car and headed off.

Kalimath is a very small village, but we were able to secure a place to stay and somewhere to eat. On the drive up we had been able to get an idea of what the river was like and though it was low it would be runnable. After dinner and a couple of drinks we slept with eager anticipation of the run tomorrow.

The plan was to paddle 4.5kms on the Kali Ganga and then 15-20kms on the Mandakini river the first day. Then run the lower 20kms on the Mandakini river the second day. This was not to be. We had paddled a few smaller drops and had a portage when we saw three guys scrambling around on river left. They waved us over wanting to talk. Not really sure what was going on myself and Kanhan Singh went over. Very quickly we realized that these were DFO agents sent down by the Forest Ranger. They wanted to know where our permit was.

This river is listed on any map as a sanctuary or protected area. Apparently that has changed. They wanted us to hike half a km up to the road, we told them that we would meet them downstream where the river was next to the road. That settled, we headed off for the last 3kms of the Kali Ganga.

Lots of drops and a couple more portages ensued. A great run and would be even nicer with a foot or so more water in it.

We arrived downstream at a bridge to find a group of six waiting for us. Kanhan Singh and myself went up to chat to the fellows, which ended in Kanhan being hauled into the car and being driven off to Rudyaprayag. Myself and Andi quickly followed after loading the boats and gear. It took a while to sort out in town but that was the end of the trip and we were down 2000 rupees, which we slid to the head ranger in the parking lot. Of course it was a lot better than paying 10000. A money grab? Hmmm. Also check out the blog http://www.adventuresinpacland.blogspot.com/ or http://www.passion4adventure.blogspot.com/ to see some other good paddling places in Uttarakhand.

Our driver enjoying a cup of Chai.

The happening town of Kalimath.

Andi and Kanhan Singh hiking down to the river.

Andi styling through one of the drops.

Looking back upstream at one of the fun ones.

Andi.

Andi dropping down in the sunshine.

A nice little double drop as Andi comes through the middle.

Kanhan Singh.

The boys in one of the little canyons.

Kanhan Singh on one of the last little rapids.

Chilling at the DFO office in Rudyaprayag.

The end of our paddling trip this time.

Photos by David Prothero.

Kali/Sarda River 2007

2007-11-07T00:29:00.000-08:00

Enjoying the campfire on the Kali/Sarda River Expedition.

The Kali/Sarda River

On the morning of the 26th we meet our clients at the train station in Kathgodam. From here it would be a day and half of driving to get to the put in at Jauljibi. We had an overnight stop at Pithoragarh, during this time there where a few stops for chai, food and good views.

The Kali/Sarda river forms the border between India and Nepal. At our put in we organized our clients and gear for the trip. We would be spending the next 6 days on the river, running over 125kms downstream. On the 2nd day we pass the last town that we would see at Jhulaghat where we picked up a few supplies.

From then on the nearest road would be 4-6 hours walk away. We managed to get some pumpkins form the Chooka village to celebrate Halloween in style, complete with some glow stick poi spinning.

I had a boatload of boys from Chennai, which is located in south India. During the afternoon and evenings lots of games took place. From Frisbee, though one was given to the river gods, fastball, multiple games of charades and, of course, Cricket. Patrick declared himself bartender early on in the trip, so we had a working bartender and lots of campfires.

It was a memorable trip on the river. Loads of fun and had great weather the whole way down.

Enjoy the photos.

Playing life size chess at one of the breakfast stops.

Some nice views.

On the way to the river in the morning, the per usual chai stop.

Some local kids at one of the camps.

Mid way through the trip is the perfect shower.....

a little waterfall hidden away from the beach.

On the Nepal side is a temple of bells.

Eli charging the meat.

Truck and trailer through the waves.

Sunset at the Chooka village.

The boys working hard.

Celebrating Halloween on the banks of the Kali.

Kim Hartlin rowing in to check out the cool rock formations.

Pepper and Jody floating along.

Anvesh in one of the many rapids.

Photos by David Prothero

Whitewater shots by James McManus

Kayaking Road Trip, Alakanada Valley

2007-10-23T02:44:00.000-07:00

From L-R, Author, Kanhan Singh, Phil Carrivick at the put in of the Pindar river.

THE PINDAR AND UPPER ALAKANADA

This trip we keep talking about at camp. It got sorted out when I visited Rana with a bottle of 15yr old Dalwhinnie. Got him to check the schedule not once, but twice, thus giving us a total of 3 days off and secured a jeep and driver for the trip.
The next afternoon at 2pm we were off. It was a seven hour drive to Karanprayag and when we arrived the Pindar river looked like it had a nice flow. After some rum, a dinner of roasted murga(chicken), dal chapati and bhat and a good sleep, we were off to the put in a few kms above Thrali. The whole run is roadside and approx 50kms long of grade 3-4 continuous rapids.
It was done for probably the first time in 1993, and has seen a few other descents since then. That is the neat thing about India, no guide books so you don't know exactly what is around each corner. We ran pretty consistently with a few photo stops, a scout or two, and lunch and the run took us about 6 hours.
This would be a nice run to do in a couple of days. There is another town to stop in, this would make it a light two day trip. There also was numerous nice little play waves spread along the river, with a handy one at the end of the river, but after 6 hours of boating we were all pretty tired. So it was back to the truck, get changed, have a cup of chai. From there it was off to Nandprayag.

Phil and Kanhan dropping into one of the fun sections.

Kanhan after making it though a nice one.

The boys running together as the river drops around the corner.

Phil at the entrance to one of the steeper ones.

Phil pointing out the hydraulic at km35 that we where glad we stopped to look at.

Using my high gear watch to measure the gradient of the Pindar river.

See graph at top of watch.

We drove up from Nadaprayag the next morning to have breakfast in Ghaat. This road follows the Nandakini river for 19kms. We where hoping to have a go on this river. Unfortunately it was too low, firstly due to the fact that we were there a bit late in the season, secondly due to the fact that there is one run of river dam project on it, and another currently being built. Still a beautiful drive and nice to see where some companies start the Kuari Pass trek from.

After having breakfast we headed off to the upper Alakanada. The section we did runs from Bhari, about 9kms above Chamoli, to Nadaprayag giving us a nice grade3-4+ 20km long section. This was another just read and run section with a couple of scouts and a nice play wave three quarters of the way down.

After that it was time to head back to the banks of the Ganges. All in all a good three day paddling trip.

Watchful children at the put in to the upper Alakanada.

Boating among the boulders.

Kanhan Singh styling down one of the bigger ones.

Phil enjoying the day.

Phil going past a local fisherman sitting on the right side of mushroom rock.

Author surfing it up in the SCUD on the upper Alakanada. Photo by Phil Carrivick

Photos by David Prothero

Sutlej River, 2007

2007-10-19T03:21:00.000-07:00

THE KAILASH SACRED RIVER QUEST

One of the Gujar(local cattleman) along the banks of the river. These Cattlemen spend 6 months in the valley with there family before heading on a 15 day trek back into the hills during the summer.

Working with Aquaterra this year has been a great experience. I have been able to get out on a number of different trips. This year we did the 2nd commercial descent of the Sutlej river from Rampur, the 1st descent was back in 2001 by Steve Currey.
This is a beautiful river in Himachal Pradesh, the run is great with 80 odd rapids in the grade 2-3+ range, a couple of grade 4's and one portage within the 116kms of river that we ran. The trip was part of a groups quest on running four of the sacred rivers that run off Mt. Kailash in Tibet. So far they they have done the Siang in Northeastern India, the Karnali in Nepal, and the Sutlej in Himachal Pradesh. Next on the list is the Indus.

We started the trip with a couple of high water days on the Ganges before making a drive through four river valleys to the Tons river. Early the next morning we rafted a short section on this river. Going from 30,000cfs on the Ganges to 2,000cfs on the Tons was a good change. From there we made the drive up the Pabar river valley and over to Shimla, the capital of Himachal, where we stayed at the Woodville Palace. There is lots of history from the Raj period here. From there we drove over the famous ski hill of Narkanda and down to the Sutlej valley ending our drive at Rampur. From here we would be on the river for the next six days.

The team consisted of guys from India, Wales, Ireland, and England.

The first few days where very nice grade three and some grade four, all read and running with one scout. After that the river mellowed out a bit on our way down to Tattapani. This was nice to spend the afternoon with a sulphur soak in the tubs of one of the guest houses here.

Day 5 we dropped into the gorge section of the river for the next two days. So we loaded all the gear onto the cataraft and gear boat and headed downstream. A great section with rapids on almost every corner and towering canyon walls surrounding us.

We arrived at the last camp on the river fairly shortly after lunch which made for another relaxing afternoon of playing cards, book reading and chilling out. We had received info the day before that the dam being built downstream had progressed further than we had thought. As was such, our trip would be shortened by about 9kms. Vaibhav coaxed the dam officials to give us permission to get out there and arranged porters for the takeout.

The Dam pushes the Sutlej through two tunnels and has blocked off 4kms of the river which we drove through after loading the gear. This dam will flood almost the whole section that we rafted, almost to Lahuri. Leaving just 30kms of good river left. This will probably happen within the next five years. Check out Aquaterra to see about the availability of this trip before it is under water.

Enjoy the photos.

Floating down the Sutlej, Vaibhav and Rajiv lead the way.

Local Gujar family along the banks of the river.

Camp on the banks of the Sutlej.

Kanhan Singh playing it up in a hole.

Local Gujar boys in the Sutlej valley.

Simon ripping it up on the Sutlej. Photo by Mark Corti.

Vaibhav and Rajiv coming through a big one. Photo by Mark Corti.

Airborne. Photo by Mark Corti.

Checking out downstream, watching out for the cave on river right. Photo by Mark Corti.

Kanhan taking the sneak line on the portage. Photo by Bob Person.

Rajiv back on the water, with author looking on after portage.
Photo by Bob Person.

Kanhan and myself R2 after the portage. Photo by Daniel Geoghan.

In one of the beautiful canyons on Day 5.

Photos by David Prothero.
For other great photos by Mark Corti, check out http://www.lightflowinterrupted.com/

London to Leh, 2nd Zanskar River Trip

2007-09-27T04:33:00.001-07:00

The shirts they had made for the trip.

This season was a good one. Getting onto two trips down the Zanskar River. The second one was with a group of kids from the Laburnum Canoe Club in Hackney, England. They where aiming to be the first group of youth to kayak/raft down the river with the youngest one 15 and the oldest 19. They had the past year raising 24000 pounds to get the eleven of them and there 3 leaders over to India.
I meet them all a little past Kargil on there first night driving to the Put in. This was because after finishing my first trip, I jumped into a Sumo Jeep with all my gear and the last Harry Potter Novel and got driven back up to the top of the river.
Meeting up with the group was great. All were full of energy and some sang all the way to the river. Some great sights on the way over as well. Eventually you just stop counting glaciers.

It was a great five days on the river and with only six swims, I would say they did quite well. Enjoy the Photos.

Leaving from Remalla on the first day on the Stod river which eventually converges with the

Tsarap Chu to make the Zanskar.

Local kids checking out kayaks at the Put in.

The rafters enjoying the mellowness on the first day.

Kitchen tent set up at the windiness camp in the world. Not Kidding!

Drakes was one of the sponsors for the trip.

Snack stop in the midst of the canyon, day 3.

Sanjay, Sam and one of the cooks rocking through 18 down, a place where a couple of rafts went over. Thus causing 18 people to swim.

Pulled over at a waterfall for lunch that comes out of the rock cliff.

Matt Tidy in the lead heading down the centre of the river.

Terry surfing it up in the Dagger( another sponsor) Mamba.

The kayakers in the red canyon of the Zanskar River.

Rafters and gear boats enjoying the late afternoon sun.

Photos by David Prothero

Nayar River, India

2007-09-27T04:13:00.000-07:00

The ride that got Bishnu and myself to the Put in.

A couple of weeks ago Bishnu and myself hit up one of the tributaries of the Ganges near Rishikesh. It was running a bit low but it was float able and made a nice change from the larger Ganges River.
We drove 15kms up river from town. Arriving at Bijni we proceeded down to the river though the village, a word I use loosely as there were four houses. From the put in we found a few grade 2-3 rapids that would be a bit more fun with 2-3ft more water in them. That is for another time.

Just before the walk down to the Put in. Chilling in the sun.

Bishnu doing a Pooja on the boats before we head down stream.

The good luck of the incense and coconut.

Local fisherman on the river.

Bishnu boofing in one of the small rapids.

On one of the longer ones.

Cruising under the bridge just before the confluence with the Ganges River. Photo by Bishnu.

Bishnu heading over to the Ganges.

Downtown Rishikesh transport back to the rafting shed. Tuk Tuks rule.

Photos by David Prothero.

Zanskar River, Ladakh, India

2007-09-19T07:19:00.000-07:00

Sunset.

The confluence of the Zanskar and Indus rivers, looking up the Zanskar Valley.

The Zanskar river. What a great place.

After leaving Leh and driving toward Kargil, leaving behind Stok-Kangri massif, we headed off on what would be a 3 day drive to the put-in. Kargil was an interesting first stop with an 80% Muslim population, and a place that has been on the map of wars in the not to distant past. Being able to see some of the old marks of the wars was interesting.

After the night in Kargil we headed off along the Suru river on which they are currently building a dam. Heading into the Zanskar valley means that we would be crossing Pensi La, at just over 14000ft, to reach Padum, the administrative centre of this area. This road was originally built in 1979 and you can see the effects of tourism as they are now building a shorter route to Padum directly through the Zanskar gorge.

We spend one night in Rangdum which is a beautiful valley with mountians of amazing geology surrounding you and the Rangdum Gompa standing in the distance. The next day crossing the pass and following the Stod or Doda river to Remala before it and the Tsarp Chu converge to make the Zanskar River.

From this point onwards will be on the river for the next six days of relaxing, eating, enjoying the view and doing some excellent rafting.

Enjoy the photos and check out Aquaterra Adventures or Water by Nature for more info on this trip.

Looking up the valley at Rangdum, 13000ft of elevation above sea level.

Passing one of the check posts in this area.

Drang-Drung Glacier greets you as you head down from the top of the pass. The put in is not further along.

Evening activities on the rest day. Do be careful with burning objects.

Dave H. spinning it up with Poys made out of petzel headlamps.

Village kids from the village of Nyerak on the rest day.

Raft rigged and ready to go on the 2nd day.

Third day camp, not a bad view, Eh!

Truck driving past some nice mountains near the entrance to the Zanskar Gorge.

Mule on the move at the third day camp.

Safety Kayaker in the Gorge.

Photos by David Prothero.

Leh, Ladakh, India 2007

2007-09-19T06:12:00.000-07:00

Tsemo Gompa perched above the hills of Leh.

Leh is the capital of Ladakh, located up in the remote area of Jammu and Kashmir, India at 11,500ft. It spreads itself out from Shey Palace, loads of mud-brick housing and concrete buildings out towards the Indus river and the irrigated farm land that resides beside it.

It has a huge military presence due to its location within Kashmir and the position of the Line of Control and China. I say it is remote because the road is only open a few months out of the year and flying there can be difficult to not possible in the winter. During the winter it is mostly the military and their families who are a mainstay of the locals, as tourists hardly ever come.

I had the opportunity to drive there and fly out this year, and both where quite exciting. It is a great place because besides the military there is a huge Buddhist contingent, with the Dali Lama living here off and on throughout the year.

Ladakh was originally opened to foreign tourists back in 1974,. not that long ago and now as I found out reading The Times of India they are about to do a trek on the Siachen Glacier, the second largest glacier in the Karakorm, with civilians, formerly the worlds highest battlefield.

Gompa in the hills near Leh.

Monk looking down on the visitors at the Tikse Gompa.

Candle from the inside of Tsemo Gompa.

Tikse Gompa in the morning sun.

Leh itself has lots of options of things to do. From going to the Nubra valley over the worlds highest motor able pass at 18320ft, heading up to and visiting multipule gompas and stupas, to going rafting on the Indus or Zanskar rivers, or you can go walking to some amazing valleys. If none of that interests you there are a multitude of restaurants, cafes, and shops to spend time at while relaxing at in town.

At the top of Khardung La on the Water by Nature trip. And yes it was snowing.

Young monk at Hemis Gompa.

One of the many Stupas around Leh.

Shanti Stupa, Leh.

Prayer flags overlooking, Leh.

The boys cooking dinner.

Prayer flags dancing in the wind.

Photos by David Prothero.

Rishikesh to Leh, by Qualis, Tata and Truck.

2007-09-15T03:47:00.000-07:00

After hanging out in Rishikesh for a few days, getting in one high water day on the Ganga we loaded up all the gear for the season up in Ladakh into the Qualis, Tata, and Pickup. At 4am we loaded up and headed off to Manali. From Manali we would then make our way over a couple of high passes. Now the total length of this drive was just over 500kms. Not that far by most driving standards. However this being India the drive would take us, with chai and food breaks a little over 50hrs over three days.

The scenery on this drive is phenomenal. On this drive you head over a couple of high passes. The largest being 17512ft.

After leaving Manali we camped at Sarchu that night at 15800ft. That was interesting due to the fact a few of us had small bouts of Altitude Sickness. Wouldn't recommend camping there.

Other than that it is a great way to get to Leh if you have the time.

Roasted corn a nice snack to eat on the way.

The convoy lined up at the crossing from Uttranchal to Himachal Pradesh.

Mani stone.

Well dressed man on one of the passes as we had a bit of entertainment watching trucks try to make one of the corners.

One of the road crew protecting herself from the dust and sun.

In between the two high passes on the section of road that is like a desert.

Photos by David Prothero.

Lower Green and Rutherford River, July Mission, Whistler BC

2007-07-26T23:21:00.000-07:00

Old Blue, Truck that Paul Kindly lent me when I was in Whistler. Great for early morning Kayaking Missions. 8am at the Put in for the Rutherford. Photo by Max Kniewasser.

After getting some paddling done on the Vancouver Island, I planned to head over to Whistler to catch up with a bunch of the lads and lasses at Wedge. When I got a ride up and we drove over the Callaghan river I knew things where going to be interesting as I had never seen it that high in July.

Getting set up at Paul's house was sweet, loaned me the fore mentioned blue truck and the boys at Wedge loaned me a kayak. I meet up with Ricky Lambert while I was there and we hooked up for a high water Upper Checkamus trip. That was fun in itself, as there was a tree to avoid below triple drop which made it a bit more exciting. Also good training for a couple of days later.

Max, Myself, Matt and Loran decided to head off to the Lower Green river. It was still running fairly high. I had been down there close to that level with Braden and Corey my first year in Whistler. A very entertaining run. A must to keep out an eye out for wood, which made for one good bruise on my back as we where ducking things here and there.

We continued further past the gravel pit which I hadn't done before, and there was some nice stuff down there, also some not so nice stuff. Lots of logs. Helped to have Matt along as he had done the lower bit before. Good times on the Lower Green.

Author and Loran heading down the first drop below the rafting take-out on the Lower Green. Photo by Max Kniewasser.

Loran in the midst of it on the Lower Green. Photo by Max Kniewasser.

Author about to make a mistake. A bit to far right in this one. Photo by Max.

The result a second later. All good however. Photo by Max.

Max Kniewasser about to head off down the run out of the above rapid. Photo by Matt Kompass.

Max dropping in. Photo by Matt Kompass.

The next day the Rutherford was still running so a group of us went out and hit up the Upper section on the Rutherford river. Max and Graz continued down to run the Lower bit and almost beat us to the takeout. Max was buzzing with that trip and convinced me to do it again the next morning, not that hard to do.
7amish out the door and a bit before 8am we where at the put in. Both of us had brought cameras to try and get some early morning shots. An Hour and half later we had made it to the takeout. Not a bad days effort. Now Max was of to work and I was trying to find another paddling partner.

Enjoy the photos.

Author in the middle of triple drop on the Upper Rutherford. Photo by Max.

David exiting from triple drop. Photo by Max

Author sailing off the waterfall on the upper Rutherford. Photo by Max.

Max coming in for landing.

Max enjoying the early morning sunshine.

Good times.

Watch out for the little rock on river right.

Max on the entrance to the first drop after the big waterfall.

Airborne.

Good soft landing in the Burn.

Drying gear in the morning sun, after a great start to the day.

Non labeled photos by David Prothero.

Ucona River, Vancouver Island.

2007-06-27T15:21:00.000-07:00

Jakub at the put in for the Ucona. Off to the first drop.

The morning of Sunday, was an even later start. All good however as the river was only 15mins away. Had a great sleep under a picnic table testing out my bivy in the west coast rain. It worked well both nights keeping me totally dry and warm.
After some breakfast, procrastination, some coffee, feeding the dog, packing up the tents, some more procrastination, we made it to the put in bridge for the Ucona river by 11ish am.
Shayne was the only one who had been down the river, but because of the prior commitments he was unable to come with us, so with some quick instruction and remarks where some of the high points and take out where on this 3.5km run we where off. The last comment I remember was it should just take us an hour!
Well it certainly was a fun hour......we actually got an extra 1.5hrs. Always remember to add time for each group member. What a river. A grade five, a couple of grade fours and some nice grade three set in a beautiful west coast gorge.
My favorite the double 5m drops at the end of the run. The first one is a super clean boof, then a short passage of moving water to avoid a tree on river left. Then plugging your boat off the river right, both myself and Peppi subbing out for around 5secs in our SCUDS.

Looking at my altimeter at the end of the trip it was cool to see how much gradient we had lost, 250ft in 3.5kms. Lovely bit of river to go kayaking on.
The river involved the typical BC bushwhack to get to the cars parked up on logging road in the midst of a cut block.

So far this river has missed being put on the list for micro hydro or IPP and hopefully it does for a while. With the amount of good rivers in close location to the town of Gold River it reminds me of Whistler.

Enjoy the Photos.

Jakub having the morning coffee before really waking up.

Jakub really waking up with some airtime on the Ucona river. Photo by Nicolaus Jrummer.

Nicolaus in the middle of one of the rock gardens.

Antje checking out the chute among the usual BC timber.

Nicolaus entering one of the chutes.

Antje flying off a sweet boof. Jakub looking on.

High flying Jakub on one of the last drops on this section of the Ucona. Photo by Nicolaus Jrummer.

View from above as Dave launches. Photo by Antje.

Side view of the same drop. The SCUD rocks. Photo by Nicolaus Jrummer.

From the drop in the last picture you head down stream avoiding the log on river left. Get high on the outside, turn toward the right and plug the last drop. So much fun. Photo by Antje Boehm.

Here is Peppi dropping that last drop in these three shots. Just do that and prepare for a bit of down time. Jakub on the other hand in his Jefe briefly disappeared. Photos by Nicolaus Jrummer.

At the end of the trip we hiked in the typical BC fashion..... through the trees. Photo by Peppi.

BC bushwhack into a clear cut, then over to the cars and from there to the Ridge Pub. Yea, Cold Beer.

Photos By David Prothero

Heber River, Vancouver Island.

2007-06-27T12:55:00.000-07:00

Looking across Star lake, Gold River.

Arriving back on Vancouver Island after a bit of time in England visiting family and friends. I got in touch with Shayne Vollmers to see what was up on the paddling scene. I was in luck as Shayne, Carrie, Jakub, and members of the AKC, Peppi, Klaus, Antje, and Thorsten where heading up to Gold River on the west central part of Vancouver Island.

So after seeing my parents for just over a day I was off. Jumping in Shayne's Delica we headed up to Gold river at 10pm on Friday night. Found a nice cozy(not) logging road to sleep on beside the Heber river.

With a bit of a late, around 10am, start the next day we decided to do the Lower Heber run. This is a great section of whitewater with three short canyons and some small boulder gardens in between. The first canyon has a couple of grade 3 drops, the second canyon has one grade five drop and some nice class four drops, and the third canyon just sort meanders along. A nice morning warm up. Afterwards it was off to the Ridge Pub for a light lunch and a pint of beer. We decided at this point to try in get in two more runs that afternoon.

Located in the Gold River area are some great rivers, not only are there five sections on the Gold river, there is also the Upana, Ucona, Heber and some others that are currently being explored out toward Tahsis.

Myself, Peppi, and Jakub headed off after lunch to the Upper Heber run which is just around 1km long. Has a nice 4m drop on it. Meanwhile, Shayne had gone to do a run on the middle Gold with Carrie. Later we plan to meet and do a run down the Upana river.

The run down the Upana is great. It was 3yrs since I was last here and it was still as much fun as I remember it. A 9m, almost blind drop that you scout from this big pile of rock in the middle of the river. Later another 4m drop and lots of little drops and boulder gardens in between. The run took us just under and hour down 2.5kms.

Not a bad way to spend my first Saturday back on Vancouver Island.

The sign that has been slightly modified at the power generating station on the Heber river.

Camp set up at Star Lake. Photo by Peppi.

Boats loaded and getting ready for the Heber river.

Thorsten on line in the first canyon of the Heber river.

Jakub Drenc ripping in usual form.

Nicolaus Jrummer lining up for the nice drop on the first canyon of the Heber.

Nicolaus boofing off a fun drop. Photo by Peppi.

Nicolaus styling in the Burn.

Peppi seal launching around the more serious drop in the middle canyon.

Peppi boofing his SCUD on the double drop in the second canyon.

Antje Boehm launching off the first drop. Photo by Peppi.

Shayne Vollmers coming down the last of the big drops on the Heber river.

Photos by David Prothero

Paddling in Turkey

2007-06-27T11:07:00.001-07:00

Author and SCUD in the midist of Perfect Portage.

In between the two trips, we had a few days off. This was nice as we where able to get in a bit of paddling. We hit up the Barhal, Perfect Portage rapid and Yusufeli gorge on the Coruh. It was a great few days of boating.

I was certainly missing it as I had been mostly rafting for the past three months. We scouted out a couple of other sections one being the Upper run on the Barhal but unfortunately it was all running very high.

David charging down the left line at Perfect Portage.

Marc Gacond and David heading through the Guts.

Marc looking small amongst the waves of Perfect Portage.

Marc and Dave heading to the Put in on the Barhal through the town of Sorigol.

The Barhal. Lots of fun wave trains and fast flowing currents with a few grade 3-4 rapids.

Dave in the midst of one of the funner rapids.

The SCUD doing well.

Marc making his way through the left of the hole.

On a scouting trip to the Upper Barhal. At this flow a no go. Photo by David.

Photos by Sophy D.

Rafting the Barhal river, Turkey

2007-06-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

Shortly after putting on, heading downstream, checking out for wires here and there and seeing how to stop!

With an easy drive to the put-in and the takeout located in bustling down town(used loosely) Yusufeli, the Barhal is a fun run with different dynamics from the Coruh. Myself, Sophy(NZ), Marc(Swiss), Fletch, Hamish and crews had high water, as it was in the trees when we went down it.

The main hazard, when we where rafting was the wires and irrigation tubes that hang down close to the water forcing us to duck a few times. Especially when we where trucking along at a rapid pace. The take-out was exciting as well as we had no eddies to speak of. So we had a rope to clipped on to a nearby bridge, providing some fairly abrupt brakes. 20mph to nothing.

Afterwards it was up into Yusufeli for some liquid refreshment, Ekmek kebab, and for the guys a very close shave with an old school razor blade at the local barbers.

Enjoy the photos.

David and Sophy running truck and trailer.

Sophy charging down through a nice canyon section on the Barhal.

Just finished making it through town where there is some great rapids. Like the one coming off the bridge pillar in the middle of the river.

Preparing to stop.

The abrupt stop at the take-out on the Barhal. Now off to the restaurant and pub. Food and drink to essentials.

Photos by Julie Paterson.

Rafting the Coruh river, Eastern Turkey

2007-06-25T17:02:00.001-07:00

Just crossing the Coruh river at one of the highest levels in ten years.

Enjoying a turkish sunset over the hills.

Arriving in Turkey was great. The food is great in this country. I loved the Ascanda kebab which was a dish we ate a lot in Erzurum. Also the amount of rivers to do here with good access and quality whitewater was awesome.

Part of the Ottoman hospitality at chai shops, Haman's, shops, and barbers. The chai would come to you. Loveth thy Chai!

Lots of work going on getting organized for the first trip on the Coruh. As with any trip this season there where a few missions to be had. Van repairs, tires to fix, booze to buy, food to get, pack all the gear in the van and trailer. Once loaded off to the airport past the Otel Oral to pick up the clents. Then a three hour drive or so depending on the missions to the first night camped on the banks of the mighty Coruh. Driving over the pass to see how high the river was this year was interesting, making a few new plans.

Once on the water things went quickly, and I mean quickly as on both the Coruh and the Barhal we clocked the rafts at over 20 miles an hour. Marc, who was video kayaking, punched it in at a bit over 25 to stay ahead of the rafts.

Enjoy the photos of this area as it is beautiful check out Water By Nature to see a short video clip of the first trip.

Beautiful hillsides surrounding the Coruh valley.

Hard at work in the kitchen, notice beverages supplyed bottom left.

Hanging out on the banks of the Coruh.

Some pretty poppy's near the Coruh

Enjoying lunch in the sun on day 1!

Video boater Marc Gacond shooting some footage of high water Yusufeli gorge.

Through the looking glass. Photo by Kiwi Marc.

Rafts on the Coruh. Photo by Stu.

First rapid on entrace to Yusufeli Gorge. There is usually a rock showing here.

A place locked in the whitewater history of the Coruh. Where we stay for a couple of nights on the multi day trips.

Hamish at the oars doing safety on the Coruh river, Turkey. Photo by Stu.

First trip of the season. Neville playing in the snow.

Driving from Ezurum to Ispir, past some beautiful places.

Enjoying the campinf lifestyle inside the fairydown tents. NZ made of course.

Photos by David Prothero

Morocco to Turkey by Transit van

2007-06-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

Self Portrait after a swim in the Aegean sea.

After two months in Morocco, myself, Ollie, Ryan and Sophie headed off in the Transit van for Turkey. Now this was going to be another one of those missions, as we where losing Ollie just north of Barcelona and Ryan a day or so later in Nice. After that it was myself and Sophie sharing the driving through the rest of France, Italy and Greece.

What a drive, saw some beautiful country side, enjoyed the hospitality of the locals, like when the trailer broke in half in northern Greece. We where luckily 2kms from a garage that welded it back together again. Also in Greece finding some of the best pizza I have had in 12yrs. The best hospitality we had though was when we stayed in Italy for a couple of days at Donatellas place in Lerici. While we Where there travelling to Pisa, over to Lucca and paddling on the Rio Lima at very low water. She introduced us to some of the paddlers in the area and we ate some excellent Italian food, drank some great Italian wine. A great spot to check out if you are in the area.

The poppy's in Italy.

After ten days of driving we arrived in Istanbul. Spent a day there and then where off to Eastern Turkey and the mighty Coruh river.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy.

The vegetable markets of Pisa.

The Transit van our transport and sleeping headquarters.

After taking the ferry from Italy to Greece we drove through the mountains out of Igoumenitsa.

The lucky find, pushing the trailer into get fixed after we had dragged it for 2kms when the tow bar broke off the bottom of the trailer and landed on the brake lines. All done in two hours.

Nuclear Power Plant.

Pizza, best I have had in 12yrs bar none. Sophie digging in.

We made it crossing into Turkey after going through the border with Greece.

Photos by David Prothero.

The Ahansal River, Morocco

2007-06-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

The first night camp at Cathedral.

For the months of March and April I was working for water by nature on the Ahansal river in the High Atlas mountains of Morocco.
This is a pretty beautiful spot with lots of grade three rapids and some beautiful canyons to float through, some spots being less then 18ft wide. With a total of eight trips down the river, a few of these rowing a 18ft gear cataraft and the others running 3 day trips from below the village of Touliquite.
We would pick clients up in Marakech and then drive up to the river where we would begin the travel down this beautiful river. On some of the trips we would stop off at a 100m waterfall for a tagine.
Good times as it is "always sunny" in Morocco.

Enjoying a fire after a days rafting on the Ahansal river.

First night camp on the three day trips.

Some friendly creatures you could meet, though this is the only one that I heard about on my trips.

Enjoying some snacks after a hard day on the river.

Dave and Howard sneaking a bridge.

Entering into the third canyon on the last day of rafting.

Relaxing for a moment as we work our way through the surprise.

The surprise is where the river pushes debris down and the wind pushes it back up to form a wall of logs and silt. Pretty amazing but a bit of work to get through.

Taking the "speed boat" back across the lake.

The other option to the "speed boat" to going across the lake.

The closest big town of Ohourzat.

Back to the real world heading off to Marakech after cleaning the gear.

Lake Bin-el-Ouidane, the finishing point of the rafting.

Essaouria, Morocco

2007-03-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

Looking toward the Medina from the old Harbour.

Shortly after arriving in Morocco I did my first trip down the Ahansal river. This trip was with a father and son from the states and at the end of it we went out to Essaouria on the west coast of Morocco. This is a beautiful town with lots of little places to explore in the old medina, surf kayaking, kite boarding, camel riding, getting vans stuck in sand, and a fresh fish market that has awesome cooked fish for a 30-40dh. Well, worth checking out. Some better surf to the south as well, heading toward Agadir.

Looking through the gates of the Old Medina where some of the homes here sell for around 200,000 pounds.

Colourful scarves in the market.

Fish for sale in the market.

Big fishing boats.

Blue boats of Essaouria.

The alley ways of the old Medina.

Camel riding on the beach of the west African coast.

Keyhole gateway.

Photos by David Prothero

NZ to Morocco in planes, vans and boats.

2007-03-18T08:33:00.000-07:00

With my season finished in NZ for the moment, I headed off to Christchuirch for the beginning of the travel to Morocco. This was a trip that would involve a number of airplanes, FUPA, and 2 ferries and a few thousand kilometers to get to Bin el Ouidane on the edge of the High Atlas mountains.
Arriving in England I stayed with some family, then the next morning it was back to Heathrow airport to meet up with the gang and we where off to Dover to catch a ferry to France. Picked up in the morning by Ollie and trusty FUPA, kayaks loaded, we were heading off on a fun adventure.
In total there were five of us in FUPA, as the work ford transit was called, Ollie, Sophie, Chris, Howard and myself. Arriving on the ferry we made a bee line to the bar, got to love ferries that have bars on them. Then we where off with many coffee breaks through northern France and down the coast with a leg stretch stop and dinner in Biarritz.
From this point we headed down through the mountains, eventually skirting Madrid as we headed south to Tarifa and the ferry to Tangier. Along the way bottles of scotch and beer where to consumed to bide the time as we provided moral support and comedy to Ollie, who was the designated driver for this leg of the trip.
After four days of driving we arrived in Bin-el-Ouidane. A little party followed as we had made it. Then it was into preparing for the season.

The bar on the ferry from Dover.

Biarritz.

Castle in Biarritz.

Man fishing in the morning in the Straight of Gibraltar, Tarifa.

Howard the Navigator.......... where is that sign to Malaga?

Stopping for the fist of many tagine on the coast of Morocco.

The speedy cat from Tarifa to Tangier in the morning light.

Afriquia, the favorite petrol station.

Sunset, Moroccan style.

Relaxing with a few drinks after a long drive.

Photos by David Prothero

Milford, and The Hollyford River, NZ

2007-02-26T12:28:00.000-08:00

Mitre Peak, Milford Sound

With it being my last week in NZ, Paul and me headed over to Milford Sound and the Hollyford river. What a great place, Milford's amazing walls that form the fjords and waterfalls that dance down them are just unbelievable.

The same goes for the Hollyford river. Running along the Darrin mountain ranges it is a beautiful river. Lots of nice rapids and a couple of mandatory portages in the falls and Marion creek sections that we did. It was pretty low but still had enough to get down. First time I had really taking my new SCUD out for a creek. Good times. Hung out at Gunns camp which would be a great place to stay and hang out for a couple of days.

Good place to get in my last river on this trip.

Paul on the Falls creek section, Hollyford river.

A nice one, Falls creek section, Hollyford river.

Dave in the middle of Marion creek section, Hollyford river. Photo by Paul.

H-Bomb at Gunns camp, take out for the Marion Creek section.

Photos by David Prothero

The Hasst River, NZ

2007-02-26T12:01:00.000-08:00

Paul Button and myself spent a few hours on a day off exploring the top of the Hasst river. If you have ever driven over from Queenstown to the west coast you would of passed it. We had been working a few Landsbourough trips this summer and where interested to see this "rock filled ditch". With a day off and kayaks loaded we headed off. We had low water, around 4-5cms and we did paddle a little bit. We were looking at 4kms and ended up at 1.6kms. Took around 2.5hours including the time to hike out. Probably would of been more fun with out the boats. Highlight of the days was launching ourselves off this thirty ft high boulder.

Kayak begone, Hasst river, NZ

Paul Button doing the Leap, notice paddles hanging in mid-air.

Photos by David Prothero

Landsbourough River, Take 3

2007-01-20T19:18:00.000-08:00

The view from camp on day 1, Mt Deacon on the left.

Had another opportunity to get out on the Landsbourough. This time rowing the gear boat down. Had a group of four guys from the South Island of NZ come out. The level was about the same as the last time I was there and we had great weather, except for one night of rain. Had a longer Heli flight in from Makarora this time. Some nice looking creeks in this area. Would be great to spend some more time in this area.
Enjoy the Photos.

The boys about to take the yellow plane out of Makarora.

Heli Shuttle.

Fire going and rafts ready for the next day on the water.

Wizz and boys coming through the Squezze rapid.

In the midst of it all.

Paul Button coming through the bottom of Squezze Rapid.

Coming through Landslide Rapid.

After a day on the river, nothing better than some wine and food to relax.

Rafts on bank of river, day 2.

View of water fall on small hike, day 3.

V falls on small side hike.

Dual waterfalls near top of side hike.

Looking up toward Mt. Hooker in the Landsbourough Valley.

Photos by David Prothero

Shotover River; Cascade Rapid,NZ

2006-12-18T01:06:00.000-08:00

The Shotover river ends with a bang. After exiting the Oxenbridge tunnel, which is 170m long and took the Oxenbridge family three years to build, you have a couple of seconds before you hit the pillow off the river right wall and and shoot down through the guts of the hole at the bottom. If you get it right you don't get to wet at the bottom. Heaps of fun for the safety kayakers.

Simon Moreland and myself setting up for Cascade after going through the tunnel.

Bracing off the pillow on river right.

Setting up in the middle.

Hitting the hole at the bottom.

Coming clean on the other side. Heading for the takeout and a good cup of coffee. All in a hard days work.

Photos care of www.magicmemories.co.nz

The Waikaia River, Take 2, NZ

2006-12-10T15:47:00.000-08:00

Rob Murphy(Ireland) stylin his boof off the first drop.

This past week has been a good one. A trip on the Landsborough and also a trip on the Waikaia river.
I met up with these boys by leaving a note on their car in Queenstown. After calling, they showed up at my house later, after a bit had a plan sussed and all was looking good for Monday. The lads headed out there Sunday night and the next morning I loaded up my gear, and left QT at 7:30ish and started the 2.5hr drive. I drove down to Lumsden, turning off to Gore and finally Waikaia. Some small car problems slowed me down a bit, but what kayaking trip doesn't have a bit of that.
Leaving my car at the take out at Piano Flats and the river at 29cms,we were looking into a fun day. The log that was blocking the road last time was cut, so with only a twenty minute walk made it to the river in good time.
We got to the first major drop fairly quickly, this is a small hole in the rocks used by the gold miners of old. After the hole you flatten out for a short bit before dropping off a sweet 4.5m boof.
After a bit of flat water the river picks up and carries you along with drop after drop some big and some small. We had a few portages, and there is a bit of new wood since the last time I was here. 2 of the portages we ran last time, one drop we ran this time and walked the time before.
Noticed a bit more of the gold mining history. Saw some old campsites and was made aware of the sluice channels and mining spots. This whole area was pretty active in the gold scene. The main areas of course being the Shotover and Arrow rivers near Queenstown. Lots of exploring was done else where. The Shotover was thought to one of the richest gold bearing rivers in the world. Mining went on there from 1862 till 1992. Cool to see the history of the place.
After making it out of the river in 5 and half hours it was back off to Queenstown and work the next day. Enjoy the photos.

The boys checking gear before the walk in, notice case of SPEIGHTS.

Heading down to the river, with hillsides of broom in the background.

Robin Scott(UK) plugging the first drop.

Hugh Thomas(UK) running the main line on Spears Falls, with Robin looking on.

Jimmy Evans(Ireland) hitting up one of the fun boofs below a portage.

Hugh on the run out of the above drop.

Robin on the 2nd boof of this sweet two boof drop, as the boys get shots from above.

Rob about to get launched.

Jimmy about to come in for a dry landing.
Bomber!

Landsbourogh River, NZ, 3 day trip

2006-11-25T15:49:00.000-08:00

The view on a sunny day looking up from camp one.

Last weekend and in the past week I had the opportunity to get out on a couple three day trips on the Landsbourogh River with Queenstown Rafting. On the first trip when we first headed out there we were hoping for a clearing of the weather and on the second trip it was clear till almost the take out. The week before last the river had surged up to 6m on the gauge, which was one of the highest levels in ten years.

The Landsborough River originates from the hills of Mt. Cook National Park, before meeting with the Haast river in South Westland. We arrived on the other side of Haast to meet up with our helicopter pilot. Morgan and his dad have Heli Ventures in that area, awesome pilots. We had a couple of gear loads and clients on the first, and just one gear load on the second trip.

With beautiful landscapes and fun rapids, excellent food this is a great three day trip. Though sometimes things don't go exactly as planned. On my first trip down we spent the first and second day at camp one waiting for the river to go down, eating lots. Then paddling all the way out on a high flow on day three. The second trip was broken up by more as we spent two days on the river, though it was about a meter lower at the top and almost two meters lower in the gorge. I have included some photos of the trips. Enjoy and if you are in the area and are looking for an adventure trip on the wild New Zealand west coast check this one out.

The heli pick up point where the Haast and Landsbourogh rivers meet.

A rainy day at camp one when the first heli load arrives.

A nice sunset on the first rain filled trip. The third day was beautiful. High water and Sun.

The gang enjoying a bit of sunshine.

Did I mention the food? Tasty au d'oeuvres each evening.

Beautiful Waterfalls abound.

The camp setting.

Keeping a close eye on the fire and staying warm at night. Alarm clock.... sandflies at 6am.

On clear days snow filled peaks and glaciers are viewed up and down the valley.

On the days with rain and some sun keep eyes peeled for rainbows.

Tony at the oars through squeeze rapid, Landsbourogh River.

The rafts lined up at the bottom of Hellfire rapid. The one portage for the rafts on the river.

Safety Kayaker David Prothero paddling down through Hellfire. Photo care of Lou McInnes.

Kayaking Upper 12 Mile Creek, NZ

2006-11-19T19:44:00.000-08:00

The other week myself and Simon Moreland got out for some sweet boating missions. After getting bumped off work as the Shotover was too high we decided to go boating on it. Running at a flow of 180cms it took us around an hour to paddle 16kms with some scouting of five rapids. We then hung around to see if work was on for the afternoon, finding ourselves bumped again, I then drove out to see if 12 mile creek was running at a lower flow then the morning.
Finding it running at a great flow we arranged to meet and do the forty minute walk in to the upper set of waterfalls and drops. Arriving at the top waterfall we played rock, paper, scissors to see who would go off first. Having lost, I set up to run the first drop, as Simon set safety and was ready with his video camera. I came in a bit slowly, landing flat and stalling at the bottom of the drop. After climbing out, I set up with my camera to get some shot's of Simon running the first waterfall. Wonderful drop, around 7m, this was the lead into a short canyon with another drop around 6m and a couple of shorter ones. Below is a wood filled canyon that involved some interesting paddling and short portages. Finishing off with a grade 2-3 paddle out to the road. Keep an eye out for wood on the whole thing.

Simon Moreland lauching at the first waterfall.

In the midst of the slide drop, a bit of water, small creek.

Simon about to go deep on the second waterfall.

The final drop of the gorge.

Paddling with trees all around. Reminding me of BC.
Simon sneaking underneath the trees, 12 Mile creek.

The Nevis River, Take 2, NZ

2006-11-12T14:34:00.000-08:00

The Boys, L to R. Dawson, Paul B, Myself, Danly and Marc in Front.

Yesterday myself, Danly, Paul Button, Marc, and Dawson headed up to Ben Nevis station to hit up the formable Nevis River. With a somewhat clear day, what looked like a good water flow from the flow phone we were off, but after organizing, a couple of stops in town to get gas and pick up the boats from the rafting base at Cavells, and a stop to get food in Cromwell we made it to the put on at just after 12pm. Thus a bit of a late start, which meant that we had to get a bit of a move on. Myself and Dawson had both done the river a couple of weeks ago which was good because we could sort of remember where to go and which drops to get out and have a look at and which ones to charge down. A couple of hours in, two swims later for one of the crew and we were in the midst of the steeps. It is such a beautiful place, a complete switch from the green look of Queenstown.
The water was a bit lower than last time, probably in the 12-13cms range. Hope to hit it up in the higher teens soon. Paddling out to the bottom after the steep section, a couple of us got caught in a little sticky hole, going to remember Dawson boofing over me as I was surfing in the bottom for a while. Good times. Then we paddled down the Kawarau and ran Citroen rapid, which was running around 260cms. Such a neat switch going from low to high volume all in one trip. Enjoy the photos.

The put on bridge where we discovered the river was a bit lower than what the gauge had advertised.

With a few drops here and there the first two and a half kms is a nice warm up with mountains in the back ground.

Then it gets a bit steeper. Paul B in the midst of it.

March eyeing up one of the slots.

Danly heading down stream, with an ominous looking sky behind.

Marc coming through the bottom of the above drop.

Looking down toward the drops Little and Big Brother, the last of the Steeps.

Dawson in the middle of Triple Drop.

Paul B coming out the bottom of Triple drop.

Photos by David Prothero

The Upper Shotover River, NZ

2006-11-02T17:05:00.000-08:00

The other week myself, Jonno, Paul and Simon drove into the Upper Shotover. With the river running at 31cms it was going to be a great day of play. With lots of shallow ledges making some sweet features, and some sticky holes. The whole run is grade 2-3. This grade goes up a bit it the river is running up above 70-80cms. There are a few lovely eddy park and play spots and the whole run is through a beautiful gorge of mica-schist and small waterfalls coming in here and there.
Around some of the corners you can see some of the remanants of the old gold mining era. They mined on the river from 1862-1992, at which point there was a fifty year ban implemented. Getting toward the end of the run, which is around 9kms long, save some energy for the last and best play hole on the river. Bring some food and drink and make an afternoon of it here, as it is a deep, wide and fluffy spot to play.
Play safe out there.

David surfing up the RAD 185.

Checking out the old Quartz stamper on the banks of the Shotover river. Gold mining history close up.

David back surfing on one of the many small waves.

Simon blitzing it up in the NZ sunshine.

One of the beautiful waterfalls on the way down the run.

Simon throwing down in the last playhole, Upper Shotover.

Jonno surfing it up in a Huck, who says you need a playboat to have fun.

Shotover River, Gorge run, NZ

2006-10-23T23:44:00.000-07:00

Well having been in NZ for a couple of weeks, I have been busy. I have managed a few runs down the Shotover, in a raft and kayak. Thought I would get some shots of the river with my sister's point and shoot nikon. I am hoping to get my 20D back soon as it was getting fixed in Canada.
Have been working for the past week or so, yeah. Back to taking rafts down the river. Almost my first trip down the river exciting going through toilet rapid sideways, but stayed upright. Fun river, lots of history and a 170m tunnel to go through always keeps you on your toes. Enjoy the photos.

Clients getting the safety briefing at Deep creek.

Iain leading the way through the Rock Garden rapid.

The next three photos are of the Mother section, which combines Miners revenge, Squeeze, Anvil, Toilet, Oh Shit, and Pinball. Makes for some fun and exciting rafting. Especially when there are 15 plus rafts going through.

Truck and Trailer rafting through Anvil rapid.

Heading through Toilet.

Down into Oh Shit.

After cruising through the 170m Oxenbridge tunnel, you have about 10 seconds till you run the guts of Cascade, where you will get wet for sure.

Photos by David Prothero

The Nevis River, NZ

2006-10-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

The other day I had the opportunity to join up with the lads and do the Nevis river. What an amazing river. This is one of the steeper creeks in NZ according to the guide book. After finishing up rafting on the shotover, drove out to meet with the boys, leaving my car at the takeout. We then proceeded up to drive up to Ben Nevis Station where we were able to stay in the shearers quarters.
Had some amazing views looking down toward Cromwell and out toward Mt. Cook. Waking up in the morning to a freezing cold day, frost on the ground, blue skys and a good flow of about 15cms. A quick breakfast and thanks to our hosts at the station we were off and on the river at 9am.
Ran the first 2.5kms before coming to a nasty looking drop which we portaged on the right with use of throwbags and were hoping that the whole river wasn't going to be like that. Turned out it wasn't. Lots of chutes, cascades and drops led the way as we made it down to a massive drop where we had lunch. Then we continued down through a steeper section as we ran down to the Kawarua. Beautiful stuff. Ran through Citroen rapid to make the day complete. Enjoy the photos.

Looking out to Cromwell and Mt. Cook.

The Team left to right: Graham Dawson, Danny Noblett,
Colin Hamilton and David Prothero.

The first portage around a nasty place.

Colin coming through a fun one.

David trying to stay dry.

Dawson charging on down the Nevis river.

Scouting Freight Train, looks good.

Colin in the midst of it.

Colin coming off the end of Freight Train.

David heading downstream on the Nevis.

Danny boofing another drop.

David running down a narrow slot.

The boys stopped for lunch above a big one.

Danny at the top of triple drop.

In the middle.

Exiting out of triple drop, before heading down to little and big brother.

All photos copyright of Fat Cats Productions, 2006

Touring down the Inland highway, Christchurch to Queenstown.

2006-10-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

After arriving in New Zealand, I spent a couple of days in Christchurch sorting out a car. After getting that done, I headed off to the Rangitata river and through the Inland highway to Queenstown. Had a great drive with a mixture of clear blue sky's to freezing weather and snow. Spent the night at Lake Tekapo and woke up to find all the mountains covered in snow, also the car. It still started well, from there drove off to have a look at Mt. Cook. Arriving at mid-afternoon to get sorted with work at Queenstown rafting. Have been busy for the past couple of weeks finding a place to live, doing trips on the Shotover and Kawarua rivers, as well as hitting up some sweet creeks in the area. Enjoy the photos from this trip.

Inquisitive cows and sheep at a roadside station.

Lake Tekapo after a night of light snowfall.

Crossing over a pass on the way toward Mt. Cook.

The Honda Shuttle, fresh snowfall, kayak loaded, ready to head off.

Looking out toward Mt. Cook(just right of centre).

The Shuttle somewhere on the Inland highway.

Looking out toward the Remarkables Mt. Range off the front porch of my house. Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu in the foreground.

Paul Button and myself drove out to Glenorchy to check it out. This is the view from the little Getty across Lake Wakatipu.

Waikaia River, NZ

2006-10-22T14:51:00.000-07:00

The Waikaia river was a lucky one for me as, I went into the rafting base out on Arthurs point trying to go kayaking and the Shotover was above the rafting cut off. Just having a coffee and these three lads show up with kayaks loaded heading off to do it, so myself and Iain throw are gear in and off we go for the two and half hour drive to Piano Flats. After leaving the car we all cram into Colins van and drive up toward the locked gate. A little over halfway to the locked gate we were blocked by a tree. Normally a twenty minute walk to the put in point at the bridge now became a little bit over an hour. The tree looked fairly fresh and has probably now been removed.
The river was brown colored and had 25cms, which was a good medium flow. We met up with another group from Dunedin while on the river, I still remember the guy coming up and saying that the tunnel was all good. I was like, tunnel, what tunnel? Turned out to be a little hole in the rocks and then a 4.5m drop out the other side. What a way to start a river. Enjoy the photos.

Iain taking advantage of a slide on the way in to the Waikaia.

Graham and David arriving at the locked gate, 20mins still to go, all down hill. Notice small print.

Danny Noblett cruising through the tunnel at the start of the Waikaia.

David landing off the 4.5m drop on the other side of the Tunnel.

Looking upstream in the midst of the Waikaia.

Graham Dawson running one of the bigger drops of the Waikaia.

Danny having a sweet boof down one of the drops.

Colin Hamilton on the run out of the above drop.

Over all the Waikaia was a beautiful river full of moss covered boulders and some great drops, would recommend it if your in the area and it has some flow.

Photos copyright of Fat Cats Productions. www.fatcatsproductions.co.uk

Rangitata River, NZ

2006-10-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

Having arrived in NZ, I gathered all my gear, threw it in my recently purchased 1985 Honda Shuttle and headed out to the Rangitata valley. As it was on the way to Queenstown, it made for a easy stop. This is the area where part of the second lord of the rings filming was done. It is situated in a beautiful valley before charging down a short gorge at the end of the rafting section.

I was able to get up to the top of valley with the rafting company, Ranigtata Rafts, www.rafts.co.nz. I hit the river at a fairly good flow of 120cms, made for some nice hits in the kayak and we had a huge tail wind that day. Beautiful river for my first one on the South Island. Here's to many more.

Shane Hewitt and Steve Anderson heading down to the gorge.

Dave Prothero heading through Rooster Tail before the gorge.

Shane Hewitt dropping into Rooster Tail.

The crew about to get wet.

Steve Anderson heading through the middle of the gorge.

The always popular jump rock on the Rangitata river.

Steve Anderson and crew surfing it up, Rangitata river.

All Photos, Copyright of Jason Walker, October 2006.

Rafting the Elaho - Squamish.

2006-10-01T13:59:00.000-07:00

Looking down into the Elaho Canyon

Bottom of the Devils Elbow, Elaho river.

Here are a few photos of the Elaho - Squamish river taken by Damian Lustic. This was toward the end of the season of rafting and the shots are mostly from the Devils Elbow section of the Elaho river, which in coast salish this means the Fishbone, Also from the Constrictor rapid on the Squamish river and a few of the drifting spots in between .

Looking up to one of the Glaciers above the Elaho river.

Graz running the hole on the Deflectors rapid, Elaho River.

Dave cruising through the bottom end of the Elaho river.

Dave heading down through the top of Devils Elbow, Elaho river.
Paul heading toward the wall rapid, Elaho river.

Setting up for a picture, Squamish River.

Frenchie heading through Constrictor, Squamish River.

Raft making its way through 50/50, Squamish River.

Raft crashing through a wave, Squamish River.

The Boys from Payless Towing, Squamish River

Bob taking a 14fter through the Constrictor rapid, Squamish River.

Dave doing a back flip at the Jump Spot, Elaho River.

Kayaking the Checkamus River

2006-09-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

This summer some friends took me down some sections of the Checkamus river near Whistler BC that I hadn't done before. The only bad thing about them was you couldn't drink the water, also advisable to have a shower after getting home, as you paddled past the sewage outlet for whistler. Adds another grade probably?
With two nice 15ft waterfalls and some other interesting drops and log jams to paddle under. These were nice after work runs with people who knew them. The Daisy Lake section probably being one of the more committing. Here are some shots of the Upper Checkamus water fall, Balls to the Wall falls, and a Log jam on the Middle Checkamus. Enjoy

David shooting out the bottom of the first waterfall. Photo by Graz.

Graz and Max heading under the waterfall on the middle Checkamus.
Wouldn't want the water to high here.

Graz flying off Balls to the Wall on the Checkamus.

Max takes flight, Checkamus river.

Max and Graz head into the mini Canyon below the falls, Checkamus river.

Rafting in the Whistler/Squamish area

2006-09-10T17:57:00.000-07:00

Well, now finished my second summer at Wedge Rafting.
After finishing up in India I headed straight, with a quick stop on Vancouver Island, to Whistler. I spent loads of days rafting in the last two months on four different rivers. The Green and Birkenhead for most of July with the Birkenhead and Elaho- Squamish and Lower Checkamus taking up most of August. All in all a good season. Also got to get out on the Upper, Middle and Daisy lake run of the Checkamus, Callaghan creek, upper and lower Soo river for kayaking. Below I have attached a few photos from the Birkenhead and Squamish rivers. Soon to be more. Enjoy.

Floating to the getout point, Squamish river.

Looking up at the Weeping Wall falls and Ashlu icefield, Squamish river.

Looking back toward Mt. Cayley, Squamish river.

Loading the gear onto the Wedge van for the Elaho-Squamish river trip.

Not into rafting? Well here is the adult play park of Whistler Mountain Biking.

Rafting down the Squamish river with Mt. Kaley in the background.

Max the safety kayaker, relaxing on the Elaho.

A view of Mt. Garibaldi, Squamish River.

Heading up the river for a swim, Birkenhead river.

Kayaking the Tons River.

2006-09-10T12:13:00.000-07:00

The last couple of posts have dealt with rafting down the Tons river. The Tons, however, is also a great place to go kayaking.
With four sections ranging between 10 - 40kms in length there is lots to do. The upper Section from Netwar down to the rafting put- on, is the steeper section with a couple of solid grade 4+ drops and lots of 3-4 stuff inbetween. The upper is about 6kms in length. Below that you have the normal run for about 15kms of grade 2-4 down to Khunigad. This is the normal rafting run and makes for a nice introductory run. From Khunigad rapid down to Tuni you have the Middle Tons, which has some nice steep rapids from grade 3-4+(depending on flow) in a deeper canyon that takes you away from the road, this section covers almost 30kms. Lastly you have the Lower Tons which covers from Tuni down to Icchhari Dam. This section can be broken into two days with some excellent sand beaches for camping along the way. Also can be done in a long single day as the shuttle takes a while. Pool drop grade 3 with a couple of fours thrown in here and there in a beautiful gorge, with some amazing geology make for an excellent trip. This section covers about 40kms.
Below are some kayaking shots from different places on the river. Enjoy.

The first big rapid on the Tons below Netwar.

Bishnu enjoying the high flows on the Tons.

Kayaker rescue on the Honol Temple rapid, Tons River.

Kieran Wallace in the midst of it, Tons River.

Eliane running one of the chutes at Tardiar, Tons River.

Kieran Wallace running down the bottom of Tardiar Rapid.

Eliane Ruscher in the lead up to Khunigad rapid, Tons River.

Dharmendra seeing what's ahead, Tons River.

Mr. Kalai

Kahan Singh free and clear at Tardiar, Tons River.

Kieran taking a break below the constriction.

Nick Clegg squirting his creek boat on the middle Tons.

Rana charging down the guts of Khunigad rapid.

Kahan Singh running through constriction rapid, Tons River.

3rd Expedition down the Tons River.

2006-09-07T14:45:00.001-07:00

Local Fisherman on the banks of the Tons river.

An Oakley perspective of rafting.

The beginning of the trip, getting the rafts to the river.

This June, Aquaterra Adventures, in conjunction with Ultimate Descents put on Outward Bound Hong Kong's staff trip down the Tons River. This wasn't the normal run, this was the section that had only been run twice as a commercial endeavor before. Putting in 15kms above camp and taking out 80kms below at Icchhari Dam was going to make for a fun five day trip. I couldn't think of a better way to end my season.
The only unfortunate thing was that the water was down to a low level. We managed to make do, rafting 94 kms of grade 2-4+ whitewater in five days, catching it just before it dropped even more.
We had a great crew of instructors from Outward Bound Hong Kong, lots of fun, A few bottles of rum, Some hail storms, A bit of sunshine, A few bloody brilliant tackles, some football, Frisbee, and excellent food. Even a couple of flips on the river to keep it all interesting. Enjoy the photos.

The morning set up of chai and breakfast.

The first rapid on the first day, let the excitement begin.

Raft charging through Khunigad rapid(Murderous Stream).

Kahan Singh boofing Tardiar Rapid, Tons River

Bishnu and Rana R-2ing a raft down Tardiar.

The 14th century Honol Temple.

The rapid below the temple, also know as Honol.

Getting amongst it on one of the longer rapids.

Anvesh driving through a big one above the town of Tuni.

Avilash and crew saying hello to some rocks near the town of Tuni.

Raft cruising past some of the wicked geology on the lower Tons.

A local observer checking out the rafting from above.

Kieran Wallace dropping into the Chute.

Anvesh running the right side of a raid on the Lower Tons.

David running through the top half of Major Suprise. Photo by Kieran Wallace.

Through the Guts of Major Suprise. Photo by Kieran Wallace.

At Icchhari Dam after five days on the river.
What a great Trip. Check it and others out at www.treknraft.com

The Tons River Valley.

2006-09-07T14:45:00.000-07:00

Future Raft Guide?

Rafting down the Top section of the Tons River.

Coming through "C" rapid by the town of Mori.

Kahan Singh, The cruising safety boater.

Typical House and Fields.

In the western part of the State of Uttranchal there is a beautiful valley, forested in pine trees, rhodendrans, birch and oak trees. This part of of the state is called Uttrakashi and the valley is formed by the Tons river, which in turns almost forms the border with Himanchal Pradesh.
Kieran, Eliane, and myself arrived at the beginning of May, quite happy to get away from the burning heat of the Ganges river valley. It was nice to arrive at a cooler location. With camp bordering on Lunagard creek there were swimming holes near by.

Picture of Camp Lunagard.

Our normal day run was about 15kms long. Good enough with some grade 3-4 at high flows and grade 2-3+ at lower flows. Keep things interesting for the clients we had and for the groups of Idiscovery kids that we took down the river. There was also lots of kayaking in the area. As I mentioned earlier Above and below where we raft there is some good grade 3-5 boating. Depending where you run and which river you are on.
One of the other things I loved about this valley was the people. They were great. Always smiling and happy. The family where we put in on the Tons always showed up and helped carry down the gear to the river. Probably one or two of them will be future river guides one day. I still remember the day when about 8 of them put my kayak on there heads and carried it down to the water. Awesome.

One of the young helpers carrying the oars down to the river.

Mr. Rana heading through the boulders.

Creeking in Uttranchal, The Rupin River

2006-06-28T00:08:00.000-07:00

Creeking in India, what a great idea! After working for Aquaterra Adventures(www.treknraft.com) for the past couple of months on the Ganges and Alakanada rivers, we moved from Camp Silver Sands to Camp Lunagad on the Tons River.
Map of the Area.
Perched at the top of the Tons Valley are its two tributaries. The Supin river, carrying most of the water, and the Rupin river which has about a quarter of the water, thus making it an excellent steep and boulder filled creek with gradient of up to 200ft a mile. So once again Nick Clegg and myself had a boating mission for early May.
With the assistance of Kieran Wallace and Eliane Ruscher, both guides with Aquaterra who decided to come up check out the creek, take photos and provide additional safety and Apoou and his Tata 4x4, who we hired to drive us to the creek and back.
After a 2hr drive up the Tons valley to Netwar, and a very narrow side road, which would do most BC logging roads justice alongside the Rupin river, we could go no further. This was a blessing as we had 6kms of 200 plus ft mile creek to run and with scouting and portaging ended up taking around five hours.
Nick and myself put in with Kieran and Eliane walking and running along the bank, taking photos and giving some direction. Multipule drops, a seal launch around a good looking hydralic and 3 hours later we arrived at the crux. This consited of a narrow chute with a rock at the bottom, then about four, 3 foot drops to a 10ft drop with a rock in the bottom middle. I wasn't keen but Nick was in. He had his line, so I ferryed across the river and walked down river right to set safety at the base of the drop.
As fate would have it, as Nick set his boat down to launch into the river it escaped out of his grasp. Thus landing upright in the river and heading off downstream with out him. It looked good coming down the rapid, espically the half underwater freewheel it threw down the ten footer. Fortunaetly it eddy itself out shortly downstream, on river right, before the next drop. I made my way down to it, pulled it out of the water. With Kieran on the other side of the river, we got a rope onto it and reunited it with Nick. Nick was glad to have his boat back, minus a pair of flip-flops.
The main eventover, we cruised the rest of the continous class 4 to the takeout. Espically enjoying the final drop under the bridge much to the amzement of the locals of Netwar, who had only seen three to four groups down the river to date.
An Indian classic, if you are in the area. Other river in the Tons valley are the Supin, Upper Rupin, Tons, and Pabbar.

Author, amongst the blouders of the Rupin.

Author, flying off a drop on the Rupin River.

Nick Clegg stylin another boof down the Rupin.

Nick Clegg on the Wavesport express.

Author, Boofing one of the many drops on the Rupin.

Author, having fun in the chutes of the Rupin.

Nick looking the slot a bit upstream of the hole.

Nick going for a ride in one of the holes.

Nick busting a move in a tight slot.

David feeling small among giant boulders.

David attempting to boof over final hole.

Nick stylin final drop.

Season end on the Ganges

2006-04-30T22:08:00.000-07:00

Author, photo by Neelendra Singh

Well after two months on the Ganges river the time is now at an end. We are leaving here holy banks for a new river. Off to the Tons river tomorrow. Looking forward to new adventures on a river river, in a new area of India. As I am signing off on this area, I will leave with some pictures take from the season here. Look forward to posting some photos and stories in a few months time about that area.

Bheem smashing his raft through the top wave of Golf Course, Ganges river

Author bow stalling InaZone 240 at Aquaterra camp, Ganges river. Photo by Neelendra Singh
Bheem in the midist of it Golf Course rapid, Ganges river.
Lighting storm, bank of the Ganges river, India

Bolts of lighting down the valley toward RIshikesh.

Eliane running the guts of the wave at Golf Course, Ganges river.

Vegatable Market, Rishikesh, India

Kieran running the last big hit in the Wall rapid, Ganges river.

Kieran heading down the Ganges river

Young school girls in Rishikesh.

Photos by David Prothero

Paddling the Upper Alaknanda and Mandakini Rivers

2006-04-26T04:49:00.000-07:00

View of Alaknanda river from bridge in Rudraprayag.

A couple of weeks ago myself and Nick Clegg had an opportunity to get away from the Ganges river and head off on a bit of a paddling mission. We had heard from other people that this was a nice area to explore. With boats in hand, we headed off for the 8hr bus ride to Chamoli up in the Garwahli Himalayas. After arriving in Chamoli we checked into Hotel Heaven for the night, deciding to head up to the next town on our map in the morning. This turned out to be a bit of a mistake as we ended up a ways above the river. Heading back down stream for 8kms we made it close to the river. Putting in we ended up paddling 22kms of grade3-3+, with one 4 at the end in Nandaprayag. After finishing up there we loaded up and made are way back down to Rudraprayag. We ended up befriending a chai shop owner who helped us get set up with a small room over looking the Alaknanda river for 100 ruppes. The next morning we headed off to Chandrapuri in a share jeep. After about an hour of driving we made it the 28kms to the put in. We had an excellent view of Kedarnath(6940m). The next 28kms of paddling was awesome. Boat scouting a few sections of 3-3+ with a couple of 4's thrown in. Took us around four hours to get down with some stops for picture taking and rest breaks. Making the carry back to our little hotel in Rudraprayag, we settled down to a few cups of chai and after a afternoon of playing handball with a group of kids, a very good dinner of butter rotis, potato curry, rice and dal. Next morning we loaded up in a bus for the 5hr drive back to base. Since being there I have learned about some other rivers in the area. If you continue up to Josimath, there are some sick rivers. There is also the Pinder river at Karanprayag, the Nandakini river at Nandaprayag and you can go further up the Manadakini river to Kune to get a bit more whitewater.
Great trip. Check out the photos below.

Nick Clegg running a drop just above Chamoli, Alaknanda River.

Nick Clegg running the left line on the falls at Nandaprayag, Alaknanda River.
Map of the Manadakini River, from our our put in at Chandrapuri to the end at Rudraprayag.
Shuttle par excellence, India Styles.

View at the put in, Chandrapuri.

Nick Clegg manouvering between some nice boulders above the canyon.

Nick Clegg flying over one of the nicer drops on the canyon section of the Manadakini river.

Nice grade 3 rapid down in the Manadakini river.

Photos by David Prothero.

Rafting the Ganges

2006-04-24T02:04:00.000-07:00

Gappu rafting into the first mouse

For the past two months I have been working as a guide for a company in India called Aquaterra Adventures on the Ganges river. I now have some photos from the major rapids that we encounter on a 24km section of river. This seems like a good time to add them, as after next week we are working on a new river till the end of June called the Tons.
The time here has passed by quite quickly. In another post you will find info on another trip that myself and Nick Clegg did on the Upper Alakanada and the Mandakini river up in the Garwahli hills.
The Ganges is a long river. From it's source in Gangotri it stretches approx 2496kms to the coast, which makes up for an area of 1 million sq kilometers including the tributaries. During this time it plunges over falls and through large rapids down the Bahgarti river, though a stretch of this has now been tamed by a dam. After getting to Deprvayag it joins the Alakanada river to form the Ganges. For the next 60 or so km down to Kaudiyala the river is fairly mellow, however very senic. Upstream and down trough this section is where we run some multi day trips. After Kaudiyala is the first grade 3 in a while called Daniels Dip, four kilometers down stream is another grade 3-4(depending on flow) rapid called the Wall. From there it is pretty mellow again interspaced with some small grade twos. After Gular we have the 3 Blind Mice to provide some excitement. The bigger ones are in the final 12kms down to Rishikesh, below Shivpuri. These include Rollercoaster, Golf Course, Clubhouse, and Jail no Bail.
Once down to Rishikesh you have now entered the land of Yoga and Ashrams. Check out the nighttime religious festivals and head back to camp. Relax around a camp fire and enjoy some good food and then do it all over again over a couple of days. Not to bad, I say.

Gappu above the big wave in Golf Course

Kunjapuri Temple Trek

2006-04-10T00:37:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I had the opportunity to do a trek above Rishikesh. Me and Eliane(guide with Aquaterra as well), left the base at 4:30am heading up the start of the track by head lamp at 5:30am. This turned out to be a good thing as it heated up later in the day. The valley follows a small creek for the most part, quickly leaving Rishikesh behind we wandered up past small farms that had small water delivarey systems to there terraced fields and wheat drying on the roof tops. Passing a varitey of different plants and and seeing some cool birds. This area has cactus, palm trees and decidious trees all fairly close to one another. The walk took us around three hours to climb from around 1400ft to about 6000ft. The view was awsome as you could see the plains lead into the foothills, where we are based and then in the distance you could see the massive frontal range of some of the Himialays. At the Top near the temple, there was an ever handy Chai shack with a nice family there. After a short break at the top we headed back down the same way to avoid the 24km bus ride, as we weren't sure about how often the buses/trucks were going. Doing the early start meant that we avoided the sun hitting us on the way up. Coming down in the sun shine was hot enough so I was glad at that. If you do it in the heat, take lots of water!!! Coming down was nice as well, provided a different prespective on things. There is an excellent office in Rishikesh to get some local beta. Try Red Chilli Adventure, www.redchilliadventure.com

Photos by David Prothero

Photo Subjects

2006-04-10T00:16:00.000-07:00

I recently learned a new photo technique from one of our guests so I have been fooling around with it fairly extensively for the past couple of weeks. This is one of the things that I love about digital photography. I have tried it out on a few different subjects, one of them being little rock carins built on the bank of the ganges.
This technique is selecting a central focus point, then a low shutter speed, like 1/5- 1/8 of a second. A stand is a good idea for steady shooting or very steady hands. As you take the shot zoom in on the subject and voila you get a pretty neat effect.
Photos by David Prothero