Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25166
sionallevel kayakers will ride through. "The best of the best are the only ones who should be running these rapids," explained Marc Goddard of Bio Bio Expeditions Worldwide. Other rapids on the trip include Terminator, a class V hole amidst a complicated boulder garden, and the wave trains of Khyber Pass and Himalayas, both guaranteed to stand rafts up vertically. Your raft will bolt downriver as you crest waves bigger than your bedroom. Reaching the top of the Haystack (a permanent wave caused by obstacles on the river bottom), the boat abruptly stands at attention. The guy from Missouri sitting in front tumbles into your lap, and you into the lap of the pad- dler behind. And sometimes all the momentum the crew can muster isn't enough to get the raft over the wave. Next thing you know, you're having a "yard sale" (gear all over the place) and swimming for safety. Make it past Casa de Piedra and you're home free. The river dumps into a lake with only a short mellow paddle between you and the take-out. Be sure to buy a few empanadas and a couple beers from the cantinas at the end. The easiest way to explore the FutaleufU is on a seven- to ten-day rafting expedition run by a US-based outfitter. Outfitter itineraries and accommodations vary, so do some research to see which appeals to you. - MA OUTFITTERS EXPEDICIONES CHILE, Chile .. ~ Founded by prominent US river runner and former Olympic paddler;l! Chris Spelius, Expediciones Chile boasts a 3-1 guide ratio. 10 days, $2,500 to $2,700, 2001/2002: 12/22-12/31, 1/26-2/4, 2/2-2/11, 2/9-2/18, 2/16-2/25, 2/23-3/4, 3/2-3/11, 3/9-3/18, 3/16-3/25, 3/23-4/1; 888-488-9082, www.kayakchile.com It's not easy to get to the FutaleufU. And that's a good thing. One of the world's premier whitewater rivers, the beleaguered* FutaleufU is located in Chile's remote Patagonia wilderness. Even if all of your travel plans fall together perfectly, it takes nearly two days of arduous travel to make it to the river from, say, New York. But that's part of the Fu's beauty. When you look out on the rushing rivers and untouched wilder- ness of the Andes, it feels like the last Wild West of the outdoor universe. Horseback is still the main mode of transportation and electricity was not introduced to the area until the late 1980s. Telephones have only been around for six years. The Futaleufu drains a sizable region of the Chilean/Argentinean Andes and the southwest side of the Michinmahuida Glacier. The region's abundant rainfall combined with glacial melt means the river is ripe with big-water rapids most of the year. To handle the monster rapids of the FutaleufU, outfitters run combi- nation oar-rig/paddle rafts with four to six paddlers providing power and a guide in the back with oars. Once you hit the water, you'll be treated to a seven-hour trip through the class IV and V rapids of Inferno Canyon. Water rushes through the canyon at 7,000 to 25,000 cubic feet per second. Translation: big water. At the end of the day, you'll arrive at the riverside camp complete with hot-water showers, sauna and solar-generated electricity. You'll have earned the luxuries. Your outfitted trip will generally avoid danger zones such as rapids named Zeta and the Throne Room. Both are class V+ rapids that are easily avoided by groups which hike past them on foot, but profes- 62 EARTH RIVER, USA ~ ffi ii: .~ ::J ':i '" Earth River maintains three remote camps totaling 1,500 acres along the Hi, making the trip a continuous wilderness journey down the river. Earth River's Eric Hertz has been guiding for over ~ ~ 10 days, $2,700, 2001/2002: 12/14-12/23, 12/21-12/30, 12/28-1/6, g 1/4-1/13, 1/11-1/20, 1/18-1/27, 1/25-2/3, 2/1-2/10, 2/8-2/17, 2/15-2/24, 2/22-3/2, 3/1-3/10, 3/8-3/17, 3/15-3/24, 3/22-3/31, 12/13-12/22, 12/20-12/29; 800-643-2784, www.earthriver.com BIO BIO EXPEDITIONS WORLDWIDE, USA Bio Bio offers Fii trips originating in Chile and Argentina. 10 days, $2,300, 2001/2002: 12/20-12/30, 12/27-1/7, 1/5-1/15, 1/16-1/26, 1/25-2/4, 2/2-2/12, 2/13-2/23, 2/22-3/3, 3/1-3/11, 3/11-3/21; 800-246-7238, www.bbxrafting.com (*For more information on the fight to save the Fu from being dammed with a series of hydroelectric facilities, see blue, December 2000, or contact Futafriends: 406-586'3460, www.futafriends.org.) ~ ~ 20 years, pioneered commercial rafting on the Fii and founded the ti\ Earth River Fund in 1991 to promote river conservation. ~ ~ ~ (!) '" z 5 0: ~ '" (!) ~ 5 '" :J: 0. ~ ~ '" 0.