River Karma

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44 Paddling out into the river’s full flow, the four kayakers got their first taste of Inga’s immense power. From the air, the team surveyed the cataracts from many angles, determining the safest line down each rapid. But the paddlers quickly realized devising a plan of attack from the air, and putting it into action on the river was easier said than done. So rather than running the rapids from top to bottom in one continuous journey, the plan was to spend four full days, picking their way down the river, dissecting the rapids into smaller, more doable chunks. The main reason for this method was safety. On most whitewater expeditions, the river flow is manageable enough that paddlers are usually able to rescue each other, but with Inga’s gargantuan volume and speed, the only hope for rescue was the helicopter, an untested method – and a long shot. Even with all their modern technology, from satellite maps to specialized gear to a $3-million-dollar helicopter, Fisher and his team were still at the mercy of the Inga Rapids. And its fury was proving just as potent as it was 200 years ago when explorers like Tuckey and Stanley first tried their luck in what the latter described “a watery hell.” “Out there it’s really hard to tell where you are. You’re moving super fast but the waves are forming slowly - like everything is in slow motion,” says Bradt. “Stuff is forming and moving, like a crazy living beast. It’s almost like you’re riding on the back of a dragon.” By day two, the team reached Hippo Island, a quarter-mile-wide tree-covered island blocking the main flow. There the river takes a sharp bend to the south before revealing a mile-and-a-half long cataract, the largest rapid on earth. In this spot, lethal hydraulics large enough to swallow a pair of double-decker buses roar while waves heave and detonate, sending water three stories into the air. Hovering over the rapids, the helicopter’s altimeter jumped wildly, tricked by the whitewater below and rudely tossed by wave-generated gusts. After skirting the edge of Hippo Island to avoid the meat of the rapid, the team stood on the rocky shore where the French paddlers were last seen alive in 1985. Fisher wondered quietly to himself what must’ve been going through their minds as they shoved off into the Congo’s fury. Back in the flow, Fisher’s team was thrust directly into the center of the river. Although just beyond the biggest hazards, the Congo was hurtling them downriver over mammoth waves, on the wildest roller coaster ride of their lives. From above, the scene looked much less intense – four tiny autumn leaves slipping down a rain-swollen stream. When the team reached the first Inga dam, dozens of cheering SNEL employees scampered down the rocks to greet them. It was obvious most of them were surprised to see the paddlers had safely made it that far. The paddlers occasionally encountered other locals on the opposite bank, a tribe of hunter-gatherers who seemed to live in caves. They always greeted the team, hopeful to sell a few smoked fruit bats – apparently a major food source for locals – and content to stare at the paddlers’ bright warrior-like gear. In Inga, fishermen in dugout canoes dare not venture into the main current, but they do hand-paddle inner tubes to fish the slow moving eddies between large rapids. Of all the locals the team encountered, those fishermen seemed to best grasp the enormity of what the paddlers were tackling. There was an instant camaraderie and mutual respect. After all, both the paddlers and the fishermen are river people – and kindred spirits.
Mark Anders (author) and Boston enjoy a flight over one of the bigger features. For comparison, here are the helicopter statistics: Length: 11 m (36 ft), Height 3 m (10 ft). Check the mini-explosion below the tail of the chopper. The span of Kinshasa City. This could well be in the future the largest french-speaking population on the planet. More than eight million inhabitants crowd the marginally paved streets and ghettos that make up one of the most crime-ridden regions in all of Africa. Here the team stayed for a full week to prepare on the Kinsuka Rapids. “So when we’re scouting and we’re deciding whether a rapids run-able or not, we have to think about that. Yeah sure we can make that. But what if you don’t? What if you swim on the way? What’s below? Can we manage that? And can you manage that out of your boat? And a lot of those rapids, we’re just not going to be able to manage them out of our boats.” Benny Marr 45
Page 1: The Dutch girl INTERVIEW who had to
Page 4 and 5: Rush Sturges 48 MISSION THE AVON DE
Page 6 and 7: Robert Tighe photos provided by Red
Page 8 and 9: RIVER KARMA MAGAZINE REPORTS FROM T
Page 10 and 11: “New Zealand as a kayaking locati
Page 12 and 13: “We thought he was underwater all
Page 14 and 15: I’ve got goose bumps watching it
Page 16 and 17: ZOOM IN 16
Page 18 and 19: 18
Page 20 and 21: Hundreds of friends and family memb
Page 22 and 23: y Whitney Lonsdale Over the past se
Page 24 and 25: i did have an incledible year last
Page 26 and 27: Do you find anything different in p
Page 28 and 29: Which women paddlers out there are
Page 30 and 31: EXPLORE THE GRAND INGA PROJECT by M
Page 32 and 33: 32 Paddling as hard as he could, St
Page 34 and 35: 34
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Page 40 and 41: 40 The few well-appointed embassies
Page 42 and 43: 42 With the thwack-thwack of helico
Page 46 and 47: The crew, (left to right) Ben Marr,
Page 48 and 49: They say, that in everyones life th
Page 50 and 51: 50 Using the right craft and becomi
Page 52 and 53: Avon Descent Flat Water Skills and
Page 54 and 55: A New Era in Swiftwater Rescue Trai
Page 56 and 57: This whitewater course doesn’t ju
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River Karma

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