River Karma

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The crew, (left to right) Ben Marr, Steve Fisher, Rush Sturges, Tyler Bradt, Dan Campbell (cinematographer, backup kayaker--he had a Riot Guide with him. Bottom now (right to left) Greg Von Dorsten (photographer with him). Jared Meehan (cinematographer), Pete Meredith (“Eye in the Sky”), Jamie Roberts (pilot). Finding a rhythm in their river running, the team got better at predicting what the Congo might do next. But harnessing its wild surges to narrowly avoid lethal holes and whirlpools led to plenty of close calls. On day three, while negotiating a particularly treacherous rapid dubbed the Mopane Worm (its narrow flow undulates like the back of an indigenous worm many locals eat) both Sturges and Marr struggled to escape the river’s clutches. Seconds from being flushed into a rapid they likely would not have survived, both sprinted for dry land. Sturges landed on the right bank, while Marr stranded himself precariously on a tiny islet where the helicopter had to pull off a daring rescue. By morning day four, Fisher’s team had only a pair of rapids to go, two of the largest and most technically difficult on the river. Stacked back-to-back they essentially merge into a single continuous rapid – the Cauldron of hell, the same one that stopped Cao and undoubtedly harassed past explorers like Tuckey as they attempted to head upriver. During the paddlers’ approach to the Cauldron of Hell, Fisher and Sturges threaded a tight line between a set of whirlpools and a spot where the Congo’s entire flow detonates against soaring 200-foot cliffs. Safely past, they sprinted right to avoid being pushed into the final section of whitewater. “As we were peeling into the eddy, I caught Fisher out of the corner of my eye, disappearing into a massive whirlpool,” says Sturges. “All I could see was his face disappearing into the darkness.” Fisher was trapped – upside-down, again augured beneath the surface. Sturges watched the spiraling hole, hoping for a glimpse of his friend reaching the surface. Then, without warning, a second whirlpool snatched Sturges. Fifty feet apart, the two whirlpools had converged, spinning in opposite directions. A double-barreled whirlpool. Suddenly Sturges was fighting for his own life. Watching from above, the kayaks looked like toy boats being sucked down a pair of drains. The helicopter team was powerless. Nothing could be done to save them. Eventually Sturges was spat free while Fisher was fed into two more whirlpools before finally being released. Rattled, they rejoined the others and together managed a conservative, yet rowdy, line down the right side of the final rapid. Hooting and howling the team slide, one by one, safely into an eddy at the bottom of the Inga Rapids. “I was actually in tears in my kayak,” says Fisher. “Not only because we’d crossed the finish line of running these rapids and all surviving it… just an immense sense of relief that the whole thing was over.” The team had accomplished the first descent and effectively connected the dots of the unfinished source-to-sea path first attempted by their fellow explorers some 200 years earlier. Instead of feeling like we’d succeeded where others hadn’t, we left feeling humbled and that we had simply been fortunate to pass through unscathed. When the early explorers wrote that these rapids are unnavigable, and that any attempt on them would be pure insanity, they were dead right,” says Fisher. “We may have succeeded, but their statements are still accurate. In fact, we all agreed that if we attempted them again, we wouldn’t fancy our chances. 46
As a group, we decided that swimming was not an option on this river. The chances of survival out of your boat in an environment with that many variables, was low. Of course on any rapid, on any river, and at any skill level, swims can and will happen. The extra safely gear we used on this trip was chosen to help us prevent swims, and increase our ability to keep our heads above water, and to make it back to shore. 1. Paddler – The Congo is a monster of a river. Our team was built with strong paddlers, all experienced in big water situations and willing to take on the challenges the Congo presented. We made decisions as a team and only moved as a group. Pictured here is Tyler Bradt, he was our “head of river safety” he researched and organized all of the additional safety gear for the mission. 2A. Paddle – We needed reliable paddles we were comfortable using on the river. A broken paddle at the wrong moment could have been disastrous. Tyler and Rush were using ATs while Steve and Ben used CORE paddles. 2B. Paddle Leash – In case our paddles were ripped out of our hands we had them tethered to our wrists. www.nrsweb.com 3. Helmet – The team all chose Sweet helmets. 4. Hand Paddles – We used velcro and zip ties to secure hand paddles to the decks of our boats. If we broke or lost our paddle, the backup plan was to have instant access to our hand paddles. A swimmer could also use them if needed. www.riveraholic.com 5. Waist Belt Inflatable Life Jackets – These bad boys were attached fanny-pack style around our waists, similar to what you have on an airplane. In a swimming situation you find the red tab and pull, which releases the CO2 and fills the vest. www.onyxoutdoor.com 6. Emergency Air – The rapid air unit gave us 3000psi of compressed air that we kept in the front pockets of our PFDs. If we needed air, the mouthpiece was within reach for a quick breath. In a static environment you can get 10-15 minutes underwater. www.rapidproducts.com 7. A Pump – To fill the Rapid Air units. 8. PFDs – Some of us cut one-inch mini cell foam to fit into the back sleeve of the Astral Green vest. Steve used a Stohlquist vest with extra foam and his vest was designed to hold the Rapid Air system as well. 9. Chastity Belt – Tyler invented this system for his world record descent of Palouse Falls (at 189 feet there was a good chance his skirt would be ripped off and to complete the record you have to stay in your boat). We were worried about skirt implosions in downtime, so we all used chastity belts each day on the river. 10. Spray Deck – We all needed a good strong deck to keep water out, as well as to keep the paddler in the boat. Steve was using a Snapdragon deck with a built-in implosion bar, while the rest of us used IR sprayskirts. 11. The Boat – We needed fast boats with forgiving edges to be able to navigate the huge water and accelerate quickly to avoid boils, seams and monster whirlpools. We also needed something we were comfortable paddling for long days on the water. Rush and Tyler used new prototype Mambas by Dagger; Steve was in the Liquid Logic Remix 79 and Ben paddled in the new ZET Raptor. (Not Pictured) Helicopter – (Eurocopter Ecureuil/As 350 B3 Helicopter) with Bad ass pilot – we used a helicopter not only to capture the action but as a last resort safety measure. We had Pete Meredith tethered into the chopper and he was our “Eye in the Sky”, ready willing and able to leap from the chopper on belay, clip into our harness system, and fly us out of any situation. Thanks Jamie and Kim at Tropic Air! www.tropicairkenya.com Climbing Harness – Everyday before we put on our decks, we stepped into our climbing harness, which we then, using webbing and carabiners, attached to our PFDs. This system allowed for us to be vertically extracted out of hairy situations by clipping on to our PFDs with a carabiner from the chopper. Onboard Camera – We chose Contour cameras. This project was about much more than just running the rapids; it was also about bringing back evidence. It was a film making endeavor and a way to test our ability to retain cinematic production value in a tough environment. With these cameras, you don’t look like a tele-tubby and one switch turns it on and starts recording without having to look at or fiddle with the camera at all. The blue tooth connectivity to your phone and the rotating lens enable you to frame up the shots properly. The gear we used was an important precaution but there is no piece of gear as important as your friends watching your back. You need to paddle with people who would do anything to save you life, and you would do anything to save theirs! 47
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
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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
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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 44 and 45: 44 Paddling out into the river’s
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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