Archive for the ‘chile whitewater rivers’ Category
Sunday, November 27th, 2011
The Maipo is one of Chiles’ great Rivers, running through the countryside as a source of water, entertainment and for some a livelihood. As I have been staying at the Astorgas’ along with the rest of New River Academy we have realized that because of Santiagos’ large size as a city, they want to take water from the Maipo and send it along a pipe to Santiago, draining tons of the Maipos’ water and causing the river to shrink in size.
The damming will most likely stop boating or make it basically impossible and many other activities and needs of locals and tourists alike will probably be stopped or unable to be done. So in our effort to make the unfairness of the damming known, we have interviewed a few locals who would greatly be affected by the damming of the Maipo including some of the Astorgas, mainly Pangal Astorga and Lorenzo Astorga.
Tags: Alex Zegart, Astorgas, dams, maipo
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Friday, November 25th, 2011
The upper palguin is a class IV+ run which consists of 4 drops. It is located just outside of Pucon, only a 40 minute drive from New River Academy’s base at the Pucon Kayak Hostel. The road can be a little rough at times, so it helps to have four wheel drive!
This run is short, but sweet. It is perfect for practicing your boof and running waterfalls after class, and is where they hold the infamous Palguin Race (won by our coach Jake Greenbaum last year).
At the put in you drop into a granite gorge that is filled with wildlife. The first decent starts out with a double drop, with has a very easy scout on river right. The standard line is right boof stroke off the left side ridding up on the wall of a 4 foot ledge. You land in aerated water and have about 15 feet before dropping a 10 footer.
Kincaid Wurl lines up for the second part of the double drop
You can go off the 10 footer any number of ways. I prefer going off the left side again with another right boof stroke. you will land in a big pool with plenty of time to gather your self before moving on.
Kincaid Wurl sits in the eddy below the first drop. Photo Kincaid Wurl
The second drop is a 12 footer. Depending on the level, but you usually want to go off the right side taking a left boof stroke. Make sure to have a bit of speed at the top because there is a kicker rock about half way down. Trust me when I say you don’t want to hit it. This drop has no eddy to get out and scout from so your just going to have to trust my word.
The last drop is a 20 footer which has a huge boil at the bottom of it. The river splits into two water falls. On river left you have an easy plug with very little chance of problems. On river right you have a more technical line with a narrow lead in. If you do find yourself running this in a play boat, the right Chanel is perfect for Hail Marys (When you do a front loop off a drop). The mane line off this one is center left with a delayed right boof stroke.
Hunt Jennings runs the twenty footer on the Upper Palguin. Photo by Kincaid Wurl
Be careful not to land to far left, because the boil is more straight out from the drop then too the left. Its very green over there and if you boof you may get the wind knocked out of you.
Below this drop, be sure to watch out for Fishermans hole. It doesn’t look like much, but the river wide hole can be sticky! I’ve seen lots of people get tumbled here and swim out.
If your take out is on river right you will go down about 1/4 of a mile and your take out is a smale boat size slot. This slot is right above a very nasty drop so don’t miss the eddy. If you take out is on river left then you will have two options. Wall around the crack drop or run it. The easiest line off this one is the center crack. Be sure to twist you paddle and wear elbow pads! This is not a very forgiving drop. Your take out will be down on the left and can be challenging to make the eddy.
This take out is also right above a nasty 40 footer, that does not have a very nice lead in. I recommend taking someone that has run it before because both takeouts are tricky.
Tags: Chile, eric bartl, jackson kayak, Kayaking, pucon whitewater kayak, Upper Palguin, whitewater
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Thursday, November 24th, 2011
The Nevados is one of the best runs in Pucon. It has made it in to many videos, not just because of the amazing white water but because of the beauty of the gorged in creek. The steep gorge walls are covered with moss, vines and other plants. The green of the plants is exaggerated by the grey stone walls. The gorge walls twist so that you can only see what are doing at that moment. The river varies in width from 5 feet to 35 feet wide.
Because it is one of the steeper and more narrow runs that the school does, Me, Kincaid, Bartl and Hunt went with Jake Greenbaum, who is coaching us while in Pucon, to check out the river and get to know the lines before the rest of the group goes on it together. It was really good getting to paddle with a smaller group. It made it easier to communicate so that the group knew what everyone else wanted to do, and allowed our group to move quickly.
Entrance to the slide
Kincaid getting air on the slide
The upper part is a fun class IV & V warm up before the main section. You get 10 to 15 minutes of paddling, with some smaller boofs and moves to make. The majority of the harder drops begins with a sweet slide.Once in the gorge it is continuous drops including two 20 footers and a 15 footer. The turns and drops only give you a clear view of what you are doing up to a hundred feet ahead. It is the kind of gorge that you can go in to and feel like you are thousands of miles away from civilization when you are only ten miles away. All of the chaos if the water mixed with the isolation add to a sense of serenity.
It was by far the best run I have done in Chile yet. Its uniqueness is the number one reason that I came to Chile and the reason I would tell anyone else to go as soon as possible.
Tags: Chile, Galen Volkhausen, Keeners, Nevados, Rivers Chile, whitewater kayaking Chile
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Saturday, November 19th, 2011
There are so many differences between the states and Chile. The people of Chile have such a strong culture, it is shown when walking down the street. You are greeted by hello’s each time you walk by someone. They say “hola” and give you a kiss on the cheek. If you need directions they are more than willing to help you find your way.
Chileans are some of the nicest people, for example the Astorga family is letting us use their camp sites to stay in. We also get to eat breakfast and lunch at Carla (our spanish teacher)’s house on the other side of the river. This is where the Astorga family lives, not where their buisness is. It is pretty amazing the way the Astorga’s have shared their home with the school.
Galen browning on the road to the Hotsprings with the Maipo Valley in the back. Mixing American cultures with Chilean landscape.
Chile is a friendly country with people who care and have a strong culture built from centuries of learning. Chile’s people are more understanding than most Americans in so many different ways. One example of this is that they share more. Carla shares her house with us, and the entire family works together to run their rafting business. Here in Chile you can bargain people down on price when you go to buy something, which is pretty cool. It is hard to do that in America.
Tags: Alternative Education, boarding school, Chile, Colin Klein, Culture Chileans., education, experiential education, fayetteville, Gap Year, go huge, high school, Kayak School, Kayaking, new river academy, Playboating, rivers, West Virginia, whitewater
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Friday, November 18th, 2011
The upper Trancura is a class IV run with some of the best scenery in the world. It starts out with a bit of flat water, before the first few drops which allows the perfect warm up for what awaits down stream. Clean blue water, with big, friendly rapids follow. About half way down there is a must-portage, on river left. If you want a challenge, you can put in partway on the portage to run the lower half of the massive rapid. Almost the whole way down the run you have an amazing view of a snow caped volcano with smoke coming out of the top of it.
Hayley Stuart sees the upper Trancura as “Lots of fun”. Hayley came to the school with very minimal kayaking experience last year and is still working on perfecting the finer points of river running. She described the run to me as seeming “scary but at the end it’s really rewarding. It has lots of big waves and some fun optional boofs, so it is a great place to work on your technique.” Hayley is continually improving in skills and confidence and will soon have all the confidence she needs to run all rivers.
Alex Zegart who is new to the school this year and a complete beginner to the sport before this fall, explained the run as “very fun!” To him, the river was “like a big cold snake with all its twists and turns”.Colin, who is from Oregon, said it reminded him of Uganda because of its pool drop feel.
The Upper Trancura has huge horizon lines, and is big volume, but the lines are wide and pretty forgiving, with pools at the bottom of its fast drops. Over all the river is a great spot to practice all different moves. “Dont forget to watch out for the bear sharks!” says David Miller.
Tags: Chile, eric bartl, jackson kayak, Kayaking, Pucon, Trancura, whitewater, whitewater kayaking
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Tuesday, November 15th, 2011
Chile, a continent 2700 miles long and never more than 109 miles wide, is a quintessential mecca for kayaking. Most dream of making a pilgrimage to this whitewater wonderland just as the red and yellow leaves begin to fall in the US, and in late October, a couple of days before snow flurries hit West Virginia, we, the New River Academy kayak team, were lucky enough to hop on a flight to Santiago for our whitewater packed Chile quarter.
We set down in the Andes-surrounded Santiago airport after an overnight flight and immediately loaded all of our kayaks and gear onto a big bus to head to Cascada de las Animas, an eco-tourism resort on the mighty Maipo River that is only forty minutes outside of the city.
Cascadas de las Animas, or “Waterfall of the Spirits,” is our base for the first week and a half. It is nestled in a narrow valley of beautiful, tall desert mountains, and includes magnificent camping, a gourmet restaurant, waterfalls to hike to, a zipline, horseback riding, and, most importantly, is the takeout to the upper section of the Maipo River and the put-in to the lower section of the Maipo River.
The lower section of the Maipo is a Class 2/ 3 run, perfect for practicing boofs, eddy turns, punching holes, and racing. The same skills can be practiced for the more advanced boaters on the upper section, which is a Class 3 /4 stretch with one easily portaged Class 5 rapid, called Frenchman’s Curve. Throughout the week, all of the New River Academy team improved immensely, and, after great assessment and a strong safety set-up, some ran Frenchman’s Curve!
After the Maipo, the team cruised to Pucon, the creeking capital of Chile. With its Jurassic Park-like mountains, countless waterfalls, and majestic volcano, Pucon is one of the most well-known summer destinations for Chileans. For kayakers, it is known for the insanely high concentration of rivers within its near radius.
New River Academy’s kayak school base is located on the Trancura River. Similar to our location on the Maipo, our Pucon base is situated at the take-out to the more challenging Class 3/ 4 upper section of the Trancura and at the put-in of the Class 2/ 3 lower section of the Maipo. While we have certainly been enjoying putting in and taking off of the river immediately out our back doors, the team has also enjoyed runs on the Palguin (a perfect intermediate waterfall run) and the Nevados (a more challenging steep creek run).
In addition to kayaking, the team has enjoyed Chilean-led dance morning workouts, natural mountain hot springs, delicious Chilean meals (so much fresh bread!) at communal tables in front of warm fires, and classes that often incorporate the daily experiences of our surroundings. We are all taken with the culture, the beauty, and the boating of Chile and we can’t wait for the next four weeks!
- Cascada de las Animas! (Notice the waterfall on the mountainside… amazing)
- Guest Coach and Local Legend Lorenzo Andrade-Astorga leads students down the Class V Frenchman’s Curve rapid on the Upper Maipo
- Galen Volckhausen gets a shot from the zipline over the Maipo for the documentary his Environmental Science class is doing on the proposed hydroelectric project on the Alto Maipo.
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- Volcan Villarica… There’s volcanos, rivers, and creeks EVERYWHERE in Pucon!
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- Crack Drop on the Nevados, a creek just 20 minutes from New River Academy’s Pucon School Base.
Tags: Alternative Education, boarding school, Chile, education, experiential education, fayetteville, Gap Year, go huge, high school, Kayak School, Kayaking, new river academy, Playboating, rivers, West Virginia, whitewater
Posted in Academics, chile whitewater rivers, Culture, Intructional, Kayak Gap Year Abroad, Kayak School, Kayaking, kids kayak camp, Photography, Uncategorized, Video, Whitewater Countries, Whitewater Video | Comments Off
Sunday, November 13th, 2011
The Turbio has special energy as it slopes off Chile’s most famous volcano. Volcan Villarrica fantastically towers the region and the Rio Turbio flows through a geologically young basalt field as it’s cone steams gases. Just five minutes from the New River Academy base at Pucon Kayak Hostel lies a clean twenty footer.
Kira Tenney drops Pucon's Rio Turbio clean twenty footer.
Students Learn to Stomp
New River Alumni Jake Greenbaum has been hired as the guest coach while in Pucon. Greenbaum having mastered the art of running cascades shares and exhibits proper form for the eager youth.
Galen Volckhausen practices stomping his feet down to transition his boof to angle entry.
Paddle Misconception: Why do pros throw their paddles off big drops?
While, many think it’s dangerous pros often throw their paddles because it’s safer. Large cascades tend to drop into clean pools easily manageable by any kayaker with a solid handroll. What is more difficult to manage is a safe placement of paddle upon impact. The paddle has been known to strike the face, brow, neck, break, dislocate shoulders and cause other problems. If you’re good enough to stick a cascade without it then you can dramatically reduce problems.
By David Hughes
Program Director, New River Academy
Owner, Pucon Kayak Hostel
Drew McEachern strikes himself with paddle to the face now proud of his earned battle wound.
Tags: Alternative Education, boarding school, Chile, education, experiential education, fayetteville, Gap Year, go huge, high school, Kayak School, Kayaking, new river academy, Playboating, rivers, West Virginia, whitewater
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Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
Hey every one it’s Drew McEachern here. Today I am blogging about the Lower Maipo Rio (river). The lower Maipo is a fairly easy run but very good for working on your skills to get ready for the upper Maipo. I would describe the lower Maipo as a class 3 river with a lot of boofs and eddies to practice your skills on.
The Maipo upper and lower are both high volume rivers and can be quite pushy at points. The Lower is a great river if you want to take it easy for a day, or if you’re just working to progress your skills. It is important to get your skills solid, from boofs to eddie catching, and this is the perfect place to get ready for the rest of the rivers we will paddle in Chile. The lower part of river is friendly but if you’re not paying attention you can still get a swim in the COLD water! Because the river is continuous, rescuing a swim can be a challenge if you are in the wrong place!
The Lower Maipo is a great river and I would suggest it to any one that is ever in the Maipo region- from kayaker’s to rafters.
Tags: Alternative Education, boarding school, Chile, Drew McEachern, education, experiential education, fayetteville, Gap Year, go huge, grade 3, high school, Kayak School, Kayaking, Maipo River, new river academy, Playboating, rivers, West Virginia, whitewater, whitewater chile
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Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
Getting 20 kids and staff from place to place is extremely difficult and can be stressful. It takes the whole group coming together and working as one to make it go smoothly. One way we try and make this is happen is by training students so we know how to work together. At the beginning of the school year David taught us how to load and unload the trailer efficiently. This saves us time and protects our gear.
Dave shows Fly how to load the trailer before heading out to the Siete Tasas. Photo by Colin Klein.
Even so, it is hard to travel with 20 people, 20-40 kayaks and all of our gear. This is why Dave also told us to pack light which helps a lot in our large group. Each student has his own backpack and a bills bag. A bills bag is an extra large dry bag with backpack straps. This is what we live out of for weeks at a time. I like using the bills bag because they are easy to pack, but it is not always easy to find things in them.
We share almost everything, we are a big family caring family. It helps that we are all close because we live so closely during the time we are traveling. This would be stressful, but we all know the routine so well it makes it easy to adapt to our new homes. That is how it goes super smoothly for a group of 20 traveling with kayaks in a foreign country.
Tags: Alternative Education, bills bag, boarding school, Chile, Colin Klein, education, experiential education, fayetteville, Gap Year, go huge, high school, Kayak School, Kayaking, new river academy, Playboating, rivers, Transport, Travel, West Virginia, whitewater
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Monday, October 31st, 2011
The flight into a foreign land is frightening. Not knowing what to expect or what you are going to see. The sights are breathtaking. The mountains are tall and steep and nothing like anything I have ever seen in the States. At first it is somewhat offsetting. But after a little bit you start to feel at home in this tough rugged land.
The air in the Maipo Valley is clean. You simply feel healthy living in such an amazing area. The food is all so fresh and the water is so cold and sweet. The people here are very friendly. They make you feel at home instantly. Even the stray dogs are friendly. It is hard to believe that just a 30 minute drive will take you back into a hustling city, crowded with loud cars and people. But here in the Maipo Valley, you don’t think about the city. You are just totally happy to be in location that is as beautiful as this.
The ” daily grind” here is not such a grind. It’s more of a vacation. On the average day here you wake up around 7:20 AM to go do a short workout that gets your blood flowing. Then directly after that you, and the rest of your classmates, head over to Carla’s house. She lives about a half mile away. To get to her house you have to cross two swinging bridges. The first bridge you must cross is about 40 feet above the, brown, fast, and breathtaking, Maipo river. Once you are across the bridge, you walk a short distance and you are at a far sketchier swinging bridge. It is over a small dried up creek, there is not much water in the creek but there are hundreds of beautiful yellow flowers growing on the banks. After walking very carefully across the second bridge, you walk about 100 yards and you are at Carla’s house and you can already smell the delicious breakfast Feilipe, our cook, has made for us.
After a delightful breakfast of fresh fruits, fruit juice, eggs, toast and various jellies and jams, you start your classes. Here in Chile you think it would be hard to concentrate on anything besides the breathtaking sites and the flowing rivers. But that is not the case. Being in an environment such as this it is easy to learn. Learning comes naturally. This makes the class work exciting. Every page of the books leads to something new and exciting, and this makes you eager to learn more! Even going down to the store to buy a snack teaches you something. You pick up on various Spanish words and phrases every time you interact with any of the locals. After your first four periods of school you take a short break for lunch. This involves embarking on an adventure across the two swinging bridges and back to Carla’s house where once again Felipe has prepared another fantastic meal to fuel our ever hungry stomachs. After the lunch we cross the bridges and begin the last 3 class periods of the day. The last three class periods feel like they will never end. Because at the end of our classes, we are able to do some of the best kayaking in the world.
The Maipo river runs fast, cold and brown. It is 100% snowmelt which makes the river somewhat brutal to paddle. You have to roll fast or you will most definitely get an ice-cream headache. Even with the harsh conditions of the Maipo, it is impossible not to fall in love with such a beautiful, strong, and mysterious river. Not knowing what is just inches below you, hidden in that brown muddy water, is part of the beauty of this incredible river. The other part of the Maipo’s beauty comes from the surrounding landscape. The rugged, dusty, rock mountains shoot up thousands of feet from the river’s edge into the great, blue, Chilean sky. It is safe to say that the Maipo Valley is a magical place.
Kincaid Wurl
Tags: Alternative Education, boarding school, Chile, education, experiential education, fayetteville, Gap Year, go huge, high school, Kayak School, Kayaking, new river academy, Playboating, rivers, West Virginia, whitewater
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