Low Water

Hi Everyone,

Unfortunately, we have had to cut our expedition short.  Very low water has stopped us from being able to cross the Gran Chaco in Argentina.  While December and January are supposed to be the rainiest months in N. Argentina, they have had very little rain to date and have had several consecutive seasons of very little rain.  This time of year the Bermejo can be up to 60,000 CFS, but it is no where close to that.

We did however get the first descent of the Upper and Lower sections of the Bermejo River in Bolivia and Argentina which are rated Class V.  We will be putting up video and photos as soon as we can.

We want to thank everyone for their support up to this point.

Heading to the River

Hello everyone,

We have all arrived safely in Oran in the northern part of Argentina after a twenty-four hour bus ride from Mendoza to Salta and then a brief continuation on to Oran.

Today we did the majority of the shopping for supplies and will be collecting the last few items tomorrow, including: a cooler, butane and glue for the repair kit, which TSA kindly confiscated back in the US.

We have also met our contact, Diego Castillo, the man who is known to run the northern part of Argentina.  He will be our shuttle into Bolivia where he will be dropping us off at La Capilla del Bermejo, which is the confluence of two rivers and the beginning of the Bermejo (Latitude: 22 degrees 10' 00'' S / Longitude: 64 degrees 42' 00'' W).  Above this confluence, the rivers are graded class VI and inaccessible.  Currently water levels are low which also makes these sections impossible.

From the first put-in we are expecting class V rapids as the rivers whips through one canyon to give a small repreive, before we enter a smaller canyon where we are expecting class IV rapids.

As it is, the water levels are very low.  As we paddle further from Bolivia into Argentina we will have to assess whether we can paddle the drawn-out sections of the Bermejo as it crosses the Gran Chaco to our second river, the Paraguay.

We are hoping that we can, but will only know once we are on the river.

Please check back in soon for videos and photos from the upper sections of the white water.  

Mark and Brian have the boat

Just received confirmation that Mark and Brian have the boat and are en route from Santigao back here to Mendoza by tomorrow afternoon, where we will all leave immediately on a bus for Salta, Argentina.  Looking forward to being on the river in a couple of days...

Mendoza

Hi everyone!

      Brian, Mark, and I have all arrived safely in Argentina, but, our boat has not.  While in transit in the US, Mark decided to ship the boat to Santiago, Chile, as opposed to Buenos Aires, as it was in a standstill in Miami.  Argentinian customs has been very difficult to deal with and this has proved to be the most expedient way to get or boat into South America.

After arriving in Buenos Aires, the three of us took an overnight bus due west to Mendoza, Argentina and now Brian and Mark have taken a 6 hour bus from Mendoza to Santiago, Chile that left this morning.  I have stayed behind in Mendoza to watch the gear and take care of the last loose ends.

Although this is a setback, we were able to meet a wonderful contact that Mark originally began speaking with in the states named Martín Moreno.  He is the owner of Argentina Rafting Expediciones here in Mendoza and runs rafting trips down the Mendoza river.  While waiting for our boat to ship from Miami, we were able to paddle the Mendoza river yesterday.  In addition to some practice, Martín provided us with contacts and intel for the first of our intended rivers, the Bermejo. Depending on river flow, much of the paddled upper sections of the Bermejo is class V rapids and the first thirty to forty miles from the head waters is class VI.  Martín's kindness, help, and wealth of advice has been invaluable to us and we cannot begin to thank him enough.   Mark and Brian should be returning to Mendoza at the end of the weekend along with the boat and several intended supplies.  We then plan to take an overnight bus to Salta where we will be shuttled to the put-in by one of Martín´s good friends from Salta Rafting company, Grillo.  We are a few days behind schedule, but things are shaping up nicely and we are looking forward to getting on the river ASAP!  More updates to come soon...