We arrived at the Baker after a shorter than expected 13 hour drive from Futaleufu. Our team of Tom McLay, Ben Bedingham, Phil Carrivick and myself setup camp in Puerto Bertrand (at the birth of the river) and then headed down the road to scout out the first canyon. The scouting missing revealed 4 rapids in the canyon which we anticipated running the next day.
Jonathan scouting the second rapid.Above the first Canyon is Salto Nef, a riverwide waterfall cascading 30 feet over two tiers and terminating in 'The Pit of Death'. There was a good sneak on the far left side which we ran.
Tom running the sneak at Salto NefAfter the Salto Nef, the first canyon fires off three rapids back to back. The first is a big move through the middle right to avoid the monster hole on the left. The tounge on this rapid must be 20 feet deep as you plunge into the cascade.
The second rapid follows closely after the runout of the first, with a left entrance, cutting behind 'the dragons back' behind a huge lateral to the right to dodge another huge feature. Then making it back into the middle to run down the center wave/hole train to the end.
The third rapid is the most consequential, with most of the flow crashing into the right wall at the bottom. The move cuts accross from right to left. At the bottom of the first trough is a small rib that you fly past as you cut left. This single tounge is the largest I have ever seen. Standing at least 20 feet tall, you can´t see anything in the rapid once you´ve dropped down it, and the stoke of cruising up the wave face is unmatched.
Ben dropping into the tounge on the 3rd rapid
There is a 2km break in the action before the 4th and final rapid in the first canyon.
The second canyon takes a mere 15 minutes to paddle, and has no real 'rapids'. The whole canyon is full of whirl pools and constrictions. In some ways, this is more nerve racking than the first canyon, as house-sized whirl pools open up under you at any time for no real reason. Its hard to see them coming and they suck you down further than you´d like to think. At one point, I got pulled under for5 seconds in a Pyranha G3 275, a huge boat to be logging downtime.
The second canyon ends at the orange arch bridge. Below the bridge is a great playwave/ hole with eddy service.
The third canyon is the location of the proposed site of a hydro project courtesy of Endesa, a Spanish company set on ruining Patagonia with a network of dams and powerlines headed North. Because of the likelyhood of this section of river being lost forever, paddling this section of the Baker was a main goal of our Baker Mission. The third canyon proved stunning and full of great whitewater.
The third canyon has 6 distinct rapids. The first is a massive channel full of boils and unpredictable features that come out of nowhere. Scout right.
The second rapid is a portage (at least for most). The entire Baker drops through a mess of a channel, maybe 20 feet wide, creating unfathomably big holes/whirls/seams/death... Portage left over the hill.
The third rapid is the biggest in the third canyon. The huge V shaped hole/wave caught Tom on the first run, ending in a 20 second ride/ rag-dolling in one of the largest features on the river.
The fourth rapid goes from the right, then cutting back left towards the bottom. The waves are super erradic, and you have to cut through the middle of the mess.
The fifth rapid is unscoutable and unportageable. A giant pointy rock on the right signals its approach. There is a huge hole on the left, so center to center right is best here.
Tom and Ben above the 5th rapid, next to the pointy crag.
The sixth rapid is fairly straightforward, dropping down through a few big waves and holes, cutting left to right.
The Rio Baker is a classic trip. Between its remote setting along the Carratera Austral (Southern Highway) and the huge scale of the rapids and river, it will set the bar for all bigwater trips I do from here out. A strong team is a must on the Baker as a blown skirt or swim on the river isn´t really an option. Most of the rapids are scoutable and portageable, although portaging in the first canyon would basically be a hike-out to the road. For those boater who can catch the third canyon of the baker before it is lost to the dam, get down there. For info about the damming of Chilean Patagonia, check out: http://www.patagoniasinrepresas.cl/final/
2 comments:
Now now, lets not exaggerate, it was only about 5 seconds, although it definately felt like 20!
Please don't use language like "before it is lost to the dam." The dams are not a given at this point. Join the fight, don't just throw your hands in the air,and "run it before it is gone."
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