Sun Kosi, A RIVER OF GOLD

In our last post we spoke about how an expedition is a journey, not only of a river or trail but of the mind and soul. In over a decade of running expeditions in the Himalayas we have returned time and again to the Sun Kosi. This is a classic descent that carries water from the highest mountains in the world and with each paddle stroke sends us closer and closer to the border with India and away from the border of the bounded culture of Tibet.

We are pleased to offer availability for two trips in the fall season. Our first starting on the 1st Oct 2011 chases the monsoon rains whilst the second starting on the 22nd offers classic action with more stable water levels.

The expedition is suitable for kayakers with a solid roll happy on class 3/4 along with rafters, both experienced and novice. Our expedition allows us the chance to sleep under the Himalayan blanket of stars and wake each morning to the river as it kisses the white sand beach.

Our journey starts in the chaos of Kathmandu the capital of Nepal with time to see the amazing temples and markets before we journey to our riverside resort and the start of our aquatic adventure. Our nights in Kathmandu are spent in a hotel in the heart of Thamel district, where streets are full of ancient sages and folk myth.

Each day on the river builds, with rapids becoming class 5 (portage option). After 11 days we float to Chatra and return to Kathmandu before flying home, to tell stories of adventure and remember the friendships we have made.

DURATION-16 DAYS

Day 1: Arrival in Kathmandu (optional first arrival) OCT 1st or 22nd 2011

Up on arrival in Kathmandu you will be met by a representative of PURE LAND EXPEDITIONS and transfer to hotel in Kathmandu. Time to explore the chaotic capital. Overnight Kathmandu.

Day 2: Arrival in Kathmandu (second arrival)

After breakfast chance to visit Kathmandu Durbarsquare and Soyambhunath (Known as monkey temple). Pack personal gear for expedition.PURE LAND EXPEDITIONS will supply a full range of dry bags for the transport of equipment during the expedition. Overnight Kathmandu.

Day 3: Kathmandu to Upper Sun Kosi

After breakfast drive to the Upper river, approx 4-6 hrs. We drive across river valleys, idyllic countryside and farm land taking time to experience the stunning views. We arrive at our resort for lunch before running the rapids of the Upper Sun Kosi.Playing on waves and ripping up rapids. The night is spent at our riverside resort.

Day 4: First full day on the river.

After a relaxed breakfast we load the rafts and set off on our expeditions towards the border with India. We soak in the sights and sounds as we paddle downstream.We overnight camp on the river, looking at the moon and stars in the Himalayan sky.

Day 5: River Day 2

After breakfast we break camp and set off on our adventure, stopping for lunch around midday gives us a chance to relax after all the paddling. We continue on the water for a few hours until we find camp.Again it is a night under the stars or canvas. The choice is yours. Each day flows into the next, as we head down the river. Our smooth passage allows us to take a rest day and explore the local area, during the descent. Each day will feature some amazing rapids and waves, some must make moves and some relaxed pools.

Day 6: River Day 3

Day 7: River Day 4

Day 8: River Day 5

Day 9: River Day 6

Day 10: River Day 7

Day 11: River Day 8

Day 12: River Day 9

Day 13: River Day 10

As the hills fall away we make our takeout at Chatra, near India. Those that have wished take the flight to Kathmandu (additional cost), other take the scenic 16hour + driveback to Kathmandu, we relax into our hotel and enjoy tall tales and shared jokes.

Day 14:

Shopping and sights

After breakfast it is time to relax and think about the experiences and the river living life. Kathmandu is a maze of Hindu and Buddhist temples and those that wish to experience this are welcome to guided tour. This is our last time to laugh with our new friends as departures to host country take place tomorrow.

Day 15:

Fly to host country (option recommended)

After breakfast people may wish to relax or do final sightseeing, a PURE LAND EXPEDITIONS member will assist in the departure at the airport, transport provided.

Day 16:

Home, safe in the knowledge that you have descended a living river and crossed the Kingdom of Nepal.

Venture to new places.

Each expedition that we run allows people the venture to new places. To do things they never believed. To stretch the understanding of the world. Rivers offer the ideal chance for this journey. A start, so obvious yet its the small steps at the begining that set the scene. The pushing off from the safe shore. The middle of the journey. This is the place where the mind races to future games whilst at the same time it settles on the 'now'. Its a time full of passion and grace. It is often the main reason to journey - to see where the mind takes you and at what speed. The end of the journey. The take out - offers the closure we all crave in this modern world. We have achieved so much as a team, as well as in our hearts and minds.

We have found no other way of interacting with the world that is so focused on self understanding. Each trip can offer a meditation in action. It is a different ride every time, every minute of the day. The expedition brings smiles and memories that are shown again and again in the telling of tales and the wide eyed images on social network sites.

So for now, we will leave you with these images and welcome you to join us, for a journey that will change your perceptions - if you let it.

First paddle strokes in the Nepal.

On 31st March 2011 another small team of British kayakers are making their first steps into the brave world of expedition kayaking, as they land in Kathmandu Airport. They are joining Pure Land Expeditions for a two journey across Nepal. Running rivers and building friendships all self supported. The have booked one of our Self Support packages and have chosen extra days in Nepal; see http://purelandexpeditions.com/page17.htm for our standard 16 day(14+2) door to door schedule. This group have bolted extra days on the schedule (17+2) for acclimatising to the culture and adding extra river days.




31st March, land in Kathmandu and meet the guides who will collect from the airport. In private transport we will then progress to Thamel the tourist hub of the city and our base Hotel.

1st April, spend the morning exploring the chaos of Kathmandu and sorting expedition gear. We are able to send a bag to Pokhara for later in the trip and rest before the expedition begins.

2nd After breakfast we will leave for the Trisuli river class 3/4 and will get accustomed to paddling loaded boats. We will be staying in a local villageand eating with localfamilies throughout. This allows us time to get settled on thefeel of the river.

3rd Trisuli class 4 stay Pokhara, these last two days have been shake down days and we may make adjustments to the schedule should we feel the need.

4th Kali 3/4 after breakfast take private transport to the put-in and paddle rapids Big Bro and Little Bro-scounting and setting safety as required. Sleeping at the Modi Khola confluence under a blanket of stars.* We may venture to the Upper Kali prior to this.



5th Kali 3 a much more mellow day in an isolated gorge (perhaps the deepest on Earth). We will be using our camp skills again tonight.

6th Kali 2 take out at Seti Beni and return in private transport to Pokhara

7th Jeep and trek to Souda (upper Madi Khola) class 4(5) sleep on beach.

8th Start Lamerket section of Madi class 3/4 (5p) sleep on beach, cook on fire/local home (self support equipment will be carried in kayaks)

9th. Madi trek, stay local home.

10th Trek stay tea house

11th Marsyandi class 4 the great roller coaster blast, Sleep in local lodge.

12th Marsyandi and return to Kathmandu on local transport

13th After breakfast its time to load the bus again and head to the border with Tibet. We will paddle the rivers Balephi, Sun Kosi and BhoteKosi over the next three days staying in our riverside lodge

14th Bhote riverside lodge

15th Bhote area stay hotel Kathmandu

16th Breakfast last chance for seeing the famous Stupas and prayer wheels. Pack and fly home. Its sadto leave this magic place and our guides will journey to the airport with you. Time for returning back to the UK and work.

What I have learned from kayaking.

This short article has been supplied by Erik Boomer and offers a hint at the mental landscapes.

I have always loved paddling on rivers, especially when I find myself in the midst of difficult whitewater or challenging situations. I have always felt at my best on the water, physically and mentally. I have been asked more than once, “What it is that you love so much about paddling or what the river has taught you?” My answers were always philosophical, touching on the ideas of “being in the moment”, and “getting past irrational fears” and mostly to never stop fighting no matter how bad the situation seemed. Every time I would put on a river I would be put into this mindset and experience a sense of contentment of just being on the river while putting aside all of my everyday worries, it feels empowering to rise above situations and moments that are usually considered “bad” and turn them into fun in completing the river or by surviving the hike out if we deemed the river to dangerous to paddle. Little did I know, these lessons were much deeper and powerful than I was letting them be.“The best line through a rapid is not the line that takes you clear of siphons, sticky holes and beat downs. The best line is one that takes you through the rapid and applies in a positive way to your life everyday.”-Doug Ammons. In such discussions I have quoted this great piece of wisdom from Doug Ammons while trying to find deeper meaning and a purpose for kayaking. What I find ironic is that this was exactly what I was not doing, I read it and understood it, but was not living it. “The graveyard is full of good intentions” Something I have heard and continue hear. I “want” to do that--I want to travel, I want to do more photography, I want to lose weight. There is no connection between saying you want something and actually doing something. Just saying that you want something is really your mind creating the reality and affirming that you do not have that thing. I have always wanted the same focus that I have in kayaking in my everyday life, but I never found it. Or if I did I felt that it was fleeting and passed quickly when the situation creating excitement passed, I would feel my focus dissolve away with the worries and stresses of daily life.

It is not until just recently that I have realized many of the lies I have been telling myself are not true. Kayaking has helped me learn that. When I paddle I realize that fear, emotions, worries and stress are not reality, we can choose to let them manifest in our minds and cloud our vision. But if you can experience freedom from past failures, future fears, or basically anything that takes you out of living wholeheartedly in the moment while kayaking—I would be lying to myself if I thought this freedom was only available on the river, or when I put my helmet on. And if that is the case-that reality on the river in difficult situations is the same reality when I am presenting a proposal to a client, playing with my niece or nephews, in a heated argument, or even on a walk, or stranded on the streets with no food or money-- Then every moment of my life changes from “Wants and Excuses” into rapids and waterfalls that are as rich and rewarding to deal with as the most harrowing paddling descent. Kayaking has taught me to live.

White Water Safety and Rescue - April 9th and 10th

In a joint venture with our friends at ITS ONLY WATER) we are running a BCU certified WWSR course on the above dates on the Upper Tees, £125 per person, plus river and BCU fees, £10 for non members, £5 for members



If you are interested PLEASE contact bookings@purelandexpeditions.com asap, places are in short supply.


Dont be a danger to youself or your friends learn the right skills to be safe of the river. This course is a must for all canoe and kayak users, paddle safe and have fun.

The WWS&R training course is designed for all paddlers operating in a moderate to advanced white water environment in either kayak or canoe. Unlike the ‘old’ BCU safety course, this one is also designed for anyone working near swift water, for example, bank based coaches and parents.

also this course is a pre-requisite for 4 star assessment and level 3 coach.

Risk

Following on from the Stikine post that I made in in 2010 and its publication in Ceufad magazine. I feel it is now time to look at briefly at personal risk.

The Stikine river is perhaps the one river that burns in my heart as the bracket of experience. This is, for me, the place where all my passion lay bare and raw for all to see. It is more than the river alone. It is more than the memories it gave. For many this river, which has been put on a pedestal, holds no clues-no passion. Instead, others do, these are the places that prepare you to challenge. Implicit in these situations is the notion of personal risk. How we, as thinking organisms, perceive these risk situations is key. It is not simply a question of can we do this? But is the question, should we do this?

In kayaking and other adventure sports we can easily look at static risk assessments, the use of solid factual pieces that our bound to our public concept of risk. For example, we all understand that if we don't wear a helmet on a river the risk of banking our head if we flip is high. Similarly we all understand that if we paddle a river above our comfort grade then the risk of missing a line, not been in control is higher.

It is this second point that is never as solid as we think. We all desire to grow as kayakers and to do so we knock at the door of our experiences. We wish to door open and we walk through. To a garden of peace or an evil dungeon. We have all made choices that in hindsight are foolish, but at the time felt right. Often these have been linked to peer pressure and our own egos. This no one else fault but our alone.

Sitting in our own private place, a still mind, we can make our own judgement calls. We judge the possibilities of risk, possibly replaying the scenario in our minds eye. For some this is not a help- as they concentrate on the fail rate of risk with such gusto that the outcome is obvious. For others the fail rate is not even apparent. Confidence in the moment, in your own worth and your own moves. The line will not be missed. Whilst this is a positive affirmation of the self I still don’t believe that it is the end. In these situations, when things do go wrong the kayakers have no emergency plan no back up.

A friend of mine put on the Stikine, although could have been any river. He wanted to put on, he felt he needed to. Half way through day 2 he took a swim and was not reunited with his boat or gear. He hiked out to the rim of the canyon and waited rescue. These videos will show his situation. The second part starts off with the question 'WHY?'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UvUxUkhojc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMafMwvQh8c&feature=related

I think that what happened here gives us a very succinct example of risk and personal boundaries. Although as he will say his self he 'failed' on the river he none the less managed the final outcome. He had come to the point, prior to the launching on the river, where he understood what a fail could mean and what risks were involved.

We can all discuss group dynamics of every situation we hear about and we can all look back at choices made - analysis is easy after the fact. For me this brief out line of risk and outcome has followed me for years. I continue to paddle, in remote gorges, rare rivers and in isolated areas. I understand the risks that I impose on myself but am also aware that one missed move on my local river and a 'worse case scenario' is just around the corner.

Whilst I understand this has been a short essay, it is simply a preface to further work. I welcome my own thoughts about personal risk and the ever changing angle of the mind. For without it I could not concentrate on the fact in hand.

White Water Nepal

These are images from 2004


Its been a busy time in Wales, sorting all the images for new edition of the White Water Nepal guidebook. We just got a disk in the post this morning with some nice images on, but no sender notes. We think that some belong to Claire O'hara and others to David Leafy.

Thought we would share and see if people know the stories behind them