A Chile Winter

October-November 2002

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD

by James MacBeath

Ken Whiting boofs the last part of Terminator rapid. (To 'boof' is to take a stroke off a waterfall so the you lanf flat, rather than penciling into the water below where you might hit your bow on the rocks.)

There I am, taking those last few strokes in the calm rippled water, just seconds before outer serenity is equalized by inner rage - the point of no return above a gigantic rapid. As I reach the first massive reactionary, kicking hard towards the ugliness on the left, I realize where I am, realize that this is finally it-Zeta!

But it couldn't be. The water is too high, I'm way off line, and I can't open my eyes! It's a straightforward move and I have every intention of running it, but not today. Oh no! Can I pull it off? How did I get here? Am I here? Why am I so calm, so cozy?

The rumble is so pervasive, so mesmerizing -it must be Zeta. But this feeling of sheer comfort, this softness all around me, a child's voice in the distance, a cow bell ringing somewhere, confusion...

"DESAYUNO!" Then it all comes together! The breakfast bells and the vitalizing surges of the Futaleufu River 100 metres away have woken me from another deep sleep. OK, so I didn't run Zeta that morning, but I WILL!!

Five days ago I was transported from my other existence: the never-ending race against deadlines, in the effort to maximize effectiveness and gain market share, to change the world. To be honest though, the transportation began months earlier when I sealed plans to leave the concrete world behind and disappear into the Patagonia Mountains of southern Chile.

The journey took me past the 7,000 metre peaks that encircle Santiago, then 1,100km further south to the harbor city of Puerto Montt. From there, I took a final sight-seeing flight along Chile's southwestern coastline, where the meeting of mountains and ocean have left a remarkable scene of scattered islands, inlets and estuaries. After a last phone call home from the tiny ocean-side village of Chaiten, I was on my way up the Futaleufu Valley-into a world where electricity to the farms and homesteads has only become available over the past few years.

Campo 'Cara Del Indio' is the base camp for Kayak Futaleufu, and is found about 8km up the 30km whitewater section of the Fu, on the land of the Torro-Mundaca family, who settled here many generations ago. The camp's name derives from the natural etching of a native 'Mapuche' Chief's face that watches over the land from across the river. The Toro-Mundaca family has worked hard to turn their land into a paddler's paradise, building private, riverside cabanas, a cedar-sauna and cliff-top jacuzzi, and serving home-cooked Chilean meals designed for the hungry boater.

On our way to the 'Swinging Bridge' put in.

Once settled into camp, I headed to the gear shed to choose the kayak that I would use for the week. The Fu is big water, but I was happy to learn that save for a few 'toughies', its non-technical, playful nature makes it great territory for play boats. Our first two days were spent warming up on some fun lower volume class 3 rivers. The Rio Espolon and the Rio Azul are both tributaries of the Fu that provide high quality play and breathtaking scenery. The Espolon runs alongside the remote village of Futaleufu and is a perfect river for working out any cobwebs. Our second day was spent on the Rio Azul, named after the surreal blue color of the water. The Azul was slightly steeper and more challenging than the Espolon, and it took us to some faster play waves and through two of the most stunning canyons imaginable. A day on the Azul also provides a perfect opportunity to get acquainted with the Fu, as the two different shades of azure coalesce just above a fun 3km section that has four progressively bigger rapids.

Despite having two days to warm up, the sheer volume of the Fu made my heart pound fiercely, but I was ready! I cruised through the first few rapids with surprising ease and even found myself reaching a comfort level with the huge rollers and high speeds. It wasn't long before I was actually calling the river on for more!

Then came the grand finale of the day, 'Asleep at the Wheel'. This effectively quashed my newfound cockiness when an enormous exploding wave decided to crash on my head as I neared its crest. SLAM! But after a quick roll and a sweet rollercoaster ride down the friendly 200-metre wave train that ensued, I was back on the horse, sharing 'Whoohoo's' at the bottom with the rest of the gang! At the take-out, with cold beers in hand and stories flowing freely, the group of us realized that we were hooked on the big water. From now on, it was the Fu!

Ken surfing one of the many perfect, glassy waves the Futaleufu offers.

The next two days were some of the most exhilarating, playful and rewarding paddling days of my life. We started with the 'Camp to Bridge' section, sliding into the Fu from the beach right below our cabanas. The section started with the frothy crashers of 'Torro' and the infamous 'Mundaca' (one of the classiest non-technical big-water rapids in the world!), before dropping into 'Limbo Canyon', where a series of five juicy class 3+ rapids elicited childish hollers of silliness and "Did you see that?". The section ended with a fantastic play hole just above the take-out at 'Puente Futaleufu', where our instructors led many of us to our first cartwheel sequences. After a quick lunch, we were far too pumped to sit around and decided to repeat the run, dizzying ourselves at the play hole once again until nearly dark. Confident with the day's events and pleased with ourselves, the group decided to attack the entire 'Bridge-to-Bridge' section in the morning.

The 'Bridge to Bridge' section started a few kms above our Camp at 'Puente Colgante' ('Swinging Bridge'), with a series of exciting, swerving wave train rapids. 'Swinging Bridge Rapid', 'Magic Carpet Ride' and 'Pillow' are the names given to parts of this 3km stretch of sheer pleasure. At Pillow, the entire river piles up onto a gigantic granite boulder, folding over itself to create one of the biggest curlers imaginable! With the comfort of a calm pool below, this monstrous pillow is rendered nearly harmless and is a perfect testing ground for your courage-the more you can summon, the more of the pillow you'll hit! After a stop halfway down for a snack,we were off to Mundaca and Limbo Canyon, which had become more of a playground for testing new lines.

So, as I now peel myself out of bed and let the cool morning air revive my well worked muscles, I feel a rush of anticipation for the adventures to come. Today, we're heading to the Upper Fu, home of the river's biggest rapids, including Zeta and Throne Room. This will be an overnight, raft-supported journey starting near Argentina on the Espolon and taking us through 'Inferno Canyon' to reach the legendary 'Cave Camp', tucked in the woods beside the behemoth known as Zeta! There is talk of rock climbing, sleeping in private caves, lounging in granite hot tubs, more fantastic whitewater and a lamb roast fiesta when we finally pull up to our familiar little beach tomorrow evening. Life does not get any sweeter!

I know it can't last forever. I know we have ventured too many lifetimes away from such a simple existence, but places like the Futaleufu; Valley are gems that you can pick up and hold onto for a while. They keep you connected to a very important idea: that the rivers and mountains were here long before us and will be here long after we leave. In that way, they are magical. It also makes the thought of damming, and forever changing one of these gems, greedy, if not downright insane. Maybe instead of changing the world, we should be focusing our energy on keeping it the same, because the reality is that nothing could be better than a place like this! ?

© James McBeath is an 'e-Strategist' for Compuware Corporation, and an avid kayaker. He is also a partner in Breathe, the holding company for Liquid Skills and Kayak International.

© All photos by Paul Villecourt.

Kayak Futaleufu offers a variety of trip packages from the most basic, to fully instructional week long programs with some of the world's best athlete/instructors, including Ken Whiting, Chad Hitchins and Kevin Varette. Check out: www.kayakfu.com, or email info@kayakinternational.com. Also be sure to check out www.futafriends.org for information on threats to the Futaleufu.