Let's go to that Blanco Shit

Rodrigo, Kayakpucon man of the year, has been talking about this one ever since the day im and Chris Korbulic went on a little mission 3 years ago... Yo dog we need to go that Blanco shit soon...go walk up to see those rapids dog. That's my best Tucshner dialect for the moment... One random sunny December day, we finally got the call and made the move out of Babylon on the road to Zion. 114km later after one of the most secenic drives in the area, passing so many creeks we were like, I bet that shit is good!!!!! We arrived at the Rio Blanco hot springs.

A good little scouting walk upstream led us to an exciting night of campfire shit talk. What we found that day was one hell of a beautiful gorge containing 6 beautiful drops. So with a nice night of sleep giving us the mojo to get going we all started the trudge up hill towards the putin we discovered the day prior.

As for the river it was a short and very runnable section...we did not expect such a gem and to our surprise we ran some good shit. The Chilean computer I´m using to write this update is not so hot... so the photos are out of order, but it gives you a sense of how we all feel here right now...??? Enjoy the shots from this great trip by Rodrigo Tuschner and Candace Sanders....

Croykie mate that's one hell of big spider!

Lay some treat on um'.

This bird must have hit a tree while flying, because it died so perfectly. I hope that doesn't sound weird.

All the boys showing just how ripped you must be to complete an expedition so strenuous.

This was the second half of a massive double falls above where we put in...needless to say stout!

The perfectly heated hot springs at the take out. Does it get better?

Todd running one of the better cataracts of the canyon we found...this one we called... Salto Enfermo, (Sick Falls).

Myself running a really cool double stage falls.

Jared at the top of the same dub drop.

A cool far out move away from a sticky log lam.

The first small boof after we finished the hike up the creek.

Sleeping fitfully after a great night of camping under the stars and cooking the Longies con el estilo de Rio Blanco.

The Blanco valley on the far end of Huerquehue national park... it was a fine setting for a first descent I must say.

Jared found a small friend...unfortuatly he was hungry so our friend was not so lucky.

Later E.G.

Demshitz Canyon of the Nevados

With some good days now under our belts, and the levels looking perfect, we knew it was time again for the Lower Nevados. Rodrigo and I ran this Canyon early this year...Demshitz Drop October... and now after the up's and down's of the spring season the level was back in. We got a fired up good crew to drop back in the canyon and made the move. With higher water than ever the canyon was the real deal and made for an exciting day full of shitz runnings. Enjoy the photos and story....

Leaving Pucon early in the morning we knew time was of the essence on this day... Lj and Rodrigo had to be back by 3:30pm for work. After the small 45min drive we arrived at the river to see a high side of good level. With out much thought we all said it looked good to go and lined up for the descent of the first challenge of the Lower run... Demshitz Drop.

Rodrigo going first in the holy light before the heart of darkness.

Jared greasing up the tough entrance to the big drop.

Lj doing some Retendo moves in the mucky muck.

At the Lip...

Ready for the hit at the bottom of the Demshitz drop...

Once your at the bottom of the big boy, there is a certain sense of dispare...because you now have to run the Diablito... a manky mini cherry bomb falls into a butt crack of sort... Check it.

The Diablito at it's finest!

Trying to get straightened out above the pinch.

Jared completely pinned in his own named rapid. Jared spent about 5 minutes pinned in the falls until Rodrigo got a rope on him, then leading to a quick skirt pull to leap of faith down stream to the saftey of a sieved out pool. All was well when we finally got his boat out of the crack and conitnued our way downwards.

This is the most quality clean drop of the run... not the biggest, but the smoothest.

Lj laying it down on the beautiful Nutrient boof.

Jared deep in the gorge running some rad drops.

You have these two beauties make you feel good before exiting the box gorge to a series of mini slides and boofs... fun aftre so much adreniline has passed through you... We then came back to this run 5 days later with a lower flow to get it one last time for the season... here are some photos by Ron Fischer...




Our second run was less epic...due to less carnage. Still just as fun even with a lower flow. The Lower Nevado is one of the best run in Pucon and one of the most beautiful canyons in Chile...keep ya head dry.

Later E.G.

Rio Florin (High Water)

With the sun finally coming out and levels starting to drop we set our sights on the Lake District. With a group of 6 stout gypsy's all loaded in a small Cheve car we headed four hours south to the Rio Florin. To our surprise we found a huge amount of water in the river giving us quite an interesting experience in this committing canyon. The whole trip was a great time. It was myself, two nice chicas, and three great Spanish friends I have been running around with for the past month, good times for sure. Enjoy the photos of our Florin adventure and get to this river at some point in your life it's sick.

Hiking in to the Put in bridge in the cold morning air.

The first double drop of the run... This is one of the best drops in Chile if the level permits a sane descent.

Aniol running a sick seeming slide before the Stout.

So the top bit of the river was good to go until we got to the main gorge containing the three big drops of the run. The first of which was totally not good to, so we started walking in the bamboo. The second slide was high and scary, but Aniol decided to fire it up with a nice line.... The once we saw the big drop we knew it was money so with out too much hesitation we all ran the clean 50+ foot falls that made all the driving worth it.

Myself dropping the 50 footer with some high ass water.

Parra dropping in on the big drop.

Soaking in the hot spings after the run/hike we completed down the river.

Eating some lunch after a good huck session.

A big group of gypsy's ready to head home after a great trip.

A long road to nowhere...cheers to a good trip with some more good friends I met along the way.

Later E.G.

Curarrehue Madness (Rios Puesco y Remeco)

Just 50km outside of the quaint little town of Pucon lies the Mapuche headquarters, the city of Curarrehue. This is also the headwaters for many of Pucon's greatest rivers. The Trancura/Puesco, Panqui, Maichine, and Palguin are all with in a half hour drive. So this makes Curarrehue a frequent day trip for Demshitz... Take a look at two of the great creeks right outside of town.

Curarrehue is the center point of all native Mapuche culture here in the region. This old lady was on a walk from her small wood house in the mountains all the way to town to buy some living supplies.

Mike Garcia would say, "That water is gin clear"... Clean, clear, and drinkable rivers make dehydration a non-issue in this part of Chile.

Remeco:
The first creek is a small trib of the Maichine named the Rio Remeco. This is a low volume canyon with a very committing boxed in double falls. A small hike, and a complex trails leads you right to the put in above the double falls. From here you have to run a mank sliding entrance off a beautiful 20 foot boof, into a tight box canyon. Then the exit falls is a clean 25 footer, landing in a soft big pool. The rest of the run includes manky fun boofs and some log dodging back to the bridge...
The hike in to the Remeco is steep.

At the rivers edge after walking up to reach the small bamboo infested trail leading to the river.

We ran in group of two... Myself watching and "Parra" running the second (exit) falls of the box gorge.

Nothing but a bunch of dirty river hippies.

Eating some well deserved Nutela sandwhiches after the Remeco huck session.

P.S. If the water is high on the Remeco be careful on the first falls, there is a bad cave behind the curtain.

Puesco:
This is what kayaking is all about for me... Non-stop IV+/V kayaking for about 8 miles. Maybe the most bang for your buck in the entire Pucon area. Lay some treats out there and get stylie!

Lay some treats on um'...

Rush getting busy on the steeps of the Rio Puesco.

Aniol happy to be on the water, everyday these youngsters be husttlin'.

All the boys floating towards a bridge on the Puesco.

Nothing brings you together like some class V mad bombing.

So if you are coming to South America, put this little town on your list of hot kayaking spots. Thanks to Laura Mas Rispa for the photos of these few good days up there. Keep on kayaking weather it's hot or cold...

Later E.G.