3rd Annual Palguin X-Mas

The last three years I have had the pleasure of spending my holiday seasons in the pristine area of Pucon Chile. Serving as our back yard run in the years past the Rio Palguin has been the backdrop of my Nativity scene. The first year 2007 was the first time I had run the 70 foot Middle Palguin falls... last season we went for the ever so stout Todo Palguin (The entire river)... and this year was the same. The entire Upper through the Lower runs of the Palguin. It is a huge task to even say the words Todo Palguin together in one sentence, let alone attempt this challange. So off we went early on the morning of the 25th of December driving east out of Pucon...

Gearing up for a huckfest.

Upon arrival at our good friend Ben May´s house I soon reilized how real this was. Lj and Jared had decided they were going to run the Salto Palguin, which just saw its first descent a few weeks earlyer by Steve Fisher. I was not in the mood to go that big on this particular day so I walked away from it to film some of my best buddies huck their meat. Salto Palguin is burly as hell...I mean it when I say it...

Salto Palguin from the pool below.

Lj burried in the seem at the top with all that way to fall.

Jared rocking some speed off the big boy... flying brown plug.

After watching some sick shit up top our group, 12 people, including the likes of; Aj, Brian Kirk, My two Bros, Chris Baer, Adam Bixby, Jared, Lj, Anton, Battle Pro, and many more. We made it through the Upper section with two broken paddles and two swims, Jared on the Salto and Lj with a beautiful freewheel to salmon stroke on a clean 20.

Battle Pro going for the glory plug in the Exportacion...

Lj putting his nice paddle away and bringing the hand paddles out for the ever so strong portage.

Aj taking a different route to the bottom.

Ian cartwheeling an Everest out of the Portage on the Upper.

Then on to the Middle, where we portaged twice around two gnarly drops at this high water flow. Once we got to the Big Bird some people started falling off her one at a time until all of the sudden with all the fire from huge Salto, Lj ran the entry to the 70 footer, for the first time since it changed 4 years ago. Lj had a perfect line making it look very doable and pretty...Jared followed with an equaly nice line, but got backendered in the hole at the base of the falls. A short beatdown that must have felt like too long went by, then he rolled up t go and stomp the piss out of the big falls just 30 feet downstream. After all 12 of us ran the big one with 4 swims, and a few broken paddles, we once again gathered up and continued down stream.

A huge crew getting smaller and smaller as we took our turns on the Middle falls.

Lj getting left to grease the Stout 10 entry to the 70 foot middle.

B.K. lining up a perfect descent of the Middle Palguin.

NateDizzie hitting the perfect paddle toss to melt...couldnt have been done better.

Adam Bixby showing there is impact off drops of this size.

Jared in the right place at the right time...this is maybe the scariest boof of your life.

There was some swims.

Mayself making sure I didn't break my paddle on the middle.

The lower Palguin went by fast as we all rolled though a nice series of drops before the last portage of the river. This one is super gnar containing many caves and bad holes...we just walk this one without even thinking most the time.The last fight of the Rio Palguin...the smoothest boof in all the lands.

The Palguin is like a wonderland of great whitewater, weather you want big hucks or just great rapid running, it's the place to be...Merry Christmas to all. Photos by Todd Richey, Adam Bixby, and Chris Baer.

Later E.G.