WEBVTT 00:00:22.814 --> 00:00:24.899 - This is ridiculous. 00:00:24.983 --> 00:00:27.402 It's so steep. 00:00:27.485 --> 00:00:29.779 There's no pool. - Yeah. 00:00:52.218 --> 00:00:54.137 - Doing something that nobody's ever done before, 00:00:54.220 --> 00:00:57.098 there's no guarantee that your plan's gonna work. 00:00:59.392 --> 00:01:02.145 - Once you commit, there is no turning around. 00:01:04.606 --> 00:01:07.108 - We're entirely removed from civilization. 00:01:07.192 --> 00:01:09.444 - Look at this one. 00:01:09.527 --> 00:01:11.821 - We know once we get there, we're on our own. 00:01:11.905 --> 00:01:13.114 - Climbing. 00:01:13.198 --> 00:01:15.575 We've chosen to live a life that does have risks. 00:01:15.658 --> 00:01:17.619 Oh, my God. 00:01:17.702 --> 00:01:19.996 - One mistake, and you're dead. 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:21.956 - Come on, now. - If you harness that fear, 00:01:22.040 --> 00:01:24.334 you can do something that you never thought possible. 00:01:24.417 --> 00:01:26.252 Whoo! 00:01:28.588 --> 00:01:31.591 - Is the pursuit worth the risk? 00:02:04.207 --> 00:02:06.000 - To be able to make a journey through a place 00:02:06.084 --> 00:02:08.753 so few other people have experienced 00:02:08.837 --> 00:02:11.214 is like maybe being the first person 00:02:11.297 --> 00:02:12.924 that goes to the Moon 00:02:13.007 --> 00:02:16.469 or the first person that goes to the top of Mount Everest. 00:02:16.553 --> 00:02:18.221 This is a place that doesn't exist 00:02:18.304 --> 00:02:20.723 almost anywhere else on our planet. 00:02:24.310 --> 00:02:27.522 Ecuador is one of the most hydrologically rich countries 00:02:27.605 --> 00:02:28.731 on Earth. 00:02:28.815 --> 00:02:32.026 It is a principal headwaters of the Amazon. 00:02:32.110 --> 00:02:34.362 And with the amount of water 00:02:34.445 --> 00:02:36.030 mixed with the amount of gradient 00:02:36.114 --> 00:02:37.740 that exists in the Andes Mountains-- 00:02:37.824 --> 00:02:40.201 the second-tallest mountain range on Earth-- 00:02:40.285 --> 00:02:44.080 you have a huge potential for whitewater kayaking. 00:02:46.708 --> 00:02:50.086 But the Llanganates Mountains is a wild place, 00:02:50.169 --> 00:02:52.922 in that it is completely roadless. 00:02:53.006 --> 00:02:54.799 It's vast... 00:02:54.883 --> 00:02:58.595 impenetrable jungle... 00:02:58.678 --> 00:03:03.266 with 14,000-foot ridgelines going in... 00:03:03.349 --> 00:03:07.437 surrounded by a 20,000-foot volcano. 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:11.774 The topography of this area is like none other. 00:03:11.858 --> 00:03:13.776 What we're attempting to do here 00:03:13.860 --> 00:03:17.405 is basically be the first people, 00:03:17.488 --> 00:03:21.576 the first known group, to cross the Llanganates 00:03:21.659 --> 00:03:24.120 via the Chalupas River. 00:03:24.203 --> 00:03:27.081 - It's crossing this part of the jungle 00:03:27.165 --> 00:03:29.083 that's pretty "unpenetrable." 00:03:29.167 --> 00:03:32.295 Some people have tried to cross there by foot, 00:03:32.378 --> 00:03:35.882 and hasn't worked. 00:03:35.965 --> 00:03:38.635 We know it will be big and complicated 00:03:38.718 --> 00:03:40.637 and remote and continuous. 00:03:40.720 --> 00:03:44.265 And I think that makes it the highest difficulty 00:03:44.349 --> 00:03:46.476 on the kayaking scale. 00:03:46.559 --> 00:03:48.853 - The one thing about this river objective-- 00:03:48.937 --> 00:03:50.480 nobody's done it. 00:03:50.563 --> 00:03:53.066 There's no map. There's no information. 00:03:53.149 --> 00:03:55.652 You're moving through this huge national park 00:03:55.735 --> 00:03:59.405 that doesn't even have a park ranger. 00:03:59.489 --> 00:04:02.116 - The challenge of crossing the Llanganates 00:04:02.200 --> 00:04:06.120 is only made possible because of the whitewater kayak. 00:04:06.204 --> 00:04:10.291 And so that becomes some kind of life's accomplishment. 00:04:10.375 --> 00:04:12.502 To have trained as a whitewater kayaker 00:04:12.585 --> 00:04:14.837 for more than two decades, 00:04:14.921 --> 00:04:16.130 to bring that to bear 00:04:16.214 --> 00:04:20.176 on one of the world's greatest river challenges, 00:04:20.259 --> 00:04:21.678 there's no other accomplishment 00:04:21.761 --> 00:04:24.013 that I can imagine that would match that for me. 00:04:24.097 --> 00:04:27.225 It's winning the World Series. 00:04:27.308 --> 00:04:31.771 It's a sporting accomplishment on that level. 00:04:34.482 --> 00:04:38.486 Since the plan is to spend at least two weeks in this river, 00:04:38.569 --> 00:04:41.322 well, we're gonna have to utilize all of our experience 00:04:41.406 --> 00:04:42.865 and, you know, rely on each other 00:04:42.949 --> 00:04:44.909 for hopefully the different attributes 00:04:44.993 --> 00:04:46.536 that we bring to the table. 00:04:46.619 --> 00:04:49.330 We've done several rivers now together, 00:04:49.414 --> 00:04:51.165 from one of the steepest rivers ever run 00:04:51.249 --> 00:04:54.293 in the United States in the Big Horns of Wyoming-- 00:04:54.377 --> 00:04:56.379 We did the first descent of the Box Canyon 00:04:56.462 --> 00:04:59.090 in the Tongue together. 00:04:59.173 --> 00:05:02.385 And it was in that steep-* crazy river 00:05:02.468 --> 00:05:04.929 that we realized we had something really special 00:05:05.013 --> 00:05:08.558 and we all functioned well as a group. 00:05:08.641 --> 00:05:11.060 Did a huge mission in Patagonia together. 00:05:11.144 --> 00:05:13.062 Took down the first descent of the Año Nuevo, 00:05:13.146 --> 00:05:15.440 which was a 20-mile hike in. 00:05:15.523 --> 00:05:17.650 - People kept telling us, "It's too steep. 00:05:17.734 --> 00:05:20.194 There is no way you guys can pull that one off," 00:05:20.278 --> 00:05:22.322 and we did. 00:05:22.405 --> 00:05:24.323 - This is not the first time we've been 00:05:24.407 --> 00:05:25.908 on the most difficult challenge 00:05:25.992 --> 00:05:28.494 and stressful rivers on Earth, 00:05:28.578 --> 00:05:31.497 but it's not just a group of professional kayakers. 00:05:31.581 --> 00:05:34.083 This is, like, a group of really good friends. 00:05:41.924 --> 00:05:43.092 - The river is so remote, 00:05:43.176 --> 00:05:45.595 and the satellite imagery is not great. 00:05:45.678 --> 00:05:48.681 So we did a scout flight in the helicopter. 00:06:26.594 --> 00:06:29.472 - This river has thousands of rapids, 00:06:29.555 --> 00:06:31.641 and not only thousands of rapids 00:06:31.724 --> 00:06:34.268 but dozens of vertical-walled gorges 00:06:34.352 --> 00:06:37.146 and places where the walls go straight up. 00:06:37.230 --> 00:06:40.316 And on top of those walls is some of the thickest, 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:43.778 most biologically rich jungle on Earth. 00:06:45.404 --> 00:06:48.574 From what we see, there just may be a few spots 00:06:48.658 --> 00:06:49.784 where a helicopter 00:06:49.867 --> 00:06:52.495 could potentially pick us up or drop things. 00:06:52.578 --> 00:06:54.997 So it's really important just identifying 00:06:55.081 --> 00:06:57.250 those specific spots. 00:06:59.460 --> 00:07:02.296 It's a huge risk to go into this river 00:07:02.380 --> 00:07:05.716 that is completely cut off from the outside world. 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:08.136 - If someone gets, like, a close call 00:07:08.219 --> 00:07:11.180 or a drowning and we manage to CPR them, 00:07:11.264 --> 00:07:15.059 they will still die 'cause we're so far out there. 00:07:26.404 --> 00:07:29.657 - Are we doing seven nights, eight days 00:07:29.740 --> 00:07:31.868 or eight days... 00:07:31.951 --> 00:07:33.661 - I don't know if we're ready to make that decision, 00:07:33.744 --> 00:07:35.955 but it would be, I would imagine, 00:07:36.038 --> 00:07:39.625 eight days from the way we calculated it, right? 00:07:41.794 --> 00:07:44.046 - Try eight days of food, see how that feels, 00:07:44.130 --> 00:07:45.339 and then go from there, 00:07:45.423 --> 00:07:46.716 but that's about the maximum 00:07:46.799 --> 00:07:49.594 that I want to try to pack into my boat for weight. 00:07:51.179 --> 00:07:53.556 - Ben is probably 00:07:53.639 --> 00:07:58.394 the most experienced expedition whitewater kayaker there is. 00:07:58.477 --> 00:08:02.148 His river records are just crazy. 00:08:03.941 --> 00:08:06.444 - Ben's reputation-- on one side, 00:08:06.527 --> 00:08:09.071 he's probably paddled more first-descent rivers 00:08:09.155 --> 00:08:11.824 than anybody else in multiple countries 00:08:11.908 --> 00:08:13.326 all around the world. 00:08:13.409 --> 00:08:16.329 And on the other hand, he's also got a reputation 00:08:16.412 --> 00:08:18.331 as being a bit of a cowboy. 00:08:21.626 --> 00:08:23.127 At this point in kayaking, 00:08:23.211 --> 00:08:25.504 if you're looking to go paddle something 00:08:25.588 --> 00:08:27.965 that hasn't been done, you need a new tactic. 00:08:28.049 --> 00:08:30.218 And that's what Ben came up with. 00:08:32.929 --> 00:08:35.389 - He was running really big waterfalls 00:08:35.473 --> 00:08:37.225 with a lot of food in his boat. 00:08:37.308 --> 00:08:39.727 That's something that you don't see. 00:08:39.810 --> 00:08:42.104 Some people are probably afraid 00:08:42.188 --> 00:08:44.899 to go on these missions with Ben. 00:08:44.982 --> 00:08:48.027 And there were times maybe that I felt the same way. 00:08:51.822 --> 00:08:53.574 - I like to be the one who's gonna push 00:08:53.658 --> 00:08:55.785 the issue to the very bitter end 00:08:55.868 --> 00:08:57.578 and never say no. 00:08:57.662 --> 00:08:59.580 I haven't had successes on every river, 00:08:59.664 --> 00:09:02.375 but I like to push it as far as it'll go. 00:09:17.890 --> 00:09:20.893 - The mission, it's on. 00:09:20.977 --> 00:09:24.188 Not on the river yet, but it is still a mission 00:09:24.272 --> 00:09:26.107 just to approach the put-in. 00:09:27.858 --> 00:09:29.277 The weather is looking good, 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:32.613 so I'm faithful that we can make it over 00:09:32.697 --> 00:09:34.949 to our shelter tonight-- 00:09:35.032 --> 00:09:38.661 the last possible shelter we can find. 00:09:38.744 --> 00:09:42.456 And we got a long journey all day, off-roading. 00:09:44.709 --> 00:09:47.712 - This is where the bit of adventure begins, 00:09:47.795 --> 00:09:51.007 just getting to the put-in for this river. 00:09:51.090 --> 00:09:53.676 We've got this mix of the local ranchers 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:55.511 that are taking us into their land, 00:09:55.594 --> 00:09:57.847 some four-by-four specialists out of Quito, 00:09:57.930 --> 00:10:00.182 guys that just live for nothing more 00:10:00.266 --> 00:10:02.351 than to get their rigs super muddy. 00:10:02.435 --> 00:10:05.062 This is a pretty unlikely group to get together here. 00:10:10.568 --> 00:10:13.404 - I've never been in the high equatorial Andes, 00:10:13.487 --> 00:10:14.864 and to see Cotopaxi, 00:10:14.947 --> 00:10:17.533 the tallest active volcano on Earth 00:10:17.616 --> 00:10:20.328 right next to us and then arrive, 00:10:20.411 --> 00:10:23.164 finally see the water that's actually gonna be draining 00:10:23.247 --> 00:10:24.623 into the Chalupas River 00:10:24.707 --> 00:10:26.917 that we had dreamed about for so long... 00:10:38.387 --> 00:10:39.680 Drove in one day, 00:10:39.764 --> 00:10:41.557 hit the shelter with a lot of hope, 00:10:41.640 --> 00:10:44.560 what we thought was perfect weather conditions. 00:10:44.644 --> 00:10:46.228 - We are getting there. 00:10:46.312 --> 00:10:48.522 What's our elevation here? We're at, like-- 00:10:48.606 --> 00:10:51.233 - 3,700. - 3,700 meters. 00:10:57.782 --> 00:11:00.493 - Woke up in the morning and made our way out 00:11:00.576 --> 00:11:03.704 to this peninsula that is two major tributaries 00:11:03.788 --> 00:11:07.041 that come together right as the alpine páramo ends 00:11:07.124 --> 00:11:10.920 and the highest jungle of the Amazon begins. 00:11:15.549 --> 00:11:16.801 - We've been gathering 00:11:16.884 --> 00:11:18.928 as much information about this river as we can, 00:11:19.011 --> 00:11:20.721 and we're just having to separate this 00:11:20.805 --> 00:11:24.183 into two sections-- the upper and lower Chalupas. 00:11:24.266 --> 00:11:27.311 The upper section looks like it's gonna be eight days. 00:11:27.395 --> 00:11:29.105 From there, we're gonna resupply 00:11:29.188 --> 00:11:30.689 and head down the lower section, 00:11:30.773 --> 00:11:31.732 which will take 00:11:31.816 --> 00:11:34.110 at least another 10 to 12 additional days. 00:11:34.193 --> 00:11:37.655 We're gonna drop 10,000 vertical feet in 50 miles 00:11:37.738 --> 00:11:39.698 through this remote area. 00:11:39.782 --> 00:11:42.076 And it's gonna be one of the steepest 00:11:42.159 --> 00:11:45.287 and most technical whitewater descents ever done. 00:11:53.838 --> 00:11:55.339 - I thought we could put on 00:11:55.423 --> 00:11:59.885 and kind of start figuring it out, you know? 00:11:59.969 --> 00:12:02.221 That's what we're here for. 00:12:04.390 --> 00:12:06.142 - Well, the water's nice and cold. 00:12:06.225 --> 00:12:08.018 That's for sure. 00:12:11.939 --> 00:12:13.983 - Oh, God. 00:12:16.694 --> 00:12:18.779 This is so ugly. 00:12:18.863 --> 00:12:21.282 - It took us much longer just to get to the put-in. 00:12:21.365 --> 00:12:24.452 So we only had a few hours to get downstream. 00:12:24.535 --> 00:12:26.954 We're finally spending our first night 00:12:27.037 --> 00:12:28.414 properly on the river. 00:12:28.497 --> 00:12:29.832 Got really lucky. 00:12:29.915 --> 00:12:32.793 We're still in the páramo, and we found 00:12:32.877 --> 00:12:36.422 the very first grove of stout, little trees. 00:12:36.505 --> 00:12:38.466 And so we're gonna make it happen. 00:12:38.549 --> 00:12:41.844 Get the hammocks up, get protected for the night. 00:12:41.927 --> 00:12:44.513 We've got some low clouds blowing up the canyon, 00:12:44.597 --> 00:12:49.059 but, otherwise, we're just so stoked with the weather. 00:13:18.130 --> 00:13:20.090 - Little bit *ed. 00:13:22.301 --> 00:13:24.553 So we definitely knew the temperatures were there, 00:13:24.637 --> 00:13:28.224 but I just did not think about a blizzard. 00:13:29.517 --> 00:13:31.393 We hadn't even barely touched the river yet, 00:13:31.477 --> 00:13:33.896 and it already spiked to what we would later find out 00:13:33.979 --> 00:13:35.731 was, like, a 20-year high. 00:13:53.666 --> 00:13:55.584 Not only did this blizzard hit, 00:13:55.668 --> 00:13:58.837 the river is just ripping high, bank to bank. 00:13:58.921 --> 00:14:02.258 - Best-case scenario is, is that... 00:14:02.341 --> 00:14:06.303 this lasts a couple days and then it starts to dry out 00:14:06.387 --> 00:14:09.765 and we can reset and try again. 00:14:09.848 --> 00:14:12.643 So it became not an easy decision, 00:14:12.726 --> 00:14:14.728 but, like, a mandatory decision 00:14:14.812 --> 00:14:16.397 to get out of there. 00:14:22.152 --> 00:14:25.072 We left our boats out at the confluence area. 00:14:25.155 --> 00:14:26.865 The plan was to go back to the shelter. 00:14:26.949 --> 00:14:29.785 We had left a food cache there. 00:14:29.868 --> 00:14:32.413 Along the way, just these tiny, little tributaries 00:14:32.496 --> 00:14:34.582 that I had hopped across with my sandals on 00:14:34.665 --> 00:14:35.624 on the way in-- 00:14:35.708 --> 00:14:37.960 One, two, three. 00:14:38.043 --> 00:14:41.589 All of a sudden, they're like raging torrents. 00:14:41.672 --> 00:14:43.507 - None of these rivers have been explored. 00:14:43.591 --> 00:14:45.509 And probably the reason why they haven't been explored 00:14:45.593 --> 00:14:47.678 is this place is more prone to flash flooding 00:14:47.761 --> 00:14:49.805 than maybe anywhere else on Earth. 00:14:52.224 --> 00:14:55.769 - The rivers have got this ability to just swell up 00:14:55.853 --> 00:14:59.857 and raise 30 to 40 feet with a little bit of rain. 00:15:02.109 --> 00:15:03.402 - We hiked all day. 00:15:03.485 --> 00:15:05.279 It took us, like, eight and a half hours 00:15:05.362 --> 00:15:07.156 to get back to the shelter. 00:15:09.408 --> 00:15:11.535 - This place is messed up, 00:15:11.619 --> 00:15:14.788 and we really need to be careful. 00:15:24.173 --> 00:15:26.008 - All the information that we've gotten 00:15:26.091 --> 00:15:29.553 from weather forecasts, from our team back in Quito 00:15:29.637 --> 00:15:31.221 seems like there's a big weather event 00:15:31.305 --> 00:15:33.891 that's coming here in three days' time. 00:15:33.974 --> 00:15:38.187 And that the smartest thing for us to do is to wait it out 00:15:38.270 --> 00:15:41.357 and to wait to get into the river. 00:15:52.576 --> 00:15:54.953 - I don't think many kayakers have been snowed in 00:15:55.037 --> 00:15:56.372 in Ecuador. 00:15:56.455 --> 00:15:58.624 It might be a first. 00:16:00.042 --> 00:16:01.585 - Hopefully the river just drops 00:16:01.669 --> 00:16:03.545 and we'll get a second go at it. 00:16:03.629 --> 00:16:06.298 It does seem like this river's gonna take patience. 00:16:06.382 --> 00:16:07.633 You know? - Mm-hmm. 00:16:07.716 --> 00:16:11.053 - It's gonna be a river that really takes patience. 00:16:13.931 --> 00:16:17.685 I grew up in the potato fields of southeast Idaho. 00:16:17.768 --> 00:16:20.229 I'm the youngest of two older brothers. 00:16:20.312 --> 00:16:22.356 The oldest one was a heavyweight wrestler 00:16:22.439 --> 00:16:23.482 for Nebraska, 00:16:23.565 --> 00:16:25.359 and the middle brother 00:16:25.442 --> 00:16:27.236 was a professional football player. 00:16:27.319 --> 00:16:30.197 And they made me tough. 00:16:32.074 --> 00:16:33.575 - Boomer, like, brings 00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:35.953 a different sort of kayaking style. 00:16:36.036 --> 00:16:39.123 Like, he's at his best when it's most uncomfortable. 00:16:39.206 --> 00:16:41.417 Think about some of these missions that he's pulled off. 00:16:41.500 --> 00:16:43.043 The only circumnavigation 00:16:43.127 --> 00:16:46.338 of the world's northernmost island, Ellesmere Island-- 00:16:46.422 --> 00:16:48.799 that sounded like the most horrific trip 00:16:48.882 --> 00:16:50.050 I can ever imagine. 00:16:50.134 --> 00:16:52.594 His partner went down from kidney failure. 00:16:52.678 --> 00:16:54.763 He got attacked by a walrus. 00:16:54.847 --> 00:16:56.265 - I love this stuff. 00:16:56.348 --> 00:16:59.727 Money is not what I'm chasing. It's the experience. 00:17:02.354 --> 00:17:04.898 - The put-in is gonna take us two days 00:17:04.982 --> 00:17:07.443 to kind of just, like, start making progress. 00:17:07.526 --> 00:17:09.236 And after that, we still have, 00:17:09.319 --> 00:17:12.322 like, seven question mark boxed-in canyon 00:17:12.406 --> 00:17:14.241 to get to the landing zone, 00:17:14.324 --> 00:17:16.285 plus some stout whitewater. - Yeah. 00:17:16.368 --> 00:17:20.664 - So there is no way we make this in eight days. 00:17:20.748 --> 00:17:23.250 I think, realistically, it will for sure be 00:17:23.333 --> 00:17:25.669 more like 10 to 12. 00:17:25.753 --> 00:17:30.382 And we can stretch two days and not eat for two days, 00:17:30.466 --> 00:17:32.468 and we'd still be fine. 00:17:32.551 --> 00:17:36.305 But, ideally, there are a few spots 00:17:36.388 --> 00:17:38.015 that they could drop us food. 00:17:38.098 --> 00:17:40.225 - Yeah. 00:17:40.309 --> 00:17:42.853 I became aware of this little French girl 00:17:42.936 --> 00:17:46.815 that was, like, running some of the biggest rapids. 00:17:46.899 --> 00:17:49.193 She just came out of nowhere. 00:17:50.611 --> 00:17:52.446 I was intrigued right away. 00:17:52.529 --> 00:17:54.364 You know, she has real high voice, 00:17:54.448 --> 00:17:57.993 but she is one of the stoutest individuals I've ever met. 00:17:59.912 --> 00:18:03.332 - I grew up in the French Alps in a very small village. 00:18:03.415 --> 00:18:06.001 And I started kayaking in my local club 00:18:06.085 --> 00:18:09.379 when I was five years old, racing slalom. 00:18:11.089 --> 00:18:13.884 I was world champion in 2013. 00:18:13.967 --> 00:18:15.803 - Awarded to a female competitor... 00:18:15.886 --> 00:18:18.680 - That was the ultimate goal that I've set 00:18:18.764 --> 00:18:20.557 for the last 12 years. 00:18:20.641 --> 00:18:23.769 And I'm just like, "What's the point?" 00:18:23.852 --> 00:18:24.853 And I love slalom, 00:18:24.937 --> 00:18:28.065 but sometimes competition is just not fun. 00:18:28.148 --> 00:18:29.316 And so, after that, 00:18:29.399 --> 00:18:32.528 it started being a little bit harder for me 00:18:32.611 --> 00:18:35.280 to be in this environment. 00:18:35.364 --> 00:18:38.826 And so every time I had some in-between races time, 00:18:38.909 --> 00:18:42.496 I would just try to go on a river somewhere. 00:18:42.579 --> 00:18:44.498 That's when I met Ben. 00:18:44.581 --> 00:18:46.667 - Nouria I've been boating with 00:18:46.750 --> 00:18:48.210 for five-straight years, 00:18:48.293 --> 00:18:51.797 spending a lot of time following her downstream. 00:18:51.880 --> 00:18:54.049 She's absolutely one of the best paddlers on Earth, 00:18:54.132 --> 00:18:55.175 gender notwithstanding. 00:18:58.637 --> 00:18:59.822 - It's been really good to have Ben 00:19:00.606 --> 00:19:02.358 kind of, like, take me under his wing, 00:19:02.641 --> 00:19:05.060 because without him helping me 00:19:05.612 --> 00:19:07.256 and then planning trips together, 00:19:07.439 --> 00:19:09.859 I would not be there today. 00:19:09.942 --> 00:19:11.360 - For this type of mission, 00:19:11.443 --> 00:19:13.529 particularly this type of whitewater, 00:19:13.612 --> 00:19:17.032 Nouria's the best in the world, hands down. 00:19:23.122 --> 00:19:25.749 - Well, it's looking good. The rain has stopped. 00:19:25.833 --> 00:19:28.627 Seems like we've got a good plan to move downstream. 00:19:28.711 --> 00:19:30.963 - It will be good to try to make a move 00:19:31.046 --> 00:19:37.136 and get back in there, kind of commit to it and get into... 00:19:37.219 --> 00:19:39.805 into this tight canyon, 00:19:39.889 --> 00:19:41.599 which is really exciting 00:19:41.682 --> 00:19:44.268 and really scary at the same time. 00:19:48.647 --> 00:19:50.024 - We're moving. 00:19:50.107 --> 00:19:53.569 We're just already a week behind the schedule 00:19:53.652 --> 00:19:55.821 that we had set for ourselves. 00:19:55.905 --> 00:19:57.197 There was a lot of doubt. 00:19:57.281 --> 00:19:58.908 Is it gonna be easier? Is it gonna be harder? 00:19:58.991 --> 00:20:00.242 Is it gonna be impossible? 00:20:00.326 --> 00:20:02.912 Are we gonna get another snowstorm? 00:20:05.664 --> 00:20:07.833 This is gonna be one of the bigger challenges 00:20:07.917 --> 00:20:08.792 on this whole river-- 00:20:08.876 --> 00:20:10.294 where this river starts to drop, 00:20:10.377 --> 00:20:13.213 like, 900, 1,000 feet per mile. 00:20:16.050 --> 00:20:19.803 Paddling and battling through the waterfall... 00:20:24.099 --> 00:20:26.435 - Once we started making some mileage, 00:20:26.518 --> 00:20:31.106 we knew turning around was less and less of an option. 00:20:31.190 --> 00:20:33.442 - By midmorning, 00:20:33.525 --> 00:20:36.612 that's basically when we passed the point of no return. 00:20:58.801 --> 00:21:00.344 - When we realized that on that day one 00:21:00.427 --> 00:21:02.304 we only moved two and a half kilometers, 00:21:02.388 --> 00:21:05.432 it was pretty obvious that we needed to move faster. 00:21:07.768 --> 00:21:11.522 - We're probably getting into one of the steepest section 00:21:11.605 --> 00:21:12.815 of this river. 00:21:12.898 --> 00:21:14.984 Most of it is not runnable, 00:21:15.067 --> 00:21:18.988 so now we kind of need to try to move 00:21:19.071 --> 00:21:22.616 but slow and steady and carefully. 00:21:32.710 --> 00:21:34.211 - This river's gradient-- 00:21:34.294 --> 00:21:37.089 which is the steepness and how much it drops-- 00:21:37.172 --> 00:21:39.591 the highest percentage is about 12%. 00:21:39.675 --> 00:21:42.261 There's a whole lot of 7%. 00:21:42.344 --> 00:21:44.596 And just to put this into perspective, 00:21:44.680 --> 00:21:47.433 most of the hardest runs in the world 00:21:47.516 --> 00:21:50.185 are around 4% to 5% gradient. 00:22:16.045 --> 00:22:17.421 - Whoo! 00:22:56.794 --> 00:22:59.755 - So stoked on today. I love days like this. 00:23:01.924 --> 00:23:03.384 - I don't know how he could. 00:23:03.321 --> 00:23:04.781 - Uh... 00:23:14.561 --> 00:23:16.814 Well, I love it 'cause you think you're gonna die 00:23:16.897 --> 00:23:18.607 one moment, and then you don't, 00:23:18.690 --> 00:23:22.444 and you appreciate life so much, right? 00:23:33.247 --> 00:23:34.623 - Cold start. 00:23:34.706 --> 00:23:35.874 Jeez. 00:23:37.209 --> 00:23:39.586 Nouria has us at 3,200 meters. 00:23:39.670 --> 00:23:41.255 I have us at 10,800 feet. 00:23:41.338 --> 00:23:44.675 So we're within 50 meters or so. 00:23:44.758 --> 00:23:46.677 And we're gonna hit this, like, really steep stretch 00:23:46.760 --> 00:23:47.886 of river 00:23:47.970 --> 00:23:50.764 that we kind of anticipated 00:23:50.848 --> 00:23:54.768 might be a full portage-- full, like, two-day portage. 00:23:54.852 --> 00:23:57.146 - A portage is basically a way around 00:23:57.229 --> 00:23:59.314 running a section of river. 00:23:59.398 --> 00:24:01.650 So you put your kayak on your shoulder 00:24:01.733 --> 00:24:04.027 and hike around that rapid. 00:24:08.991 --> 00:24:11.618 - We hit this relatively short section of river, 00:24:11.702 --> 00:24:13.162 maybe only three kilometers. 00:24:13.245 --> 00:24:15.455 But it slowed us down to a crawling pace, 00:24:15.539 --> 00:24:17.040 literally, 'cause we were, like, crawling 00:24:17.124 --> 00:24:18.542 over giant boulders, 00:24:18.625 --> 00:24:20.544 trying to portage sections of river 00:24:20.627 --> 00:24:23.672 that were completely "unsurvivable." 00:24:42.149 --> 00:24:45.110 When you're moving with a 100-pound kayak 00:24:45.194 --> 00:24:47.696 that's really slick, you drop that boat once, 00:24:47.779 --> 00:24:49.031 you can hurt somebody, 00:24:49.114 --> 00:24:50.782 or the boat's going in the river, 00:24:50.866 --> 00:24:52.826 and then you're really on your own. 00:24:58.165 --> 00:25:01.168 - I know, but I feel like... 00:25:09.343 --> 00:25:11.386 - It's okay. It's ok-- 00:25:11.470 --> 00:25:13.430 Shh, shh, shh, shh. 00:25:16.266 --> 00:25:18.602 - Nouria bobbles my boat for a second 00:25:18.685 --> 00:25:20.771 over a river that would kill you if you slipped in there. 00:25:20.854 --> 00:25:22.397 And I just * lose my mind. 00:25:22.481 --> 00:25:24.358 I start cussing like a sailor. 00:25:36.328 --> 00:25:37.704 - When you're in these group dynamics, 00:25:37.788 --> 00:25:40.082 when somebody is pushing, somebody else is pulling. 00:25:40.165 --> 00:25:42.084 It's like a marriage on acid. 00:25:42.167 --> 00:25:44.670 It's so intense. 00:25:44.753 --> 00:25:47.214 - It's really hard on the team 00:25:47.297 --> 00:25:49.299 to run such a stacked, 00:25:49.383 --> 00:25:53.762 scary, consequential stretch of rivers. 00:25:55.722 --> 00:25:58.767 - Yeah, I get that. I totally get it. 00:25:58.850 --> 00:26:01.436 For me, that's the situation I don't like being in-- 00:26:01.520 --> 00:26:02.938 when the communication breaks down, 00:26:03.021 --> 00:26:05.148 and you're in a dangerous place. 00:26:05.232 --> 00:26:09.111 - Being one as a team is what I want, one way or another, 00:26:09.194 --> 00:26:11.989 or we're not gonna go down this river. 00:26:17.286 --> 00:26:19.830 Just hoping and praying that we have options 00:26:19.913 --> 00:26:20.956 to move through here, 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:24.209 'cause these rapids are becoming pretty deadly. 00:26:29.298 --> 00:26:31.675 - We hit the place where the canyon 00:26:31.758 --> 00:26:34.344 turns into a full walled-in box, 00:26:34.428 --> 00:26:37.180 and it's gonna go through its very steepest section. 00:26:37.264 --> 00:26:41.018 Right there, there's a part of the river that'll kill you. 00:26:42.561 --> 00:26:45.480 And so we go looking up on the canyon wall 00:26:45.564 --> 00:26:48.025 for some route around this section of river 00:26:48.108 --> 00:26:50.694 that looks probably "unsurvivable." 00:26:52.112 --> 00:26:54.489 - It looks like we have at least two miles, 00:26:54.573 --> 00:26:55.824 from looking at the map, 00:26:55.907 --> 00:26:59.536 before we have any chance of getting back into the river. 00:26:59.619 --> 00:27:01.747 That's gonna take us at least two days. 00:27:01.830 --> 00:27:06.251 - *, it's so muddy, I cannot even... 00:27:06.335 --> 00:27:08.587 clip my throw bag. 00:27:12.758 --> 00:27:15.719 - We're trying to keep our shoes on in knee-deep mud 00:27:15.802 --> 00:27:19.222 with this 100-pound kayak moving up. 00:27:19.306 --> 00:27:22.017 - Kayaks are just like backpacks 00:27:22.100 --> 00:27:26.063 but 20 times more inconvenient... 00:27:26.146 --> 00:27:27.689 and heavier. 00:28:02.682 --> 00:28:04.559 Whew. 00:28:13.485 --> 00:28:15.487 - The jungle is terrifying-- 00:28:15.570 --> 00:28:19.449 the pumas or jaguars, the snakes. 00:28:19.533 --> 00:28:21.618 Yeah, I don't like all these downed trees, 00:28:21.701 --> 00:28:26.123 just 'cause we're starting to get into snake territory, 00:28:26.206 --> 00:28:29.334 and I know that's where they like to hide. 00:28:29.418 --> 00:28:32.295 I'm told, if there's a big palm leaf, 00:28:32.379 --> 00:28:34.714 you better, like, pick it up with the machete first 00:28:34.798 --> 00:28:37.300 to make sure there isn't a poisonous snake. 00:28:37.384 --> 00:28:39.511 Literally, don't touch anything green 00:28:39.594 --> 00:28:41.430 is what I've been told. 00:29:13.712 --> 00:29:16.339 - For sure, we're not moving very quickly. 00:29:16.423 --> 00:29:19.009 - But I feel like it's about a kilometer per day 00:29:19.092 --> 00:29:20.635 of what we're doing, right? 00:29:20.719 --> 00:29:22.345 - If we have to move through the jungle... 00:29:22.429 --> 00:29:24.347 Yeah. You know, especially like with that gorge 00:29:24.431 --> 00:29:26.766 coming up where there's that, like, up and over. 00:29:26.850 --> 00:29:31.521 You know, that portage might take us a while. 00:29:31.605 --> 00:29:33.356 - The timeline's falling way behind. 00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:35.650 We're coming to the stark realization 00:29:35.734 --> 00:29:37.819 that we don't know 100% 00:29:37.903 --> 00:29:39.988 whether or not being able to actually move 00:29:40.071 --> 00:29:42.949 through this crazy terrain will actually work out. 00:29:43.033 --> 00:29:44.993 Don't leave me with too much soup, now. 00:29:45.076 --> 00:29:47.454 That's good. I've got that salt. 00:29:52.375 --> 00:29:53.835 Hey. 00:29:56.254 --> 00:29:58.548 Super cool. 00:29:58.632 --> 00:30:00.592 I wonder if they're, like, curious about us 00:30:00.675 --> 00:30:04.471 or if we just moved into their home. 00:30:04.554 --> 00:30:05.931 They're everywhere. 00:30:06.014 --> 00:30:08.058 Probably 20 or 30 monkeys 00:30:08.141 --> 00:30:11.102 jumping from branch to branch, chirping. 00:30:16.942 --> 00:30:20.028 - To see the Chalupas 00:30:20.111 --> 00:30:22.405 in this pristine form, 00:30:22.489 --> 00:30:26.076 it just makes it potentially all the more tragic 00:30:26.159 --> 00:30:28.078 to see what could possibly happen to this river 00:30:28.161 --> 00:30:29.871 in my own lifetime. 00:30:31.623 --> 00:30:34.417 The crosshairs of development 00:30:34.501 --> 00:30:36.711 and of water resource extraction 00:30:36.795 --> 00:30:39.506 is squarely on the headwaters of the Chalupas. 00:30:42.008 --> 00:30:43.927 It could have a new road 00:30:44.010 --> 00:30:47.430 punched directly through the drainage... 00:30:47.514 --> 00:30:50.767 forests cut down in order to create holes in the jungle 00:30:50.850 --> 00:30:52.477 in search of gold. 00:30:56.940 --> 00:31:00.318 And all of these things are not just remote possibilities. 00:31:00.402 --> 00:31:02.070 They're things that are actually 00:31:02.153 --> 00:31:03.572 not only being considered right now, 00:31:03.655 --> 00:31:05.073 but also happening right now, 00:31:05.156 --> 00:31:06.700 with some of the illegal mining 00:31:06.783 --> 00:31:08.118 that's going on in there. 00:31:11.329 --> 00:31:13.582 - If the mining problem wasn't enough, 00:31:13.665 --> 00:31:16.585 there is a dam proposal on the Chalupas. 00:31:16.668 --> 00:31:19.754 And if that were to happen, it would just be a disaster, 00:31:19.838 --> 00:31:22.674 because this place is truly untouched. 00:31:23.520 --> 00:31:25.273 totally changed. 00:31:25.356 --> 00:31:28.943 The jungle can be totally altered and compromised 00:31:29.027 --> 00:31:31.237 if we don't start putting our hands up right now 00:31:31.321 --> 00:31:34.032 and paying extremely close attention to it. 00:31:45.752 --> 00:31:47.420 We made it down to the river. 00:31:47.503 --> 00:31:48.755 You know, we spent two days 00:31:48.838 --> 00:31:51.215 just doing that single portage. 00:31:51.299 --> 00:31:53.509 Yeah, buddy. 00:31:53.593 --> 00:31:56.512 Yeah. 00:31:56.596 --> 00:31:59.057 - Kind of like stage one, complete. 00:31:59.140 --> 00:32:01.351 Stage one of five. 00:32:01.434 --> 00:32:04.646 2,000 vertical feet to here, 8,000 vertical feet 00:32:04.729 --> 00:32:06.940 to go to the takeout. 00:32:10.568 --> 00:32:12.278 - We're dropping into the unknown here, 00:32:12.362 --> 00:32:14.280 and the walls are starting to close in. 00:32:14.364 --> 00:32:17.492 And, yeah, we don't want to get boxed out in here. 00:32:17.575 --> 00:32:19.661 So fingers crossed-- we can work down 00:32:19.744 --> 00:32:22.664 this box canyon at river level. 00:32:36.636 --> 00:32:37.887 - Ah. 00:32:49.983 --> 00:32:51.359 - You don't know till you go, 00:32:51.442 --> 00:32:54.153 and hopefully you don't go too far. 00:33:02.996 --> 00:33:05.498 - It's a real *ed-up spot-- 00:33:05.581 --> 00:33:07.291 boxed-in hole, nowhere to go, 00:33:07.375 --> 00:33:11.295 no other real good option. 00:33:11.379 --> 00:33:14.298 You're thinking of trying to not touch that rock. 00:33:14.382 --> 00:33:16.551 - I'm going on the right channel. 00:33:18.678 --> 00:33:19.721 - We had no other choice 00:33:19.804 --> 00:33:21.931 but to put Nouria and I in our kayaks 00:33:22.015 --> 00:33:24.809 and just hope that one of us was gonna get through. 00:33:24.892 --> 00:33:26.728 - If you swim and you lose gear, 00:33:26.811 --> 00:33:27.854 it's game over. 00:33:27.937 --> 00:33:30.106 Like, I don't even know what would happen. 00:33:55.631 --> 00:33:57.592 Whoo. Yeah. 00:34:03.097 --> 00:34:04.974 - Here we are at camp six. 00:34:05.058 --> 00:34:07.602 We've dropped 3,000 vertical feet. 00:34:07.685 --> 00:34:11.147 We have 7,000 more vertical feet to drop. 00:34:13.608 --> 00:34:16.444 - We were planning to do half of the river 00:34:16.527 --> 00:34:19.030 in eight to ten days. 00:34:19.113 --> 00:34:22.367 But you haven't done a quarter of the distance 00:34:22.450 --> 00:34:24.243 that you were supposed to cover. 00:34:24.327 --> 00:34:27.246 And so that brings up a lot of question 00:34:27.330 --> 00:34:29.374 for the rest of the descent. 00:34:43.721 --> 00:34:46.474 It was pouring rain all night, 00:34:46.557 --> 00:34:49.811 and the river spiked up. 00:34:49.894 --> 00:34:53.397 - Right now it's, like, a foot higher 00:34:53.481 --> 00:34:55.525 than it was yesterday. 00:34:55.608 --> 00:35:00.279 - I think it's too much water for-- 00:35:00.363 --> 00:35:02.782 to just navigate it safely. 00:35:02.865 --> 00:35:04.283 - Well, hopefully it doesn't-- 00:35:04.367 --> 00:35:06.953 Doesn't rain again tonight, hopefully it keeps drop-- 00:35:07.036 --> 00:35:09.163 - It's raining afternoon a bit. - Yeah. 00:35:09.247 --> 00:35:10.581 But hopefully it keeps dropping. 00:35:10.665 --> 00:35:13.334 - But not as much, hopefully. - Yeah. 00:35:13.417 --> 00:35:16.963 - If the water is too high, it's harder to stop. 00:35:17.046 --> 00:35:20.633 We have less possibility of portaging high river levels. 00:35:20.716 --> 00:35:23.719 We'd have no margin, and we need that margin 00:35:23.803 --> 00:35:26.848 because this river is just full-on. 00:35:26.931 --> 00:35:28.391 - Even when the river was low, 00:35:28.474 --> 00:35:30.560 one mistake would be a life-or-death scenario 00:35:30.643 --> 00:35:33.229 with very few options for rescue. 00:35:33.312 --> 00:35:35.481 And now that the river's high, it's like, forget about it. 00:35:35.565 --> 00:35:38.901 One mistake, and you're dead. 00:35:44.740 --> 00:35:46.492 If we continue to have bad weather 00:35:46.576 --> 00:35:48.035 and the river stays high, 00:35:48.119 --> 00:35:50.454 we basically just can't go anywhere. 00:35:53.916 --> 00:35:57.044 We're gonna need pretty much the next 16 to 18 hours 00:35:57.128 --> 00:36:00.381 to be pretty dry for us to get back on the river. 00:36:00.464 --> 00:36:02.884 And we're running out of supplies. 00:36:07.680 --> 00:36:12.268 - To communicate with Abe, we had a satcom inReach. 00:36:12.351 --> 00:36:15.897 It's basically just like a satellite texting unit. 00:36:15.980 --> 00:36:19.150 And, initially, it was working super well. 00:36:19.233 --> 00:36:20.902 Every step we took downstream, 00:36:20.985 --> 00:36:24.238 it delayed the messages even further. 00:36:26.324 --> 00:36:28.117 - You're so remote, 00:36:28.201 --> 00:36:31.120 and the fact that your inReach is not working 00:36:31.204 --> 00:36:34.916 just makes you so much more vulnerable. 00:36:42.131 --> 00:36:44.383 - It felt a little bit touch and go yesterday 00:36:44.467 --> 00:36:46.928 'cause we were down to about one full day 00:36:47.011 --> 00:36:48.763 of food left. 00:36:48.846 --> 00:36:50.139 But we're super fortunate 00:36:50.223 --> 00:36:52.266 to have helicopter support on this, 00:36:52.350 --> 00:36:55.937 and we got four more days of food dropped. 00:36:56.020 --> 00:36:59.148 I honestly think we're gonna be dependent 00:36:59.232 --> 00:37:01.275 on probably one more drop 00:37:01.359 --> 00:37:04.612 to hit our halfway point on this river. 00:37:06.405 --> 00:37:09.492 - If we can't paddle because the weather is too bad, 00:37:09.575 --> 00:37:12.078 it means the heli cannot fly to help us. 00:37:12.161 --> 00:37:16.958 Like, that support is not endless and limitless in time. 00:37:19.001 --> 00:37:22.463 For me, I was like, "We're in a really bad spot." 00:37:22.546 --> 00:37:24.006 And you have your friends that are, like, 00:37:24.090 --> 00:37:25.591 just way more relaxed about it. 00:37:25.675 --> 00:37:29.262 And I was, like, making me feel even more scared. 00:37:43.401 --> 00:37:44.819 - We've all been kind of saying 00:37:44.902 --> 00:37:46.779 that today is kind of a make-or-break day, 00:37:46.862 --> 00:37:49.115 because if we can't make some kilometers, 00:37:49.198 --> 00:37:52.785 make some miles today, we're-- 00:37:52.868 --> 00:37:55.955 we may not make it all the way down this river. 00:38:01.085 --> 00:38:04.171 A week ago, we probably would have just stayed at camp 00:38:04.255 --> 00:38:06.173 on a day like this, with the high water, 00:38:06.257 --> 00:38:09.343 but now we feel the urgency of getting downstream 00:38:09.427 --> 00:38:11.137 and getting out of here. 00:38:22.898 --> 00:38:27.069 - Every single horizon line is brand-new, 00:38:27.153 --> 00:38:29.822 and we're trying to stop for all of them. 00:38:29.905 --> 00:38:31.949 But, inevitably, we're having to run a lot of stuff 00:38:32.033 --> 00:38:33.451 just, like, blind. 00:38:40.207 --> 00:38:42.501 - This is ridiculous. 00:38:42.585 --> 00:38:44.837 It's so steep... 00:38:44.920 --> 00:38:46.922 'cause there's no pool. - Yeah. 00:38:55.181 --> 00:38:56.557 Oh, *! 00:39:18.621 --> 00:39:21.040 Oh, man, I almost got totally *ed right there. 00:39:21.123 --> 00:39:25.920 That would have been the worst place to swim. 00:39:37.681 --> 00:39:40.643 We had another pause in the action 00:39:40.726 --> 00:39:43.270 due to a rainstorm that hit last night 00:39:43.354 --> 00:39:45.606 and brought the river up two and a half feet. 00:39:47.233 --> 00:39:48.734 - It's definitely not what we wanted, 00:39:48.818 --> 00:39:52.279 not what we expected, not what was forecasted. 00:39:52.363 --> 00:39:53.280 Not good. 00:40:00.121 --> 00:40:01.580 - Check this out. 00:40:01.664 --> 00:40:03.874 It's so * big. 00:40:05.418 --> 00:40:08.754 I don't want to get stuck in the walled-in section 00:40:08.838 --> 00:40:10.464 with that kind of current. 00:40:10.548 --> 00:40:13.008 It's * terrifying. 00:40:14.677 --> 00:40:16.846 It's so *ed. 00:40:16.929 --> 00:40:19.140 - Yeah, it's not looking any better. 00:40:19.223 --> 00:40:22.309 The way it's affecting everything is insane. 00:40:22.393 --> 00:40:24.603 Just angry, angry. 00:40:41.203 --> 00:40:44.957 This incessant rain that has been coming through, 00:40:45.040 --> 00:40:46.959 even in days that it's supposed to be good, 00:40:47.042 --> 00:40:48.711 has dampened our spirits a bit. 00:40:48.794 --> 00:40:51.380 So there's a lot of, you know... 00:40:51.464 --> 00:40:54.467 a lot of talk of what if and what's downstream. 00:40:56.093 --> 00:40:58.846 Our goal is to move one kilometer down 00:40:58.929 --> 00:41:03.184 so that we have an airdrop support position. 00:41:03.267 --> 00:41:08.397 This section is dropping 300 feet in one kilometer, 00:41:08.481 --> 00:41:10.065 and that's just Richter. 00:41:50.564 --> 00:41:54.235 - We're basically at, like, our food drop, 00:41:54.318 --> 00:41:56.695 possibly an evac point, 00:41:56.779 --> 00:41:59.532 and the start of a big-* portage. 00:41:59.615 --> 00:42:01.450 And for me to go on, 00:42:01.534 --> 00:42:05.704 I'd want weather and continued support. 00:42:05.788 --> 00:42:07.540 That's me. 00:42:07.623 --> 00:42:09.291 If we get a forecast back 00:42:09.375 --> 00:42:13.379 and it's, like, ten days solid rain, like... 00:42:13.462 --> 00:42:17.258 that would start to make me think twice. 00:42:17.341 --> 00:42:20.970 But I can still probably be convinced, to be honest. 00:42:22.805 --> 00:42:25.599 - For me, it was really hard, because I was like, 00:42:25.683 --> 00:42:27.977 "We have all the red lights-- 00:42:28.060 --> 00:42:32.481 "environment, the steepness, the remoteness, the forecast. 00:42:32.565 --> 00:42:33.941 "It's all against us, 00:42:34.024 --> 00:42:37.653 and they're still talking about going all the way down." 00:42:37.736 --> 00:42:40.239 But I was, like, starting to question 00:42:40.322 --> 00:42:42.908 if my partners and if my friends 00:42:42.992 --> 00:42:45.536 were still making the right decision. 00:43:12.396 --> 00:43:15.149 - We're just putting it out there to our ground support 00:43:15.232 --> 00:43:19.612 to see if we even have an option to evac here. 00:43:19.695 --> 00:43:23.949 And that will really determine what the next step is. 00:43:25.868 --> 00:43:27.661 - I think that was an uncomfortable place 00:43:27.745 --> 00:43:29.496 for especially Nouria to be, 00:43:29.580 --> 00:43:31.624 to be the one for the very first time 00:43:31.707 --> 00:43:34.752 in her paddling career that wanted to evacuate. 00:43:37.880 --> 00:43:41.300 I'm fully committed to going downstream. 00:43:41.383 --> 00:43:44.970 I'm not really there to consider backing down. 00:44:02.071 --> 00:44:05.491 - It could be raining. - We could wait there. 00:44:05.574 --> 00:44:07.326 - But give it an hour-- - Or two hours, 00:44:07.409 --> 00:44:09.995 maybe a couple hours. 00:44:10.079 --> 00:44:11.622 Maybe more. 00:44:15.709 --> 00:44:17.419 - There's nothing we can do. 00:44:17.503 --> 00:44:20.339 We're just trying to do what we can. 00:44:20.422 --> 00:44:25.219 Get 'em out fast and efficiently as possible. 00:44:25.302 --> 00:44:29.223 Just can't imagine. Think how they feel right now. 00:44:32.976 --> 00:44:34.728 Yeah, the clouds over there in the mountains 00:44:34.812 --> 00:44:36.397 are starting to open up. 00:44:36.480 --> 00:44:37.940 Everything is pushing out. 00:44:38.023 --> 00:44:40.567 And the east side is looking clear, 00:44:40.651 --> 00:44:42.403 but it's not gonna last forever. 00:44:42.486 --> 00:44:44.405 There's another front coming in. 00:44:44.488 --> 00:44:48.325 So we get, like, one shot, I guess, this afternoon, 00:44:48.409 --> 00:44:50.452 hoping that it stops raining up there. 00:44:50.536 --> 00:44:53.580 But, realistically, 00:44:53.664 --> 00:44:56.834 if we don't do it today... 00:44:56.917 --> 00:44:59.461 we may not do it for a couple days. 00:44:59.545 --> 00:45:01.797 So this is our shot. 00:45:04.133 --> 00:45:06.635 Every time you bring in a helicopter 00:45:06.719 --> 00:45:09.263 into any kind of rescue, 00:45:09.346 --> 00:45:11.932 everything can go wrong really fast. 00:45:14.518 --> 00:45:17.479 We have some very unique conditions 00:45:17.563 --> 00:45:21.066 which involves temperature and high elevation. 00:45:46.925 --> 00:45:48.385 - This is not good. 00:45:48.469 --> 00:45:50.804 The only thing that they can help us with 00:45:50.888 --> 00:45:53.098 is just throw supplies from the sky. 00:45:53.182 --> 00:45:54.767 Extraction's not possible. 00:45:54.850 --> 00:45:57.311 If someone gets injured, that's game over, 00:45:57.394 --> 00:45:59.146 and nothing will happen. 00:45:59.229 --> 00:46:03.692 And so it just had a whole other level of commitment. 00:46:03.776 --> 00:46:06.320 - That's only when it's clear to the whole group 00:46:06.403 --> 00:46:09.072 we have to go downstream to leave the river. 00:46:18.499 --> 00:46:19.917 - We know from our map research 00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:23.420 that just below us here is this massive waterfall 00:46:23.504 --> 00:46:24.505 that's "unrunnable." 00:46:24.588 --> 00:46:26.965 So the only way for us to move downstream 00:46:27.049 --> 00:46:28.967 is to take our boats and hike. 00:46:31.804 --> 00:46:33.722 That's gonna take us at least two days 00:46:33.806 --> 00:46:35.724 to get around this canyon. 00:46:50.572 --> 00:46:53.325 - I was doing good until, like, the spiky one went, like... 00:46:54.493 --> 00:46:57.204 And slapped me in the face and in the nose. 00:47:02.918 --> 00:47:06.588 Hopefully I don't get a jungle scar... 00:47:06.672 --> 00:47:09.508 and we get out fast enough 00:47:09.591 --> 00:47:12.219 that it doesn't get infected. 00:47:12.302 --> 00:47:14.054 I want out. 00:47:16.974 --> 00:47:18.725 I'm not against risk taking, 00:47:18.809 --> 00:47:20.978 but I want to control the amount of risk 00:47:21.061 --> 00:47:22.271 that I'm willing to take. 00:47:22.354 --> 00:47:26.608 And at this point, I didn't have that control. 00:47:26.692 --> 00:47:30.404 And then on top of that, it's been almost four weeks. 00:47:30.487 --> 00:47:32.698 So that's about what I told my friends 00:47:32.781 --> 00:47:35.335 and family that I'll be gone. 00:47:35.433 --> 00:47:37.218 We do it because it makes us happy. 00:47:37.402 --> 00:47:38.478 And then it's fine 00:47:38.661 --> 00:47:40.705 until you put the people back home 00:47:40.789 --> 00:47:43.249 in a position where they have no comms, 00:47:43.333 --> 00:47:45.251 so they start worrying. 00:47:45.335 --> 00:47:48.004 They don't care if you're a success 00:47:48.088 --> 00:47:50.215 or a failure or whatever. 00:47:50.298 --> 00:47:52.842 They just want to see you again. 00:48:00.391 --> 00:48:02.477 - Right below us there's this huge landslide. 00:48:02.560 --> 00:48:06.397 And just--yeah, it's so steep that a little bit of rain, 00:48:06.481 --> 00:48:08.608 and everything slides down. 00:48:08.691 --> 00:48:11.319 We definitely have our work cut out for us moving down this. 00:48:11.402 --> 00:48:12.737 - It's so steep. 00:48:20.954 --> 00:48:22.747 - We're dropping into a section of river 00:48:22.831 --> 00:48:24.499 with unknown vertical gorges. 00:48:24.582 --> 00:48:26.918 We don't know what's around any corner. 00:48:27.001 --> 00:48:28.503 But we just have to do it 00:48:28.586 --> 00:48:32.674 'cause there's no other way to get to the LZ. 00:48:32.757 --> 00:48:34.551 - Not only are you playing 00:48:34.634 --> 00:48:37.053 this life-or-death chess match against the river, 00:48:37.137 --> 00:48:38.805 you're also trying to do battle 00:48:38.888 --> 00:48:41.349 with the demons that have really developed 00:48:41.432 --> 00:48:42.684 in all of us that said, 00:48:42.767 --> 00:48:45.311 "You might not even make it to the LZ." 00:49:03.580 --> 00:49:05.331 - When you're moving in this type of white water, 00:49:05.415 --> 00:49:07.000 we'll send one person ahead, 00:49:07.083 --> 00:49:08.835 and then the group really needs to trust 00:49:08.918 --> 00:49:10.879 whether that person says it's a walk, 00:49:10.962 --> 00:49:13.173 or if it's, like, good to go, 00:49:13.256 --> 00:49:15.550 there needs to be a serious amount of trust. 00:49:20.013 --> 00:49:22.056 Communication is just totally critical out here. 00:49:22.140 --> 00:49:23.391 If one of us is paddling 00:49:23.474 --> 00:49:25.143 through a hard section of white water, 00:49:25.226 --> 00:49:27.645 you can't just have somebody dropping in on them. 00:49:27.729 --> 00:49:30.148 It's literally a matter of life and death. 00:50:08.144 --> 00:50:10.647 - You still watch while I'm going in the rapid 00:50:10.730 --> 00:50:12.398 because you don't hear those guys, 00:50:12.482 --> 00:50:14.901 and you * lost it at me. 00:50:14.984 --> 00:50:16.569 You scare me. 00:50:16.653 --> 00:50:18.112 I just don't want to be 00:50:18.196 --> 00:50:20.740 on this * sketchy-* river with you 00:50:20.823 --> 00:50:23.076 because I don't believe you guys are making 00:50:23.159 --> 00:50:24.911 the right decisions. - You're not gonna-- 00:50:24.994 --> 00:50:28.039 - I want out. I want out. 00:50:29.666 --> 00:50:31.125 - I just told her, like, if she doesn't want 00:50:31.209 --> 00:50:35.463 to look at anybody else, then that's fine. 00:50:35.546 --> 00:50:37.674 She's just dropping into shit without, like, even-- 00:50:37.757 --> 00:50:40.426 - She scouted it, and she waited for a while up there. 00:50:40.510 --> 00:50:42.011 - Oh, did she? - Yeah. 00:50:42.095 --> 00:50:43.429 - Okay. 00:50:43.513 --> 00:50:45.765 But nobody's talking to each other or anything? 00:50:45.848 --> 00:50:48.351 - I was like, "Hey, guys, Nou's getting ready to go." 00:50:48.434 --> 00:50:50.687 Maybe you didn't hear. 00:50:57.777 --> 00:50:59.654 - At the end of the day, 00:50:59.737 --> 00:51:01.447 when we had our worst blowup, 00:51:01.531 --> 00:51:03.616 when we had our worst communication, 00:51:03.700 --> 00:51:07.036 when it just felt like this five-year-old, 00:51:07.120 --> 00:51:09.831 really precious friendship to me had totally deteriorated, 00:51:09.914 --> 00:51:12.625 I walked into the jungle to try to, like, clear myself 00:51:12.709 --> 00:51:14.544 a tent spot later than I normally would 00:51:14.627 --> 00:51:16.713 just because I was trying to dry out my feet. 00:51:16.796 --> 00:51:20.216 I slipped and frigging took a machete to the finger. 00:51:20.300 --> 00:51:23.011 Ah! *! 00:51:23.094 --> 00:51:26.347 Oh, no, shit! - What'd you do? 00:51:26.431 --> 00:51:28.516 - Ah. Damn it. 00:51:28.599 --> 00:51:30.018 I cut my finger real bad. 00:51:30.101 --> 00:51:32.937 - I saw Ben cruising down the river 00:51:33.021 --> 00:51:34.856 with blood streaming down his finger. 00:51:34.939 --> 00:51:36.190 His pants were stained. 00:51:36.274 --> 00:51:39.319 His feet were just, like, deep red with blood. 00:51:43.740 --> 00:51:45.533 - I felt like, in cutting my hand, 00:51:45.616 --> 00:51:49.370 it was, like, this physical "karmatic" manifestation 00:51:49.454 --> 00:51:50.997 of the issue that had developed 00:51:51.080 --> 00:51:52.665 between Nouria and I. 00:51:52.749 --> 00:51:55.335 You're out here alone. Don't worry about it. 00:51:55.418 --> 00:51:58.546 You're alone. Don't worry. 00:51:58.629 --> 00:52:00.882 Ooh, she's a bleeder. - Yeah. 00:52:03.468 --> 00:52:05.928 - A sliced finger in day-to-day life 00:52:06.012 --> 00:52:07.221 isn't such a big deal. 00:52:07.305 --> 00:52:10.558 But in extreme class 6 whitewater kayaking, 00:52:10.641 --> 00:52:12.935 your life depends on your hand. 00:52:15.688 --> 00:52:18.733 It was pretty clear that my clock was ticking 00:52:18.816 --> 00:52:20.902 in terms of an infection. 00:52:28.910 --> 00:52:31.245 It's bleeding the same as it was. 00:52:33.623 --> 00:52:36.042 This is gonna have to do. 00:52:37.835 --> 00:52:39.087 In scouting the river, 00:52:39.170 --> 00:52:41.631 we knew that maybe the most committing portion, 00:52:41.714 --> 00:52:43.591 maybe the most dangerous section of river 00:52:43.674 --> 00:52:45.385 that we had seen on the entire thing 00:52:45.468 --> 00:52:49.889 was situated almost just upstream of the actual LZ. 00:52:49.972 --> 00:52:52.934 So, for over two and a half weeks, 00:52:53.017 --> 00:52:55.478 we always had that in the back of our mind of-- 00:52:55.561 --> 00:52:58.731 that shit that's between here and any hope of exit 00:52:58.815 --> 00:53:00.900 is peppered with areas 00:53:00.983 --> 00:53:02.693 that were completely "unrunnable" 00:53:02.777 --> 00:53:05.113 or "unsurvivable." 00:53:05.196 --> 00:53:07.698 Picked kind of a shitty day 00:53:07.782 --> 00:53:11.119 to go in with a *ed-up hand. 00:53:11.202 --> 00:53:14.330 Right off the bat, just... 00:53:14.414 --> 00:53:17.208 real scary box canyon. 00:53:17.291 --> 00:53:20.336 But we've got a few options. 00:53:20.420 --> 00:53:23.381 None of 'em are that great or easy. 00:53:23.464 --> 00:53:26.134 Hopefully we won't have to go do some craziness 00:53:26.217 --> 00:53:27.385 in the vertical jungle. 00:53:31.222 --> 00:53:33.391 My intuition tells me to go catch that eddy 00:53:33.474 --> 00:53:34.851 over on the left. 00:53:34.934 --> 00:53:37.311 But my hand's, like, "Think twice." 00:53:41.232 --> 00:53:45.278 - This ferry is, like, one that I have 100% confidence 00:53:45.361 --> 00:53:46.737 that you would make. 00:53:46.821 --> 00:53:49.949 But, like, for mere mortals like me, 00:53:50.032 --> 00:53:51.951 I would make it some of the time, 00:53:52.034 --> 00:53:55.079 but I wouldn't want to do it ten times in a row. 00:53:55.163 --> 00:53:57.957 I think you would have it ten times, no problems. 00:53:58.040 --> 00:54:00.126 - You know, you're at the top of a hard rapid. 00:54:00.209 --> 00:54:02.003 I had decided to run it. 00:54:02.086 --> 00:54:05.256 It means I'm 100% sure that I will get it. 00:54:07.717 --> 00:54:09.385 I'm not gambling. 00:55:09.278 --> 00:55:11.864 - Nouria, do you want to talk? 00:55:13.616 --> 00:55:16.327 I've got to just, like... 00:55:16.410 --> 00:55:18.371 temper my shit. 00:55:18.454 --> 00:55:19.997 I can't do that. 00:55:20.081 --> 00:55:22.750 Even if there is a mistake, I can't do that. 00:55:22.833 --> 00:55:24.752 - I was trying to tell you. - I know, I know. 00:55:24.835 --> 00:55:26.921 I'm sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. 00:55:27.004 --> 00:55:29.715 I'm gonna work on that. - Ben, it's all right. 00:55:29.799 --> 00:55:31.300 We all have our moments. 00:55:31.384 --> 00:55:33.094 It's like, whatever. - Yeah. 00:55:33.177 --> 00:55:34.470 - You know? - Yeah. 00:55:34.554 --> 00:55:36.430 It's just so much stress. - Yeah. 00:55:36.514 --> 00:55:39.517 - The good thing about this team is its ability 00:55:39.600 --> 00:55:43.938 to just, like, acknowledge that stress and move past that 00:55:44.021 --> 00:55:46.357 and be like, "Oh, yeah, I know actually 00:55:46.440 --> 00:55:48.150 "you were not angry at me, 00:55:48.234 --> 00:55:50.444 you're just scared," 00:55:50.528 --> 00:55:55.283 and kind of accept that everyone has those swings. 00:55:57.994 --> 00:55:59.745 - Come on in here, Boomer. 00:56:11.048 --> 00:56:14.635 - He's got his cut finger, his foot rot. 00:56:14.719 --> 00:56:16.262 He's, like, limping around. 00:56:16.345 --> 00:56:18.264 He's kind of *ed up right now. 00:56:24.854 --> 00:56:26.564 - We'll see. 00:56:28.608 --> 00:56:31.485 We'll get there, and then we'll see. 00:56:31.569 --> 00:56:33.446 If there's enough food and stuff 00:56:33.529 --> 00:56:35.948 to just sneak on the river, 00:56:36.032 --> 00:56:37.199 that could be awesome. 00:56:37.283 --> 00:56:39.785 I feel like those big rapids, like you said, 00:56:39.869 --> 00:56:42.246 they were kind of cool. - Yeah. 00:56:42.330 --> 00:56:44.123 - Big water. 00:56:44.206 --> 00:56:46.000 - At the end of that day, 00:56:46.083 --> 00:56:49.170 Ben and Boomer were still talking about making it 00:56:49.253 --> 00:56:51.756 all the way downstream. 00:56:51.839 --> 00:56:55.176 - Up until this point, like, I was just like, 00:56:55.259 --> 00:56:57.678 "No way I'm gonna stop willingly. 00:56:57.762 --> 00:56:59.180 No way." 00:56:59.263 --> 00:57:02.266 But it's been such a monster undertaking, 00:57:02.350 --> 00:57:05.519 I just can't even imagine going the next 40 kilometers 00:57:05.603 --> 00:57:07.980 to the finish line right now. 00:57:09.899 --> 00:57:11.400 I can't speak for the rest of the group, 00:57:11.484 --> 00:57:14.820 but I know personally, like... 00:57:14.904 --> 00:57:17.740 I'm gonna be looking to call it good, like-- 00:57:17.823 --> 00:57:19.492 It's not what any of us wanted, 00:57:19.575 --> 00:57:23.120 but that's what we're gonna get. 00:57:23.204 --> 00:57:27.333 And, man, I feel, like, lucky to get there. 00:57:30.127 --> 00:57:34.340 What a * river, huh? 00:57:46.143 --> 00:57:48.729 - It's only now becoming fully clear to me 00:57:48.813 --> 00:57:52.650 what an accomplishment it was just to get to the LZ. 00:57:52.733 --> 00:57:55.027 We dropped 70% of the total, 00:57:55.111 --> 00:57:57.154 almost two vertical miles of gradient 00:57:57.238 --> 00:58:01.033 in not even half the distance down the river. 00:58:01.117 --> 00:58:03.619 - I'm so proud of what we did. 00:58:03.703 --> 00:58:05.538 And I'm proud of how we did it, you know, 00:58:05.621 --> 00:58:08.916 safely moving through those dangerous zones 00:58:08.999 --> 00:58:10.418 and descending 00:58:10.501 --> 00:58:12.503 one of the hardest sections of white water 00:58:12.586 --> 00:58:13.921 that's ever been done. 00:58:14.004 --> 00:58:15.923 I mean, I don't know how you measure these things. 00:58:16.006 --> 00:58:17.842 I'm not much for records. 00:58:17.925 --> 00:58:20.094 But, yeah, I challenge a team to go out 00:58:20.177 --> 00:58:21.220 and paddle that thing. 00:58:21.303 --> 00:58:24.432 I mean, I think the numbers speak for itself. 00:58:24.515 --> 00:58:27.101 - I'm really thankful for the opportunity 00:58:27.184 --> 00:58:30.438 to be able to put myself in this situation, 00:58:30.521 --> 00:58:33.607 even if that means that it gets really hard 00:58:33.691 --> 00:58:36.736 and uncomfortable at times. 00:58:36.819 --> 00:58:39.488 That's what I live for. 00:58:41.365 --> 00:58:43.743 - There's a part of me that... 00:58:43.826 --> 00:58:48.080 only truly exists and thrives 00:58:48.164 --> 00:58:50.291 in these river canyons 00:58:50.374 --> 00:58:52.460 with the unknown in front of us 00:58:52.543 --> 00:58:54.462 and hard work behind us. 00:58:54.545 --> 00:58:55.713 Anywhere else, 00:58:55.796 --> 00:58:58.924 I'm a lesser version of myself.