Nick’s Nine Notes-to-self: From Pucon to Patagonia.

Hello all!

A few Palm Team Paddlers visited Chile this Christmas, so I’ve tried to keep this concise and insightful.

Viewers of the classic video magazine series LVM will be familiar with the ‘Tommy’s top ten concept, in which Eponymous whitewater hero Tommy Hilleke would enlighten the viewer his top 10 ‘Tips for survival in Norway’, or ‘Rivers of western North Carolina’. Either way, I’ve decided to shamelessly steal this concept, now called Nick’s Nine Notes-to-self, kicking off with what I have learned from my recent trip to Chile.

1. Dogs have better manners than US customs.

In Chile, the dogs are your friends. There are many street dogs in Chile’s towns, who are, as far as I can tell employed by the government to escort you safely home from the pub. Wonderful.

2. The Rio Palguin – Worth the flight alone?

There are some rivers which for the whitewater paddler are simply exceptional, and can make a trip worthwhile all by themselves. For me, the defining river of Chile was the Palguin. Spectacular waterfalls and rapids located deep in a stunning Basalt canyon, with crystal clear turquoise water. From clean, low consequence class 4, to freeride moves galore, to class 5 moves, and BIG waterfalls. No matter how many times you have seen the pictures and videos, it is even better once you’re there.

3. Empanadas – find recipe…

Like a cornish pasty, but made from pizza dough instead of pastry (read 50% less grease), usually with an olive and half a boiled egg thrown in. perfect fuel for hungry paddlers, and an absolute winner on a rainy day. Available

4. River running – Giant wave trains are not to be sniffed at…

Although the majority of pictures/videos you’ll see from Chile are of big waterfalls and technical creeks, Chile also boasts some of the biggest, bounciest, and most fun class 3-5 river running anywhere. Due to slightly epic rain-fed water levels, some of the most fun days we had were spent paddling super high water class 3-4. From kickflips galore to waves to surf on the fly, don’t make the mistake of thinking bouncy class 2-3 is only for beginners!

5. Patagonia – ‘They do move in herds!’

Perhaps surprisingly, one of the absolute highlights of the trip for me was the epically drive south through Patagonia. Our route took in 3 ferries, and many hours of  untouched rainforest with snow capped, mountains, ominously smouldering volcanoes overshadowing towns buried in ash, Jurassic Park-esque foliage, and cascading waterfalls. To cap it off, in the middle of it all is the incomparable Rio Futalefu, famed for huge volume, blue water, and a stunning line up of class 2-5 whitewater to leave you grinning for weeks. There are few places in the world I have felt so constantly in awe of everything.

6.Volcanoes – spectacular, if unnerving…

They’re brilliant, and spectacular, and there are loads of them. The Rio Turbio even flows down a (now cold thankfully) lava channel. Watch out – they are mostly a bit active, and it’s quite unsettling eating a steak whilst grey smoke belches ominously from the nearest hill…

7. Maverick Paddles – best value whitewater paddle ever?

A shameless plug here, but I’ve used my Maverick G5s throughout the autumn, and in Chile, and they’re still going strong. Powerful blades, solid shaft, and a good weight, what more could you want from a paddle for £130?

8. 23 metres, it turns out, is really big.

Since the dawn of Bomb Flow TV, and the ever impressive work of a new generation of waterfall experts, 20+ metre waterfalls might not seem that much of a big deal anymore. One particular waterfall, the middle Palguin has seen a huge number of descents in recent years, but standing at 23m, of uninterrupted freefall, no number of videos or photos can prepare you for how big this looks from standing on the lip. 23m is really, really big. Arguably more terrifying than the waterfall itself however are the Indiana Jones style bridge with most of its planks missing, and the choice of ‘burly as hell’ entrance drop or ‘sketchy as you like’ seal launch just above the lip.  Despite what videos suggest, well over 50% of paddlers swim at the base of this fall. The day we went it was high water, and I wanted to keep my bow up to avoid the standard deck implosion + beating in the base. Coming off a little too flat, I threw my paddle, and managed to get my bow down to 45 degrees, making for a super soft almost head dry landing right next to my paddles. Lovely job.

9. 3 weeks is probably not enough…

What with other  commitments, my Chilean adventure had to be crammed into a non stop 3 week mission. I managed to get some true classics in, but the to-do list remains significant, and I’ll definately be heading back at some point. No matter what your preferred paddling style, Chile has more than you could wish for. As vagabond poet F.Burrows so eloquently put it: Go there, do the things, have the times. 

Here’s a short video diary of my trip, enjoy!

 

See you on the water!

Nick