Global Descents - Exploring Rivers of The World

This is hands down the most exploratory expedition offered commercially anywhere! Situated between the Northern and the Southern Patagonia Ice Fields, the Rio Bravo runs through a relatively uncharted portion of South America. Only a handful of paddlers have seen the depths of this sheer-walled, extremely desolate, Class V river canyon. This trip is literally a first commercial descent, which means that only those with previous experience - with whitewater, with wilderness camping, with multi-day expeditions, with physical hardship, and with the unknown - should apply!

Trip members and will meet in Balmaceda, a small port town in southern Chile (accessible from Puerto Montt airport.) The first night, a lakeside lodge in Cochrane will serve as our base for a grand feast , introductions, and trip orientation. The next morning we’ll shuttle ourselves and our gear to the put-in via float plane. Night two we’ll camp at the headwaters of the Bravo, a glacial fed lake, taking in a healthy fire, a healthy dinner, and some of the brightest stars on the planet. Day three we’ll rig and launch - into the little known Bravo Canyon. Spending four days on the river, we’ll read-and-run and scout rapids, choosing the most conservative lines through rapids totally inaccessible to outside assistance; we’ll camp on pristine riverside beaches; and we’ll explore the canyon that only a few pioneering kayakers have seen before. We reach Careterra Austral Day - the end of the Pan-American Highway - Day seven, where we’ll de-rig, drive one of the most scenic drives in the world, and land back at our lakeside lodge in Cochrane. A videographer and a journalist will accompany us on the Bravo; don’t miss the opportunity of a lifetime to be part of this extraordinary historical expedition!