DESCENTS
EXPEDITION:MANIARIVER,
MADAGASCAR,APRIL 2019"Thelastportageis thelastrapid."Withthosewords,ArthurOrkinsummarizedeverythingtheteamknew
beforeputtingonanexploratoryexpeditionofMadagascar'sManiaRiver.Theexpeditionteamorganized
byBenOrkin(USA),includedbrothersSamandArthurOrkin(USA),AndyAmbelang(USA),AlexAitken(UK),
ChrisHorsley(UK),andGeorgiePreston(UK).TheteamarrivedinApriltocoincidewiththeendofthe
rainyseason.Piecemealinformationfromtheonlytwopreviousdescents(undertakenata differenttime
ofyear)andGoogleEarthimagerygavea roughideaofwhattoexpect,withtheprovisothatwaterlevels
wouldbedrasticallyhigher.Over 21 daystheteamdescended1,115metersover 307 kilometers,and 39
rapids-including 11 portages-withtwogearraftsandtwokayaksanda combinedweightofover 400 kgs.
ChannelslitteredwithlargebouldersiphonscharacterizedtheMania'suppersections.A coupleofdaysof
hot,flatwaterwereinterspersedwithpotentiallyrunnablerapidsbutnotsuitableto riskwiththegearrafts.In
themoreremoteflatwatersections,aggressivecrocodilescameintoplay.Ononememorablemorning,the
kayakswerechargedfourtimesbefore9 am.Ben'sscoutingfromspacepreparedtheteamforrapidswhere
theentireriverappearedtodropoffthefaceoftheearth.However,theavailabilityofporterstohelpportage
wasalwaysuncertain.Tohelpwiththelongestportageofsixkilometers,Chriswenttwohoursinsearchof
thenearestvillage.Hereturnedtriumphantly,andtheycompletedtheportagein twodays,despitea mutiny
atthehalfwaypointoverthepriceoftheraft.Onanotheroccasionin anevenmoreisolatedcanyon,it took
12 hourstotravellessthan 800 metersdownstream.MilesofclassIII/IVbigvolumerapidsgradually,and
sometimessuddenly,turnedintoconsequentialsolidclassIV/Vgorgesandsomeawe-inspiringunrunnable
rapids.Lowersectionsbecamechannelized,andgreatcarewasrequiredto navigatethelabyrinthto avoidthe
consequencesofa fataldeadend.Thelastrapid(number39)wasindeeda portage.Here,theriverviolently
explodedintoa one-kilometer-long,rollercoaster-filledchasmbeforeemptyinginto a final flatwater fishing
pool.FromstarttofinishtheManiaragedfromthe sublime to the ridiculous.Report and photography: Georgie PrestonBIGGIESMALLS,HIGHWATERROUGE RIVER,
QUEBEC,CANADA,APRIL 2019Duringspringrun-off,StakeoutconnoisseursfrequenttheRougeRivertopaddlea shortsection
witha roughlyone-kilometer-longhighlightrapid.Theaptly-namedGauntlethashostedboththe
WhitewaterGrandPrixandUnleashedboatercrossevents,yetneitherhasmanagedto hitit at peak
flows.Yes,youarereadingthatright.Whatyouhaveseengetsbigger.Thesectionroostsasthe
waterrises,keepingkayakershookedandcravingmore.In 2019 thewaterlevelsroseandrose,
roadswerebeingcautioned,andhomeownersweredrivingthroughtheriverintheirfrontlawns.
OnApril25th,theareawasemergencyevacuatedbecausethedecommissioned,100+-year-old
BellsFallsDamwasatriskoffailure.Thedamwasengineeredtowithstand 1000 cms.Thedayof
theevactheonlinegaugereada record987.9cms;thenewsreportedsome 1300 cmsgoing
overthedamwhileothersitesreportedless.A coupleofkayakershadjustfinishedlappingthe
rapidabovetheSevenSisterswaterfallsandwereplanningonsurfingthenewlyemergent"Biggie
Smalls"wavewhentheMayorofGrenville-sur-la-Rougerushedtowardthem,shouting,"Thedam
hascollapsed!Whoelseis withyou?Getthem,getin yourcar,andGO!"Whatfollowedwasa rush
upstreamtoretrievea vehicleinthefloodplain,anda dashtohighground.Fortunately,thedam
hadnotcollapsed,buttheirswouldbethelastallowedrecreationontheriveruntilflowssettled
below 500 cms.Thoughthethoughtofa damncollapsingandanavalancheofwatercollecting
debris,homes,animals,andpeopleis disturbing,fora certainfew,excitementremainsforeach
highwaterseason.Maybeit is thedesiretotestone’sselfagainstthespringfloods,ortoface
newchallengesandtowatchriverfeaturestransform.Certainkayakershavealwayswantedthat
1000 cmsrun,andwantit even more now. What was in there? Just one of the sickest rapids of
alltimeANDBiggieSmalls.Report and photography: Ben MarrNEWS