MISSION
S
tuckona highwayalongtheKaligandakiRiverin2017,anintensesadness
washedovermeasI watchedanexcavatorchipawayatthemountain,sen-
dingdebrisdown,destroyingtherapidsbelow.I feltmypastandmyfuture
slippingaway,anda senseofurgencybuilt.I decidedthatI wantedtosee
whatremainedoftheriversandthe mountains of my country before it was all destroyed
byhumanneedandgreed.Asa youngstrugglingkayaker,myonlyrelationshipwithriverswasthroughpaddling.
Mydreamwastotickriversoffa list- tobethemanwhohadpaddledthemall.Buta
cross-countryriverexpeditionseemedoutofreachandfeltmoreimpossiblewitheach
passingyear.Myfavoriterivers,theBhotekoshiandMarsyangdi,werebeingdestroyedby
hydropowerdams.Thensandextractionandpollutionbeganto takea tollonmanyothers.
Withthisrateofdamminganddestruction,eachtimeI lefta river'sshore,I thoughtit
possibleI'dneverseeit again.In2015,conductingrescueandreliefinpost-earthquake
Nepal,I spenttimeinthemountainsandvillages,connectingwithlocalsona deeper
level.Here,riversweren'tonlya whitewaterplayground,buta beautifulforcethatsustained
life.It changedeverythingfor me, and my dream of exploring Nepal through its rivers took
ona newdimension.RightonthebankofKalandakiin2017,I decidedtomakeit happenatanycost.WhenI
returnedhome,I reachedoutto threeyoungkayakers:Hari,Tarjan,andRoshan,whosethirst
for adventure seemed to match my own. Over the next few months, we would challengeDuringtheridetoJumlain West
Nepal,theteamtalkedthedriver
intolettingAnupdriveaftera few
scaryencounters.Therestofthe
drive remained heart pumping!Mission East to West at the start of their journey. Roshan Lama, Anup Gurung, Tarjan Gurung, Hari Ale.FROMEAST
TO WEST