“TOBEOVERWHELMED
ANDDEFEATEDBYA
MISSIONSIMPLYMEANS
THATTHEMISSIONWAS
WORTHWHILE.”
scoutgavethewrongimpressionandorsappedmotivationfromthegrouptopushthe
issueofanunknown river. There is simply no substitute for being in the canyon and using
yoursenses.
KS:Whatwouldyourdreammissionbeif thebudgetwasnotanissue?
BS:YarlungTsangPo.Only 55 milesof 160 milesoftheworld'sgreatestriverhavebeen
completed.Andtherearemultiple reasons for that. I figure I am about two million reasons
shortofmakinganattempt.
KS:Whatdoesit taketo thriveonbig,committedmissions?
Is therea criticalpersonalitytrait?
BS:I thinkpatienceis justasimportantasgritanddetermination. The way to have ultimate
patienceis tobeultimatelypresentinthemission.
Allthosethingsthatmaybepullingyououtofthe
momentalsomakeyouanxioustofinishandget
home.Whenyoucancallyourkayakhome,youhave
thepatienceto waitfortheperfect moment to make
animpossibleriverpossible.
KS:Canthedynamicof a tripchange
dependingonyourrolein thegroup?
BS:That'saninterestingquestion.I thinkthebest
groupleaderscanalsobethebestfollowers.The
bestgroupshavepeoplewillingtotakeonanytask.
It is onlyscarytoletothersleadif beingtheleader
is whatyourself-imageis basedon.I havebeenscaredtorelinquish control, and I have
realizedthatmyegois absolutleyinvolvedinthatfear.
KS:“Ego”is a conceptthatrecursthroughoutthisinterview.Define“Ego.”
BS:Egois thesenseofselforthestorythatwetellourselvesaboutwhoweare.If it'sa
goodstoryit includesinevitablefallibilityof everyoneandeverything.Instead,fartoooften,
wecreatea storycloudedbycomparisonandtheconcept of an “us and them.”
KS:Howcanyouresistbeingseducedbyego?
BS: Embrace your mistakes- they are just as valuable as your successes. When I am at my
best,I feellikeI knowtheleast,andI am the most receptive to learn and understand the
pointsofviewofthosearoundme.Noneof usareperfect.In strivingforthebestpossibleoutcomeof anexpeditionwecanall
beordobetter.Forexample,highwaterTunuyan.Onthattrip,wecouldhavemadebetter
liststoensureeveryonehadthepropergear.Listsarecreditedwithreducingaccidents
duringsurgeryby40%.Thesameis probablytrueforexpeditionkayaking.Listsarejust
oneexampleofhowwecouldhavecommunicatedbetterinthe lead up to the mission.
Whichremindsme,I needtomessagePedroaboutBrazil!KS:Yourtravelshavetakenyoutoincredibleplaces,introducedyoutoamazing
people, and no doubt providedsomecrazyopportunities.Forexample,sharinga
Men’sJournalcoverwithRichardBransonand
JimmyChin?!Dude...Howdidyouendupthere?
Wasthata stand-outexperienceforyou?
BS:Does anyoneeven remember that?Weare
allfirst-generationadventurers,sowehadthatin
common,thoughI havewonderedthesamething!
Unfortunately,I nevergottheircellnumbersasit was
fantastictositdownwiththem.I thoughtwehada
prettyinsightfulconversation.Evenso,myabsolute
favoriteandthemostmeaningfulchanceencoun-
tersinmylifehavebeenwiththepeoplewholive
onthebanksoftheincredibleriversI havebeenfor-
tunateenoughtopaddle.MauricioArredondo,who
invitedmeto Colombiain 2003;RamonRojaswhowelcomedmeat hissmallcasitawhile
tryingtheRioBueyoverfouryears;NBChetry,thebestshuttledriverintheworldin India;
thepeopleof Haramosh,PakistanontheIndusRiver;theincredibleNepalipaddlersSurjan
TamangandLamaKundanTamang;mybrotherfromanothermother,PedroOliva,whogave
metheopportunityofa lifetime,makinga TVshowcalledKaiakin Brazil.Thelistgoeson.KS:Makinga BrazilianTVshowdoessoundliketheopportunityof a lifetime.
BS:It wasanenormousbreakforChrisKorbulicandme.WeowePedroOlivaandproducer
RicardoQuintelafortheopportunityto makethefirstandlongest-running kayak-centered
reality TV show. I could write a novel about those five years alone.BenandChrisKorbulicshelterwaitingfortheridehomeafter
the Beriman Gorge, Papa New Guinea, 2015. ©Ben MarrBenportagingonthefirstdescentofBig
Goose Creek, Wyoming, USA. ©Erik BoomerBen,Erik,andSarahcelebrate the first step onto dry land after one month on the ice. Twin Galaxies,
2016 ©Erik Boomer. Ben makes a move on the first descent of Big Goose Creek in 2018 ©Erik Boomer.