EXPEDITION
Day9 - StoutParadise- Elevation:? ->4900’8 am:Wehavea lovelymorningofdeliciouslentils,ridiculousstories,andsilence,taking
intheineffablecalmofournewlydividedyetfinallyunifiedteam.Thesectionofriver
aheadwassavageatlowwater.Thepainofhotsoapywateronmywoundedpinkyfinger
is preferabletomy14-year-oldspeculationabouttheriverahead.
1030 am:It’snon-stoprighttothelipoftrulyun-runnable“DamSiteFalls,”wherea
multi-nationalconstructionfirmrecentlygainedgovernmentapprovaltoinstallthefirst
350 MWmonsterin thisimprobablydeepandtightnaturalcathedral.Howdoyoudefend
a placethatis sobeautifulbutsocompletelyunknown?
12 pm:BelowthefallsI strikethesethoughtsfrommindtofocusonthetaskathand:a
seriesofmassiveholes.After,Nouriasendsan“S-Turnnightmare”thatI politelydecline.
Westopforlunchonlyslightlyoverwhelmedbythenever-endingprocessionofclassV.
430 pm:Thesightofanabandonedroadbringssomerelief.Theguysmustbeonit.
I relax,butit'stooearly.Allofa sudden,it'swaybiggerthanI anticipated.Afterseven
hoursontheriver,I makea desperatemovearoundthisnearlyriver-wideledgehole.It’s
terrifyinglythrilling.
530 pm:A blurofclassIVfollows.OccasionalclassV leadstoa savage,“Kilometer-long
V++.”Webothportage.AnotherthreemilesofclassIV- V. I estimatetheflowtobe 90
cumecsoraround 3000 cfs.8 pm:A flameofmemorypopsup:thelastrapidofthedayis
goodto go!“RedRockCorner”depositsusintoa grottoof deepredsandstone,house-sized
boulders.Outoftheriverandagain,theparadiseofthisplaceis painted all around us.Day 10 - Returnto theRealWorld- Elevation:4900’->3716’8 am:I dressslowlyandconsidernotreturningtotherealworld.Thesimplicityoflifeout
here is delicious.12 pm:We take turns at the sharp end until I overcommit to a powerfulmazeofsieveandswirl.LuckilyNouriais theretopullmeoutofa slipperyeddy.
1215 pm:Immediatelydownstream,theriverpresentsa highwaterstaircaseofsedi-
ment-ladenwavesandholesasit boresitswayoutoftheAndes.2 pm:Wecontinue
througha massivesectionofreadandrun.TheTunuyanhasbeenfull-oncontinuousfor
nearly 90 consecutivekilometers.4 pm:Welandjustaboveman’sfirstattemptto obstruct
theTunuyan’spath.Thewildriverhitsthe60-year-olddiversionstructurewheresomeof its
mineral-richwateris funneledofftonurturethevineyardsandwinesofthisworldfamous
ValledeOuco.Wewanderthroughtheirrigationcompoundfora fewminutesbeforethe
vineyard’scaretaker,Sergio,directsustowardswelcomingshade,Mate,andsweetbread.
Wesharea fewstoriesfromthelasttendays.Hetellsusa littlebitaboutthelastseveral
decadesheandhisfatherbeforehimspentalongthistheriver.
“Theflowis only 55 cumecs,”hetellsuswithcertainty."Whatwillhappenwhentheyput
thatbigdamup?"hewondersaloud."Wherewillalltheanimalsgo?Howwillthewine
changewhenthebrown,mineral-richwateris replacedbytheclear,sterilewatera big
damcreates?"NouriaandI canoffernothinginresponse.Whatwediscoveredinthose
wallsistoovast,tooinchoatetoputtowords,andlikelywon’ttellSergioanythinghe
doesn’talreadyknow.I canonlyhope others will experience the Tunuyan before there
are answers to Sergio’s questions.“Silvioasksme,“...is a boat
really worth dying over?”
NouriaandRosie,"elcaballomassimpático"takea breakin
cold wind and mist on the last day of spring in the high Andes.Fromits10-kilometerlong,high
altitudefloodplain,theTunuyan
dropsnearly6,000verticalfeetin
thenext 90 kilometersto theworld-
famous vineyards of Valle de Ouco.Guanaco Muerto.