WORLD WHITEWATER NEWS
NEWS
FIRST DESCENT, MOSNESELVA RIVER, NORWAY
There are still plenty of rivers to discover in Norway, such as the nationally protected Mosneselva, which drains the Folgefonna Glacier south of the whitewater
Mecca of Voss. The river is hard to access by Norwegian whitewater standards, but fishermen have fished in the river for a long time, hunting for the salmon
and sea trout that make their way up the rapids. In June 2017, Ron Fischer completed a solo first descent of the eight-kilometer long river. To do so, he crossed
the Åkra fjord and hiked up on a well-maintained trail. Hiking up the river, the whitewater looked more than good: the bottom half was dominated by glacier
style, fast flowing rapids, with some bedrock gems thrown into the mix. Higher up, the canyon narrowed and took on a more serious character. Up here, massive,
ancient landslides had created the
majority of the rapids. Large boulders
made up the shoreline, complicating
scouting and portaging. Fischer
cracked a rib while climbing over one
of them, adding to the seriousness of
the solo mission. After Fischer pitched
camp, the sky opened up with heavy
rainfall lasting throughout the night,
raising the water level. Needless to say,
the river took on a more aggressive
tone, with double the flows of the day
before. Being alone, Fischer put on
confidently, but with his guard raised.
The top half was as expected, hard to
navigate. Some rapids had good lines
through them, and thus were paddled;
others were flowing with too much
juice. The eight-kilometer long section
took three hours to descend, the
bottom half handling the additional
water level better than the top. With a
good crew and perfect flows, this is a
river to put on your Norwegian to-do-
list: stout whitewater, stunning scenery
and some tricky portaging. Hot tip:
Remember to disinfect your kayak and
gear if you come from a river that is
infected by the Gyrodactulus salaris.Words: Mariann Saether
Photo: Ron Fischer24 HOUR DISTANCE RECORD, SOUTH SALMON, IDAHO, USA
On June 2nd, 2017, Aniol Serrasolses, Tyler Bradt, and Todd and Brendan Wells set a new world record for the greatest distance paddled by canoe/kayak in
24 hours on flowing water. The team of four paddled 287.5 miles through the heart of the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, the largest wilderness
area in the lower 48 states, to link the Middle Fork, Main, and Lower Salmon rivers. The previous record was held by Carter Johnson, who started in Whitehorse,
Yukon Territory, Canada on June 25th, 2011 and paddled 279.2 miles in 24 hours using a flatwater racing kayak. The team staged the descent to be on the
river at peak flows, taking full advantage of an extra large winter snowpack. With flows forecasted to peak on the Salmon River just above 90,000 CFS, the
team assembled, did the required scouting for the run, and
met in Stanley, Idaho to prepare for the trip. Preparation
included outfitting boats for maximum comfort, packing
food that would be easy to eat on the fly, rigging hydration
systems, and mentally gearing up for the big day ahead.
The morning of the 24-hour expedition found the team in
dense clouds, with temperatures near freezing. The 6 am
wake-up came early as the team packed their boats, did
their best to go #2 as many times as possible, and then
carried their lighter than normal boats to the put in to begin
their attempt at the record 24-hour distance descent. From
Marsh Creek where the team began, the Salmon River
drops over 5,500 feet, giving the river a continuous gradient
and fast pace. The team maintained an average of almost
12 miles an hour for 24 hours to accomplish the descent
ending at Eagle Creek just above the confluence of the
Salmon and Snake rivers. The crux of the expedition was
the 3-4 hour period after the moon set and before the sun
came up. Fatigue was beginning to take its toll physically
and mentally. All described various kinds of hallucinations
and painful paddling as they continued until well after
sunrise, finishing the trip at 8:00 am, the same hour they
started the day before. After resting for a couple hours, the
team got back in their boats and paddled 40 miles of flat
water out to Heller Bar, one of the most difficult parts of
the trip.Words and Photo: Tyler Bradt