The Dudh Koshi

Thirty years after the history making first kayak expedition on the Dudh Koshi, the river of Mt. Everest, by Mike Jones, we made our way up into the Kumbhu Area in Nepal.

With Mt. Everest and many other 8000m peaks looming above us the hike in already was an experience itself.

The walk in obviously already became much easier since 1976 and many lodges do cater for the number of tourists and adventurers which had quadrupled since, making it possible to stroll up the hills with as little as a daypack on your back.

"Just to watch the head bobbing up and disappearing under the waves is frightening. Mick Hopkinsons body gets washed downstream by the strong current of the river and his partner Mike Jones tries desperately to paddle the front loop of his kayak to his partner who is trying to swim against the cold and freezing torrent."

Mick Hopkinson haven�t had a swim for the last 14 years and this one captured on BBC documentary "The untamed river of Everest" made him known throughout the kayaking world.

Obviously those are the problems faced when attempting high altitude rivers with fiberglass boats and sweaters. Both inadequate to tackle difficult rivers like the Dudh Koshi.

Our group with Andreas Sommer, Sean Glaccum and Joe Carberry carried the boats up close to Everest Base Camp with the help of 3 porters and the luxury of staying in heated indoor lodges dotted along the trail and space age energy bars as snacks. With the advantage of our modern day equipment which does not break on every single rock and drysuits which will allow you to swim through a river like the Dudh Koshi without hypothermia in the first few seconds (but still wont stop your bones from breaking).

It was impressive to every now and then remember the determination by the first group up there. The river was still challenging in most sections, especially as freezing water temperatures, high altitude and temperature drops of 30+ degrees between shadow and sun made this expedition especially physically demanding and kayaking was only possible during the sunshine hours.

According to Dave Manby their group on the first descent didn�t kayak that much of the river at all. Only during the second trip (which was led by Manby himself after the tragically death of Mike Jones in Pakistan) when the members used the first `plastic` boats, most of the sections from Pheruche to Ghat where kayaked. Only two big gorges which are still untouched till today were left out and the descent of 1986 could possibly be called the real first descent of the Dudh Koshi.

Our team went up to attempt another real first descent of an 8000m peak, the Bothe Koshi River of Cho Oyu. The river itself is a steep confluence of the Dudh Koshi and overall more demanding with long sections averaging 400ft/mile. Two days with a cold night spend out under the stars the river demanded full concentration and commitment and was successfully descended with only a few portages.

With 20 days spend in the Khumbu Region and nine days on the river, our flight back from Lukla to Kathmandu was filled with respect to the rivers and a group of pioneers battling in high grounds with archaic equipment to kayak rivers and to write history.