It’s a sunny December day with Whitewater Grand Prix (WWGP) kayakers rolling into the Pucon Kayak Hostel from the Upper Trancura takeout in Chile. In the parking lot, whitewater pioneer Kurt Casey, 47, is surrounded by paddlers asking the usual questions about river levels, directions and dangers. he gets it all the time.
In these parts, Casey is the source for river data. He wrote the online guidebook for whitewater in Chile and Peru, and last year alone notched 15 first descents. Though he’s been making first descents since 1987, in January 2012 he banked a remarkable six first descents in four days—a record even for him. He humbly attributes it to good planning and luck.
“We went in mid-January for a four-day road trip. Five of the rivers had been scoped out. We’d just left the take-out of one river we got a first D on and were trying to find our way to the main road when we crossed the Rio Blanco de Cohuieco,” says Casey, as more paddlers drift closer to hear his story. “It’s a trib to the Cohuieco and had plenty of water in it. Man, that was a hike up that logging road from the take-out,” he laughs.
Prior to moving to Chile full-time, Casey traveled to South America 29 times for kayaking trips. He now lives on a farm outside…
This article appeared in Rapid, Spring 2013. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read the rest here.
