Peak UK Team kayaker Steve Brooks has had a great start to the summer season. A 6 week trip to Nepal has seen Steve and his wife Ute getting used to the pace of life in the Himalayas on the Trishuli, Marsyangdi and Bhote Koshi Rivers before heading off to the Karnali in the far west of the country. Here is a report of their trip out to the old “Wild West....”



It was going to be a long drive to the far west of Nepal and to our put-in for the Karnali. The last time I had run the Karnali it was a continuous 36 hour bus journey from hell. This time however it was a pleasant (for Nepal standards) 11⁄2 days drive with a night in a hotel! Nepal has certainly seen a lot of infrastructure over the past 12 years. But do not be fooled, the roads are not really being built for the locals, but for huge dam projects! The Karnali itself is going to be damed not once but twice killing off all the whitewater which has made the river famous!



We decided to tag along with a raft trip. It was going to make a nice change to eat 10 kilos of spaghetti instead of Nepalʼs notorious Dhal Bhaat! So together with a raft team and 5 other kayakers Ute and I put-in. The river had a pretty good level. With all the rain that had fallen we had levels similar to the end of October.



The first day on the river saw us running a few class III warm up rapids and surfing some on the fly waves. After 3 more nights of rain we were now running some big whitewater rapids with classic names such as Jailhouse, Flip and Strip, Juicer and of course the hardest rapid on the river Godʼs House.
After exiting the gorge the Karnali flattened out and it was time for me to work on the tan and so I headed into the gear raft. We drifted downstream for the next 3 days, camping on huge beaches and just being on river time. The weather was hot and as soon as the sun came out you could not walk on the beach bare foot. It was in the evening when the rains came that cooled us down somewhat. A new rapid on the penultimate day got me back into my kayak and the final day saw us scrambling to catch a glassy wave before taking-out at Chisapani. A cold Coca-Cola to wash down the Dhal Bhaat (beers for the rest of the team) and it was off to Bardia Park to sweat and look for Tigers.



Another epic drive through the night and we arrived in Mugling before changing onto a local bus (you could not call it a Chicken Bus as even the Chickens would refuse to get on this thing). With a couple of extra rows of seats put inside we all suffered (including Ute) for another 4 hours to Pokhara! It was time to stretch the legs and catch up with Min an old friend and his new family. We were given the Royal treatment from Min and the Paddle Nepal staff which made Pokhara difficult to leave, but with strikes and protests being planned we were told to get to Kathmandu 3 days before our flight!
In Kathmandu we caught up with Simon and made a plan for next year. We also finally met up with another old friend Sunir and enjoyed the final few days in the bustling city of Kathmandu. Even the day we flew out a strike had been planned for after 7am and as we waited in Delhi for our connection we saw pictures of running battles with the Police in Kathmandu. Oh how things change!

(Posted on the 16th Jun 2011 by pete)

• Australia
  (22nd Feb 2012)
• Has the winter really been that mild or is my Peakuk winter cagdeck just ubber warm?
  (20th Feb 2012)
• Menai Challenge 2011 Prize Draw
  (14th Feb 2012)
• Niamh Cleary claims victory in Ireland.
  (7th Feb 2012)
• Peak UK on Sky Sports
  (28th Jan 2012)
• A quick trip to Chile...
  (27th Jan 2012)
• IRF Rafting Course in Brazil
  (25th Jan 2012)
• Video from the Bollocks to Poverty team.
  (24th Jan 2012)