Rapid Royalty - Local Adventurists Take On The Grand Canyon
It’s been a very long wait for a bunch of intrepid local explorers about to embark on a personally organised, 21-day rafting expedition through the mighty Colorado River Grand Canyon after a 16-year wait.
The 16-strong group including Queenstown, Wanaka, and some ex-local, heliski and rafting guides, experienced mountaineers, advanced paramedics, a naturopath, midwife, doctor and nurse, finally co-ordinated a winning spot in the annual Grand Canyon National Park permit lottery. Personal river expeditions without commercial guides through the world’s most spectacular canyon are strictly limited with 300 to 400 permits granted each year.
Long-time Queenstown telemark ski instructor Jef Desbecker, a Kiwi-American and former Colorado River Cataract Canyon guide, did the epic 362km trip with fellow Queenstown adventurer and veteran rafting guide Geoff Hunt in 2007. “Geoff had that permit and he’d waited 19 years for his name to come up,” says an elated Jef, who’s ecstatic to be leading this year’s expedition with friends. It will be his fourth trip through Grand Canyon. “I tried every January for 12 years, applying the minute I got out of the canyon in 2007, but my name didn’t come up despite others I knew being granted permits. Eventually I wrote to the Grand Canyon National Park Service to say I knew people who’d tried less times and their names had come up,” says Jef. “It’s all about co-ordinating your dates, so the ranger said if all 16 of us expressed interest in the same days that would increase our chances, and boom! Geoff’s wife Brandi won the permit but handed it to me to organise.” They were packing and all set to go in 2020 when the world shut down. MIQ made it impossible early last year, but thankfully, the Park Service waived the rules to allow the Kiwi group into this year’s slot.
Many Southern Lakes outdoor adventure elite feature in the group, including former Queenstown St John’s advanced paramedic Mark Gabites, Matt Wilkinson, also a highly qualified paramedic, and former ski patrol boss Tarn Pilkington, now Southern Lakes Heliski chief guide. Wanaka’s Lydia Bradey – the first woman in the world to summit Everest without oxygen, and international mountain guide Dean Staples – former Harris Mountains Heliski chief guide who has topped Everest nine times, join the group, along with leading mountain guides Pete Bilous and James Hamilton. Queenstown doctor Elinor Slater had to opt out, but local doctor Kathryn Smith is taking her place.
“We have to take absolutely everything in there on the rafts from stoves and toilets, to ice for 21 days to cope with possible searing heat, and food for a pre-planned three meals a day. “You even have to raft your poo out in large steel rocket boxes (ammo cans) – Army surplus,” says Jef. “Everything goes with you from start to finish, so when you pull up on a beach there’s nothing but footprints left behind.”
They put in below the Glen Canyon Dam, from where there are massive, steep, rocky outcrops overhanging like towers on both sides.
“It’s heavily regulated. The first day the ranger checks everything, your First Aid kit, toilet, appropriate steel fire pans to collect the ashes as you’re cooking over charcoal, satellite phone and back-up.”
So what’s the best part? ‘Wow! Where do I start,” says an enthusiastic Jef. “You’re river running more than 250 rapids – 60 are major, in a big 5.4-metre raft loaded with 1 tonne of gear lashed in and geared up for if you flip. It’s exciting! It’s like the Kawarau River on steroids!”
“The scenery is mind boggling and you’re staring at an incredibly beautiful canyon all the way,” he says. Leaving early and setting up camp along the river early afternoon, they’ll then head off side canyon exploring. Cacti will be in bloom, they’ll negotiate massive rocky corridors, avoiding rattlesnakes, scorpions and black widows and big horned sheep, with ringtail cats and cougars all lurking nearby.
Jef’s hasn’t encountered a cougar yet and says the most dangerous thing for the Kiwi crew would be “running out of alcohol”, plenty of which is also carted on the rafts to enjoy during the calmer stretches and evenings. “Sometimes we lash six rafts together on the calm patches and hop between boats enjoying a bit of a party.”
The Grade 4 to 5 rapids are not to be taken lightly, but with a crew of experienced rafting guides, three who’ve done the trip before, and medics on board there’s nothing but excitement ahead.
For Jef, who will celebrate his 70th birthday on the trip, it’s the finality that he’s finally going again after so many years. “I can get this monkey off my back. I’ve been waiting 16 years. I’m so excited. I can’t contain myself. I’ve been waiting on this so long.”
The group puts in on April 13, taking out on May 3.
