There are a few rivers in the U.S. with the volume and gradient to make them extremely danerous. And extremely challenging if you have the skill set. The Cataracts of the Kern in California and the North Fork of the Payette in Idaho come to mind. Then there’s Tumwater Canyon on the Wenatchee River in Washington. At high flows, Tumwater is a beast.
And Spanish kayakers Aniol Serrasolses is certainly up to the challenge of a river like this. Serrasolses has run most of the world’s toughest whitewater from India to Canada and everywhere in between. But every boater has his day, and they’re all just in between swims. Here, Serrasolses gets beat down in a hole on a rapid called The Wall on Tumwater Canyon. “Getting out of (the ledge hole) was so violent that it pulled me all the way out off my seat,” he said on his Facebook page. “My right knee caused the skirt to blow on the side…Tried a ton of rolls , didn’t work. Tried to take some time to close that skirt and get myself back inside the seat but nada…In the end, one of the holes ripped me out just as I was going to swim…”
Serrasolses ends his post with the hashtag “nevergiveup.” Damn straight homie. The rivers are big out there right now.
