Dane Jackson is, without a doubt, one of the best all-around whitewater kayakers on the planet. He’s got the trophies to prove it — multiple freestyle and whitewater titles do that for him — but the real proof, as they say, is always in the pudding. And this particular bowl of pudding is bordering on crazy.
Jackson knows whitewater better than most people. He grew up bouncing around the United States in an RV with his parents, getting homeschooled by his mother while going from kayak comp to kayak comp with his father. His father? Eric Jackson, an Olympic paddler and founder of the company Jackson Kayaks. So paddling is kind of in Dane’s blood.
From a young age, it was clear that Dane had something different. He won pretty much every junior world title there was to win, and by 2011 he was moving up the ranks at the professional level. During all that time going from river to river, he had something in the back of his mind: the Santo Domingo Gorge in the remote wilds of Chiapas, Mexico.
It’s a four-part gorge that drops more than 300 feet in .2 of a mile. According to Dane’s team, “it is the steepest rideable waterfall on the planet.” Dane, after a decade of planning and training, finally decided to give it a go. And wouldn’t you know it? Dane successfully navigated the drop(s).
