Grand Canyon of the Stikine

[Glenn MacGrady]

The Grand Canyon of the Stikine River is not a place for open canoes, but this 2011 article, which gives a glimpse into the power and danger of what has been called the Everest of Whitewater, may be of interest to all whitewater boaters.

"Thirty years and over 30 expeditions on, Stikine trips still face only about a 50 percent success rate. Many crews have been forced to climb out of the gorge, sometimes in the most dramatic manner. In 1989, a barefoot Bob McDougall free climbed hundreds of feet up the vertical walls above Entrance Falls after nearly drowning in the rapids below."

To Hell And Back On The Stikine River

Maxi Kniewasser confronts his nemesis, revisiting one of the world’s most foreboding runs.

paddlingmag.com

 

[Mason]

Rob Lesser, of the first descent party back in 1981 I think, was a friend of mine about that time, and represented the "hair boaters", with first descents of the Rio Bio Bio and others. I was NOT one of his paddling partners! (although I did fish him out of the water once after going over in a Perception HD-1 open canoe!) ABC Wide World of Sports filmed him and his crew on the Stikine, on Youtube ABC Wide World of Sports. There are lots of other Stikine Youtube videos for those interested. To me, extreme whitewater kayaking is akin to free-solo climbing on crappy rock, where you never know if the next hold is going blow. I recently re-read a section of Joe Kane's "Running the Amazon", and it seems they never knew whether they'd survive, much less whether the route would go.
My paddling partner has done a couple of canoe trips on the Stikine on each side of the canyon, and highly recommends them (especially the upper section, which he soloed in a PakCanoe).

 

[PaddlingPitt]

Many members of our canoe club in Vancouver have paddled the upper Stikine. Very scenic, and not all that challenging. We were never interested. Not far enough north, and much to likely to endure rain, which I hate.

About ten years ago we joined some canoe club members to paddle the lower Stikine, with the take out in Alaska. The Stikine was in flood when we arrived at the put in. Massive logs hurtling down river. Huge waves. We sat in camp for three days, watching the river continue to rise. We eventually left to paddle a section of the somewhat nearby Dease, which we had paddled before. Disappointing.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

ABC Wide World of Sports filmed him and his crew on the Stikine, on Youtube ABC Wide World of Sports.

Exciting video. Monster water. I miss the ABC's Wide World of Sports and ABC's The American Sportsman, as well as sportscasters Jim McKay, Curt Gowdy and Bob Beattie. They covered everything from the Olympics to recreational sports, and made Saturday and Sunday afternoon TV a sport fan's paradise.