Glacier to Gobi Expedition

On August 24, 2006, after dragging our kayaks-slash-gear-sleds for three days through a sun-baked Kyrgyz River valley, our three-man team reached the foot of the Inylchek Glacier. That evening a ferocious sandstorm cleared the skies, and the next morning we began paddling at the foot of the glacier, soon passing a confluence that more than doubled the river's flow to about 3,500 cfs of frigid, silty meltwater.
 
At the first horizon line, the Sary Jaz made clear that it does not play by the same rules as other big-water rivers: I pitoned in a mid-river channel that should have been deep in a river of such volume. Seconds later, the river back-endered me on an eight-foot wave face. That was lesson No. 2: The Sary Jaz is uncommonly powerful, even in the least likely places. I rolled up and sprinted to the river left, struggling to avoid a hole big enough to swallow a school bus.

Our fourth day on the river began at the mouth of the Ulchatski Canyon with a mandatory portage. To reach it, Andrew first had to sprint across the river, wedge himself between the cliff and a rock, and then fling himself onto shore. If he failed any part of that sequence, he would slide backwards into the rapid that had killed a Russian rafter in 1997. After expertly sprinting and flopping, Andrew secured his footing and caught Simon and me as we wedged ourselves into that same precarious slot. Portaging in the rain, we marveled that on the Sary Jaz, a normally routine action like getting out of our boats to portage required all of our skill and sent our adrenaline surging.

Once safely on shore, we got the first glimpse of what lay downstream: This massive river dropped like a steep creek. We spent several long minutes just staring at the water, watching it do familiar things on an entirely unfamiliar scale.

Then we hefted our boats - loaded with 12 day's food, climbing gear, and a few minimalist camping essentials, each weighing about 100 pounds - and began a long carry around, over and under four-story-high boulders. After the portage we romped down several miles of Class IV-V whitewater, and then finished the day with an extended scouting mission. To cover as much terrain as possible, Andrew scouted the near section, while I looked farther downstream.