By Jakub Sedivy

The team:
Canadian Kalab Grady, Nacho from Argentina, Aleix Salvat, Arnau Pons, Edu Pujol from Spain and Jakub Sedivy from the Czech Republic.

“A gorge reminiscent of abyss, boulder choked white water, stony avalanches and unstable weather having almost immediate effect on the water levels.”

Abyssmo deep inside the earth

I have heard many stories about the Abyss. One of those elusive places, where almost no one gets to and where one feels very small and vulnerable. I had wanted to return to the deep canyons since my last mission in Nepal. Although I had visited many absolutely beautiful canyons, none could be compared to the deep gorges of the Langu Khola in the heart of the Himalayas. However, the Apurimac turned out to be another story…

The Apurimac starts high in the heart of the Peruvian Andes on the mountainside of Mismi at 5,597 metres above sea level and is one of the sources of the Amazon River. Its flow runs northwest of Cusco and its path is cut into narrow deep canyons, some over 3,000 metres. Although these are not the deepest or longest canyons in the world, their depth and especially their steepness is breathtaking.

Abyssmo is at the heart of the Apurimac. Less than three hours drive from Cusco, close to the commercial stretch lies one of the toughest multi-day trips in South America. Three days of extremely hard white water, walled in deep by narrow granite walls.

The team

We all meet in Cusco. A week of waiting for runnable levels is spent by driving to the Chilca section of the Urubamba River and paddling around Cusco. On October 20, we pick up Canadian Kalab Grady and the team is complete with Nacho from Argentina, Aleix Salvat, Arnau Pons, Edu Pujol from Spain and me from the Czech Republic. At the airport we introduce Kalab to the plan Immediately and before he realizes we roll on to Puente Cunyac, the place of our launch.

The calm, flowing water beneath Puente Cunyac bridge does not even hint of what awaits us. We pack quietly, divide the food and cooking equipment and gradually put on the water. The first part of day one is fast flowing flat water. The weather looks to stay good however and after the recent rains we have more water than we could wish for.

We have no other choice than to hope that it is going to be just fine. After a short while, we stop for a quick lunch at the thermal springs. Short time later we say goodbye to the last bits of civilization, get back into our packed boats and nervously peek into the canyons downstream. The river is getting squeezed between the canyon walls but still flows relatively peacefully and gives us the chance to enjoy the grandiose scenery.

The landscape around us is really breathtaking with cascading waterfalls and tributaries, cutting through the high walls but otherwise the canyon is undisturbed and isolated from the outside world. The river is getting steeper and the rapids start coming at us slowly but consistently. We are getting readying ourselves.

It does not take long and the river literally ‘swallows’ us. Closed between two perpendicular walls are the first of many portages, and so we begin the ritual of balancing our loaded boats over large broken stones.

The river is high. It does not take us long to realize but we are committed. We are left to look for lines among big rocks placed randomly in a brown monster of boiling water. Every obstacle creates the monstrous boils and pillows. In the canyon, the light does not last long, and the noise of the white water caught between the high walls merely echoes the disturbing feeling of oncoming darkness – Peru is dimming fast! Luckily, before dusk, we arrive at the Juanito camp. We look somewhat nervously at the sky, cook quickly and fall into sleeping bags with nervous expectations of tomorrow.

It rains but we only took the necessary equipment, which meant our tents got left in Cusco. All of us crawl beneath a piece of overhanging rock and hope the rain will not last for long. It rains for most of the night.

No choice

Fortunately, the morning is clear. Nervously we cast our looks at the river flowing past our camp and hope the river will still be good to go. It has to – we have no choice! After a quick breakfast we peek through some Coca leaves into the morning breeze and hold a minute’s silence for Juanito, our beloved friend who passed away in Chile. Today is supposed to be the hardest day. The river is incredibly stacked up and feels like a never ending Wellerbrucke with high water. We feel like we are riding on the back of an angry dragon. Dodging holes and siphons, the Apurimac is a perfect example of demanding high water class V. Large boulders are covering our view into the rapids and high gradients make boat scouting unnerving and hard. According to Nacho’s estimate, the river is a metre higher then on his previous descent.

The rapids are different. The normal lines are closed by big holes and new passages have opened. The feeling of joy from running such a hard whitewater is accompanied by non-stop concentration on what is coming up – there are just no breaks and our minds and bodies are working on overdrive.The canyon only adds to our feelings – at some places it closes up almost completely and the river constricts to less then 10 metres across. The walls above us climb to over 1,000 metres and the light is struggling to reach us in places. This stretch is one of the hardest paddles I have ever done. Big water, technical class 5, deep in the gorge, far from the road littered with siphons and big holes. The description was right – you don’t go and try to run Abyssmo.

You better be committed and good enough, because there is only one way out. Downstream through numerous dangerous class 5 rapids, which combined with demanding portages and high walls, create a special atmosphere.

Around midday, we arrive at the only pedestrian bridge across the Apurimac and the access road to the ‘sister’ of Macchu Picchu, the long forgotten ruins of Choquequirao. It takes a few days walk from the road to reach them and from the bridge mentioned above, it is still a few hours up the hill. Because we paddle light and have food for just a few days, we keep paddling after a short pause. The river stays difficult, but takes its foot off the gas a little and consequently the lines get wider and cleaner and so we enjoy an afternoon full of big boofs and nice lines.

For all of us it is one of the best stretches of the river where we can make progress without having to scout every horizon line so much. On the other hand, almost every one of us gets the message that the river is dangerous and a slight reminder of the necessity to focus. With more tributaries, the siphons are not so much a problem but the holes become bigger and more retentive. We play dodge and run with the features but this tires us and any mistake could result in a swim and here that is not an option. Our boats are the only way out of the canyon and the river is fast and difficult, so chasing a swimmer would be very difficult let alone their stuff. Without the kayak, there is no way out.

By the end of the day, we are exhausted and our concentration lapses. Those moments are always the most dangerous and Arnau gets stuck in a giant pour over with no way out. We scramble for rescue, aware of the seriousness of the situation. This time we are lucky! The river is fast but relatively calm after the feature and therefore we manage to rescue him and his boat just before the next feature, where the river flows between and under two house-sized rocks! The canyon is narrow and the river roar is reflected from the perpendicular walls – we have had enough and after a while we find the camp. We cook and go to sleep vey tired.

The third day is a little easier, however, we still have a lot of hard rapids waiting for us. The river has risen on us once again – it’s like being on the Oetz in the summer.

The rapids are still hard to read and the river flows into and around large rocks. There are many lines to choose from but only one is safe and passable and signals become vital to the team! You have to be absolutely certain that the line you are choosing does not end in a giant siphon, hole or under a rock. The water level is very high and so we choose to portage some of the big ones, the rest we scout and run close to big holes and open siphons. The quality of the whitewater is amazing, but the combination of hard rapids, loaded boats and non-stop commitment wears us out. All of us all look forward to the confluence with Pachachaca and Puente Pasaje! We reach the bridge for 15.00.

Tired but happy, we drain our boats and the water leaks into the cacti on the shore. We have done it – we have safely passed through the gates of Abyssmo!

Extremely complex

For me, Abyssmo has been one of the greatest experiences of recent years. Abyssmo did not disappoint and this section really earns its reputation. Kilometres of high-quality, big water of the highest difficulty, in a totally inaccessible canyon, make Abyssmo one of the toughest rivers I’ve ever paddled. The huge vertical walls dominating almost every view, cascading waterfalls and extremely complex white water, characterize this really magical place. If you decide to go, make sure you are up for it as there is no turning back and the stories are true…