Words: Tony Roberts

Photos:
Bartosz Czauderna,
Sveta Martynova,
Jasmine Zurlini,
Eliano Toro &
Paul Wilson

Organised by Love it Live it 

E: bartosz@loveitliveit.co.uk
W: www.loveitliveit.co.uk
T: (+48) 695 137 302
www.facebook.com/LoveitLiveit
www.facebook.com/bartosz.
czauderna

Big waves, bigger holes, and massive stoke – Futaleufu 2024

“Follow me, bro!” That was the last thing I heard from the eddy above Terminator. We’d talked about the line that morning and even watched drone footage the night before, but now there was no going back.

Left and then right, near but not too near a rock, then a boof somewhere down there? We were doing a sneak line to the far left of the main rapid, avoiding the largest of the whitewater. Even so, being right next to a class V rapid the size of Terminator on Chile’s Futaleufu River in northern Patagonia felt intimidating.

A week earlier, I arrived in the small, remote town of Futaleufu. I’ve been fortunate to travel and kayak worldwide, but I was excited and apprehensive about this. After meeting up with the rest of the group, Bartosz, Sveta, Andrew and Matt and seeing our beautiful home for the next two weeks, right on the bank of the river, the apprehension disappeared, and I couldn’t wait to get on the water.

I met Bartosz on a trip to the Zambezi a few years ago. He jointly organized that trip through his company, Love it Live it (LiLi), and Lowri Davies (Flow Free). Since then, I’ve been on a few other LiLi trips. When I heard Bartosz was considering adding the Futaleufu to the list of trips he offers, I almost bit his hand off to come along!

Apart from Sveta (Bartosz’s partner), who had worked on the Futa the last few seasons, this was the first time for the rest of us. One of the trip’s aims was so Bartosz could learn what he needed for future LiLi trips to the Futaleufu, ensuring they could run smoothly and be as much fun as possible. We were the eager guinea pigs, there to be experimented on.

Casa Río Futaleufú
We got our first proper glimpse of the river on arriving at our accommodation, Casa Río Futaleufú. Run by local legends David Toro and Fernanda Vieira, Casa Rio is ideally situated on the bank of the Futaleufu right at the put-in for the classic Bridge to Bridge section. Casa Rio offers camping, glamping, and a choice of rooms in the house. It was the perfect base for us. With a communal kitchen, lounge areas, patio, and hammocks, we could properly relax and enjoy our time off the water, which is almost as much as our time on the water. We even had David’s aunt, Tia Blanca, come around and cook delicious meals.

Surrounded by high, snow-capped mountains, the river cuts a vibrant azure path down the remote valley. The Futa Valley and River are spectacular. With sections ranging from the grade 3 Macal section through to the class 5 rapids Zeta and Throne Room and everything in between, the Futa is simply a fantastic place to paddle.

We hit the grade 3 Macal section on the first day for a chance to get accustomed to our rented boats and get a feel for things. I’d heard the Futa waters were cold and had come prepared, but the Futa felt almost tropical compared to UK winter waters. After a couple of laps of the Macal section, we were all feeling comfortable in our boats and playing around in the fast-moving water, ready to step things up!

The classic section
After a couple of warm-up days, getting used to the big volume and shaking off any rust, it was time to take on the classic Bridge to Bridge section. It was immediately apparent why this section is known as the classic section. The first rapid, Entrada, starts the run with a bang. It’s big water paddling at its best. Big waves, bigger holes, and massive stoke at the end and that was just the first rapid!

The rapids on the Futa are continuous, and there’s not always much breathing room between them. But it’s not a total gnar-fest from start to finish. Each rapid has multiple lines; you can take on as many or as few lines as you want. The beauty of a river like the Futa is that you will run the same sections many times. As your confidence grows, you can pick different lines and build them up each time.

Continuing down from Entrada, the rapids keep coming. The third main rapid, Pillow, became one of my favourites. The river splits around a boulder, creating a large pillow wave with the line following the Pillow down the left-hand side. After the Pillow is a chunky diagonal hole, and after hitting the Pillow with too much enthusiasm my first time down, that’s exactly where I ended up! It’s big, but friendly. Each time down, with a few pointers from Bartosz, I got better and better at spotting the line and judging it just right. That sense of progression is probably the best part of a trip like this.

Powerful and chaotic
A little further down is Mundaca. This is one of the bigger rapids on the Bridge to Bridge section, but as with most rapids, there are several different lines that become easier or harder at different water levels. The first couple of times down, we snuck down the right. Well, I say snuck, but it’s still powerful and chaotic! The right line avoids the main hole (aptly named Mundaca Hole). It has a larger eddy for recovery at the bottom than the left but, in return, offers a maelstrom of confused whitewater requiring strong paddling and quick reactions. Safely in the eddy below, looking back at the rapid we’d just come down was a good feeling. We would be back for the main line later.

Challenging logistics
As with any excellent paddling trip, paddling is only part of the story. At the end of each run, we were fortunate to have David, a local paddler, pick us up and take us for empanadas, back to the house, or straight back around for another run. Logistics in the Futa Valley can be challenging. Hire car companies won’t let you take their vehicles on the ferries that run from Puerto Montt to Chaitén, and you can’t drive a rental car over from Argentina either. Joining a trip from a provider like Love It Live It removes these practical issues. I was grateful to benefit from all the work Bartosz and Sveta had put in before our trip, as it meant all we had to focus on was paddling and empanadas.

Immediately below the Bridge to Bridge section are three more rapids: Mas o Menos, Right Turn Rapid and Casa de Piedra. We turned to modern technology to scout the first, Mas o Menos, using Bartosz’s drone. We’ve all experienced GoPro footage where, after running the most gnarly steepest rapids of our lives, it appears it was flat with a few ripples upon reviewing the video. Drones do this, too, but to another level. Looking at the screen over Bartosz’s shoulder, I said to myself, “Yes, yes, left a bit, right a bit, follow the green tongues all the way day down – easy!” No. There are no green tongues down Mas o Menos. Mas o Menos is Spanish for ‘more or less’, meaning all lines go more or less.
loved and scared in equal measure

The final rapid in this section is Casa de Piedra. I loved and was scared by Casa in equal measure. It’s a long and technical rapid and, except for at high levels, finishes with an awesome move up and over a diagonal onto a beautiful green bit of water that carries you nicely past some monster holes. The ‘House Rock’ towers over you for the first half of the rapid before it opens out for the second half. It’s a stunning piece of white water and an incredible place to be.

We’d wake up each day and watch the river out of the window at breakfast. The British winter was far away, and we took it easy, waiting for the sun to warm up before getting on the river for another day’s kayaking. A typical day would include at least one Bridge to Bridge lap or a Bridge to Casa de Piedra. On other days, we explored the Terminator section above the Bridge to Bridge section (which has some great rapids before and after the main Terminator rapid), and at least one day, I slept in a hammock on the beach.

All too soon, we were coming to the end of our time in Chile. There are various options for getting to and from Futaleufu. Matt, Andrew and I flew into Esquel in Argentina from Buenos Aires. Esquel is a couple of hours’ drive from Futaleufu across the border. David, our Chilean driver, picked us up and got us all across the border with no trouble. This route worked well for us.

The other option is to fly to Santiago and then to Puerto Montt, where you can get a small plane to Chaiten. From Chaiten, there is a bus that takes you to Futaleufu. That was Bartosz and Sveta’s route, but if you can go via Esquel and get picked up from there, that saves some time. However you do it, it’s a long trip from Europe. Andrew and I stopped over in Buenos Aires (me for a night in a relaxing spa hotel, Andrew for a few days in a hostel straight out of a horror film). I would recommend breaking it up and doing that if you can.

One more section
Before we left, though, there was just one more section we had yet to paddle – Inferno Canyon. The night before, I read online and watched videos of the canyon. Most guides agree it’s a solid class 4/5 canyon, and so, while harder than the Bridge to Bridge section, from what I had seen and read, it was within my reach (if not entirely within my comfort zone).

We’d had slightly lower levels the previous couple of days, and I reasoned that if the river stayed low, it should be fine. The next day, the river was almost as high as we’d seen it the whole time we’d been there. Surely, our Inferno Canyon plans were off the table? As we talked about it over breakfast, it became apparent that calling it off wasn’t the done deal I’d imagined, and any relief I’d felt drained away.

Nerves are sometimes a good thing, but I’ve also experienced anxiety when paddling that hasn’t helped me and has held me back or, worse, impacted how well I’ve paddled on challenging rapids. I hadn’t paddled this section before; I didn’t know what it was like, but Bartosz had, and he was confident my skills were up to it. I decided my nerves were just that, nerves. There was no reason I shouldn’t be OK with this, so off we went.

Nerves floated away
As soon as I got on the water, the nerves floated away. I was confident, paddling strong and making good lines. It felt great. The rapids were massive, long, and continuous. Each flowed into the next, leaving little breathing room in between, but I loved it. I had been following Bartosz’s lines, but I was starting to lag behind by the time we got to the last rapid.

As the river picked up again in gradient and speed, I caught a glimpse of Bartosz, who was now way downstream. I managed to spot his line around the crux just in time for me to make it across in front of a huge hole and to safety. With everyone through the canyon, we were on a high – the perfect end to the trip. Maybe it’s time for just one last Bridge to Bridge lap?

Ahh, go on then!