Words: Sal Montgomery
Photos: Simon Morse,
Brian Taylor and
www.shaunhazellfilms.co.uk
On the 21st February four friends, Richard Brooks, Rob Harris, Sal Montgomery and James Ibbotson, set out to paddle a section of steep, technical whitewater repeatedly for 24 hours. Located high up on the moors, they would likely face bitterly cold weather conditions, including snow storms and strong winds, whilst taking on difficult rapids in the dark. This was guaranteed to be tough.
‘Man Vs Hell’
The ‘Man Vs Hell’ events were initially started by close friends, Rich and Rob. The intention was to push themselves further than they thought possible, seriously challenging their physical and mental capabilities and raise funds for life-changing charities. It had been nine years since the last Man Vs Hell, where the pair of them completed an impressive seventeen laps of the Upper Dart in 24 hours.
Maybe this year the record would be beaten. The team, which now included Sal Montgomery and James Ibbotson, decided to raise vital funds for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice Charity, who work to improve the lives of Children with life-threatening or life-limiting health conditions, as well as their families.
Sal’s account…
Noon on the Friday, the team put on the Upper Dart River, at Dartmeet. Water levels were good, the sun was almost shining and several other paddlers came to join us for our first lap. Stoke was high, with smiles and banter all-round. I’d be lying if I told you that I wasn’t nervous though. I was very aware of the fact that this was the start of probably the most difficult task I had ever undertaken. Not only was I attempting to paddle continuously for the longest amount of time I had ever paddled for, but also in what were likely to be very cold temperatures.
I’d been paddling the river daily for almost three weeks now and had bared snow, hail and sleet. Some mornings I’d used my paddle to break the layer of ice off my kayak seat. There were multiple occasions that felt brutally and bitterly cold, but each evening I would be able to put warm, dry clothes on and sit by a toasty fire. That would definitely not be the case this time though!
For me the most daunting part during the lead-up were the night-time laps. We would be trying to paddle rapids with limited visibility and therefore with minimal room for error.
The Upper Dart starts pretty chilled and at anything but high levels tends to be a fair bit of rock dodging to begin with. Things then start to get steeper and faster, particularly as you drop in to the ‘Mad Mile’ section. A series of ledges, rocky channels, small drops and slides take you speeding past the golden woods of Dartmoor National Park. The two most well-known rapids, Euthanasia Falls and Surprise Surprise then follow, before the river drops back down in difficulty for the long, but straight forward lead out.
As with any river, once you’re familiar with the lines life does get easier. However, there’s many rapids on this section, hence there’s many lines to learn and you can’t really turn off your concentration at any point. This was going to be especially true during the night. If anyone got into difficulty whilst it was dark, assisting them and keeping control of the situation was going to be challenging.
Between 12.00 and 17.00, we managed to get five laps in the bag. These laps were hugely helpful for practising our lines together, ready for the next 12 hours of darkness that would follow. Once the sun dropped and dusk took over, we attached a light to the front of each of our kayaks. Due to the lights only being capable to project a short way in front of you, it was tricky to plan very far in advance and reaction skills were relied upon heavily. However, even just having a small amount of light around you definitely helped and made it possible to keep an eye on where everyone was.
A particular highlight for me was leading and looking back to see the train of lights descending down the rapid behind me. I’d told Rob the night before the event that I was bricking myself about paddling in the dark and he had simply replied that I needn’t worry, it’s magical paddling at night. I can now say with confidence that he was completely correct and it’s one of the coolest sights I have experienced whilst on the water.
Despite the limited visibility, we managed to keep our lap times relatively quick and consistent, generally around 40-46 minutes. By midnight we had completed 12 laps, which the whole team were pretty happy with. A massive contributor to this was the amazing support team that dedicated their time to helping us through the challenge.The core members of the support team included Shaun ‘Shifty’ Hazel, Sarah Harris, Tom Rainey, Nick McDonald, Brian Taylor, Rowan James, Brandon Lark, Meg Edmonds, Paul Stewart and Simon Morse. After every single lap these guys greeted us at the takeout with encouragement, force-fed us hot drinks and home-baked goodies, as well as repeatedly driving our shuttle.
absolute legends
Tom, Rowan and Brandon were absolute legends and put a huge amount of time and effort in to hanging hurricane lanterns in some of the trees along the river. Placed above most of the major rapids, it was a welcome sign that you were coming up to something significant. As well as a reminder of how awesome your friends are.
As well as all these superstars, a surprising amount of other people came and got involved over the 24 hours. Many paddlers came and joined us for a couple of laps, or did our shuttle, or simply came to cheer us on. All of which was greatly appreciated and definitely helped with motivation to continue. Friend of Rob’s, Mike, started out doing a couple of laps with us and actually ended up staying with us for the entire 24 hours!
As the hours passed, we became more and more exhausted. Our bodies were being continuously exercised, whilst working hard to stay warm, with the only rest being on the 10-minute drive back to the put-in after each lap. A couple of the team members suffered from many hours of nausea and even vomiting, with James having to dip out at lap 16. Fortunately he felt well enough to join us again towards the end, after a couple of hours sleep.
As expected the night laps were the toughest, purely because of the amount of concentration required and for how long we had already been paddling. This was especially true when leading. From around 03.00, after nine hours of darkness and intense focus we all keenly anticipated the sun rising. Finally at about 06.00, dawn broke and our minds could relax a little. It felt like cheating to be able to see more than a metre in front of you!
18 runs
As the sun rose, so did moral. Despite still having another six hours until completion, we’d got through the night and the end felt so close now. We just needed to keep going a little longer. Through the morning various paddlers joined us for more laps and by 10:30 we were up to 18 runs. Myself and Rob discussed the likelihood of being able to get to 20 laps before our cut off time.
We’d put on the water at 12:10 the day before, so we decided that the lap would only count if we were finished at 12:10 again today. We weren’t sure if we could achieve it but a new wave of energy, excitement and motivation took over and suddenly we were running to the van. Once on the river, we picked up speed and worked hard to maintain it throughout the run. Nineteen laps down. Run to the van. Throw boats in the back. Morsey boy-races up to the top.
At 11:35 put-back on river. We use everything that’s left in us, which isn’t a whole lot but the end is ridiculously close now and soon it will all be over. Our bodies are sore and we don’t have the ability anymore to think of anything other than our lines, but we press on. The lead-out feels longer than ever but we manage to maintain our pace. As we come round the final corner, we can see our friends on the bridge waving and cheering. It feels amazing. No matter what the total number of laps end up being, we will feel proud. We pushed ourselves incredibly hard for the last 24 hours. Working as a team, with the help of some amazing people, to achieve a goal that initially felt near impossible.
20 laps – we did it!
We use our final reserves to sprint to the last eddy. We pull in and I check the watch on my buoyancy aid shoulder strap. 12:10. We did it – 35 minutes top to bottom, our fastest lap of the whole challenge! Friends run down, hugging and congratulating us. It’s one of the best feelings and I certainly won’t be forgetting it for a very long time.
Huge thanks
None of this would have been possible without the amazing support crew that showed up voluntarily, giving up their time, comfort and many hours of sleep. We can not thank you enough. Huge thanks to both Rich and Rob, for organising the event and also letting me be a part of it. The whole experience has taught me a lot, but in particular I have been reminded of how incredible the paddling community is.
To the heroes that continuously provided food and drink, repeatedly drove shuttle and giving hugs when needed…
To the boys that took the time and a lot of effort to place lanterns along the river to guide us through the night…
To the people that joined us for laps, seriously helping with moral and keeping us going…
To the people that sent kind messages of encouragement and congratulations…
To everyone that donated and helped us to exceed our target for our chosen Charity, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice.
We are SO thankful to each and every one of you!
The Upper Dart
High up on the moors of Dartmoor, approximately five miles of pretty continuous whitewater. Depending which guide you read, this section is anything from grade 4 to 5. Most paddlers would agree that this section is around the grade 4 mark, with things cranking up in higher flows. The run starts at Dartmeet, located between Ashburton and Poundsgate and finishes at Newbridge.
