Entry to Nepal

So, after our crews started to disperse from Ladakh, I was wondering what to do or where to go to make the most of my paddling adventure in the great Himalaya.  I knew that it would be next to impossible to find a crew in India, anywhere, so I decided to find a flight to Nepal and see what I could get into in the great paddling mecca.  Monica Gokey, who I'd been travling with was getting me super stoked on it so after looking at some tickets, I bought the international round trip for about $160.  The decision was a little off the cuff but I was excited to explore somewhere new, somewhere with the biggest mountains in the world, somewhere that paddlers have been traveling for a long time and say it may be the best.  There were still a few catches, I didn't have a crew and August is still monsoon season.

I arrived in legendary Kathmandu after quick flight from Delhi, happy I’d decided to shell out the few extra dollars to avoid a 2 day bus journey each way and made myself to the Holy Lodge in Tamel, the tourist district in the country’s capital.  As soon as I arrived I emailed GRG and Paddle Nepal, the two most popular whitewater companies in the country that specifically cater to kayaking. Within an hour I received a response from GRG that there was a trip of kayakers heading out the next morning to the Bhote Kosi and I was welcome to join as long as I covered my costs. Stoked! Within a few hours of arriving I had a plan.  I ventured out into the city to eat and try to do some laundry and was accosted by the locals to buy CDs, tea, counterfeit gear, art, hashish, food, take a riskshaw ride, get in their taxi, hashish, or anything else you could imagine.  Kathmandu is a necessary evil of Nepal, you have to come here to travel to Nepal but in my opinion, you leave as soon as possible.  The city is an urban planning mess, the pollution is terrible and they prey on tourists like its their job, because well frankly it is their job.  I was offered anything under the sun about every five steps along the road and quickly trips outside of the Holy Lodge, which is well known as a kayaker meeting point in KTM, were determined and infrequent.  I rested up and packed my gear and got ready for the journey. 

I met my crew early the next morning and soon we were on an overcrowded but very cheap public bus to the Bhote Kosi.  The legendary Bhote Kosi on my first day in Nepal!  Well, the water was still really high so we ended up paddling a section that during November at about 20% of our flow rated class III+, it was super fun.  Huge waves, holes everywhere, beautiful scenery, warm water and a few exciting rapids.  

  

Self portrait at the putin for my first paddling in Nepal.  The smile is genuine.

Not a very good pic but as we neared the end of the run the rain came, with fury. 

Playing volleyball in the pool at Sukute Beach. 

We took out at a riverside resort called Sukute Beach, which is an awesome spot that is visited mostly by Nepalis.  We took off our wet layers and saddled up to the bar to celebrate a fun day on the water. Also, today being the 27^th of August meant that it was my last day of my 20s – we should have a little party.  The Nepali’s were all on vacation and excited to party with us, drink Gorkha beer named after their famous warriors, play games and dance to trashy old American pop songs.  It was a great night and fun place to spend a big night.  

As we sat there and drank and tried to communicate with the Nepalis the rain continued to rage, the riverside resort was a lake and a river and soon the Bhote Kosi had easily doubled in flow if not tripled.  I’d guess that within three hours of getting off the river the flow came up from 8-10k cfs to somewhere around 25-30k.

The morning brought with it a fairly intense but well deserved headache – definitely worse than the hangovers 29 year olds get but also bluebird skies and flows that didnt look overly scary. We ate a quick breakfast and loaded into a jeep to head up what is revered as one of the most beautiful valleys in Nepal, the Balephi Kola.  The Balephi is a tributary of the Bhote Kosi, the confluence not far from Sukute so we could paddle right back to camp. 

The rains had produced some good landslides and getting to the river was a bit of an adventure but soon enough we were at the putin and the flow looked good.  I didn’t know anything about the run but it looked like boulder garden class IV at a respectable but not too high flow.  What else could I ask for on my Bday!

Birthday booya beers after the Bhote Kosi and Balephi Kola - yes I brought it all the way from CO.

The crew, Sedhu, me, Subash and Spalding at the putin

Balephi Kola

Scouting one of the harder ones.  Cant see much from here but the rocks are too slippery to walk on!

Stoked somewhere on the lower part of the run.

The Balephi was a super fun run. The run that I found out is normally class III was again solid class IV with a few rapids that were definitely a little tougher.  Spalding, the other guy who we were paddling with, was a little jetlagged, tired and hungover and at the very end of the Balephi, about 100 yards above the confluence with the Bhote he got a little worked in a hole and swam.  We got him and his boat out quick –he and Sudhu took a jeep back to Sukute while Subash and I paddled.  We must have been overly stoked on the run or something because it took us about an hour to confirm that we had passed our takeout. We found the next town, waited for a ride and drank a cold one in the shade.  The bus ride was joyous; we rode on top with our boats as the bus chugged slowly up the hill and drank beers.  What a wonderful birthday!

Hanging out with some locals at the takeout

boats on bus

more birthday beers

the end of the Rainbows...

We made our way back to Sukute, gathered our stuff and talked about future plans.  Conveniently Subash didn’t have any work until September 15^th and we both wanted to paddle so we made plans on the bus ride back to Kathmandu to meet up the next morning and continue the adventure, at the time I had no idea how lucky I was to paddle with this kid.