The Yangtze River is the largest and longest river in Eurasia and the main river of China. It flows through one of the longest canyons in the world but already has 8 megadams on it, 3 currently under construction and 8 more planned. On this journey we will do a descent of part of the Upper Jinsha Jiang canyon starting by Batang and continuing down to Tiger Leaping Gorge. This will be one of the last full descents of this section before the Suwalong Dam is completed. Join us on this final descent of one of the most iconic rivers of the world. You might also consider joining the last descent of the Lower Canyon as well.

GENERAL TRIP INFORMATION:

The Yangtze is one of the most important rivers in the world flowing through the heart of China.  Although there are ~3000 km of whitewater canyon on the river, only ~1800 km remain free-flowing. On this expedition we will descend ~600 km of the remaining upper whitewater canyons of the Yangtze (Tongtian-Jinsha Jiang).  

Qumarleb+Yushu Canyons (16 days): On this 14-day 620 km Upper Canyon descent (from 4070m elevation to 3030m elevation) we will be starting by Qumarleb (Sichuan) and ending near Dege.  It is possible to enter/exit at the Yushu intermediary point where we will likely do food resupply.  Most of the river is class III but there is one IV on the Qumarleb section and several on the Yushu section. In May-June, the weather is fairly warm and days long with the river generally medium to high flow and rising.

Batang+Benzilan Canyons (12 days): On this 12-day 380 km Upper Canyon descent (from 2530m elevation to ~1800m elevation) we will be starting by Batang (Sichuan) and ending near Shigu (near Lijiang, Yunnan) just before Tiger Leaping Gorge.  It is possible to enter/exit at an intermediary point.  Most of the river is class III but there are numerous IVs and some Vs in the Batang sections. In May-June, the weather is fairly warm and days long with the river generally medium flow and rising.

We will be bypassing two sections with numerous class Vs and dams under construction (Yeba Dam and Suwalong Dam) that will flood ~60 km and ~75 km of the river in the upper Dege and Batang sections starting ~2022. In 2018, we rafted a good chunk of the Upper Canyon (lower BATANG and BENZILAN sections) and in May-June 2019, we rafted the Upper Canyon section from Yushu down to Batang and then the Benzilan section again. This time, we will raft the Qumarleb+Yushu sections (and possibly Batang + Benzilan sections.  Below are more details that can give you a better idea of the expedition. We are looking for good team members!

Note: The map below shows the sections of the Yangtze that we'll be rafting/kayaking down. All other whitewater canyon sections have been drowned by hydroelectic dams (see Yangtze Map and Sections for more).

YANGTZE SECTIONS:
The Yangtze can be divided into several sections based on access points (see Yangtze Map and Sections for more):

====================================================================================

SECTIONS OF THE YANGTZE:

(3) LOWER TONGTIAN: QUMARLEB SECTION (347km; class II-III; 4070m-to-3530m; 1.6m/km; Qumarleb bridge to Yushu bridge): This section of the upper Yangtze is in mountainous terrain and canyon. Although the gradient increases about 50 km into the run to ~2 m/km (~10 ft/mile), and the lower half has about the same as that of the Colorado in Grand Canyon, the river still lacks significant rapids, with it being a mostly class II section with a handful of class IIIs in the middle to lower part (in particular, the TopOfTheWorld Gorge and rapids - class III). Earth River and Last Descents have run this section commercially. The river is entirely within Qinghai here.

** (4) UPPER CANYON: YUSHU SECTION (278km; class III-IV; 3530m-3030m; 1.8m/km; Yushu bridge to Dege bridge): The river is in ever-deepening canyon and the gradient remains approximately 2 m/km (~10 ft/mile) with the volume increasing.  About 39 km downstream of the Zhimenda Bridge, the river narrows in the Tongtian Gorge and rapids start appearing with a number of class IIIs and one tougher rapid that is generally rated class IV. It is generally accepted that this is where solo inexperienced Yangtze rafter Yao Maoshu died in 1985 [48_YaoMaoshu(IV)].  There are numerous other class III rapids on this section of river, and probably one more IV in the lower half [160_RockRapid(III-IV)].  However, even at medium water levels, the Warren expedition made it through this whole section without mishap and with normal rafting technique in 4 days. In this section, the elevation starts drops to ~3000m and the weather starts getting noticeably warmer.  The terrain is mostly hills and mountains with grasslands and frequent Tibetan villages.  Although the section starts entirely within Qinghai, 20 km into this section the river-left side (RL) becomes Sichuan, and 90 km into the section the river-right side (RR) becomes Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).  This region of TAR (Qamdo region) has been off-limits to tourists for many years now.  There are roads by the river or nearby for most of this section, with good access to the midway large town of Luoxuzhen. The section ends at the "Dege Bridge", with the biggest town in the area accessible 25 km up a paved road on the Sichuan side.  Access here can be used to start/end trips, and also to go into Dege for hotel/communication stop and to buy food resupplies. 

** (5) UPPER CANYON: DEGE SECTION [285km; class IV(V); 3030m-2530m; 1.8m/km; Dege bridge to Batang bridge (but 3.8m/km from km160-200)]: The river continues in a beautiful canyon section with road along the Sichuan side for ~75 km. At km 63 km the main road ascends a big tributary to the town of Baiyu (and this road can be continued on to arrive back to the river at km 174). At km 91, near the end of a large “Z” bend in the river lasting ~20 km, the first major rapid is encountered, referred to as 91_ThreeBoatRapid(V) (also known as Kagang Shoal). This is where the Warren party lashed together three of their huge rafts to pass a dangerous narrow constricted rapid (class V). The village of Kagangcun is up above on RL.  It was in this rapid that an initial prototype Chinese pod made it through fine with 4 team members inside (their main rafts were portaged/lined with one being lost during lining).  There is one more big rapid 7 km after ThreeBoat [98_Xuebazhong(IV)] and additional class III rapids in the next ~40 km before arriving at km 132 to the big “Red River" tributary on RR. A short way downstream, a 60 km-section of steeper gradient (3.4m/km) begins with many tougher rapids. I put tentative names down for some of these rapids based on the book descriptions and what is visible in satellite imagery. The first of these is 139_Gnarlers (IV) [a series of ~12 rapids of III-IV difficulty spanning ~9 km] which the Warren party passed late in the day before stopping and camping just upstream of a more massive rapid: 149_FourBoat(IV-V). The following day at FourBoatRapid, the Warren group lashed together four of their rafts into a “diamond rig", launching in the afternoon and making it through without mishap. The Warren team made it through several other major rapids including 154_KilometerLong (IV-V) and 157_NoStopping1(IV-V), before they were able to stop and camp. The following day they initially faced another major rapid that they scouted, the 165_BuddhaHole(IV-V), which they filmed and passed successfully on RR (see VideoWarren_BuddhaHole). [This may be the “YelaShoal” or “YebaShoal” where the Chinese teams sent in the rubber ball with 3 teammates who drowned after the ball was stuck in the hole for “a half-hour”. “Yeba” village is up high on RL above km172.].  Unfortunately, after starting again past BuddhaHole, the Warren group was not able to stop the diamond-rig and went around a left bend through a few rapids at 166_Shatuo(IV), and then another major rapid that Paul Sharpe was warning them to stop and scout on RL: 170_Luojia(IV-V). In Luojia, they ended up hitting a partially exposed rock on RL that tore a big gash in the floor, and later pancaked the rig farther down (i.e. one of the four rafts ended up folded under the others), leading to injury and damage. After floating several more kilometers without being able to stop, and going through several additional big rapids including 176_LeftBoulderBounce(IV-V) and 177_Ken'sLeftTurn(IV-V), they finally got the rig to the RR side where they camped. The group was alarmed and dismayed at so many major rapids as well as running them out-of-control without scouting. Most of the group ended up spending five nights at this camp (Tibet side), doing repairs and discussing options. Ken wanted to wait for a helicopter rescue, but on the second day (31Aug1986), Paul Sharpe instead decided to hike out on RL (Sichuan side) in order to get repair material and more food for the group. Ancil, Ron and Chu did a full-day hike downstream to scout the next series of rapids and thought them passable (easier than what they had already gone through).  A day or two later, Ken Warren and Dan Dominy started hiking out on RR. After a night out, Warren continued his hike out on the Tibet side while Dominy returned to the group. After 5 days (3Sep1986), the remaining group was convinced from the scouts that the following rapids were easier, and they decided to make more progress downriver the following day. On 4Sep1986 they sent one unrepariable raft downstream unmanned, and continued rowing the other three singly downstream, facing numerous additional class IV rapids in the following ~20 km [including 178_FiveDay(IV) and ValveRock (IV-V)] before they stopped for a final camp just before another big rapid [~197_FullAbortion (IV)]. There, they found a well-worn trail heading downstream and after two full days of rest, they decided to hike out on RL, making  to the village of Baba, 8 km up a tributary that enters the river at km 216 (total hike of ~28 km after 2 days). Had the group continued on the river, they would have almost certainly made it to Batang, as there were only a few more class III-IV rapids after the FullAbortion rapid, ending at km 209_Suoxue(III-IV) after which the gradient of the river decreases dramatically and there are only what look like a few class IIIs in the next 60 km. However, only 16 km upstream of the Batang Bridge, perhaps the most difficult rapid on the whole section is found: 270_Quyin(V+).  To get around the V+, it is possible to portage/line at river level (RR side) or use a road on RR or RL sides (but the RL road access point is 2 km upstream of the rapid). The river has one more big long rapid 281_Temi(III-IV) before arriving to the Batang bridge. The vegetation alternates from brush to sparse arid grassy slopes to pine forest. In this entire “Dege” section, the river-left side (RL) is Sichuan and the RR side is Tibet. A road extends along the RL side for 83 km into the “Z Bend” but then the section remains mostly roadless (or with what seems to be a very minor road on the Tibet side) to near the Batang bridge.  It is possible to take the initial RL road up a tributary at km63 to the town of Baiyu, and continue to a point where it returns to the river at FiveDayRapid. This road allows almost all the major class V rapids to be skipped.  

** (6) UPPER CANYON: BATANG SECTION (226km; 2530m-2020m; 2.3m/km; class IV(V); Batang bridge to Benzilan): The river cotinues in beautiful canyon and with considerable rapids. The Warren expedition never made it into this section and nobody has paddled this section since 1986, so the only accounts are from the Chinese expeditions in 1986.  The first ~75 km of this section is relatively easy with only two III-IV rapids located at km 26-28 [Longguo(III-IV) and Jili(III-IV)] and a few IIIs clustered around the village of Suwalong (km 65). There is a major dam under construction close to Suwalong [see Suwalong Dam: also read SuwalongOverview; and see YouTube_Suwalong - shows Suwalong site as well as 13 other planned dam sites in the DEGE and BATANG sections; Suwalong Dam will be 112m high and flood 75km of river; project will cost $2.8 billion USD; construction started 2016; river to be diverted by 2018; expected completion 2021] but there is a paved road on the Sichuan side that can be used to portage around the construction site.  About 10 km downstream of Suwalong village a major section of rapids starts: 75_WangdalongShoals(IVs), where a series of difficult rapids are encountered over 12 km. Near the end of these rapids, the RR side transitions from Tibet to Yunnan and a beautiful easier roadless section starts and continues for ~50 km. Around km 143, with a road by the river on the RR (Yunnan) side, another series of formidable rapids starts [144_ModingShoals(V)] and continues for 14 km. This is where three more Chinese rafters flipped and swam later in 1986, drowning in one of the big rapids just downstream [149_Memorial Rapid IV-V].  Around km 157 the huge rapids end and the river becomes easier class II and III to the point where we started our trip in 2018 (which was 30 km upstream of Benzilan). There are two more big rapids in this final section: 204_MarbleRock(IV) and 217_Jiaxue(III-IV)]. There is a road along the river from upstream of Moding Shoal all the way to Benzilan, but it is still possible to find nice camp spots since the road is high or a bit removed from the river in places.  The river is almost entirely in an arid desert canyon and gorge in this section.  Although the Batang section starts with TAR  on RR and Sichuan on RL, in the final 135 km, the RL side is Sichuan and the RR side is Yunnan. This section has not been descended by raft or kayak since 1986, and some sections may have been skipped in that year due to the drownings at Moding Shoal. Travis and Jiyue state there was a major landslide in the upper part of this section that may need to be portaged (along with the dam site).  

** (7) UPPER CANYON: BENZILAN SECTION (246km; 2020m-1830m; 0.8m/km; class II-III; Benzilan to TigerLeapingGorge): The river continues in beautiful canyon but rapids ease off a lot downstream of Benzilanzhen, though there are still frequent IIs and an occasional III in the first half.   We floated most of this section in 2018. About 15km downstream the RL side changes from Sichuan to Yunnan, so the river from that point down is entirely within Yunnan.  More vegetation appears on the sides of the mountains in this section and there is more farming and people. A little before the First Bend of the Yangtze near Shigu (~km 200), the gradient gets very low (flat) and the riverbed wide. The river moves more slowly in this final section down to the start of TIger Leaping Gorge at Hutiaozhen.  LIjiang is very close to the river here and the weather is quite warm in May-June. 


====================================================================================

BRIEF HISTORY OF DESCENTS ON THE YANGTZE (online summary: YangtzeFirstDescents):
The Yangtze saw its first serious attempts at rafting starting July 1986 when the Ken Warren expedition covered a large segment of the upper river in an intended first descent. Two competing Chinese groups (woefully unprepared) also attempted the same descent, starting 3-5 weeks before the Warren group. On the cold, high, relatively flat Tibetan plateau section, the Warren team's photographer (Dave Shippee) died from pneumonia and pulmonary edema (probably partly due to the high elevation), which amplified tension among many in his group, leading some to complain about Warren’t leadership. This, combined with the news that many in the Chinese teams were drowning and had aborted their attempt to raft the river in the Dege section, prompted four of Warren’s group to leave the expedition at Yushu. This was after ~1100 km of river had been traversed and ~4 weeks into the expedition.  Warren continued with the rest of his group in the descent, successfully navigating the 278 km section from Yushu to Dege, where a few big rapids were encountered. However, about halfway through the 285 km section from Dege to Batang, they encountered severe rapids and were not able to adequately control and stop their giant “diamond-rig” of 4-rafts lashed together, so accidentally ran some rapids that should have been scouted, resulting in injuries and major damage. The problems and the fear of many more severe rapids downstream eventually prompted all in the group to hike out. The Chinese had passed into this section as well, and with flips and swimmers had some of their team members drown, which similarly prompted them to also abort.  The Warren expedition ended entirely, but the Chinese teams continued to attempt to navigate the rest of the river, skipping down to Tiger Leaping Gorge for the publicity that would materialize from it. They actually were successful floating through in “unflippable” balls that could hold up to 4 team members inside. These “pods” couldn’t be controlled, but each of the two Chinese teams were successful using them to pass some team members through the major rapids in Tiger Leaping Gorge (with the most ferocious rapids of the entire river), as well as the Great Bend (with some big powerful rapids), and the Lower Canyon (including the formidable Laojun and Baihe Shoal rapids). Although initially the Chinese teams skipped much of the Upper Canyon, at least one of the teams came back months later to attempt floating it at lower water levels (with many more drownings in the Moding Shoal rapids of the Batang section). Sobek organized a rafting trip in 1987 through the Great Bend, and found it comparable in quality to a Grand Canyon journey. They subsequently organized many more expeditions in the coming two decades on this section of the river. Several other outfitters also started running trips on the Great Bend, the Yushu section, and the Qumarleb section just upstream, including Steve Currey Expeditions, Earth River Expeditions, and Last Descents.  By 2011, the Great Bend was closed to rafting when several dams were nearing completion. Since 2013, the entire Great Bend section has been flooded by three dams. After that, Earth River and Last Descents ran some trips on the Upper Canyon on the section upstream of Yushu and down to Dege (but never past Dege), yet no outfitter has offered these expeditions as of 2014. 


Books:
 If you’re going to join one of these expeditions, we highly recommend getting and reading some of the accounts of the Yangtze:

Riding the Dragon’s Back (Richard Bangs) : The most popular book describing the first descents of the Yangtze in 1986-1987, written by founder of SOBEK who also did the first raft descent of the Great Bend section in 1987 (book is from Bang's perspective and includes a comprehensive description of the SOBEK trip). The book is accurate but presents a one-sided view of the Warren Expedition mainly from interviews of those who deserted and were unhappy with Warren.
When Dreams and Fear Collide (Jan Warren) : Account by the wife of expedition leader Ken Warren (who died a few years after the 1986 descent, particularly addressing the publicized criticism of Warren’s leadership and the desertion of the group by several members. 

Videos:
HistoryFirstDescents_Yangtze - by Peter Winn, this video describes the history of descents of the Yangtze
VideoWarren_BuddhaHole- short video of Warren’s group including 4-boat rig going through Buddha Hole rapid (DEGE section)
VideoWarrenExpedition - short clips of news reports and some events on the Warren expedition 1986
I’m working on a more comprehensive edited video of the trips in 2018, but for now, you can see some clips posted on Facebook: please share!
UpperYangtze_Scenic
UpperYangtze_Rapid(III)

LowerYangtze_Whirlpool
LowerYangtze_Marty’sRapid(III)
LowerYangtze_CanyonWhirlpool
LowerYangtze_BaihetanSection

Personality/Experience/Leadership:
Participants should have some prior rafting experience as a passenger and everyone on the trip should be comfortable camping with an easygoing attitude in order to get along with a diverse group on a multi-day trip for an extended period. All participants should be in good physical condition. We welcome competent boaters, but if you want to paddle or row, you need to be an experienced class IV kayaker or oarsman with adequate experience. If you are in charge of your own kayak or raft, you are responsible for what happens to you on the water and for the equipment you use. Every participant must sign a liability waiver acknowledging the risks on the expedition and assuming responsibility.

Everyone joining these trips should have an interest in river conservation and help us on our mission to document the river further, talk to residents, and publicize the planned dams. You should plan to help facilitate the trip in any way possible, including inviting others to join the expedition and transport of some gear into the country and to the river if necessary.


RENDEZVOUS POINTS/TRANSPORTATION

LIJIANG: We will be basing the Lower Canyon trip out of Lijiang and spending several extra days there before the trip to see some of the sights (I’ll be scouting out Tiger Leaping Gorge).  Lijiang is a very popular tourist destination in China and has many amenities for budget and luxury-minded tourists, as well as adventurous travelers.  The city sits at ~2400 m elevation and has generally pleasant cool weather throughout the spring and summer (avg. hi/lo 24/14oC or 73/55oF for May-Oct).  Monsoon rains start in May and last through October.  The main attractions of the city itself are the Old Town, the Black Dragon Pools, Zhongyi market and Baimalong Pool, the Mu Mansion and various Naxi-related culture offerings such as the food, music, dance and architecture (the Naxi were the people who inhabited this area and founded the city - they were of Tibeten origin).  As important as the city itself are the natural and cultural sites nearby, including the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain [Yulong Xue Shan - at 5596 m (18,500 ft), where there is a gondola going up to near the top), the Tiger Leaping Gorge of the Yangtze (tourists usually take a 1-hr bus there and hike often 1-2 days sometimes staying in a hostel enroute - see Video_HikeTigerLeapingGorge), the Baoshan Stone City (100 km northeast) and various Buddhist temples such as Yufeng Temple (the most visited and in a beautiful pine-forest setting; only ~15 km north of the city). If you’re out there, you should consider staying seeing some of these sites, and in particular the Tiger Leaping Gorge.  Cycling is a great way to tour around the city and some nearby areas.  .

CHENGDU/YUSHU: We will be basing the Upper Canyon trip out of Chengdu. You might want to arrive early and do some sightseeing in the area.  Chengdu is known to have the largest collection of giant pandas in captivity and the most wild pandas in nearby sanctuaries.  It is the largest city in Sichuan and known for its spicy Szehuan food.  It is also the home to Zhang Jiyue (who was on the original Warren expedition and will be helping with our expedition logistics) and many other “survivors” of the Sichuan Chinese team that descended much of the river in 1986.  Additional information will be provided in an update. 

HOTEL::  Our main hotel in Lijiang will be the KTL Guesthouse (No.18 West Jibaowu, Xiabahe, Lijiang Ancient Town, 024050 Lijiang, China).  It has most amenities (including wifi, hot water, and helping arrange visits to other sites), gets great reviews, is located at the entrance to the Old Town, and costs only ~$15-25/room per night.  I have the equipment stored here too. While rooms may not be available through the normal booking engines (Booking.com, Agoda.com, etc), they are availalble through me by direct contact with the owner Hang Deng.  I will reserve some rooms for those who are joining the trip. Otherwise you can book a room at a nearby hotel such as JiangyiGuesthouse (~$20/night), LIijiangYueTuInn (~$50USD/night), or LijiangXixiShuibaInn ($25/night).  The hotel we are planning to stay at in Chengdu is tentatively the Chengdu Panda Hotel (~$35-40/night; N.209, W Hanggang Ave 1st Section, Shuangliu District, Chengdu, 610000; +86 139 0817 2105), which is near the airport and gets great reviews

COMMUNICATION The national language in China is Mandarin - everyone speaks it and few people speak English. It is a good idea to have a translator app on your phone so you can whip out some written Chinese characters to communicate when you’re not with someone bilingual.  Most hotels have wifi which is perhaps the best way to stay in touch with people back home (and otherwise) while in China. You might consider getting a SIM card for your cell phone (the phone needs to be unlocked) if you’d like to access data and calls while on the river trip with the cell network there (there will be signal at many locations).  For electrical charging apparatus, the plugs in China are generally British two-prong round type or three-prong flat (see OutletTypesChina).  Most outlets in China are 220V (as opposed to 110V in the USA) so a converter is highly recommended to prevent damange to electrical appliances (though some such as Apple product transformers can handle 110-240V).  With regard to Internet, note that the PRC (People’s Republic of China) bans the use of Facebook and Google in the entire country due to (1) these websites allowing freedom of political expression (i.e. criticism of the government and their decisions) and (2) the companies not giving the Chinese government the right to monitor and control content.  [There are alternative popular Chinese websites such as Baidu that are controlled by the PRC].  So if you’re using normal internet connections, you won’t be able to open these pages. You can still access most internet sites and your email.  If you’d like to use Facebook or Google in China, you can usually get around the firewall by using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) which masks where you are accessing data from. [I use ExpressVPN but there is a fee for ther sevice (~$10/month).]  On the expedition we’ll have a Garmin InReach and a satellite phone that we can use when there is no cell phone signal available..

TENTATIVE ITINERARY:  

ITINERARY UPPER CANYON YANGTZE:
May11   Liijang: Fly to Yushu ; rest and acclimate; ; Hotel Yushu
May12  Monastery visit; Meet truck; rig rafts; Hotel or camp at Zhimenda Bridge; Camp1 (or Hotel Yushu)
May13 YUSHU; Launch; class II-III; km0-47; Camp2 (or Hotel Yushu)
May14  YUSHU: YaoMaoshu(IV); Tongja Gorge(III-IV); raft ~50km; km47-86; Camp3  
May15   YUSHU; raft ~50km; visit Luoxuzhen; class III; km87-151; Camp4  
May16   YUSHU: Kasongdu Gorge (III-IV);  km151-195; Camp5  
May17   YUSHU: Kasongdu Gorge (III-IV); km195-256; Camp6
May18   YUSHU: arrive to Dege layover camp; some go up to Dege; class II; km256-286; Camp7 or DEGE HOTEL 
May19   YUSHU: LAYOVER; DEGE HOTEL   
May20   DEGE:  to Baiyu or road’s end; km286-359;  class II; Camp9  
May21 DEGE: ThreeBoatRapid(V) ; start Jinsha Lake flatwater; km341-386; Camp10   
May22   DEGE: finish lake paddle; 5 km LANDSLIDE RAPID (IV); class IV; camp near Gonjo confluence; km386-426;  Camp11
May23   DEGE: RedRiver; Gnarlers(IV); to SandyGnarlerCamp; class IV; km396-426;  Camp12  
May24   DEGE: FourBoatRapid(IV), Torrent(IV); BuddhaHole(IV); MuruxueCamp166; class IV-V; km426-444;  Camp13   
May25   DEGE: Luojia(IV-V); to YebaDam; portage Dam; km444-465;  HOTEL: Camp14   
May26   DEGE: YebaShoal section: Ken'sLeftTurn(IV-V); OutOfControl(IV-V); FiveDay(IV);  Camp15   
May27   DEGE: ValveRock(IV); LanyinCamp(km187); class IV-V; km465-476;  Camp16   
May28   DEGE AbortTrip(IV); Gegou(III-IV); Xiongguo(III-IV); Suoxue(III-IV); class IV: km486-526;  Camp17   
May29   DEGE: Easy section (II-III) Gangsu(III); Dongrong(III); class II-III; km526-550;  Camp18  
May30   DEGE: Finish Easy section; to Lawacun camp;  Camp19L   
May31   DEGE:: Lawacun(V); Temi(IV); Batang camp; km550-573; into town;  Camp20 or BATANG HOTEL
Jun1 BATANG: LAYOVER; resupply shopping; meet other participants; Camp21 or BATANG HOTEL
Jun2 BATANG: Back to river; raft down to Gangda beach; class III; km573-619; Camp22 
Jun3 BATANG: Portage Sulawong Dam (truck); Start into Wangdalong rapids; class IV; km619-641; Camp23 
Jun4 BATANG: Wangdalong Shoals (IV); to remote Resicun camp; km641-672;; Camp24 
Jun5 BATANG: LAYOVER; maybe hike to Resicun village up side canyon; Camp25 
Jun6 BATANG: Start into Moding Shoals (10 km class IV-V); camp upstream of Memorial Rapid; class iV-V; km672-710; Camp26 
Jun7 BATANG: Moding Shoals (IV-V); camp by Simuda Bend; class IV-V;  km710-736; Camp27 
Jun8 BATANG: Easier section (III); pass our 2018 Put-In point (km750); to camp just upstream of Benzilan; km736-790; Camp28 
Jun9 BENZILAN: visit Benzilan; easier section; class II-III; km790-847; Camp29 
Jun10 BENZILAN: final II-IIIs; greener open valley section; raft up; lunch while floating; class II; km847-933; Camp30 
Jun11 BENZILAN: Easy cruising river; visit Shigu; Shigu Island camp; class II; km933-1000; Camp31 
Jun12 BENZILAN: Flat river with view of Yuan Snow Mtn; take-out; derig; visit Tiger Leaping Gorge; class I; km1000-1043 
Jun13  LIJIANG 

Participants can enter or exit the group at various access points listed (such as at Dege and Batang). Note that the itinerary builds in several extra days for unexpected delays. But in the event we are delayed even more than the planned schedule can accommodate and we cannot realize the full itinerary listed, we will continue to cover as much of the river as possible usually in a contiguous manner.  For the Upper Canyon, this likely would mean we do not cover the entire Benzilan section but end somewhere upstream of Tiger Leaping Gorge. There are many access points along the river. 


Expected Progress:
We will generally paddle from ~9 am to 4 pm with some stops for side excursions. At normal May-June flows the river has low or medium flows and a good current. We will be averaging 30-50 km/day. Stops for hikes, scouts, talking to officials and local people, raft flips, and water collection do cause delays, but we should still easily cover the full distance in the allotted time provided there are not major setbacks.


Maps:
If you have provided a deposit for the trip, you can access printable maps of the river with appropriate pass codes. Topo maps span the entire river with roads, rapids, features and potential beach camps marked. Otherwise, if you would like access to the maps, please inquire you can pay a donation to SierraRios specifying you're interest in China, and you'll receive immediate access to the maps (book later).


CLIMATE AND BUGS:
The trip occurs at temperate latitudes with a general monsoonal type climate with the most rain and warmest temperatures in the summer months of June to September. There is a striking difference between the Upper Canyon (cool) and Lower Canyon (hot) due to the elevation. We require drysuits on the Upper Canyon but anything goes for the Lower Canyon (though anytime if it is raining, it can be chilly).

CLIMATE: The climate averages for Yangon (10 m elevation) which is more representative of the Final Gorge climate, and Lashio (830 m elevation) which is near the Salween in northern Shan State (but considerably higher in elevation so a bit cooler).

BUGS / UV / SILT: UV rays from the sun are intense so it is recommended that you use sunblock liberally. This trip has few or no biting bugs. Aside from the main colder low-water winter season (Dec-Apr) the river runs with silt and will be muddy. We generally will collect and use clear side stream water for filtering/drinking, dishwash rinse, and handwash. In the event we do not have such clear water, we will use alum to settle out the silt from river water.


COST
This trip is being run because it is one of the most incredible in the world and more paddler visitation is needed to help raise awareness. More ecotourism income to the region and appreciation of the natural resource will help stop the river's destruction with dams. See current pricing and what's included at the following link: TRIP COST

Special discounts are sometimes offered to folks on our email list, so you are encouraged to sign up (Email List info).


RESERVATIONS/PAYMENTS
If interested in joining the trip, you'll need to send a note (reservations@sierrarios.org) and provide a deposit of $500 per trip (or $1000 for trips >15 days). See PAYMENTS for payment options and cancellation policy. Full contribution must be received >2 weeks before the trip. Trips may be cancelled 2 months before launch if there is not enough interest (4 full-paying participants will assure a trip occurs).


TRIP LEADER AND TEAM MEMBERS:

(1) Rocky Contos (scheduled trip leader), a former neuroscientist, is the founder and owner of Global Grand Canyons and researches, organizes and leads river expeditions for a living. In 2017, he led a first descent through the final gorge of the Nujiang in Yunnan (see video), and in 2018, he led a first controlled descent through the Lower Canyon of the Yangtze (see Slides_Lower), as well as through the lower Batang and Benzilan sections of the Upper Canyon of the Yangtze. Rocky has also paddled most rivers in Peru and Mexico, and has >130 first descents mostly on rivers in Mexico, but also including rivers in Central America, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina, Ethiopia, Myanmar and China. Rocky discovered the most distant source of the Amazon [see articles C&K, Outside, Nat.Geo, FoxNews, LaRepublica] and completed the first full descent of this river (Mantaro) as well as the other three main headwaters of the Amazon (see Headwaters of the Amazon expedition). Rocky is fluent in Spanish, trained in swiftwater rescue (SRT-PRO) and as a Wilderness First Resonder (WFR). Several articles have featured Rocky (American Whitewater; Kayak Session; Canoe & Kayak). For more info, see Bio_Rocky.

(2) Chinese/Tibetan guides: We will have a trilingual guide (Tibetan/Mandarin/English - on the Upper Canyon) helping our group with communication and logistics, and usually on the river with us (though sometimes may be following our group along on a road).

(3) All oarsmen will be experienced river runners with extensive experience. Non-experienced and less-experienced participants are welcome to inquire about joining as raft paddlers/passengers.

SAFETY / HEALTH / INSURANCE
A major aspect of safety on this trip is prevention of sickness and accidents. It is of utmost importance that you take all precautions necessary to avert sickness and complications while on the trip. See the CDC page on China . For example, it is a good idea to be vaccinated against Hepatitis A, Typhoid, and Tetanus [however, no vaccines are required].

You should also consult the US Dept. of State page on China to be aware of current conditions in China. This is a country with various political situations that can cause restrictions of visitors and us possibly not realizing our intended itinerary. We will alwyas do our best to provide the service (or something comparable) to that intended. However, if circumstanes out of our control result in us not being able to paddle the river in full or part, we are not responsible for refunds. Because of this uncertain situation, we require all paying particpants to have a travel insurance policy to cover unexpected changes in itinerary or cancellation of trip/permits for our groups: see travel insurance policies at WorldNomads, Squaremouth, Tavelguard, or Travelsafe.

All participants must assume responsibility for themselves and sign a liability waiver before the trip. We cannot guarantee against accidents. If you're an inexperienced boater, the trip leader and guides will advise you on saftey issues. If you are an experienced boater in control of your craft, you must accept the responsibility for what happens to you on the river. It is the experienced boater's responsibility to make appropriate decisions whether to run the rapid or not and to stay close to someone who can watch and oversee you. A certain level of freedom will be provided, but each such person must abide by trip leader requests, which may mandate not paddling certain rapids. If an accident occurs, we will do all in our power to help you, see that proper care is rendered, or evacuate you if need be.

We will have an Inmarsat satellite phone ($1.20/min for calls) and probably a Garmin InReach device. We will also have at least one cell phone operating that can be used when there is signal available (cell signal is widespread even in fairly remote areas of China).

BOATS AVAILABLE IN CHINA:
Boats available in China can be viewed at BoatsChina:

A FEW COMMENTS FROM PAST PARTICIPANTS:

"The Yangtze is incredible - even with the low gradient, it still has many rapids, and can be passed by seasoned class IV big water boaters. The big water rapids are truly an experience unlike any other river I've been on with big whirlpools that spin you around at the end. Bugs were almost non-existent, and beach camps enormous. I loved every day of the Yangtze expedition!."
Rocky Contos, class V explorer who did rafted Yangtze Lower Canyon in 2018 and part of Upper Canyon in 2018.