It’s not easy to get to the Futaleufú. And that’s a good thing. One of the world’s premier whitewater rivers, the beleaguered* Futaleufú is located in Chile’s remote Patagonia wilderness. Even if all of your travel plans fall together perfectly, it takes nearly two days of arduous travel to make it to the river from, say, New York.
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But that’s part of the Fú’s beauty. When you look out on the rushing rivers and untouched wilderness of the Andes, it feels like the last Wild West of the outdoor universe. Horseback is still the main mode of transportation and electricity was not introduced to the area until the late 1980s. Telephones have only been around for six years.
The Futaleufú drains a sizable region of the Chilean/Argentinean Andes and the southwest side of the Michinmahuida Glacier. The region’s abundant rainfall combined with glacial melt means the river is ripe with big-water rapids most of the year. To handle the monster rapids of the Futaleufú, outfitters run combination oar-rig/paddle rafts with four to six paddlers providing power and a guide in the back with oars.
Once you hit the water, you’ll be treated to a seven-hour trip through the class IV and V rapids of Inferno Canyon. Water rushes through the canyon at 7,000 to 25,000 cubic feet per second. Translation: big water. At the end of the day, you’ll arrive at the riverside camp complete with hot-water showers, sauna and solar-generated electricity. You’ll have earned the luxuries.
Your outfitted trip will generally avoid danger zones such as rapids named Zeta and the Throne Room. Both are class V+ rapids that are easily avoided by groups which hike past them on foot, but professional level kayakers will ride through. "The best of the best are the only ones who should be running these rapids," explained Marc Goddard of Bio Bio Expeditions Worldwide.
Other rapids on the trip include Terminator, a class V hole amidst a complicated boulder garden, and the wave trains of Khyber Pass and Himalayas, both guaranteed to stand rafts up vertically. Your raft will bolt downriver as you crest waves bigger than your bedroom. Reaching the top of the Haystack (a permanent wave caused by obstacles on the river bottom), the boat abruptly stands at attention. The guy from Missouri sitting in front tumbles into your lap, and you into the lap of the paddler behind. And sometimes all the momentum the crew can muster isn’t enough to get the raft over the wave. Next thing you know, you’re having a "yard sale" (gear all over the place) and swimming for safety.
Make it past Casa de Piedra and you’re home free. The river dumps into a lake with only a short mellow paddle between you and the take-out. Be sure to buy a few empañadas from the cantinas at the end.
The easiest way to explore the Futaleufú is on a seven- to ten-day rafting expedition run by a US-based outfitter. Outfitter itineraries and accommodations vary, so do some research to see which appeals to you.
EXPEDICIONES CHILE, CHILE
Founded by prominent US river runner and former Olympic paddler Chris Spelius, Expediciones Chile boasts a 3–1 guide ratio. He was so was awed by its beauty, challenge and playfulness he decided he would live here in Patagonia, Chile. Thus this company was born. Expediciones Chile was one of the first to run whitewater kayak and multisport adventure trips in the Futaleufu Valley. In 1986 Chris pioneered kayaking on the Futaleufu River and then co-led the first two successful raft descents in 1991. Expediciones Chile has been running safe trips ever since. Expediciones Chile provides Chile rafting vacations, Patagonia sea kayaking expeditions, whitewater kayaking weeks, Chile trekking trips, Patagonia horseback riding holidays, Chile fly fishing adventures, mountain biking tours, canyoning trips, yoga travel retreats, kayak school and wilderness medicine courses and unique places to stay - our town based Patagonia Lodge, Patagonia Eco Camp at tres Monjas and the CondorNest ranch are only a few or our destinations you will visit.
Expediciones Chile
P.O. Box 752, Sun Valley, Idaho 83353 USA
Gabriela Mistral 296, Futaleufú, Patagonia CHILE
Website: http://www.exchile.com/
EARTH RIVER, USA
Earth River maintains three remote camps totaling 1,500 acres along the Fú, making the trip a continuous wilderness journey down the river. Earth River’s Eric Hertz has been guiding for over 20 years, pioneered commercial rafting on the Fú and founded the Earth River Fund in 1991 to promote river conservation. Earth River's trademark trip is Patagonia, Chile's Futaleufu River having run the first complete raft descent of the Futaleufu in 1990 and pioneered commercial rafting and multi-sport trips there. This Patagonia adventure is as much a mult-sport trip as it is a rafting expedition. Earth River's five Futaleufu camps totaling over 4,000 wild acres and 7 miles of private riverfront include; riverside stone hot tubs, cliff dwellings, tree houses, lakes and granite climbing towers.
Earth River Expeditions
180 Towpath Rd, Accord, NY 12404
Phone: 1-800-643-2784 or 845-626-2665
Fax: 845-626-4423
Website: http://www.earthriver.com/
BIO BIO EXPEDITIONS WORLDWIDE, USA
Bio Bio offers Fu trips originating in Cile and Argentina. Bio Bio Expeditions offers all inclusive adventure vacations featuring the best in white water rafting, hiking, kayaking and horseback riding in in Futaleufu, Chile, in Costa Rica, Peru, or the Galapagos Islands or any of our other global destinations. Since 1993, we have been a leader in delivering top quality travel experiences to guests from age 8 to 80 who share our love of the outdoors. Awarded by National Geographic Adventure Magazine - "One of the best outfitters on Earth" October 2007 and February 2009, 2008 Tours of a Lifetime - Patagonia/Futaleufu, "Adventures of Your Life" - 2007 Rafting in Peru. Also got many awarded such as Forbes.com, Cnn.com . Each year, from December to March, they invite you to go rafting in Chile and discover the heart and soul of Patagonia.
BIO BIO EXPEDITIONS
P.O. Box 2028, Truckee. CA 96160 USA
Phone: USA Toll Free: 1-800-2GORAFT or 1- 800-246-7238, USA Direct Line: 1-530-582-6865, USA Fax: (530) 550-9670
In CHILE: + 56 2 1964 258, Chile Fax: 011.562.334.3012
Web: http://www.bbxrafting.com/