DIBANG AND MORE! - Arunachal Pradesh - India 2005

This is a brief report to announce the successful completion of the Dibang River and Arunachal Pradesh kayak Expedition. Our fully international team made its way up the Dibang River, mapping the canyons and tributaries as we went. After reaching the furthest most point permits will allow we made a descent of the two main headwaters, the Dri and Mato. We then ran a day of the Talon river to the confluence, from which the river then flows as the Dibang all the way to where it joins the Siang or Brahmaputra.

Himachal Pradesh / Northern India / 16th Oct Nov. 2003
Our mission had been on hold for a number of years because of the conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and the normal unstable situation in Kashmir. Then, word came from a friend in Jammu that things were relatively calm, so the job was on! Once the whole team was gathered in Manali, Himachal Pradesh, we hired a jeep, loaded five boats and headed north over the Rotang Pass towards the Chenab Valley. Our aim: to descend the 290 kms of the Chenab River, down to Kistware. (Kistware was the starting point of a raft expedition lead by Ken Warren in 1988.)

Its day 18 of our journey, day 9 on the river, for the last 4 days we have struggled to make more than 10 miles each day. The river is relentless, presenting awesome whitewater in a fantastic landscape of dense jungle and sheer canyon walls. The kayakers have run exciting lines and the raft has been a complete bitch. Don?t ever believe anyone who says there might not be much action on a river averaging 25 ft / mile, we?re all buggered!