Experience Canada’s ultimate
PADDLING SHOWCASE!
license plate number is documented as is every- We put in on river left just upstream of an aban-
one’s name. The guard has the same look of dis- doned granite mine. The derelict trucks, build-
belief that my neighbour expressed just a couple ings, pipes and fuel barrels have been rusting a
hours earlier. “Watch out for the rock trucks, park slow death since the late seventies. The trashy
to the side of the road, be sure to report back to landscape reminds us how humans have scarred
us when you leave, and have fun,” he says. this beautiful valley many times before. Walking
The checkpoint is a metaphor for the deeply di- through the forest to our put-in, the thundering
vided local struggle over the Ashlu. On one side sound of the Ashlu drowns out the distant noises
of the fence stand bitter paddlers, local residents of excavation and all of the energy expended to
Vancouver
February 14 & 15 - BC Place Stadium
and fishermen who fought to keep the valley wild get here feels well worth it.
through three years of public hearings. On the On the river, I splash my face several times be- Toronto
other side stands the Ledcor Group, with hun- fore tucking my skirt under my drytop and secur-
February 20 – 22 - International Centre
dreds of personnel and pieces of heavy equip- ing my helmet. Directly below is a technical class
Calgary
ment, and the sweeping pro-industry legislation IV rapid and immediately the group’s focus turns March 28 & 29 - Roundup Centre
that supported the construction of this private from environmental issues to running the river.
power project. The Ashlu is glacial-fed late in the season. The
Test products and watch dynamic freestyle kayaking
and canoe demos from world class athletes! • Talk to
We drive up the road, through the construction silt deposited by the glaciers gives the water a
the nation’s top manufacturers and retailers about
and past the tunnel site. Massive iridium lights milky, opaque color that blends almost seam- cutting edge boat design and paddle technology!
tower overhead, sprouting on alien steel poles lessly into the polished granite bedrock. This is
Gear up! Take advantage of pre-season deals on
where an earthy grove of giant Douglas fir trees a river runner’s dream with everything you could
boats, paddles, accessories & apparel!
For exhibitor information call 1-800-891-4859
www.OutdoorAdventureShow.ca
one of the mossy roadside cliffs is now scraped bare with a four-metre-wide
bullet hole punched into it. this is the exit end of the tunnel, where the water of
the majestic ashlu will one day pour through power-creating turbines.
once stood. One of the mossy roadside cliffs is possibly want. Clean water, technical boulder
now scraped bare with a four-metre-wide bullet gardens, runnable waterfalls, ledges, stunning
hole punched into it. This is the exit end of the scenery and enough eddies to break the run
tunnel, where the water of the majestic Ashlu will down rapid by rapid. Every section of the Ashlu
one day pour through power-creating turbines. is pool-and-drop. Up high the Ashlu has runs for
Dust created by the boring machine billows out of class III paddlers, in the middle it becomes class
the hole and settles in a grimy film on a 30-tonne IV and the lower sections challenge even the best
Volvo dump truck awaiting another load of gravel. class V boaters.
The river flows just below in a perfectly natural Dropping deeper into the Mine Section our atten-
state, unaware of its fate. tion is consumed by the river. All the earlier sights
The Mile 25 Bridge above the waterfall we call of hydro development have been replaced with
50/50 is our immediate destination. This is where narrow horizon lines. I blink my eyes to take a pic-
we get a good visual on flow and decide that ture for my neighbour and the guard. If they could
the level looks perfect for us to link three differ- only see the ferns waving high along the canyon
ent sections for what will amount to my favourite rim, hear the power of the river squeezing through
B.C. river run. the granite canyon, smell the pitch from the Doug-
To run the Mine Section, through the Mini-Mine las firs baking in the sun or just feel the refreshing
and straight into Box Canyon, we have about 10 splash of the cool water they might understand our
kilometres to cover with at least two mandatory motivation to squeeze into eight feet of plastic and
portages. This is the first time anyone in our group paddle down the river. They might understand why
has attempted to run these three sections of the so many of us fought to keep the Ashlu this way.
Ashlu in a single day. This feat has been accom- After two hours on the river, the Mine run is
plished before, but with the hydro development easing and we approach the weir and diversion
underway today’s run may be the last. site. Once a shallow class III boulder garden, this
—Continued on page 44
www.rapidmag.com 
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48