Not only did he develop a new style and technique for big whitewater—big even by today’s standards—he created the hype and popularity that’s the basis for today’s whitewater stars. In 1971, Blackadar soloed the raging, class V+ Turnback Canyon on the Alsek River. His solo descent was at the extreme of exploration and made him an overnight hero.
In 1978, never having stopped pushing his limits, Blackadar died on the South Fork of the Payette, pinned on a submerged log. His spirit of exploration lives on.
TYLER BRADT
» The youngest boater on our list, Bradt was paddling class V at only 12 years old. Now 26, he’s best known for his 2009 world-record- breaking run of Washington’s 189- foot Palouse Falls.
Along with his impressive resume of waterfall hucking, Bradt continues to push boundaries with multiple runs down the Murchison section of the White Nile and the Grand Canyon of the Stikine under his belt. He was also a part of the 2012 expedition that logged a first descent down the Congo River’s Inga Rapids. Upping the ante yet again,
Bradt is currently on a five-year, global circumnavigation aboard his 44-foot sailboat, The Wizard’s Eye. The expedition will take him to some of the most remote and beautiful whitewater around the world, potentially Bradt’s most influential adventure yet.
STEVE FISHER
» Steve Fisher is an expedition lead- er, athlete and first-descent mad man. He began paddling at the age of six in South Africa and has paddled in more than 50 countries since, notching over a hundred first descents.
Fisher left competition more than a decade ago to focus on exploration, and has inspired the whitewater community to go bigger. His most recent conquest saw him battling the Inga Rapids on the Congo River,
a self-professed lifelong dream. Having successfully pulled off the Inga Project, Fisher is now looking to focus on filmmaking.
MICK HOPKINSON
» Originally from Britain, Mick Hopkinson began his whitewater career with 10 years of kayak slalom competition before embarking on a career of exploration. His first de- scents took him to Switzerland and Austria before the Himalayas. It’s there he made a name for himself— among Hopkinson’s most famous first descents are Nepal’s Karnali and Dudh Kosi rivers and the Blue Nile in Ethiopia.
Hopkinson now owns and
operates New Zealand Kayak School, which provides instruction and guides trips on the South Island’s whitewater rivers. When not behind a desk, he’s still paddling on heli trips on the west coast of New Zealand and in Wyoming’s Wind River mountain range.
SCOTT LINDGREN
» Professional athlete, expedition leader and Emmy-award-winning cinematographer, Scott Lindgren is known for his first descents on the most daunting rivers in the Himalayas.
Professional envelope-pusher, Lindgren and six other world-class
kayaking pioneers were the first to descend the Tsangpo River in Tibet, dropping more than 9,000 feet in 150 miles through one of the world’s deepest gorges. Lindgren headed the 2002 expedition, directing almost 100 support staff on a journey watched by the world. Other first descents include the Royal Gorge of the American and Upper Cherry Creek. In 2000, Lindgren began releasing films documenting big-water kayaking and the paddlers and culture that surround it.
ROB LESSER
» Not only was Rob Lesser the first professional kayak sales rep, he helped start the first whitewater rodeos. The mild-mannered Idaho native also completed the first full descent and first self-supported descent of the Grand Canyon of the Stikine. With this, he became the first to complete what would become known as the Triple Crown of expe- dition whitewater—Devil’s Canyon of the Susitna, the Grand Canyon of the Stikine and the Alsek’s Turnback Canyon.
His exploits were filmed and shared in mainstream media around the world, exposing the public to what was at the time an obscure sport.
Closer to home, paddlers have Lesser to thank for his first descent of the North Fork of the Payette, one of the most challenging and celebrated runs in the continental U.S.
ROB LESSER PHOTO: ROB LESSER ARCHIVE
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