Flushed
EXAM TIME
ONE, TWO, THREE, PUSSHHHHH! After an epic series of grunts and profanities,
it happened.
Our bus was finally gaining trac- tion in the sand and on its way home from where it dropped us. We were at the put-in of the Karnali River in Nepal. It had taken us a day and a half of bumping around in the back of that rickety bus to reach this remote Himalayan waterway that’s only run 10 times a year. The 21-day trip would be the
final exam in the first year of the Adventure Guide program at
Thompson Rivers Univer-
sity. The program is one of the most thorough job interviews around—instructors have two
54 | RAPID
whole years to watch a stu- dent’s performance on wilder- ness trips and whitewater to de- termine whether they’re a good fit for guiding. In the year leading up to
the trip, I’d been pushed so hard that the territory outside my comfort zone was starting to feel like home. Nepal took everything to the next level; it was our longest trip yet and in an utterly unfamiliar setting. Though my 10 classmates and
I had swapped gum-stained desks and true or false ques- tions for kayaks and high-vol- ume class IV whitewater, this was definitely still an exam. The river’s first test came al- most immediately. Sitting in an
eddy by the first rapid, taking in the mountainous Nepalese landscape, my nerves went hay- wire. It only took one unexpect- ed surge to send me into the water. Sheepish and annoyed, I dragged my kayak to shore, blaming the jet lag, the new boat and the days of rattling around in the back of a bus. The learning continued
through the untouched jungle of the Karnali. Eddy hopping was no longer just for scouting lines. It was the quickest way to reach shore for emergency bathroom breaks that couldn’t wait until the end of a rapid—the intesti- nal turmoil of international trav- el
followed us all through the
biggest whitewater of our lives. Camping was a whole other
adventure. The banks were dot- ted with villages and within 20 minutes of setting up a tent the entire youth population of the nearest village was stand- ing outside, their smiles as mis-
chievous as their intentions, as they waited for any opportunity to investigate our belongings. Armed with a Nepali vocabulary of only ‘hello’ and ‘thank you,’ the rancid smell emanating from my gear was my only defense. As the trip went on, I realized
the challenges we continu- ally encountered were perfect guide training tests—they in- spired reflection on whether or not I was prepared for a life on the river. If I wanted to trans- late my passion for paddling into a career, I would have to get used to this stream of ever- changing challenges. As we paddled back to the
bus, three weeks and 113 miles later, the familiar relief of pass- ing an exam washed over me, but this time it was different. For me, completing this test meant that the challenges of the Karnali River would be the first of many. CODY NYSTROM
PHOTO: COURTESY CODY NYSTROM
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