In the South Western corner of Peru, the Rio Cotahuasi carves the deepest canyon in the whole of the Americas, through the Andean Mountains, and the Atacama desert, and into the Pacific Ocean.
In order to raise money for charity I am going to solo-paddle as much of the river as possible.
I will be paddling a catraft as it is the best vessel for transporting myself and all my gear for a 2-3 week river trip.
The river has a commercial rafting section( which is 6 days on the river), but this is such a remote canyon that it is run very rarely.
My plan is to run the river from above the commercial put-in, through some long stretches of class 4 and 5 (there are a couple of canyons which I may portage), and 1 definate portage around Sipia Falls (60m waterfall, and cataract). Then raft through the commercial section and on down to the Pacific Ocean at Ocona.
Thats the "plan" (for want of a better word).
The trip is about challenge.....my skills and experince agains the environment.
The image below is taken from space, of the Rio Cotahuasi,and its neighbour The Colca Canyon (the 2nd deepest in the Americas). The Cotahuasi is the gorge on the left. The snow covered peaks are 2 volcanoes (from left to right); Solimana 6,093m, and Coropuna 6,425m. These mountains are the highest points of the plateau which the Cotahuasi has cut its way through. At the deepest point in the valley the river is 3,354m below the summit of Nevado Coropuna (over twice as deep as the Grand Canyon). This was once thought to be the deepest in the world (that was recently changed to the Yarlung Tsango in the Himalayas).
The Rio is still one of the deepest and remote places on the planet, at over 2 miles deep, on the Southern end of the Atacama desert (the driest place on earth).


The white in the bottom left corner is low level cloud on the Pacific Ocean coastline

Bruces Skills

Why do I think I am qualified to do this? and why should anyone give money to such a hair-brained idea?

This is going to read a little bit like a brief biography, and a little bit like a resume (or C.V. if anyone for the UK is reading this, which I hope you are)
For a more professional view of my work exoerience go to:

It all started when I was a kid of about 14 or 15 years old. I grew up on an island in the Northwest coast of Scotland (The Isle of Lewis and Harris). It was, and still is a great place to be kid, as it is remote. empty and wild. There are hills, and rock cliffs, fjords, lochs, rivers, white sandy beaches, clear turquoise seas, all perched on the edge of the world.
A group of us older scouts always seemed to be getting together and doing outdoor activites. First we were donated windsurfing gear, and so we taught ourselves to windsurf, then there were kayaks to paddle around in lochs (lakes to you non-scottish people), the sea (the North Atlantic is a great motivator to learn to roll a kayak, which I admitt I never did back then...but I tried!), and the local fishing harbour). We also went walking and hiking in many parts of the island (at one time I think we were going to make a guide book).

So to get back to the story. I have always been doing outdoor stuff. I went to college to "study" outdoor education, and then I found myself leading groups of people in the activities I loved doing for myself. I basically found a way of doing what I wanted and getting paid for it.
Then I discovered I could do these things in better climates (I don't want to sound rude about my home, but the weather is....INCLEMENT!). So off I went to The USA, France, Austria. Mostly teaching canoeing and whitewater rafting, then kayaking or skiing for fun. It took me other more exotic and far-flung places, that seemed to offer more adventure: India, Zimababwe, Zambia, Nepal, Uganda, Western Canada.
So now I find myself with a family, and a beautiful son.I am working in a perfect job for my skills on a fantastic river. But I need to do something more to "feed the rat" inside which is gnawing away saying "need to travel and do adventures, need to put something back, I promised I would and its time to do it before I feel its too late."

I have a degree in Outdoor Education, and qualifications in several activities: Alpine skiing, canoeing, rafting, whitewater kayaking, mountain leadership, and of course emergency aid, and river rescue.
I have spent 21 years leading groups in outdoor activities,in several countries (and some times talking in more than one language), and on 4 continents (one time I worked on 3 continents in 2 weeks)
I have been kayaking since 1986 (the early stuff was pretty poor, but all that spinning around in circles must count for something)
I have guided rafts every year since 1995 one year it was only twice, just so I could say I did it), I also train other guides how to do it.
I have been in several raft competitions, never did well but they were great experiences and a lot of fun.
I Love to travel, and I am fortunate that my work and interests allow me to do that.
I love adventure, there is nothing quite like being somewhere new and totally different. Or paddling down a river that I haven't been.

Basically I know how to do what I am planning, and I think I have the balls to do it. I should after all this time!
Its for what I consider a "damn good cause", so why not use it as a vehicle for raising money.
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