The Global Paddling Community

The Slug team is fully operational on the ground as Greg Nicks gives the first account of the adventures from Nepal. The team gets to grip with the Nepali water, nice pictures and video clips ... but already one injured, ouch !

Article by Greg Nicks for PLAYAK.COM, November 2002

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The longer the journey went on the more I couldn’t wait to get to the river. We had been crammed on the bus for an indeterminate time for I no longer had a watch since Maoist bandits had mugged me. My knees were crammed into the back of the seat in front, the Nepali bus not being built for my Caucasian proportions. The local on the floor coughed and spluttered in my lap as another’s elbow found the back of my head.

The low morning sun lit up the feathers in front from the loose chickens. A young boy behind vomited rice out of the window in response to the winding roads. A pair of copulating dogs seemed unsurprised as we snailed past. The woman in front seemed heavily pregnant. Hopefully the journey would end before her waters broke.

If the bus journey was a nightmare then the paddling in Nepal is certainly made of dreams. Our first trip we planned was the Modi Khola. Flowing out of the heart of the Annapurna range this was a river that I had had my beady eye on. Those winter months at home spent perusing the guidebook had motivated me straight to this river .It would prove to be worth the wait! A three day trip with one day walking in and two days paddling on what was promised to be absolutely continuous whitewater with some rapids to stop and shout about as well.

The slug team had 3 honorary guests for the trip, Pete Iscaro the American creek boating representative, and Helen and Jo, the Tangent sisters from NZ. Together we would have a fine time.

They say that Nepal is a third world country and I can vouch for this. You can’t expect to arrive off the plane and jump on a river with out the local flavors livening your senses. With one third bus travel, one third sweating on the trail to a river, the remaining third is well earned time on fantastic whitewater.

The trail to the Modi Khola boasts some great views of the Annapurna ranges. Machepuchare, literally fish tail, is the jewel in the crown of the range. Considered holy in local traditions it has never been climbed. A group in the 70’s got within 50 meters of the top only for their porters to throw down their bags and refuse the summit on account of its holiness. They retreated in respect and to this day no one has summited its prominent peak. Must have been kind of frustrating none-the-less, I would have got a refund for sure.

No such trouble with our porters I thought as we were about half way up. You can pay these local wee men of iron about five pounds to carry your boat and gear for a day. All they use is a strap that goes over their head. I had tried it earlier to prove that it was possible (and get some respect from the locals). I staggered around, nearly fell down a ravine, pulled several muscles in my neck and couldn’t go very far. (Obviously all an act to make them feel that they were doing a great job thus boosting morale). Thank the lord for porters I proclaim.

As we neared the top of the valley the day was nearing its close and the group had become split up. Colin and I and the tangent sisters were way out in head with darkness encroaching and no sign of our gear we were a little perturbed. With only the clothes I was stood in I was hoping they would arrive. But it was never a problem as we were welcomed in to the guesthouse we had reached. This was Nepal after all and we were in a major trekking route. With a few rupees in our pockets we were fed, sheltered and entertained by the tangent sisters for the night. No problems!

At the crack of dawn our porters and the rest of the group arrived in tact. Evidently they had been up at Nepali rush hour (5 am) and made haste. With this fresh charge buoying our spirits we made it to the get in at a good hour. Our target had been some hot springs, which were a luxurious way to put on the river.

Ahead of us was two days paddling on utterly continuous class 4+ boating. The Modi Khola is a small mountain stream squeezed between large Himalayan boulders. It lived up to every expectation I had built up during those winter months in the guidebook. What a blast. Punctuated with a welcome guesthouse for the night half down this was certainly paddling in style!

Some video highlights (Low quality MPEG files):

• Colin checks out some of the unique geological features of the Modi Kohla: MPEG video, 152kb
• Dave goes caving: MPEG video, 271 kb
• Dave on one of the harder rapids on the Modi Khola: MPEG video, 424 kb
• Greg doing some rock wrestling on the Upper Modi: MPEG video, 328 kb
• A rare glimpse of the pornstar in full on whitewater mode: MPEG video, 392kb
• American Pete does a good job at practicing to be porno Pete's stunt double: MPEG video, 240kb
• American Pete takes a tumble on the Upper Modi: MPEG video, 264kb

Apart from the fantastic paddling our trip down the river had been uneventful. Nearing the end of the river my reflection of how good a trip it had been was like a red rag to the speaking-too-soon bull. Porno’s shoulder had popped out. And on a class three rapid.

Weakened by a previous accident snow boarding this was one thing that we all had feared. He was suffering great pain, and not a little frustration at the thought of not paddling for months (this was virtually the first trip of our world tour). I pitied him as we initially tried to relocate his shoulder on the river bank. With our combined medical, veterinary, and radiographical skills the three of us tried in vain to pop his limp appendage back in (see here (MPEG, 232kb) and here (MPEG, 200kb). Not for the faint hearted !). In vain. Porno self-administered a couple of valiums for muscle relaxation (available over the counter from any reputable pharmacy in Katmandu!). This made no apparent difference.

Being close to the end of the river the rest of the group paddled to the get-out. while porno staggered to the bus stop with Jo as a walking aid. We hired a taxi to get to Pokhara hospital. Thank god I wasn’t on that bus again I thought, but then I drifted back to porno barely conscious in the taxi next to me, the dreaded bus was the least of any concerns. I monitored his vitals and we arrived at the hospital. Not bad but would I rather be admitted to my animal hospital at work I wondered. Doctors always make the worst patients and porno proved this as he instructed the doctor what to do. If the doctor was a waiter he would be straight out the back to spit in the soup I thought to myself. Having received a general anaesthetic the shoulder was back in, to my relief and porno’s as he slumbered out of unconsciousness. Not a pleasant place to waken between an eighty year old genital surgery case and an incontinent woman. Eventually Porno was up and walking and we had his shoulder x rayed. With no doctor to find we relied on his drug induced medical knowledge and my feel for canine anatomy to ascertain all bits were in the right place. It had been a trip never to forget. Porno will not paddle for some time but secretly we all know he will be back. It was the start of our paddling adventures in Nepal and had left us thirsty for more.

The slug team is Colin Aitken, Greg Nicks, Dave Kwant and Peter Kyriakoudis. Their tour of whitewater pleasure continues and will be regularly updated on PLAYAK.COM.

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