Threading the Chenab Photo by Trent Garnham

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Rising in the Pir Panjal range of Himachal Pradesh, Northern India, the Chenab River flows in a southwesterly direction from the Indian Himalayas to its confluence with the Sutlej River in Pakistan. Made up of two rivers, the Chandra and the Bhaga, which both issue forth from opposite sides of Bara Lacha at 16,000 feet, the two rivers meet at a place called Tandi, and from then on assume the name Chandrabhaga or Chenab.

One of the five rivers of the Punjab, the Chenab runs through dramatic gorges and stunning mountain scenery on its 1,087 km journey to the ocean. Parts of the Chenab River have been explored by kayakers and rafters over the years. American Andreas Wallach, explored parts of the lower river from Kishtwar, and Mike Abbott ran a 50km stretch of the upper river in full monsoon flow and decided that it was too high to continue-good choice! Our mission was to locate the source and start as high as possible on the river. We aimed to explore and paddle the upper sections of the river that were thought impossible on previous expeditions and link the sections together.

For the last few years Mike and Allan Ellard had been planning an expedition to run the gorges on the upper river. With a very volatile political situation in the Jammu/Kashmir area of Northern India (where a majority of the gorges lie) they were forced to postpone their plans until the political situation calmed down and it would be once again safe to travel in the area. With India and Pakistan bombing each other over the border for the past 50 or so years and Kashmir being the reason for the war it is definitely not a good place to be when tensions are high!

Through their previous expeditions and trips in India the boys had established good contacts and friendships with various people and companies in India. One of whom is a guy named Himanchu, whose company, Himalayan Journeys, based in Manali, run a rafting operation as well a prosperous heli skiing operation in winter. Himanchu had helped Mike and Allan plan and organize previous expeditions and was keeping an eye on the situation in Jammu/Kashmir. When a go ahead came through from Himanchu that things were looking relatively stable in the area it looked as though 2003 might be the year.

The Mission:

A hectic paddling season in Norway was quickly ticking by and people were busy organizing flights and planning missions for their next destination. Himanchus reported things were still looking good so we started sorting stuff out and making plans for an attempt on the upper part of the river. We gathered maps and as much information as possible from the Internet and various other sources and began to formulate a bit of a game plan. One thing was certain, we knew we wanted the river to be low which meant we had to head out there in the fall season. It was a fine window we had to catch between hitting the right flow and not being too late as there were some high passes that we needed to catch to get to the river and if we didn't have the timing right they would be closed due to snow.

"That night we discovered that we were actually missing 50 kms from our map..."

The planning continued and the rafting season eventually came to a close. Before I knew it I was on a plane to the U.K. to pick up some equipment then dropping into Delhi in the middle of the night. If you have ever been to India before then I am sure you will appreciate how I felt as I drowsily dragged my kayak and gear out of the airport and into the chaos of Delhi.

I had traveled a fair bit around the world on kayaking missions over the last few years but India was a place that I had always dreamed of visiting. With an amazing culture and history it is also home to a good chunk of the Himalayas and some amazing whitewater rivers. Mike and Al had done stacks of boating out there in the past and their stories had inspired me to check it out. As I coughed and spluttered my way around the streets of Delhi I was stoked to finally be there and going on a mission. I managed to survive the hustle, bustle and crowds of Delhi and two days later boarded a bus bound for Manali, a small town set in the mountains in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh. Eighteen bone jarring hours later I virtually fell off the bus and was blown away by what I saw. Stunning views of the mountains and the blue water of the Beas River put a smile on my face, sweet!

I spent the next couple of weeks paddling some of the local runs around Manali that Al and Mike had told me about. The quality of paddling was outstanding and was the perfect way to build up to the expedition. Benjamin Hjort from Norway soon arrived and we took off to explore a few more rivers before Mike along with Allan and Andy Phillips from the U.K. showed up. The whole team had made it to base in one piece and with all their equipment, which was an accomplishment in itself!

We spent a busy couple of days organizing last minute logistics, buying food, organizing jeeps and drivers, boats, permits and various other details. Using Manali as a base we got everything together after two days and we were buzzing as we loaded up the jeep, met 'Prakesh' our driver and wound our way up and over the 'Rhotang' pass en-route to our planned put in point Darcha at the top of the Bhaga river.

Amazing views and classic Indian chaos kept us entertained along the road and as we dropped down the other side of the pass we got our first view of the Chandra River. We were stoked with what we saw as the river looked blue and low, a lot different from the charging brown monster that Mike and Al remembered from previous trips. So far so good!

A long day of driving finally ended as we pulled into a town called Keylong. The air was remarkably cold and dry and the scenery stunning. The Bhaga River below us seemed in good condition as well which was good as we planned to start on it the next morning.