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Sheffield student kayak thrills
BATTLING down fierce, icy rivers, often many days from civilization, in boats loaded with food and overnight camping gear, can be a dangerous and scary experience.
For Sheffield student and kayaking enthusiast Tom Hunter, it was unforgettable.
"I was absolutely thrilled to take part and it was a fantastic experience," he said.
The 22-year-old, from Bradway, was among eight students from across the UK selected for the challenge, which involved enduring the awesome power of rivers in the Altai Mountains, where the borders of China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia meet, in Central Asia.
Some of the waters had rarely been explored before - and, on parts of the expedition, there could be days between sightings of other people.
Tom, who has been kayaking since he was 14, was chosen after applying for the challenge, organised by the British Universities Kayak Expedition, and standing out as one of the best entrants at a selection trial in Snowdonia, Wales.
The former Woodseats Venture scout was delighted to make the eight-man team, which also included 19-year-old Dave Burne, from Doncaster, a biochemistry student at Newcastle University.
The nine-week Four Borders Expedition started in Russia, where paperwork and preparations took much of the first week. But the students managed a couple of practice runs on the River Chuya - one of the toughest in the area, which tumbles through a gorge.
Tom, a student at Notting-ham Trent University, said: "Rivers are graded and this one was five plus. Six is unrunnable. But we were out on it twice in two days.”
Mongolia was difficult enough to get into before there was even a river in sight.
It took two days for the party to cross 20km-wide no man’s land on the border, and they were only able to bring their boats and equipment across after persuading a Mongolian driver to assist.
Once inside the country, Tom said their mission became an exploration.
“We don’t think anyone had kayaked there before, so we were having to look at where the rivers were, the water volume and whether they would be suitable.
“We found one which was fantastic, with two 15ft waterfalls running into each other.”
The next stage involved going back into Russia, where the kayakers set off on a route which took seven days and involved carrying all their food and equipment with them.
Tom said: “The rivers were huge - and, while we were on the trip, there was a two-day storm where water levels rose by two metres.”
The Brits had a reminder of how dangerous expeditions in the isolated area could be when they heard about a Russian tour where a kayaker was thought to have died after becoming separated from his group, leaving his boat, and getting lost in the forest.
All of Tom’s group returned home unscathed - but there were still some hairy moments.
He said: “There were a few incidents where people got into difficulty, becoming stuck in trees or on rocks.”
The final area for the kayakers to explore was Kazakhstan but, for most of the group, their boats were delayed through customs and did not arrive before it was almost time to go home.
Following his return to the UK, Tom has returned to Sheffield to give a talk and picture slideshow about his expedition to current scouts from Woodseats Venture Unit - through which he obtained qualifications from the British Canoe Union.
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Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
