Alaska (Denali oder Wrangell-St. Elias) vom 18.8.12 bis 8.9.12

[Libertist]

AW: Alaska (Denali oder Wrangell-St. Elias) vom 18.8.12 bis 8.9.12

Es gab 'ne Menge Schnee da unten in diesem Winter, momentan sind alle Flüsse extrem hoch. Aber ja, bis August mag sich das gelegt haben.

[berniehh]

AW: Alaska (Denali oder Wrangell-St. Elias) vom 18.8.12 bis 8.9.12

Finde der Tana River sieht über weite Strecken nicht so schlimm aus:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tmWWk1t6iQ

Das sieht ja nicht schwierig aus

[Bergtroll]

AW: Alaska (Denali oder Wrangell-St. Elias) vom 18.8.12 bis 8.9.12

So ... nun habe ich zumindest mal das Packraft im Wildwasser ausprobiert (in der Anlage in Markkleeberg bei Leipzig: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PMpu...eature=related ).

Fazit:

1.
Ich sollte erstmal Paddeln lernen. Seilfähre, Bogenschlag, Ziehschlag, wie herum das Paddel halten...ich hatte absolut keinen Plan ;)

2.
Angeblich hatten wir dort zuerst WW3, zum Schluss WW4 (dort sind dann auch die blauen Bigrafts öfters gekentert und nur noch wenige gute Kajakfahrer sind gefahren).

WW3 ging anfangs selbst für einen DAU wie mich ohne Kentern. Weil das Packraft so stabil ist.

Mit ca. 10-12kg Rucksack vorne drauf bin ich dann einmal gekentert, weil der schwere Bug in einer Welle abgetaucht ist und sich das Raft anschliessend seitlich in die Strömung gedreht hat.

Danach bin ich noch öfters gekentert, weil mich die blauen Riesenrafts platt gefahren oder den Weg unmittelbar hinter einer Walze versperrten, so dass ich unter das Bigraft bzw. in den Rücklauf geriet.

Am Nachmittag liessen dann meine Kräfte deutlich nach. Kein Wunder, dass der Guide Arme wie Baumstämme hatte. Paddeln braucht Power, ist anstrengend und macht durstig.

Bei WW4 bin ich einmal mit Mühe durch den Kurs gekommen. Beim zweiten Mal hat es mich in der fiesesten Walze erwischt, da ich nicht hart und gut genug gepaddelt hatte und zurückgesaugt wurde. Gemerkt habe ich mir, dass man unmittelbar vor der Kante noch mal einen kräftigen Schlag setzen und dann sofort mit dem Paddel hinter die Walze greifen und wieder Gas geben soll. Aber leichter gesagt, als getan mit Pudding in den Armen.

Geschrottet habe ich ein paar Outdoor Crocs (filigrane Riemenbefestigung beim Schwimmen in der Strömung abgerissen: kann den Schuh nicht empfehlen. Zu schwer und trotzdem nicht stabil). Und eines meiner Sawyer Paddelblätter ist gebrochen (sehr filigran und für Grobmotoriker wie mich wohl nicht sehr geeignet; Sven hat wohl auch schon welche zerstört).

Außerdem habe ich gelernt, dass ein bis zum Rand mit Wasser vollgelaufenes Raft (Spritzdecke hatte sich gelöst) zwar noch schwimmt, aber sehr träge wird und man das Wasser kaum wieder herausbekommt (selbst nach dem Anlanden ist es schwierig das Boot anzuheben ... wiegt vermutlich dann 100kg oder mehr).

3.
Ingesamt war der Tag in Markkleeburg sehr gut und lehrreich (auch wenn ich noch immer nicht anständig Paddeln kann). Wir hatten auch superwarmes und schönes Wetter sowie "freundliches"/klares/warmes Wildwasser. Man hatte daher nie Angst oder so.

Ich habe beschlossen, mit einem vollgeladenen Raft max. bis WW2 zu fahren und sonst alles zu umtragen.



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Edit: Weitere Infos zu Copper River (Wind, Treibsand).

"Wished to make this post in response to an old posting I had made on the Copper River... (I think other posters can help as well that know the Copper River is not exactly a hard river, but there are risks that many folks cannot perceive if never having been there. It rings true w/ many Alaska rivers, and so many book descriptions are not always providing spot on info.)

------------------------------------------------------
Here is the email (and I'll leave the name out of it):

"Hello,
I read a post by Brian Richardson about the Copper River where he states
that the Copper is a dangerous river. I would say I am an
intermediate-experienced river canoe paddler, with little whitewater
experience. I have spent 3 weeks traveling by canoe down the Rock and
Mississippi Rivers here in Wisconsin, run most of the class II or less
rivers in the southern part of the state and have weeks on the Lakes of
Northern Minnesota.
From you description, the Copper can be treacherous. Is that true for
someone of my experience level. What if I said I wanted to take my new
bride on a honeymoon trip down the Copper from Gulkana to Cordova?
Would you say I was crazy.
Any advice or diretions would be appreciated.
Regards,"
--------------------------------------------------

Here is my response... a bit on the weighted side - but I did not wish the guy a potential bad Alaskan experience:

I discern by your drawn out portrayal that you would be assembling an exceedingly foolish float trip for yourself, friends, loved ones, or family members... particularly in light of taking a canoe, what has the brass tacks of no matter-of-fact experience on this category of river in Alaska, and taking another person w/ (I'm reckoning) having far less significant experience.

1. The Copper is extensive, very, very swift, and packin' big time, cold (37 F) Cubic feet/Sec
2. High winds and sand/silt storms daily (just about every day)
3. Whirlpools (strong eddy currents) in turns, and in Abercrombie Rapids have especially big Standing waves.
4. COLD, COLD, COLD HIGH VOLUME silty glacial river.
5. You will go by two glacial terminuses that yield random yet volatile calving Ice walls. These can result in wave surges like tidal waves, and at very least place immediate congesting massive floating obstacles in those areas. The Childs Glacier wall for example is one of the “cut banks” river right of flow.
6. The silt and sands can be somewhat dangerous even lethal (wrong place wrong time)… like quick sand only it vacuum packs you steadfast without having to get drawn in very deep. Can be convincingly alarming at times!

I would advocate doing a guided trip of the river by raft. It is not that the Copper is a difficult river in terms of class this and that… however this vast river has its intricacies that have indeed swallowed persons up over the years.

Yes - to make a long story short - you'd be crazy... other than there would be a better descriptive term. I only say this so stalwartly to advise in opposition to under-respecting Alaskan rivers of this character and the existent jeopardy when over-estimating one's skills or level of safety/understanding.

Positively would love to have you come up and float Alaska - Hate to see ya show up on the news as a vanishing episode.

Please don’t take this as a cluster of Alaskan bravado, doom saying, or audacity. This is the genuine picture I’ve connected on.

Brian Richardson
http://www.northernrim.com"

Zum Bremner/Little Bremner habe ich aus alten Government Reports inzwischen auch unangenehme Infos gefunden:

1. Treibsand im Flussbett.
2. Devil's Club und dichter Busch außerhalb des Flussbettes.

Bin sehr gespannt auf die Berichte des AMWC 2012, der am 8.7. gerade begonnen hat. Mal sehen, ob jemand die Route Copper/Bremner nimmt.


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Weitere Bilder der Gegend Little Bremner/Bremner

http://www.expeditionsalaska.com/tri...07_AUG0451.jpg

http://www.expeditionsalaska.com/tri...07_AUG0578.jpg


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Bärenspray in Valdez?

Vielleicht hier...aber die antworten nicht auf Emailanfrage: http://www.prospectoroutfitters.com/

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Sehr schwieriger Weg von Bremner bis Tebay Lakes (Auszüge aus alten Berichten)?

...........................

"A good summer trail ascends Bremner River from the Little Brem-
ner to Golconda Creek. It is on dry ground all the way and offers no
more difficulties than are usual to mountain trails in new and little
traveled regions. Horses have never been taken down Bremner
River below the Little Bremner, for the river flood plain is quicksand
and the steep mountain slope on the river's north side is covered with
thick alders and in places with spruce."

http://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/0520c/report.pdf

.........................................

"The mountain slopes of the Bremner and Little Bremner valleys
are covered to a considerable height above timber line by a heavy
growth of alder, which makes climbing extremely difficult and tiresome and in many places renders it impossible
to travel with a pack horse without first clearing a trail. In favorable localities the alder
grows to a height of 12 to 15 feet, but the trunks, instead of standing
erect, run along or near the ground, all commonly leaning in the same
general direction. Those that grow on slopes lean downhill, being
bent that way by the weight of snow that covers them during much
of the year, but even those growing on a level show the same attitude
and parallelism of trunks. The alders not only obstruct travel but
hide outcrops and thus make prospecting difficult. Fortunately moss
is not so plentiful in this region ... The devil's club, however, is
common, and commands respect from those who have had experience
with it."

http://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/0576/report.pdf

......................................................

"After Salmon Creek, no real riffles or rapids; current 2-3 mph. About a mile below Salmon Creek the river leaves its small valley closely flanked by bluffs and ridges and enters glacial flood plain 1/2-2 miles wide with many channels. Most channels very shallow 1-3' deep and choices sometimes hard got hung up several times.

On bars much shallow quicksand affectionately known as "quagsuck" (almost). Often hard to land boats and walk around.

We tried to stop at Little Bremner River confluence to hike up to cabin shown on map at MacCree1 Creek confluence one mile above Bremner. But most of river swings to far side of valley and we were unable to get over to where Little Bremner came in.

...

Although we had been following "main" channel along south bank in late p.m., we were unable to find good campsite, although we did fill up water bottle at clear water stream coming off of Bremner Mountain. So, we crossed river to north side and camped on immense, desolate-looking sandbar. Crossing difficult due to downriver winds and very shallow channels - had to drag and line some.

Beautiful scenery surrounding campsite; Henry Glacier across Copper, Bremner Peak to south, the Peninsula to northwest, mountains upriver - huge dust cloud over Copper caused by upriver winds.

Vegetation still white spruce with a few birch (no Sitka spruce seen). Lots of alder on islands and shorelines. Clearwater scarce, but found clear pools in sand by camp at edge of river. Firewood scarce.

...

One mile below camp Bremner bends sharply south to parallel the Copper. Here scenery spectacular with huge amphitheater of mountains and glaciers. At bend current 3 mph and had just as good luck floating and letting current choose channels as choosing ourselves. Still we got stuck in very shallow spots and had to get out and push off or line through several times. Most channels 6"-1 1/2' deep. If wind had been blowing would have been tough.

After lunch about five miles below bend much easier finding good channels -more confined. After 2:30 p.m., headwinds came up and steady, moderate paddling required to make headway in 1-3 mph current, couple places had to get out and line/ drag boats to deeper channel. Channels near confluence not like shown on map-most water goes out across sand flats toward Copper while only very small channel was along east side next to mountain slope.

We kept in small channel to find suitable camp site -nice sand bar between Bremner and Wernicke Rivers, a little clear water in pools and trickles out of sand bank but we had to rely on water jug filled earlier in day."

http://outdoorsdirectory.com/boating/arl/bremner.htm


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Gefährliches Raften auf dem Tana River (sieht wohl nur aus der Luft relativ harmlos aus)

"Tragic deaths early on earned the Tana River canyon a reputation that is a bit overstated. However, this is about as cold and remote as a North American whitewater river can be, and deserves a great deal of respect. ... Whitewater in the Tana River canyon can be characterized as continuous gradient class II-III cold-temperature big-water, with two drops pushing toward III+ - IV-. The total time it takes to run the canyon is a fraction of the trip length - about two to three hours. Rafts will be busy looking far ahead, and preparing to miss sticky holes and keeping their speed up to maintain forward momentum in the large wave trains. Kayakers have plenty of options to choose from in the wide channels, and can play on several large waves and holes. Scouting from the ground is tough, as the drops are long and the banks aren't very conducive to moving up and down. Scouting from the air is an excellent idea, but remember that the features will be much bigger at river level. Eddies are few, and can be unfriendly for both rafts and kayaks, with woody debris and funny water. Flipping a raft is a very real possibility. Swimming to shore would be very difficult due to the width and the swiftness of the river, the water temperature, and the lack of slack water between drops. Therefore, your best safety lies in a good drysuit allowing you to spend some wet time and avoid hypothermia, and a good partner boat to pick you out of the water.

A large set of class II waves mark the entrance to the canyon. This is best run down the center for a fun ride, while being mindful of large holes on the right side. The river continues to pick up speed and meanders through a series of random class II big water style rapids. After the river splits into two channels around a gravel bar island, a clear water creek flows in on the river left side. This is a good spot to collect fresh water untainted with glacial silt. It also signals the beginning of the first notable rapid, a long, class III+ big water style drop. The entrance consists of hole dodging down a large wave train, and is known as Onramp. The river than takes a right hand turn, and enters the meat of the rapid, known as Freeway. The river right side is a shallow rock and gravel gradient drop, and the outside wall is a steep bank. The top of the drop is a straightforward wave train down the middle right, avoiding a big hole on the left that toys with 18' rafts . The middle of the drop contains a large rock that creates a huge hole at high water, and a pretty convincing barrier to travel at low to medium flows. Consensus seems to be cheat right as much as possible, then pull to the middle below the barrier rocks, and ride the wave train out.

Things pretty much continue as characterized with one exception - after a long, fast wave train, the river pushes into a river right wall. The reflection waves coming off the wall make for chaotic water, and have caused both good kayakers and rafters a bit of trouble in the past. The general plan seems to be pull as hard away from that wall as possible. Note that it is very possible to ram this wall with a lot of force.

The canyon walls then recede, and class II-III rapids remain for another 5 or 6 miles. At one point, the river makes a lefthand owbow turn around a huge gravel bar. The outside of this bar is an excellent beach, and makes for a fine view camp. A couple of miles after this camp, the confluence with the Chitina River is reached."


http://www.americanwhitewater.org/co.../detail/id/48/

[Bergtroll]

AW: Alaska (Denali oder Wrangell-St. Elias) vom 18.8.12 bis 8.9.12

Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic 2012 - Noch niemand angekommen (normalerweise dauert es immer nur 2-3 Tage)

http://newsminer.com/bookmark/192923...erness+Classic

As of Thursday morning, there was still no winner in the 31st annual Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic, the state’s premier wilderness race. ... This year’s route is a new one that has never been used in the Wilderness Classic, which rotates routes every three years. The route is a minimum of 140 miles, depending which way you go.

I don’t know how many racers started or how many remain. I did hear a rumor that the trio of former champs Tyler Johnson and Todd Kasteler of Anchorage and Danny Powers of Fairbanks had bailed out of the race and re-routed to Cordova.

Jeremy Pataky at Wrangell Mountains Center in McCarthy said the earliest possible prediction for the first people to finish was Wednesday night but heavy rain and abnormally deep snow in the mountains as a result of last winter’s heavy snowfall will likely slow racers down. The heavy rain has caused creeks and rivers to rise significantly, which could make pack rafting an adventure.

...

Race organizer Luc Mehl said this year’s route wasn’t going to be a picnic and it appears he was right."

[Bergtroll]

AW: Alaska (Denali oder Wrangell-St. Elias) vom 18.8.12 bis 8.9.12

Weia...das wird wohl so heftig, wie befürchtet:

http://bedrockandparadox.com/2012/07...assic-carnage/

"I flew out of the Bremner/Little Bremner confluence Monday evening, enjoying a ride from Paul Claus and his Super Cub. I got an armchair view of the amazing alpine country and clearwater rivers in the mountains, and the abysmal bush in the Little Bremner drainage. I had alternately traveled with Roman, Josh, and Luc through the previous day and night. Five miles from the beginning of the brush near the dunes up to the first clear side channel which led to the Little Brem took eight solid hours of work. The bugs were awful almost the whole time. Roman and I camped and napped from 8 to 10 am Monday morning, but soon after moving again I realized that this year, and perhaps this whole deal, was not for me. Lack of psyche, creeping fear, disinclination to go solo, and a tweaked tendon or ligament (I think) in the top of my left foot from one of the many falls in the brush is a story which will told in full next week. I’ve amused myself since by picking Devil’s Club thorns out of my hands, arms, and shins."

Der Tana River sieht in der Tat weniger friedlich aus, als aus der Luft ^^

http://eu.proxfree.com/page.php?get=...orefer&res=720