First Ascent kayakers Ben Stookesberry and Jesse Coombs will answer your questions and talk about expedition kayaking live on Twitter on Thursday, Aug. 26, at noon PST.
Ask questions to “@firstascent” on Twitter, and we and encourage you to follow the conversation by searching Twitter for “#kayakchat.” If you do not have a Twitter account, feel free to ask questions by emailing fasocial at eddiebauer dot com.
In the previous entries of this expedition, First Ascent kayakers Jesse Coombs, Ben Stookesberry, Darin McQuoid and friends struggled to portage around a 1,000-foot descent of falls at Barranca de Piaxtla in Mexico.
By Jesse Coombs
We had already been hiking for more than a half day, temperatures were in the 90s, we had run out of water and there was no way back down to the river, which was more than 700 feet below.
After scouting about for options, we stumbled across something we couldn’t have been happier to see: A swampy-looking pool of water about 9 feet in diameter and 1 foot deep. It was full of moss and lichen and particles and was disgustingly green, having clearly been stagnant for months. But it was still water. Read More…
First Ascent kayakers Jesse Coombs, Ben Stookesberry, Darin McQuoid and friends navigate the extreme terrain of the Barranca de Piaxtla, Mexico.
By Jesse Coombs
We woke up and were ready to hit the trail by 8 a.m. We had a heavy load to portage. Each boat weighed between 80 and 90 lbs. We shouldered our boats and started the uphill hike. A tremendous help, some wildlife trails led up the same direction we wanted to hike. The trail was quite steep with some difficult footing. We spent two hours hiking, climbing, pulling, pushing and fighting up the 600-meter hill. Finally it flattened out a bit, and there was a grassy area that offered a respite.
After a short rest and a little water, we shouldered our boats and continued the portage. Soon the vegetation got even thicker and we spent the majority of the time pulling and pushing our kayaks under the walls of vegetation while trying to keep the stickers and branches out of our faces. This struggle continued for over an hour, and then we were confronted with a serious problem – It was 12:30 p.m. and we were all very low on water. Read More…
Ben Stookesberry, Darin McQuoid and I heard about an exploratory descent on a steep river in Mexico known as the Barranca de Piaxtla. The driver of this particular adventure was Rocky Contos, a post-doctorate neurological researcher who is in love with kayaking. Rocky is currently taking an extended absence from his neurological research to write a comprehensive kayaking and rafting guidebook on Mexico. James Harper, a strong kayaker who has become a great friend and partner with Rocky on his Mexico endeavor, also joined us.
To start, we all agreed that we should drive to above the upper section of Piaxtla and hike around to get a sense for it. We were amazed by what we saw. This canyon was full of standing and fallen spires and columns. None of us had seen anything like it before, and the canyon was amazingly deep with steep and sheer walls. This was a special river, canyon and place that begged for exploration. Read More…
The First Ascent team is at Teva Mountain Games in Vail, Colorado this weekend. First Ascent kayak adventurers Jesse Coombs and Ben Stookesberry walk us through the kayak events at the games and give their take on competition versus expedition.
As we mentioned last month on the Born Out There blog, Eddie Bauer and First Ascent are sponsoring the Teva Mountain Games, the nation’s largest celebration of mountain sports, lifestyle and music, featuring top professional and amateur athletes from around the world. There are just a couple days left to book your trip to Vail, Colorado. Don’t miss the competitions, clinics taught by First Ascent guides Peter Whittaker and Erik Leidecker, and kayakers Ben Stookesberry, Jesse Coombs and Darin McQuoid, free concerts and more. Read More…
For the past year, in addition to partnering with some of the world’s best guides, Eddie Bauer and First Ascent have joined forces with some of the world’s most inspirational adventurers. Meet Jesse Coombs, Darin McQuoid and Ben Stookesberry, expedition kayakers, seeking first descents around the world. Travel with them in their new film, Hotel Charley Vol. 5 Read More…
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