Fuy Fest 2010

So, Sam and I are here in Chile, unwinding in Choshuenco before returning to Pucon to see what the park n' huck scene is like after all this rain. The trip down was mostly uneventful- had a bit of a tight connection in Santiago, but we got on our plane to Temuco without any problems. David Hughes picked us up in Temuco, and on the way to Pucon, we discussed our options for the next steps. I called Xavier, who was in on a 12 passenger van going to Choshuenco for Fuy Fest. The van was full, so Sam and I rented a little red pickup (which has apparently starred in a lot of kayaking flicks) and followed them here. It POURED for 24 hours, so by the time we got here, the river was pumping. It was my first experience with big water, but the lower Fuy was a perfect introduction. Trains of 8 foot waves, and only one spot where there was any sort of line. The rest of the run, anywhere was fair game. Today we went exploring in the morning, looked at los saltos huilo-huilo y la puma, and the upper Fuy. The waterfalls were both unrun- a 140 and a 90 footer. Demshitz is coming back to run it next week. We just took pictures. Upper Fuy was insanely high. What is usually 4 distinct pool-drops was now one continuous half-mile class V+/VI rapid. No one ran it. More pictures. Then we decided we had to go kayaking, so we ran the lower Fuy at even higher water, which was tons of fun- we really launched off the wavetops today. And the weather was much better today, which made the water that much bluer, and the scenery that much more gorgeous. Now we're getting ready to head back to Pucon after another wonderful, filling, homecooked hosteria meal. Next update next time I get online!!

-Brian