Back from Siberia after a 10 days self support trip in the middle of nowhere, close the Baikal lake.
The Adidas team member Tomass Marnics organised a trip guided by himself on the Sayan area with the goal to do the Kitoy river with a pretty good team from five different countries (France, Germany, England, Latvia and Russia). 250 kms on really good whitewater and beautiful scenery.
It’s in Irkutsk that the trip was started for all the French guys who were part of the trip, Tomass came to the airport to bring us and meet the other paddlers. After a six hours drive, we were at the put-in of the kitoy river and started the first kms to the first campsite by night
At the morning, we put the food in every boats and off we went to start and enjoying the kitoy river.
Not many french people can have this kind of self upport experience in France, so it was a really good opportunity for them to get a good whitewater experience of group living, good cohesion and team spirit on the river. Each days we ate rice, pasta or lens with some fresh fish fished by our self.
The rest of the river was magic, sometimes grade II on amazing scenery to grade IV in some awesome gorges with nice big water. One portage of 40 min to avoid a nasty rapid with many siphons on one of part of the kitoy river. We arrived on the Ekhe-gol river, one of tributary to do a waterfall. Just benny the clown was courageous enough to did it. Then, We got back in the gorge of the Kitoy river with more and more water and some big rapids grade IV. Some paddlers tasted and enjoy the swim !! The evening we joined an other campsite on the Biluti confluence. Six hours of portage in the Russian jungle to reach one of the put-in of the Biluti river. Waterfall, drops, slides in the beautiful canyon with some nice colours.
We finished the Kitoy river in Irkoutsk by 80 kms grade II and a super vodka party with all of new friends we are meet on this trip … A ship price trip with a good organisation from Tomass and his friends who have been building the campsite so fast every evening… Many thanks to all of you !! all information about this trip on this blog : http://marnics1.blogspot.com/
Stefun