3/3/13

Futa Fest 2013

El último fin de semana de marzo se celebró el Futa Fest 2013, del 21 al 24. Casi todo pasa alrededor de Cara del Indio, asíq ue hay que agradecer a Luis y Nivia su hospitalidad por dejarnos en sus tierras a orillas del Futa.

En mi opinión el Futa es uno de los ríos más seguros y divertidos del mundo, así que es importante que tenga su propio festival para que nos acordemos de él y lo protejamos. El Futa Fest trae gente y turismo, lo que beneficia la economía local y recuerda a los locales la increíble maravilla de la que disfrutan día tras día.

Hace poco Endesa anunció que estaba trabajando en 17 proyectos energéticos en Patagonia, incluyendo el mega proyecto de tres represas/centrales en el Futa que producirían un total de 1.367MW. Este gigantesco proyecto sería el segundo más grande de la Patagonia, tan solo superado por el asesinato que Hidro Aysén está tratando llevar a cabo en el río Baker y Pascua.

Más información acerca del Futaleufú y sus amenazas aquí:

Más acerca de la patagonia y las represas aquí:


Futa Fest happened the last weekend of February 2013, from the 21st till the 24th. Everything happens at Cara del Indio, so have to thank Luis and Nivia for letting us stay at their campsite next to the river.
In my opinion the Futaleufú is one of the most fun and friendly rivers in the world so having its own festival is really good for the river and the valley it flows through. It brings more tourism and remembers locals of the great gem they have at their backyard. I think events like this are real positive for the river and the kayaking world as well.

Endesa announced recently that they are planning and developing 17 new energy projects in Patagonia including a mega project of three dams on the Futaleufú that would produce a total of 1.367MW. This huge project would be the second biggest in Patagonia, only beaten by the murder Hidro Aysen is trying to accomplish on the Baker and Pascua.

More info about the Fu and this threatening projects here:

More overall knowledge about the patagonia and fu--ing dams here:


El jueves por la mañana se celebró un BoaterX en Toro y Mundaka, dos rápidos bien divertidos. Por poco pero no logramos llegar a tiempo a Futa para inscribirnos y participar ya que estuvimos un buen rato esperando en la puerta de la vulca en Chaitén para que nos arreglaran las dos ruedas pinchadas.
El viernes el Freestyle se celebró en la ola/rulo de Mundaka. Buenos revolcones y pilladas es lo que más le gusta ver al espectador así que escogieron el sitio idóneo!

Thursday morning was the BoaterX event down at Toro and Mundaka, great fun rapids. Unfortunately we never made it in time to register and enter the event as we were waiting at the vulcanización (tire place) in Chaitén to repair our two flat tires from our trip back from Baker. Diego took it followed by Santi and Julio. On Friday the Freestyle event was held at the Mundaka wave/hole. Some good beatdowns is what spectators love the most, so perfect spot for that!


El sábado fue un día de diversión general con ráfting popular en el Espolón a su paso por Futaleufú (pueblo). Remamos el Cañón del Infierno, que todavía está bien divertido con este nivel, algunos buenos boofs de miedo! Y después nos subimos 11 personas y 10 kayaks en la camioneta y casi perdemos nuestra licencia de conducir y vamos a juicio!

Saturday was a fun day with events happening on the Espolón up in Futaleufú town. Open free rafting and kayaking down the Espolón made the day for a few tourists and helped kayaking get more exposure in town with locals and tourists. We paddled the Inferno Canyon which is still pretty fun at this level, some good scary boofs! We then managed to get 11 persons and 10 boats in the truck and almost lost our drivers license and got to court for that!


Y finalmente el último evento, el down river del domingo. Cerca de 50 kayakistas alineados en la playa de Chucao listos para remar los 8 kilómetros hasta el puente Futaleufú. Todos los barcos estaban en fila uno al lado del otro en la playa y todos los corredores tenían que correr, saltar sobre ellos y empezar a remar la sección de agua plana hasta el primer puente donde empiezan los rápidos.

And finally the last event, the Down River Race on Sunday. About 50 kayakers lined up at the Chucao beach ready to paddle the 8km down to the Futaleufú bridge. All boats were lined up at the beach and all racers had to run, jump on them and start paddling the flat water section till the first bridge where the great rapids start.

No empecé muy bien pero logré quedarme con el grupo de delante. Todos esperamos a ponernos el cubre bajo el puente donde la corriente es más fuerte, pero después del plano mis brazos ya estaban agarrotados y casi no me lo podía poner! En algun momento perdí mi remo y tuve que remar un poco con las manos para recuperarlo. Perdí un poco de tiempo, pero por suerte una buena línea en la parte inferior me puso en primer lugar. A partir de ahí sólo traté de ir rápido y seguir dándole, y  ​​después de minutos unos 26 minutos finalmente crucé la línea! Bastante agotador pero muy divertido! Los rápidos son muy divertidos, 5-10 kayakistas luchando por la mejor línea al mismo tiempo hace que hayan buenas imágenes para el espectador en los mejores rápidos.

I didn't start really well but managed to stay with the group ahead. We all got our skirts on under the bridge where the current is stronger, but after the flat my arms were burning so much I almost couldn't get my skirt on! Somewhere in there I lost my paddle and had to hand paddled a bit to get it back. I lost some good time there and started to get nervous, but luckily hit a good line at the bottom and managed to get first. From there on just  tried to go fast and push hard and after 26ish minutes finally crossed the line! Pretty exhausting but so much fun! The rapids were really fun, 5-10 kayakers fighting for the line at the same time made for some great images for the public on the best rapids!


Creo que el Futaleufú es el lugar perfecto para este tipo de carrera, amplio y seguro, agua grande y muchas lineas distintas que escoger! Todo el mundo estaba cansado en el puente, pero contento ya que ha sido una carrera muy divertida/buena onda. Y por supuesto, gran fiesta por la noche en la ciudad con premios, baile y mucha cerveza!

Personalmente yo estaba especialmente agradecido de poder estar remando y 'compitiendo' de nuevo después de un par de meses de descanso forzado. Este fue el primer evento del año pero quedan muchos más por venir ...  la temporada ya viene!


I think the Futaleufú is the perfect place for this kind of race; wide and safe, big water, strong current and many different lines to paddle! Everyone was tired at the bridge but it was a really fun/friendly race. And of course, big party at night in town with awards, dancing and lots of beer!

Personally I was specially grateful to be paddling and 'competing' again after a couple months off. This was the first event of the year, but so many more to come… can't wait for the season to come!!




Photos by: Cara del Indio, Alejandro Gallegos 'Cano'

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