12-11-2019
Cannobino gorge with fat water...
Another standard Nirjhara day: after running away from the Cannobino the day before because too much water, we are back today after some healthy rain during the night. Hmmm, seems not like less water, maybe even a little bit more?The Spilker guide talks about a round gauge rock below the bridge but no rocks to be seen today? In true "we portage what cannot be portaged" and "we swim where salmons don't dare" style, a somewhat reduced posse decides to give it a go.
What another fantastic day on the river with finally enough water to actually really paddle the Cannobino as opposed to the usual rock bashing. Every few 100m, another cascade further boosts the water level making for clean powerful but not desperate lines till the high bridge. After that, the rapids become more steep and complicated but still surprisingly clean and smooth going. However, make no mistake, at this level, most of this river is must run, spots to recover gear may be quite spaced out and often, just room for one person to inspect, so make sure to go in with a well seasoned team.
People in the know will start asking now how we dealt with the standout mustrun and the portage of certain death towards the end. Probably hard to believe, but we upfront defined our exit strategy just before the Mmmmust Run (looking indeed quite terrifying), involving some rope work, some sweat and much appreciated support of our ground crew. So 75% of Cannobino, was it worth it? Well, go find out yourself or ask someone that actually paddled the gorge with water over a beer!
