The "North Shore" of Waterfalling in Central Brazil

By Ben Stookesberry

Clear H2O Films embarks on the Final expedition for the Filming of Hotel Charley Vol: 4 set to hit paddle shops this spring. In the final days of 2008, Ben Stookesberry, Rafael Ortiz, Chris Korbulic, and Phil Boyer put up one of the most significant big water expeditions to date with an 11 day, 11 portage descent of the mighty Rondu Gorge of the Indus River in Pakistan. Now Stookesberry, Ortiz, and Korbulic are joining forces with with expedition juggernaut Jesse Coombs and the high hucking Brazilian Pedro Oliver on the exact opposite side of the earth in the jungle covered mesas of Central Brazil to search for the tallest runnable falls on earth.

Last year Stookesberry, Coombs, and Oliver found the veritable "North Shore" of big waterfall kayaking near Brazil’s Capital, Brasilia, with Stookesberry putting up a high-water free fall of 2.7 seconds translating to 105 to 115 feet of free fall. Unfortunately due to the flooded conditions the falls, the team was unable to get a truly accurate measurement of the falls and Stookesberry was forced to swim after an imploded skirt left him stranded deep in the base of the flooding falls.

This February these five Pro Team Jackson Kayak Paddlers return to the Rain swollen falls of Central Brazil in search of a new benchmark in whitewater kayaking: the 3 second freefall.

In addition to pushing the boundaries of the their sport, the team hopes to raise awareness of agriculturalization that is threatening much of the high Brazilian Plateau, reducing vast regions of tropical mesa land to an Iowa esque peneplain of Soy and Bean plantations. The waterfalls and canyons of the regions in some cases represent the last refuge of the unique semi arid echo-system that are home to some of the most spectacular creatures on earth including the 7-meter giant yellow Anaconda. Stay tuned to for updates and photos from this upcoming expedition in search of 3 seconds river assisted free fall acceleration in Central Brazil.