Eight-year-old boy completes adventurous rafting expedition in Zanskar river

LADAKH - Raising the benchmarks in white water rafting, an expedition team of adventure enthusiasts, including an eight-year-old boy, have successfully rafted in the River Zanskar, which flows through Jammu and Kashmir’s Ladakh region.

The expedition team, which conquered the 125-kilometres long stretch of the gushing waters of River Zanskar, saw active participation of the young boy, Youdaan, who gave his best in navigating the boat.

In what was seen as a classic battle of nature versus man, the raging river twirled and rotated the rafting boats of the expedition on many occasion even as the team struggled to proceed against the strong and visible water torrents.

Wading their way through the speedy class III and class IV rapids, the team faced the daunting task of beating the angry river by unshaken aggression, passion and skill.

The team completed the treacherous stretch and reached the destination in four days, each of which was filled with excitement and adventure.

“It was fun, but I got a bit scared on the second day where we capsized after being caught in an unexpected great four round rapid. Everyone fell out, all the six from my family. The boat capsized and I was scared because I could not find my father,” Youdaan said.

The six-member team, headed by Pradeep Dani, a local Himalayan explorer, crossed and tricked every rapid in the frothy waters, surrounded by 6000 meters high peaks of the Padum range.

“It was fun, very exciting. At times, though, it was a bit more exciting than we wanted, but it was great. (We surfed the rapids) for four days…two full days and two half days,” said Russell, Youdaan’s father and a participant in the expedition.

The turbulent rapids of the Zanskar are one of the most challenging waters for rafting.

The frothy river flows through the spectacular Zanskar canyon of Ladakh, which is often hailed by locals as the Grand Canyon of Asia.

The speedy flow of the river combined with its sub-zero temperatures pose a tricky and dangerous realm for river rafting that requires considerable amount of experience and skill. (ANI)