First Legal Descent of the Niagara Gorge

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Most popular comments
for First Legal Descent of the Niagara Gorge

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datapro007 - 6 years ago

Carrie rolls at 11:36.

chesky baba - 6 years ago

Those boats! The helmets, PFD's ,paddles! How did they do it? And where those skirts duct taped down?

relikvija - 7 years ago

she has bigger balls then most men I know

looseparashoot - 7 years ago

White PEOPLE are pretty awesome

tubesockets120v - 7 years ago

It's the biggest she's ever seen.

Sean Baskett - 7 years ago

This is some of the greatest whitewater footage ever. I wish they could get camera crews like this into the Tsangpo gorge or the Stikine. With the right kind of lenses.

Bruce B - 7 years ago

Looks like you'd flush drown if you fell out.

Anton Ruso - 8 years ago

LOL @ soundeffect @8:07

Susan Jordan - 8 years ago

Holy Holy shit.

10. comment for First Legal Descent of the Niagara Gorge

Harry Featherstone - 8 years ago

Putting myself in a barrel and hurtling down a huge waterfall would be my idea of hell. Who in their right mind would wana do that?

Chris - 8 years ago

that background music at the start sounds just like 'new noise' by refused ha ha

Bob Sit - 8 years ago

Originally from Niagara Falls, but at the time that this was filmed missed it because I was on a pleasure cruise of the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean aboard the Luxury Ocean Liner USS John F. Kennedy. Would of loved to see it,

Jordan Babcock - 8 years ago

k, no thank you.

lw216316 - 8 years ago

I've been there in person and the video does not capture the full experience.
Its like looking a picture of the Grand Canyon.
You have to be there in person to understand it.

I was there many years ago
and could not imagine anyone going down those rapids like that.

Jenna L. - 8 years ago

So happy to see a few others comment on the sexist comments towards Carrie.
I thought she had a great run, she didn't flip, and she handled it just as well as the others Though Chris was disputably the best, I think - what a fantastic run! - I have to say Carrie was better than Don and Ken. Saying that she was 'unsure of herself' and 'fearing the size of the water' is pure sexist nonsense. As the narrator himself says, only an expert can do this! If she was afraid of big water, why the fuck would she be this good at kayaking? It takes pure guts to participate in a sport like this, and women have to be absolute bulldogs to prove themselves and gain the strength necessary since our bodies have a much harder time forming muscle and upper body strength. Go Carrie!

EverythingViral - 6 years ago

She seemed to be the only one truly nervous, and even admitted as much afterwards, that's probably why he said those things. People are so ridiculous nowadays, everyone is a victim. I bet you're one of those people who thinks it's sexual assault to compliment a woman.

Chris Landry - 7 years ago

its hard to make a sexist comment about a chick thats so ugly.

Rex Unkefer - 7 years ago

This really takes me back

datapro007 - 7 years ago

Let's not get off the "deep-end" on this. I didn't hear Bob say anything "sexist". One point, Carrie did in fact roll on video. Take a close look at 11:39.

AKillerTuna - 7 years ago

Over 30 years ago. Your outrage is hollow. Get over it.

Tony McSpadden - 8 years ago

+Jenna L. She sure did great, but she did have to roll once. That is large water!

Chiloe Spelius - 9 years ago

I too thought the comment was not legit....... C spelius

datapro007 - 9 years ago

I'll cut Bob Beattie a break, since he is a great skier and courageous. However, saying that Carrie Ashton is "unsure of herself" and "perhaps fearing the size of the water" is preposterous. Let's see Bob make the run, then he can comment on Carrie.

Joe Palm - 8 years ago

and the on-screen time of her run is far shorter than the 3 men

dillon sanford - 9 years ago

sweet background music almost like a 70's porn

Chris - 8 years ago

sounds exactly like refused 'new noise'

fnog9 - 9 years ago

its such a waste for it to be illegal to go in those rapids.

Fourth Reich 卐 - 9 years ago

Red Hill Jr: "Watch this dad! Forget the Gorge, Im gonna go over the falls itself! Checkout my barrel made out of inner-tubes. Here I go..." /DEATH

20. comment for First Legal Descent of the Niagara Gorge

Darren Green - 9 years ago

5:24-5:43 This is the biggest she's ever seen.

TCSwizz2 - 8 years ago

Hehehehehehe

Travanta Polk - 9 years ago

They didn't have all the gates open

Jeff Poisson - 9 years ago

Anyone know what the music is at the beginning? Sounds like Refused-New Noise.

joshua12345676 - 10 years ago

This is so amazing... Props to anyone doing this

fatmanmark - 10 years ago

"where the flow is unpredictable, and the surge is mysterious"hahaha best narrarator.

Timothy Stratton - 10 years ago

Visiting Niagara Falls today. The power of the Niagara river is like nothing I've ever seen. All of this water is the same exact water that flows over the Falls themselves.

After the falls there's about a mile lull in the river, then it narrows and steepens rapidly and unexpectedly, creating these class 6 rapids. I can imagine explorers from hundreds of years ago climbing down the rock face near the falls to return to what they think may revert to a calm river only to find this beastly whitewater.

Steve DeCourier - 10 years ago

3:25 - "A chilly whirlpool 500 feet deep".

mmmm... no.

robinrb1 - 10 years ago

Hey Chris, Do you still have access to the video's of the 1981 and 85 Stikine trips?

Wad9591 - 10 years ago

This is a good place to sight see and a very good place to hold respect. I live here and this place is treacherous beyond your wildest dreams. It is a place you respect from a distance. Too many have taken it for granted and the majority have fared miserably. Most are never found.

joeskis - 10 years ago

I don't understand where this is. Is it shortly after the Niagara falls or the American falls? I know a ferry boat drives you right up to the bottom of the falls so the river can't be that wild.

BugattiIncorporated - 10 years ago

Your kidding me right? How on earth could any boat make it past those rapids. The "Maid of the Mist" is the Niagara Falls tourist boat that as you said takes you close to the falls itself. I was on it a while back, but they dock somewhere between the falls and beginning of the rapids. The boats depicted in here are fairly small compared to the new ones they have now. These are some of the worst rapids out there, so yes it is as bad as it looks.

Arthur Swails - 10 years ago

Did you see the video? It is wild as fuck.

30. comment for First Legal Descent of the Niagara Gorge

Callum Jeffcock - 10 years ago

old school!

Allen Wilson - 10 years ago

This is a wonderful documentary of the running of the Whirlpool Rapids. I would like to say, though, that it really is mis-titled. I personally in May and June of 1972 ran five trips down said rapid. We as a group ran at least 15 trips. Granted, it was done with large Grand Canyon Type rafts, and I agree there is a huge difference between kayaking and rafting. But it should be noted that I flipped this rig straight over backwards in the big wave at the entrance to the whirlpool. This is a link of the commemorative photo taken of our first run. I just think, as good a video as this is the facts are not correct. This is not the first legal descent of the Niagara Gorge.
https://app.box.com/s/rrf6ntntomiuhzn9vvi9

Jay - 8 years ago

That lip right at the entrance to the whirlpool gets huge. You hit that? Wow that's crazy.

shadowkitty56 - 8 years ago

I know this is old, but i have to ask, Mr Wilson: what would it take to get those rapids run below the falls run again? It is 2016. People have run rapids in the Congo River and in bigger rivers than Niagara-why the reluctance to try again? It used to be that the Gauley was considered too dangerous until somebody did it in the 1960s. Same is true of parts of the Tuolomne in CA. Could the govt. see reason and only allow those who have conquered the most challenging rivers ride the waves?

Chiloe Spelius - 10 years ago

That is interesting.....I remember rafting was permitted with a raft designed by Cornell University till it fipped and few died. I thought i heard about a Grand Canyon guide running till his raft flipped. Did you run the rapid above Whirlpool? I would suppose you have to. So I guess you guys were not the first either as a steam boat was run down to get it from beneath the falls down to the lake below. So this video is misnamed. It should be the first legal descent in kayaks. Chris

Aaron M - 11 years ago

seems legit

ismed kurniawan - 11 years ago

keren man, do you like its

holydogshit2010 - 11 years ago

Fucking loved the music.

vistacruiser70s - 11 years ago

They talk of "energy" and "sunlight off the water" like they were hippie hold overs from a bygone age. The early '80's hadn't really hit with them, they were older..

xlr8r17 - 11 years ago

Also, Red Hill Jr. is one crazy bastard

xlr8r17 - 11 years ago

Kayak design has come a long way .. wow

Will Conkwright - 11 years ago

:-) 11:58 Because i think you graduate in the first woman to get on the rabbits

J. Lyn - 11 years ago

Yeah, the smile and laugh is typical of a person who is 'scared as fuck'. She didn't say she was happy it was over, she said she felt better now. Doesn't everyone feel better after they accomplish something awesome? If anyone was 'scared as fuck', they would never be in this sport, and would have never paddled into the Niagara Gorge. This takes guts and passion and years of dedicated training.

Bob Marley - 11 years ago

every few years ? lol nonono.. not the canadian side, majority deaths.. i'd say 1/1000000 live MAYBE.. considering how many people use it for suicide after losing everything at the casino.. which is a hell of a lot more than is released to the public.

Bob Marley - 11 years ago

don't be a dumb bitch, she was clearly scared as fuck. the only reason she went through with it was because she was beyond the point of return and it was very clear she realized that. Did you not watch the end interview where she showed just how scared she was, she even said how happy she was that she was done with it.

mokotramp - 11 years ago

What's with all the beards? Freaks!

Zach B - 11 years ago

Cool video! Subtly dated sexism too!

David Blumberg - 11 years ago

wow! great stuff! and loved the LA Rams football helmet...

Matthew Ganz - 11 years ago

Awesome! Chris you destroyed that line. SO MUCH WATER.

hodman1957 - 11 years ago

Big waves but no holes!

jvidell - 11 years ago

Pfft. Been there. Done that. Oh wait. Never mind. That was only in my dreams.

davetileguy - 12 years ago

We floated this on our inner-tubes one year

feiz01 - 12 years ago

crazy footage,,, man awsome stuff, ive just started kayaking and have bought a pyranha karnali, and am desperate to learn a roll,,,, help please :) from england

50. comment for First Legal Descent of the Niagara Gorge

Kittycatpartyhat - 12 years ago

I will never be this cool.

dameon pesanti - 12 years ago

huge boats and pfd's

etcrobb - 12 years ago

Very impressive. Crazy but impressive and congrats for surviving.

soheil fahimy - 12 years ago

Chris made it seem effortless,that is how good he is.

Walt X - 12 years ago

Narrator: Carrie, this will be your first time Carrie: yes it will be Narrator:how's it look? Carrie: BIG! Ahahahaha

20cFilmWannabe - 12 years ago

Dirty minds lol

James Biederman - 12 years ago

I'll stick with flat water Kayaking, thankyou !!!!

bigbear 350 - 7 years ago

i rather stick my canoe trip on small river not as big rapid like that .. holly shit

Ted7864 - 12 years ago

Big deal this is nothing. Lois Lane did the same white water run with nothing more than her own arms and a little piece of a floating log in Superman 2

dontjinxme - 12 years ago

The first and only time I ever saw Kayakers was at the Natahala River. This was back in the mid-80s when the Kayaks ,as seen above, were everywhere. When I got into Kayaking around 2005, after moving to Georgia from S. Florida, those were the types I naturally looked for. The dude at the store was sorta like "Dude! What decade did you just come from."

Andrew Overby - 12 years ago

Wow that is awesome... You guys are insane in the best way! Is that a perception dancer I see? I just picked one up just like that last fall, had no idea it was this old!

Chiloe Spelius - 12 years ago

120,000 cubic feet per second Carrie had bigger balls than anyone I knew at the time and she precise and elegant. That was a sexist comment without a doubt......bChris

Kaapo73 - 12 years ago

@mkatlynwilliams She is brave! About that not-to-flip, check 11:37. It doesn't make a paddler worse if there is a need for the roll. Just do that!

J. Lyn - 13 years ago

Carrie didn't seem 'unsure of herself' - seems like the announcer was being sexist there.... Women are not timid and helpless, especially not pro kayakers going through the fucking Niagara Gorge. Carrie has more guts than any man I know.

RWOATMAN - 13 years ago

Well let me rephrase that it looks like Chris and Carrie are paddling Dancers or some perception boats. Thanks for posting this Chris What were the other 2 boats??

RWOATMAN - 13 years ago

Lovin it, I cant believe i have not seen this footage, i miss the old glass boats,Kayaking on Sun. and gettin drunk and doin patchwork on Tue. At least thats the way it was done in the southeast U.S. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

guaranic - 13 years ago

Imagine taking an 18 footer down that

stillrob420 - 13 years ago

When someone Surfs it, then ill be impressed.

Michael Harper - 13 years ago

@Karrowt haha that sounds perverted lol

muskieandsalmon1 - 13 years ago

@CalTek cormorant largely disappeared thanks to the chemical DDT..the same one that devastated the Bald Eagle... After many years since DDT was banned, the cormorants are finally making a comeback..and then some...for some silly reason, everybody hates them...but i would argue that not having them around did more damage...every ecosystem needs predators to keep disease down..

Jim McCarthy - 13 years ago

Thanks for posting!

FreeWillFreeRide - 13 years ago

@tpstrat14 there way to get out. you should take class.

Chiloe Spelius - 13 years ago

that is the entire video.

Chiloe Spelius - 13 years ago

You know I always thought the same thing from the first I saw the show before it aired. Carrie was one of the best paddlers in the country male or female at the time. chris

Alswearengen15 - 13 years ago

haha! That's great! I love old school kayaking videos.

Timothy Stratton - 13 years ago

You practice holding your breath driving in your car!?!?!? Man, that's gotta be a hopeless feeling if you're under and you can't roll yourself back up. It makes me anxious just thinking about it...

datapro007 - 13 years ago

Hi, Chris, I love this video. I hike that section of the gorge often and am always awestruck by the thought of running it.

chunkEcheez - 13 years ago

UNREAL!

ipplepen - 13 years ago

Really enjoyed seeing what the old boats could do

3jcorn - 14 years ago

They're all paddling PIGS!!!

canmoore - 14 years ago

@Dole111 Just you wait till the flood gates at the dam are opened...

jmr1068204 - 14 years ago

How was it a "legal descent" if it resulted in the arrest of Ken and the escape of Chris? LOL

Chiloe Spelius - 14 years ago

Thanks for the comments. For more historical videos check out exchile.com

Jim Busse - 14 years ago

nice job guys! great to see some classic footage!

Chiloe Spelius - 14 years ago

Hahh that was true....we hid in the woods..hid our boats in a drainage pipe, and evaded the police.

Keith Hibbard - 14 years ago

this was back when men, real men, risked their lives to conquer nature. to try such a stunt now one would have to conquer a mountain of red tape before this mountain of water.

PotatoGunsRule - 14 years ago

Oh I know man. A friend bought two pairs of 205's for $25.00. He got some laughs at line up at my resort, then shredded the mountain! He was impossible for me to catch.

nick cardone - 14 years ago

I'd die.

Doug Grosjean - 14 years ago

This is fantastic. I applied for a permit in the early 1990s, assuming that lobbying efforts by the AWA had been successful, and the response was ... amusing. Parks staff took my name and number, called me about 8 hours later and read 4 passages from the New York Revised Code, which described the offenses I'd be charged with if I tried such a thing. And no, they weren't handing out permits.

acrazedmaniac - 14 years ago

i love my old..215cm skis.... the 'hot shots' of today..can not ski em, like i do.

whatnext12 - 14 years ago

not then...

bimota_rider - 15 years ago

Hey Chris, I got your e-mail!!!! For everyone else: On Oct, 5 1977 Thomas Beaman and Robert Murray entered the river beneath the Whirlpool Bridge and shot the imfamous "Whirlpool Rapids" on truck inner tubes. We tied the tubes together with a length of rope about 12 feet apart. We wore only life jackets, hockey helmets, and swim fins. We were not tethered to the tubes in any way. We where we were arrested on a multitude of charges. We repeated this stunt in Aug. of 80 We eluded capture.

Chiloe Spelius - 15 years ago

oops i did not mean to remove your entry. Tell me who the guys were to run in it in a tube I would love to talk to them. Write your post again please, Chris

bimota_rider - 15 years ago

oooops, the post below is incorrect. the date of our original float was Oct. 5, 1977

Chiloe Spelius - 15 years ago

Our first descent was in 76. The first legal descent I think was in 81. Chris

Adam Chappell - 15 years ago

that look like a easy class 4 rapid

Snomi16 - 15 years ago

its amazing how much kayaks have advanced in design in 25 years...those look almost terrifying to use! fair play to them tho...thats some bit of whitewater!

gcharocks - 15 years ago

those r the biggest waves I've ever seen

Al Bundy - 15 years ago

80's tv rules

blueorangelettuce - 15 years ago

Jesus Christ, what intensity!

pbr2424 - 15 years ago

I love some of the older videos of whitewater kayaking showing the Perception Dancers / Mirages. Chirs Spelius is the best because of his love for the sport. I remember doing the Kenebec in Maine @ 13000cfs. My friend peeled off down the river when we were dicussing whether we should be doing this and I had no choice but to follow. Lots of adeneline for me. It the best sport. Thanks for posting.

100. comment for First Legal Descent of the Niagara Gorge

magget16 - 15 years ago

these look more like class 5, 6 is much harsher.

racek2 - 15 years ago

Every few years someone goes over the falls and lives. It's not unheard of, just do a quick search of Buffalo news.

leadstring66 - 15 years ago

LOL, i lived there thirty years, never said, those are class 5 and those are class 6.....LOL i said, those will kill ya you must have been goin down, and i was goin up LOL

leadstring66 - 15 years ago

man you cant rip through ther on no jetski. LOL, i had a starcraft with a 350 and i could only get so far, then i just stood still with the motor full out.

Chiloe Spelius - 15 years ago

I am not certain if I understand your comment but....for me warming up doing a full roll is a ritual of mine before a big rapid. Getting my body used to the water and going through the full range of motion before we head down the gorge. I think everyone in the group had extreme confidence in their own roll.... If you did not have confidence in ones woll .....this is not the river to paddle.

Chiloe Spelius - 15 years ago

I have always wanted to try a jet ski...I thought I could get it through there but going upstream. Hey Ken Lagergren did swim through there when he exited his kayak back in the 70's. He survived!!!!!!!

Chiloe Spelius - 15 years ago

Well someone did notice the fact that we taped and glued our spray skirts down. That was the big fear...what would happen if the skirt blew. We had three illegal runs before we did the filming run. chris

pagansnorider - 15 years ago

awesome quote!!!

Skyler Wefer - 15 years ago

Truly amazing. Soooo much power in there. Someday!

madmax412 - 15 years ago

what kind of idiot wouldnt think this was sick? this is great footage man!

Chiloe Spelius - 15 years ago

Lame? It was all I could do to keep Ken Lagergren from running the falls back then. That was in the 70's before you were born and when long boats were the norm. He had his line figured out and only way I stopped him was by telling him if he went for it I was not going to film it. He called me a weeenie. He said a 10 year old boy went over it in a life jacket without a scratch. Quote from Lagergren "You can not let anything: job, work girl friends get in the way of one and the river.

Jade Orchid - 15 years ago

And in some old school kayaks too! Gawd those things are L O N G! The new style whitewater kayaks take out a lot of the work. I can't even imagine the control it took. It just blows my mind. :O

Jade Orchid - 15 years ago

Omg this is freaking INTENSE! My heart was in my throat just watching it. I'm my hometown's only urban kayaker and I've taken tunnels, canals, spillways, and have gone down several local waterfalls but nothing like this. I'll never be this good... You guys are my heros! :D

Chiloe Spelius - 15 years ago

Hah I agree my hero was little Roger Woodward.

Erik Hancock - 15 years ago

at like 49 seconds omfg talk about pool drop fun

Chiloe Spelius - 15 years ago

well I recall it was in the early 80s perhaps 1980 at the earliest 1982 at the latest. I can check the newspaper articles and let you know exactly.

Wolves of Canada - 15 years ago

holy crap that looks like fun.

Indy - 15 years ago

Just awesome, gotta love the 80's. This is reality TV, ha, They're coming out the other end one way or the other, the force of that water won't stop for a rescue team.