0:00:46 > 0:00:49Kathmandu - starting point for expeditions to climb Everest -
0:00:49 > 0:00:52is a 7,500-mile drive from Britain.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00Mick Hopkinson negotiated the narrow streets with an irreplaceable cargo.
0:01:00 > 0:01:0411 handmade racing kayaks, and the only ones in Nepal.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07This was a unique expedition.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10Six Olympic-class canoeists with some outstanding
0:01:10 > 0:01:13firsts in white-water canoeing to their credit,
0:01:13 > 0:01:15including a 220-mile descent of the Blue Nile
0:01:15 > 0:01:19and the first shoot of the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23They came to Kathmandu not to climb the highest mountain in the world,
0:01:23 > 0:01:27but to descend the highest river in the world, the Dudh Kosi.
0:01:29 > 0:01:30The British Everest Canoe Expedition
0:01:30 > 0:01:33had taken over 18 months to organise.
0:01:33 > 0:01:38It was led by Mike Jones, a 25-year-old doctor from Birmingham.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42Rob Hastings, the most stylish canoeist in the team, is a teacher.
0:01:43 > 0:01:4722-year-old Dave Manby, the youngest of the seven bachelors.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53Roger Huyton is a Yorkshireman from Bradford.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55As is Mick Hopkinson,
0:01:55 > 0:01:59at 28, the oldest and strongest of the party.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02John Liddle, despite being a chartered accountant,
0:02:02 > 0:02:04received the most love letters.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07But choosing John Gosling, a Post Office catering manager,
0:02:07 > 0:02:10to cook the food was pure genius.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14Climbing expeditions are commonplace in Kathmandu
0:02:14 > 0:02:16and even the most modern clothes,
0:02:16 > 0:02:18tents and equipment are taken for granted.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21Why have these helmets got holes in them?
0:02:21 > 0:02:23To let the water out of course.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26Who takes boats up a mountain?
0:02:26 > 0:02:29There's snow up there and these paddles won't be much use.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34From Kathmandu, the trail leads due east, crossing range after
0:02:34 > 0:02:38range of foothills to meet the Dudh Kosi after 80 miles.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43The source of the river is on the Khumbu Glacier
0:02:43 > 0:02:48above the Everest base camp, at an altitude of over 18,000 feet.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50The highest river in the world.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55It runs past the historic Thyangboche Monastery,
0:02:55 > 0:02:59Namche Bazaar - the Sherpas' home village -
0:02:59 > 0:03:04and at Jubing has fallen over 13,000 feet in its first 50 miles.
0:03:06 > 0:03:1050 miles later, it meets the Sun Kosi and becomes wide
0:03:10 > 0:03:13and peaceful as it flows down to the Bay of Bengal,
0:03:13 > 0:03:15a thousand miles away.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21So the walk began.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24It's 130 miles to the source of the river but everyone was aware
0:03:24 > 0:03:27as the path winds up ridges and down valleys,
0:03:27 > 0:03:31that there was over 45,000 feet of uphill grind in front of them.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41The porters vary in age from 14 to 40,
0:03:41 > 0:03:43and carry loads weighing up to 60lbs.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47For this, they're paid about a pound a day.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50The Porters' Union rated the canoe the same as a crevasse ladder,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54long and awkward, so an extra 25p a day was charged.
0:03:54 > 0:03:55It seemed a bargain.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24The day's walking started for everyone at 6.00 am.
0:04:24 > 0:04:29By 9.00 it was already warming up, and by 2.00 it was raining.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34One of the biggest risks for a canoeing expedition
0:04:34 > 0:04:37is to find no water in the river.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39Mike Jones' team weren't going to walk for 17 days
0:04:39 > 0:04:41just to find a dry river bed.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44So they chose to do it in September, at the height of the monsoon.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54As the rain fell, even the most pessimistic member
0:04:54 > 0:04:57accepted that there'd be more than enough water for all of them.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02Empty, the canoes weighed 30lbs,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05but full of rain water they were unmovable.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08There was a limit to what the porters would carry,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10even for that extra 25p a day.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16Walking, camping and living with 60 porters has certain benefits.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19They carry your equipment and they cook your food.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23At first this seemed a luxury, but as dysentery struck down one member
0:05:23 > 0:05:26after another, the advantage seemed dubious.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34Good weather cheers everyone up and soon the scenery became more Alpine.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38THE MEN SING
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Tantalising views of mountains were seen on the fine days.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45But they were still in the jungle
0:05:45 > 0:05:47and the blood-sucking leaches fed well.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01BIRDS SQUAWK
0:06:26 > 0:06:30As the day's walk came to an end, the tired legs became more hesitant
0:06:30 > 0:06:31and the load seemed more cumbersome.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Everyone looked for the campfire smoke.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37For the porters, this meant delicious roast chickens, rice,
0:06:37 > 0:06:39dhal and chapattis.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42For the Saabs, the best British dried food,
0:06:42 > 0:06:45delicately flavoured with fibreglass bonding resin
0:06:45 > 0:06:47that seemed to have pervaded everything.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50After a week, the expedition pleaded with the porters
0:06:50 > 0:06:53and ate their food for the rest of the trip.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Eight days out from Kathmandu, they reached the Hillary Bridge
0:07:00 > 0:07:03and saw the Dudh Kosi for the first time.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Sherpas have a healthy dislike of water
0:07:05 > 0:07:08and a real fear of crossing the bridges, which are left
0:07:08 > 0:07:11unrepaired until they fall down, usually with someone on them.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25As if from the crocodile-infested lower reaches of the river,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28the iridescent canoes seemed reptilian,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30even to the inoffensive local lizard.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41At the top of each ridge, the mountains came into view,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44but these were only of minor interest to the canoeists.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46While mountaineers would look up for routes,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48the canoeists look down,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50scrutinising every foot of the river.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52Is there too much water?
0:07:52 > 0:07:54Will we be able to do it?
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Four days later, they reach Namche Bazaar, the Sherpas' home village.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14The expedition porters were Tamangs from the lower Sun Kosi Valley.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16Sherpas - the aristocrats of the Himalayas -
0:08:16 > 0:08:20prefer to carry for climbing expeditions, with tents,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23rope and high-altitude clothing as their perks.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38But the Tamangs did their job, puzzled only by what they would do
0:08:38 > 0:08:41with a canoe if they were given one as a perk at the end of the trip.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52By now the team were getting acclimatised
0:08:52 > 0:08:55as they spent more time over 10,000 feet.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59They even began to take for granted ten-year-old girls
0:08:59 > 0:09:02acting as pack animals, carrying 50lbs of wood.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08Thyangboche Monastery is as sacred to climbers
0:09:08 > 0:09:10as to the monks themselves.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13Huddled beneath the highest peaks of the Himalayas
0:09:13 > 0:09:14with its Buddhist monuments,
0:09:14 > 0:09:18it occupies a unique position in the long history of Everest.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Early expeditions spent days there acclimatising
0:09:21 > 0:09:25as the Sherpas made the prayer wheels spin for a safe return.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29SHERPAS SING PRAYER
0:09:31 > 0:09:34For the first time, the expedition saw Everest -
0:09:34 > 0:09:36remote and insignificant.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39That night there was an air of anti-climax,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43but at dawn mountains came into view that were uniquely Himalayan -
0:09:43 > 0:09:46cold, dominating and dangerous.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50As the expedition got under way,
0:09:50 > 0:09:54higher, even more spectacular peaks crowded the skyline.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05But slowly, Everest grew in scale until there was no mistaking it.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09Squat, huge - sitting firmly above the expedition's objective -
0:10:09 > 0:10:11the Khumbu Glacier.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19Once on the glacier, the canoes were easier to handle, but a swift
0:10:19 > 0:10:23gust of wind could really give the porter a nasty headache.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26Now they were in real climbing country, and Eric Jones,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29one of the two climbers with the expedition, took charge.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35The snows from Everest avalanche into the Western Cwm
0:10:35 > 0:10:37and join the giant Khumbu Glacier.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47In summer, this melts and somewhere on its surface the canoeists
0:10:47 > 0:10:50found a lake, the real source of the Dudh Kosi.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55They had established a world's altitude record for canoeing -
0:10:55 > 0:10:5717,500 feet.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07The great advantage of canoeing down a mountain is that once the
0:11:07 > 0:11:11head of the river has been reached, it's all downhill from there on.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14They knew there was to be nothing as easy as this for the rest
0:11:14 > 0:11:18of the descent, but even here there were risks.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22At this altitude, a sudden violent movement provokes
0:11:22 > 0:11:26uncontrollable panting, as the lungs gasp on the thin air.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29And a capsize would be very dangerous.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45The fibreglass canoes, just four metres long,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48were specially re-enforced to resist the hammering from the rocks
0:11:48 > 0:11:52in the river and the sheer hydraulic force of the water.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56As it turned out, even strengthened, they just couldn't take
0:11:56 > 0:11:58the battering they were to get.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02Canoe design is a compromise between strength and weight.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05If, for example, these canoes had been made of steel,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08they would've been clumsy in a fast-moving river, and perhaps even
0:12:08 > 0:12:12more important, the porters wouldn't have been able to carry them.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16The ice lake gave the team some experience
0:12:16 > 0:12:18of some high-altitude paddling.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Under the south face of Lhotse, the magnificent satellite
0:12:21 > 0:12:24peak of Everest, the real river began.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30Dave Manby led the first part with Rob Hastings,
0:12:30 > 0:12:33who didn't like these shallow waters at all.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36It was very frustrating for the first three days
0:12:36 > 0:12:39because it was so rocky and it was so steep.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42It was very difficult to actually paddle cos there were
0:12:42 > 0:12:46so many rocks of all shapes and sizes littering the whole river bed.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50And because there wasn't very much water in it,
0:12:50 > 0:12:52it was difficult to actually get your paddle into the water.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05Soon the river steepened, and the narrow gaps
0:14:05 > 0:14:09between the boulders forced the water into high-pressure jets.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11Break-out points were further apart
0:14:11 > 0:14:14and the concentration required to avoid rocks intense.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18The rapid thrust of the paddle, a gasp for breath,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21a moment's loss of concentration...
0:14:21 > 0:14:23and Dave Manby capsizes.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30He tries to recover.
0:14:32 > 0:14:33Tries again.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41Tries a third time, it's his last chance, he's got to get out.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47The boat came up and he'd capsized. I could see he tried to roll,
0:14:47 > 0:14:49the paddle came to the surface
0:14:49 > 0:14:52but there just wasn't really very much space.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55His paddle was trapped between the canoe and a rock,
0:14:55 > 0:14:58and the next thing I knew, he was swimming,
0:14:58 > 0:15:00so I immediately jumped out of my canoe.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03There's very little that you can do when somebody is swimming
0:15:03 > 0:15:05because of the strength of the current.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09Virtually the only thing you can do is position yourself strategically,
0:15:09 > 0:15:13where he's most likely to be swept up,
0:15:13 > 0:15:17and jam yourself so you don't get pulled into the river as well.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19And the force of the water was incredible.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22And the last thing you want to do is to complicate the problem
0:15:22 > 0:15:23by swimming yourself.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27And fortunately, I just positioned myself behind this rock
0:15:27 > 0:15:30and Dave got swept up onto it and I just grabbed him.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34He clambered out and he avoided a very unpleasant experience.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36You can't survive for very long swimming down a river.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40You lose your breath and the next thing you know is you just give up.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42But if you exhaust yourself while you're swimming
0:15:42 > 0:15:45then you just get short of breath, you start taking in water,
0:15:45 > 0:15:48you go underneath, you hit rocks, you're continually hitting rocks,
0:15:48 > 0:15:50continually going underwater.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58Fortunately Dave's injuries were minor and now the party knew
0:15:58 > 0:16:02it was possible to survive a high-altitude capsize.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05But what would've happened if Rob hadn't been there to catch him
0:16:05 > 0:16:06and pull him out?
0:16:06 > 0:16:10The canoe was a complete write-off and Dave gave it as a souvenir
0:16:10 > 0:16:14to the porters, solving by chance the problem of porter perks.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17It's now a chicken hutch at the Thyangboche Monastery.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25Everest was still visible on the clear days
0:16:25 > 0:16:28but as they descended, the river steepened again
0:16:28 > 0:16:29and became more serious.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33All the time the canoeists are looking ahead for eddies,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36where they can break out from the high-speed,
0:16:36 > 0:16:39lung-bursting dodging between boulders.
0:16:39 > 0:16:40The water was just above freezing
0:16:40 > 0:16:43and survival time in it could be measured in minutes.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49Rob Hastings was in good form, taking a bold line down the river.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51By now, his confidence was high,
0:16:51 > 0:16:55but there were problems ahead even he couldn't anticipate.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05The force of the water was quite extraordinary.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09I mean, I suddenly realised... the rigidity in my boat just went,
0:17:09 > 0:17:13sort of snapped like a bow string or something.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16The canoe just folded up, just behind the cockpit,
0:17:16 > 0:17:18just behind me, and I could feel it.
0:17:18 > 0:17:23The boat was sort of V-shaped and immediately I realised that it was
0:17:23 > 0:17:26quite a potentially dangerous situation.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30I was in mid-stream so I had five or ten seconds to get to the bank
0:17:30 > 0:17:33or I realised the boat would sink and I would be swimming.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37And to swim down a river like that is the last thing you want to do.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Fortunately, Rob managed to repair his canoe
0:17:41 > 0:17:44while the team explored the river below.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47They were looking for suitable break-out points above impossible
0:17:47 > 0:17:50waterfalls and narrows, where the bank team could snatch
0:17:50 > 0:17:53a passing canoe before it swept over the fall.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57Ahead was the worst sluice they'd encountered so far.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59And there were only two possible eddies
0:17:59 > 0:18:01where Rob and Roger could stop.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Rob misses the first one...
0:18:18 > 0:18:21shoots the fall and makes the second.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33Roger Huyton wasn't so lucky.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50This was the nightmare that continuously haunted them -
0:18:50 > 0:18:54to be swept out of control for just one second too long,
0:18:54 > 0:18:58and then jammed irretrievably under a boulder.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17After 20 miles, the river fell into a steep-sided gorge.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20Geoff Tabner, one of the climbers, made a route down so the team
0:19:20 > 0:19:23could get a closer look to confirm that it was navigable.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27Already they had broken three canoes and at that rate the remaining
0:19:27 > 0:19:31eight canoes wouldn't see them through the next 79 miles
0:19:31 > 0:19:34to where the Dudh Kosi meets the placid waters of the Sun Kosi.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Access to the gorge was almost impossible and the waters rushed
0:19:39 > 0:19:42along with undiminished force.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44An accident here would be unthinkable.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02It was a remote, savage place, where chockstones the size
0:20:02 > 0:20:04of several houses hung poised,
0:20:04 > 0:20:06ready to crash into the turbulent waters.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Rob Hastings climbed back up,
0:20:09 > 0:20:12memorising the route they were to take down the river.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16Left of that boulder, right to that eddy, avoid that log.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Unconcerned by all this, Leo Dickinson,
0:20:19 > 0:20:23one of the cameramen, was determined to get into the perfect position
0:20:23 > 0:20:25where the jungle wouldn't screen his view.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31Mike Jones had suffered from the three most common
0:20:31 > 0:20:36Himalayan ailments - piles, dysentery and snow blindness.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39They all made boating an unpleasant experience.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42And in fast, exciting water, they could easily be forgotten.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07The gorge ends where the Dudh Kosi is joined by the Bhote-Kosi
0:21:07 > 0:21:12and suddenly the expedition began to feel the full force of the river.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15This was white-water canoeing at its most difficult.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19In the Alps and Britain, the team had practised on the steepest water,
0:21:19 > 0:21:22but the Dudh Kosi, falling at 270 feet per mile,
0:21:22 > 0:21:26was over four times as steep as anything they'd met before.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31One essential qualification for every member of the team
0:21:31 > 0:21:34was to be able to recover from a capsize by rolling his canoe
0:21:34 > 0:21:38on the first try, every time, and in the fastest water.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42There may be no time for a second attempt, and to lose the boat
0:21:42 > 0:21:45and try swimming in these conditions would be fatal.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50Apart from rocks, boils and whirlpools, the most formidable
0:21:50 > 0:21:54obstacle is a stopper wave - where the water turns over on itself
0:21:54 > 0:21:59and can seize a canoe or swimmer and churn him until smashed or drowned.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03The only way to break out is ploughing through it.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06This is impossible in a full-size life jacket,
0:22:06 > 0:22:08which makes them lethal.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11The team's jackets were just to give them some sort of buoyancy,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15but not enough to trap them if they were caught in a stopper.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19Rob Hastings was the first to take a bath in this sort of water.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22I capsized on the first fall and I realised
0:22:22 > 0:22:25I would be swept into the second fall before I had time to roll up,
0:22:25 > 0:22:27just cos I hadn't got my paddle into position,
0:22:27 > 0:22:29so I hung on upside down.
0:22:29 > 0:22:35And the next thing I knew was scraping rocks on my helmet.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47It was here that training and practice counted.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49Disorientated,
0:22:49 > 0:22:52Rob recovered beautifully to negotiate the next fall.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55The Sherpa kids really enjoyed the whole show.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01Dave Manby, now fully recovered from his earlier swim,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04may lack elegance but he makes it up with bags of nerve.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29This was real grade-six water - the most difficult there is -
0:24:29 > 0:24:33where a capsize was a problem but to lose the canoe would be a disaster.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37By now they were confident that they were masters of the river
0:24:37 > 0:24:41and looking at the bottom was just a prelude to flipping up again.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28Canoeing in this sort of water calls for strength, a finely developed
0:28:28 > 0:28:32sense of balance, and judgement to know when to pause for a rest.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36Above all, it requires a cool head when situations get out of control.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41Rob capsized right above a waterfall
0:28:41 > 0:28:44with no time to recover before he's over it.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46He rose up, completely lost,
0:28:46 > 0:28:49and heading rapidly for another impossible situation.
0:28:51 > 0:28:52Capsizes...
0:28:54 > 0:28:55Rolls up again.
0:28:55 > 0:28:59It's exactly this sort of sequence that can lead to disaster
0:28:59 > 0:29:00but Rob regains control.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18Mike Jones, stopped by the hydraulic back pressure of the stopper,
0:29:18 > 0:29:21had to use all his strength to break through it.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44This was the biggest fall they'd encountered -
0:29:44 > 0:29:48over 15-feet high with a giant stopper at the bottom.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52Once caught in that, there was little chance of getting out.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54Mick Hopkinson psyched himself up to do it,
0:29:54 > 0:29:57and, like a true expert, made it look easy.
0:30:05 > 0:30:08For the success and safety of the party,
0:30:08 > 0:30:10it was essential to operate as a team.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12They would follow each other through a section,
0:30:12 > 0:30:15then pull aside to make sure everyone was in good shape
0:30:15 > 0:30:18before tackling the next bit.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21Individual brilliance was important, but if things went wrong,
0:30:21 > 0:30:24good teamwork could avoid a disaster.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27After his virtuoso performance on the waterfall,
0:30:27 > 0:30:30and seven years without falling out of his canoe,
0:30:30 > 0:30:33Mick Hopkinson was full of confidence.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37It was the end of a long day, we'd been on the go since six o'clock,
0:30:37 > 0:30:41canoed for... Probably for four hours on some really difficult water
0:30:41 > 0:30:45and at the end of the day, I made a mistake.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47A lapse of concentration.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52Capsized and was swept sideways onto a large rock.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55Water pinned the canoe against the rock
0:30:55 > 0:30:58and I was upside down in the water.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01And the water was going so fast, such was the force of it anyway,
0:31:01 > 0:31:05I couldn't get out of the canoe. I was being held against the rock
0:31:05 > 0:31:08by the water, perhaps for 40, 50 seconds.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11I had to sit up, I had to get out of the boat,
0:31:11 > 0:31:15I had to do something, and I kept trying and trying.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17Eventually, I realised I wasn't going to do it.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20And at that point, the boat actually bent,
0:31:20 > 0:31:22came off the rock and I managed to get a breath.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26Mike Jones had seen what had happened and reacted instantly.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28He shot downstream to get ahead of Mick,
0:31:28 > 0:31:31who made a frantic attempt to grab the end of his canoe.
0:31:31 > 0:31:33But these were desperate waters
0:31:33 > 0:31:36and Mike had to look after his own survival.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59As the canoes slid over fall after fall, Mick,
0:31:59 > 0:32:01bowled over and over by the water,
0:32:01 > 0:32:04was swept out of sight, down another channel.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12Mike Jones, still hindered by his snow-blindness,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15managed to hold his canoe across the current.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18And Mick, completely exhausted, grabbed the stern.
0:32:23 > 0:32:28Shocked, battered and confused, Mick Hopkinson was pulled onto the bank.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31Mike Jones had just performed a classical and extremely
0:32:31 > 0:32:35skilful canoe rescue on technically difficult waters.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38Mick was very lucky to be alive.
0:32:38 > 0:32:40And I ended up swimming.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43I think swimming's the expression of it. Actually you just float.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46I was so exhausted I couldn't even try to swim for the bank.
0:32:48 > 0:32:49And at that point,
0:32:49 > 0:32:54Mike managed to get back in his canoe and chase after me.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58But...I thought that was it, I though that was the end.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01I should imagine drowning's very much like going to sleep.
0:33:01 > 0:33:06I was so physically exhausted from trying to get out of the canoe,
0:33:06 > 0:33:08from floating down the river,
0:33:08 > 0:33:11that I stopped caring.
0:33:11 > 0:33:12It's as simple as that.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16There's no panic. Panic involves a certain amount of adrenalin,
0:33:16 > 0:33:20a certain amount of energy, and I just didn't have any energy left at all.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22I was just passing out altogether. That was it.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26Helplessness is probably the worst thing.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31I popped out again and could take a breath
0:33:31 > 0:33:33and then back under the water.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36All this time, you're being rolled along the bottom
0:33:36 > 0:33:40and getting your head cracked against rocks and things.
0:33:40 > 0:33:41And you think, "This is it."
0:33:41 > 0:33:44Well, the water was flowing very fast,
0:33:44 > 0:33:46and all you can hear is a crashing noise.
0:33:46 > 0:33:51I think probably when you get swept underneath for a long period
0:33:51 > 0:33:55of time and you get really frightened, there's very little you can do.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59It's the man in the water's job to try and get hold of the canoe.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01The actual canoeist can't do that much.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04Mike couldn't have done a great deal to, say, physically lift me
0:34:04 > 0:34:07onto the canoe at all. Because the water was so difficult,
0:34:07 > 0:34:09he had to paddle down it himself.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13And once I actually, even though I'd got hold of the canoe,
0:34:13 > 0:34:16I had to let go of it cos we dropped into a fairly big stopper,
0:34:16 > 0:34:19the two of us, and if I'd held onto his canoe
0:34:19 > 0:34:21then he'd have ended up swimming as well.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23So I actually let go once.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26But...perhaps Mike's...
0:34:26 > 0:34:28As I say, Mike's big problem was he didn't know exactly where
0:34:28 > 0:34:31to go down the rapid himself cos he couldn't see.
0:35:02 > 0:35:07I actually opened my eyes and all I could see was some brown/blue colour
0:35:07 > 0:35:12and I was longing for the surface, to see the sky, if you like,
0:35:12 > 0:35:13and I couldn't.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24I was just completely, absolutely exhausted.
0:35:24 > 0:35:28So much so that just getting hold of the end of his boat
0:35:28 > 0:35:31was a major effort and willpower.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35And eventually, even when he pulled me near the bank,
0:35:35 > 0:35:38I just stared at the bank, you can appreciate that.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41I don't think a drowning man does clutch at straws.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43I just stared at the river bank
0:35:43 > 0:35:47and I didn't have the energy to lift my arm to get hold of it.
0:35:47 > 0:35:50I was eventually pulled out by some of the porters.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56The way I looked at it anyway was that, having made
0:35:56 > 0:35:59a mistake like that, I'd never make another mistake.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01I'd never do the same stupid thing again.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04I'd never have the same lapse of concentration.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07I was that much more experienced than I was the day before.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11By now, most of the canoes had been damaged
0:36:11 > 0:36:14by smashing against rocks in the river.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16Every night, they were patched and reinforced
0:36:16 > 0:36:19but three had already been written off.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22It seemed worth taking a risk to recover Mick's canoe,
0:36:22 > 0:36:24hoping it might be possible to repair it.
0:36:49 > 0:36:53Rob recovered it, and only now was it possible to see how Mick had
0:36:53 > 0:36:56managed to escape from under the boulder.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59His struggling under the water and the sheer force of the current
0:36:59 > 0:37:01had split the boat apart.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10As a special treat, Mick was given the last brand-new boat
0:37:10 > 0:37:12being carried by the support party,
0:37:12 > 0:37:15with instructions to look after it this time.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21Each night they camped alongside the river
0:37:21 > 0:37:24and the Sherpa cook boys did their best to make
0:37:24 > 0:37:27the fibreglass-flavoured food taste interesting.
0:37:27 > 0:37:31There were no fresh eggs or chickens to be had.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34At dawn, the air was frigid and the icy water,
0:37:34 > 0:37:37crashing past the tent door seemed very uninviting.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41It required a real effort of will to leave a warm sleeping bag,
0:37:41 > 0:37:45put on sodden wet suit trousers, damp sweaters to sit in a canoe
0:37:45 > 0:37:50with only 4mm of fibreglass between your backside and the cold river.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58There was no warm-up period. One minute they were on the bank,
0:37:58 > 0:38:01the next, hurtling down the river again.
0:38:01 > 0:38:03Just to show who was boss, the whole expedition
0:38:03 > 0:38:07and Mick, breaking in his new canoe, shot the same rapids again.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12As Mick put it, "After 18 months of planning, and ten weeks
0:38:12 > 0:38:15"of getting there, you don't give up because you've fallen in."
0:39:07 > 0:39:11By now they'd been canoeing for ten days, and had descended
0:39:11 > 0:39:14over 10,000 feet from the start on the Khumbu Glacier lake.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20Each section of the river was inspected before a descent was attempted.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24Here, all the water was swept under a jammed log.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26A mistake upstream
0:39:26 > 0:39:30and the canoeist would be wedged in his canoe under the tree trunk.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34The team discussed its feasibility,
0:39:34 > 0:39:37not wanting a repetition of Mick's near-fatal swim.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40Finally they took the chicken run,
0:39:40 > 0:39:42the easier, quiet water near the bank.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44With only a few canoes left serviceable
0:39:44 > 0:39:47and some of those held together with sticky tape,
0:39:47 > 0:39:51they were taking no chances of failure with success so near.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55The river was utterly relentless.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57Falls, haystack waves, rocks
0:39:57 > 0:40:00and the ever present thunder of rushing water.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30Mick and Mike take the next section of the river.
0:40:30 > 0:40:34Mick sees a huge stopper wave, but it's too late.
0:40:34 > 0:40:39He's swept into it, spun into a loop and contemptuously spat out.
0:40:42 > 0:40:43Mike cunningly avoids it.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07At last, the end of the steep section was in sight.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11They'd travelled 50 miles and descended over 13,000 feet
0:41:11 > 0:41:14in the steepest and most continuously difficult water
0:41:14 > 0:41:17anyone on the expedition had experienced.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21There was an air of relief after conquering
0:41:21 > 0:41:22the most difficult section.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25And Dave Manby ducks into a victory roll.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35But they were still only halfway down.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37They needed a holt to repair what canoes they could
0:41:37 > 0:41:40and to take stock of the food, which was rapidly running out.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45No-one would let go of his special handmade paddle,
0:41:45 > 0:41:49particularly as they cost £25 each.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53Writing off a canoe was one thing, but to a canoeist, his paddle
0:41:53 > 0:41:56represented the driving force behind the canoe, the steering
0:41:56 > 0:42:01mechanism, the brake and the recovery device on a capsize.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04Losing a paddle in the Dudh Kosi is as serious to a canoeist
0:42:04 > 0:42:09as losing an ice axe is to a climber on the summit of Everest.
0:42:09 > 0:42:10The tea quickly warmed them up
0:42:10 > 0:42:13and they began to recall the incidents of the trip.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15Mike Jones' rescue of Mick,
0:42:15 > 0:42:18Rob's first roll, hammering his head along the bottom,
0:42:18 > 0:42:22John Liddle still enjoying his stock of love letters,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25Dave Manby the first one to take a big swim,
0:42:25 > 0:42:27luckily well caught by Rob Hastings.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32John Gosling, still explaining the taste of fibreglass in the food
0:42:32 > 0:42:35and the missing stock of Dundee cakes.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38Roger Huyton, who made such a contribution high up,
0:42:38 > 0:42:41and, with his smile, keeping everybody's spirits high.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46With only two serviceable canoes left, the expedition still
0:42:46 > 0:42:49had 50 miles of the Dudh Kosi to complete.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52The two Mikes volunteered to try an Alpine decent
0:42:52 > 0:42:55through the more placid lower reaches.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58They set out as the rest of the party started the long trek
0:42:58 > 0:42:59to Kathmandu.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02There would be no comforting support party on the bank
0:43:02 > 0:43:05to help the canoeists if they got into trouble.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10They carried the minimum of equipment and food -
0:43:10 > 0:43:13a sleeping bag each, a few bars of chocolate
0:43:13 > 0:43:16and the expedition's last Dundee cake.
0:43:16 > 0:43:18Two thoughts filled their minds
0:43:18 > 0:43:21as they paddled past mile after mile of paddy fields -
0:43:21 > 0:43:24where would they be able to get some cooked food,
0:43:24 > 0:43:27even if it was only a few chapattis?
0:43:27 > 0:43:30And if the river really was infested with crocodiles,
0:43:30 > 0:43:33as the Sherpas said, where were they all hiding?
0:43:44 > 0:43:47They paddled for 50 miles round bend after bend,
0:43:47 > 0:43:51until each curve merged into the next as a solid green wall.
0:43:51 > 0:43:53It seemed endless.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13They had arranged to be met where the Dudh Kosi meets the Sun Kosi.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15It seemed a vague arrangement,
0:44:15 > 0:44:18but right on schedule, the helicopter appeared
0:44:18 > 0:44:22and the fear of the five-day walk out to Kathmandu was eliminated.
0:44:22 > 0:44:25Their journey's end was really in sight.
0:44:29 > 0:44:34Elated with success, they paddled for the last time on the Dudh Kosi.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38They'd no food left and they'd seen no crocodiles.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41But the expedition had successfully completed
0:44:41 > 0:44:44the longest canoe descent in the world.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47For each of the team, it was a triumph.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50A burnt face and swollen lips were the last mementos
0:44:50 > 0:44:52of the high-altitude sun.
0:44:54 > 0:44:56The weight they had lost would be regained
0:44:56 > 0:44:58once they were eating normal food.
0:44:58 > 0:45:03But for them all, this had been the ultimate in canoeing adventures.