Rushing down the Akkem Rush (the crown jewels of the Katun).

We finally made it to the main water “attraction” of the Katun: the Akkem Rush, aka the Akkem Breakthrough, aka the Pipe. Long ago, the Katun carved out a gorge about 12 kilometers long right here, squeezing the river down to just 30 meters wide. The result: all that water rushes forward with tremendous force…

The cascade of rapids stretches roughly two to two-and-a-half kilometers. Some of the drops – especially the ones at the start – are quite difficult, demanding an experienced captain to steer the craft the correct course. You also need a well-coordinated team (even if they’re beginners) to provide momentum and paddle hard through the big waves. And it’s pure exhilaration and adrenaline! I recall how after my first run down the Pipe, I came up with the following: “Once you’ve tackled the Akkem Rush, waterparks are just meh!”

Here’s a screenshot of the map showing this incredible stretch:

But let’s take it from the top. The day started, as per usual, with us waking up in our tents, having breakfast, and packing our gear onto the rafts…

…And then saying our goodbyes to the Akkem River:

It’s a truly spectacular sight where the gray water of the Akkem meets the turquoise flow of the Katun:

And off we go! And I have to give a big thank-you to the other rafters – who had the super idea of mounting a 360-degree camera on the bow of our raft ->

Just around this bend is the entrance to the Pipe:

Scouting the rapids is an absolute must:

Checking out the riverbank itself is worthwhile it too – you never know what kind of interesting relics you might find:

You’d be amazed by what the river tosses up onto the rocks! What is this, for example? I never figured it out…

Alright, we’ve finished scouting the opening section of rapids:

The most important thing – don’t be afraid :-)…

The rescue catamaran went first ->

The big rafts followed…

And then it was our turn to launch…

Taking photos was out of the question – you’ll see from the drone and action-cam footage why that was! ->

For breakfast – a video:

The view from above:

And some action shots:

What a fantastic whitewater ride! At one point I found myself daydreaming: what if we could just hook the raft to a helicopter, haul it back to the start, and ride the rapids in a loop all day? Sadly, it’s not so simple – you’d have to deflate and re-inflate the raft each time, which takes quite a while. Still, there are rumors about plans to build a road along the Rush. Maybe, one day, this dream could come true?…

Once we’d done the cascade of rapids and smaller riffles, the river calmed down again – and I was able to get my camera back out:

Absolutely stunning!…

And that was that: the day’s rafting – done.

It was a short day on the water; we covered around 25 kilometers in about two-and-a-half hours, including a long break to scout the entrance rapids. The “active phase” itself only took about 15 minutes – and I wanted to go back and do it all again! Over those 25 kilometers, we dropped about 50 meters in elevation, and camped at 780 meters above sea-level.

The campsite is known as Argut Camp (named after the Akkem tributary that’s right here) or sometimes as the “Rafters’ Museum” – for it is a veritable (informal, ever-changing) collection of artifacts and memories:

Here’s where it is on the map:

In upcoming posts, we’ll continue the journey downriver, and I’ll also share a bit about the Argut – a truly formidable river (which I’ve had the chance to explore before)…

Back soon folks!…