First Descent: Upper Rio Savegre

The Rio Savegre lies in the bottom of one of Costa Rica's most beautiful valleys and also has some incredibly fun class IV-V whitewater. Ferdinand Steinvorth, Chris Baer, and I had just got off the upper section of the Rio Division and were set on, after a good night's sleep, hiking 11 km. to paddle the un-run upper section of the Rio Savegre. Sure enough we were all able to sleep for a well deserved 10 hours, and woke up with the sun shining. We quickly ate some breakfast then loaded our boats on a couple horses. The hike up to the put-in was steep at times, but at every crest of a ridge we were rewarded with stunning views of the Savegre valley and at times the river far below.
Once we reached the put-in where our guide Felipe grew up we ate a hearty lunch then hit the river. Right off the bat there was some fun class V rapids, the magority of which we were able to boat scout. However, before too long we got to moving a little too fast and Chris dropped into a meaty hole. After a quick fight Chris ended up pulling his skirt and swimming to safety downstream. Luckily we were able to quickly gather his boat and other gear and proceed downstream. A couple bends in the river later we came across an attractive horizon line. Here Felipe, friends and family watched as we dropped over the 8ft. falls into a dynamic hole.

Ferdinand lining up for one of the bigger rapids on the run

 After this drop we kept paddling downstream to find more and more fun and technical class V drops. All the rapids downstream were good to go and throughout the entire 11km. trip we didn't have to portage once. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to document any more of the drops, but there were some descent sized drops throughout the run. This was an amazing trip and I can't wait to get back on this awesome river. 

Here's a quick edit that Chris put together from the Division and Savegre Rivers

Photos by: Chris Baer