Nepali Girls Trip part 1

So i came to Nepal to work with Inka Trollas of Far Away Adventures on the Nepali Girls Project- also known as the Himalayan River Girls here in Nepal. This trip has been so big, and had so much going on, i'm going to do my best to give a worthy writeup- but be forewarned, its coming your way in stages. With so m any girls on the trip, there are going to be lots of opinions and perspectives, the only ones i'm offering here are my own: for other write ups and more photos, be sure to check out Josh Neilsons blog www.whitewater-koa.blogspot.com
and the kiwis site www.nepaligirlskayak.blogspot.com


I was first contacted about Inka's project by Sophie Hoskins and Laura Clayton, 2 kiwi ladies i had met in Uganda. The trip sounded like an awesome project and i was stoked to get involved. After working as a kayak instructor on the Nile for the past several months, i was even more excited because i felt like i had a lot to offer- if i could figure out how to apply to a different country with a completely different style of river.

From talking to Soph and Inka i came into the Nepali girls trip with high expectations of what was going to happen, and what i would be able to contribute. Not all of those expectations were met, some were exceeded, and others still remain to be seen as the girls complete their training.
Inka and Soph chilling at the Himalayan River Festival

Arriving in Kathmandu, I knew to expect a big group of kiwi girls, most of which i knew and a couple that i didn't. I was unprepared for the large group of Swedes that came out to lend their skills, and show their support and encouragement for what the girls and Inka are trying to accomplish. In all we had over 30 female kayakers and rafters- the largest number of girls i think ive ever hung out with- on and off the river!

Heres a quick breakdown of everyone on the trip:
Inka Trollas

Equator Rafting Staff: Georgia, Maila, Danesh, Meena, Jeff

Nepali Ladies: Anita, Rama, Rada, Sambohvi, Sita, Sussmita, Khola/Kamala, Hasila, Passang.

Swedish Ladies: Liev,, Lena, Maria, Leana, Malin S, Malin B, ute, Kiki, Kiki, Ida, Yvonne

Kiwi Ladies: Sophie Hoskins, Kelley Blayney, Hester Hilbank, Malaika Davies, Emi Earle, Laura Clayton, Anna White, Hayley Segal

then we had Whitney Hansen, another american, myself, a girl named Becky from the UK, as well as our Camera crew: Josh Neilson from NZ and Stefan from Sweden.

It was a full crew, with mixed whitewater and or coaching experience, so Inka ended up running the trip as a commercial rafting trip down the Sun Kosi through Equator expeditions, meaning we didn't have to worry about sorting or looking after rafts, kit or food. Our final Entourage on the river included 23 kayakers, 1 paddle raft and 3 gear rafts to carry all of our equipment and food.

The ten days on the river got off to a slow start. The kiwi girls and Josh and had taken the Nepali ladies up to Secudi beach a few days earlier to start working on some basic whitewater skills while the rest of us assembled in Kathmandu. It was tough work getting 30 girls stuff out of Thamels narrow streets down to the bus station and onto the buses. We used at least 10 rickshaws, and had a few boats take a brief tumble.
Loading up Rickshaws
One of our Rickshaw drivers
Laura loading up one of the barrels used to carry food and tarps. Trust me, those barrels got a lot heavier about two hours later.

After a short bus ride to the beach, everyone met for the first time and spent a few frantic hours packing up rafts, and sorting kit: making sure all the girls had a full set of gear, and that everyone who needed a kayak had one that fit. The girls were stoked to get all the donated gear: protec helmet, IR drytops, assorted thermal baselayers and PFDs, not to mention snazzy new Keen shoes courtesy of Keen and Josh Neilson.
Sophie helping fit life jackets
Rada and Anita showing off their new paddle kit
Knola modeling one of the IR drytops i helped bring over thanks to Monica Gokey, Whitney Hansen and of course, IR.

After sorting out kit, loading rafts and a quick lunch, we all met up on the beach for some speaches from the owner of Ultimate Descents, and Inka. There is a huge amount of support and publicity for this trip- between all of our own cameras, Josh and Stefan are each making a film about the project, and we had a large number of well wishers and even a local Nepali radio station there to document our take off! We finally got on the water around 330 to paddle for an hour or two to our first nights camp on one of the Sun Khosis beautiful, very sandy beaches.

Finally setting off on the river

That's about all for now- ill follow up with an account of our first few days on the river soon!