Grateful in 2022

2022 has been a year. Join us in looking back on ten things we are grateful for this year, in no particular order.

10) We are grateful to expand and explore our partnerships.

In February, Anvesh was invited by Jellyfish Water Sports to visit their beautiful site in Kerala. They warmly invited our family too, so we had a wonderful few days of playing in the water. Our 4-year-old daughter absolutely loved it and we highly recommend the site for families with kids.

9) We are grateful for enthusiastic kayakers.

Our Spring season was filled with eager beginner and intermediate-level kayakers. We’re always grateful to share our love of kayaking with people who want to learn.

8) We are grateful for our work, friends, and adventures in the USA this summer.

In addition to his work on the Salmon River in Idaho for NOLS, Anvesh worked with Momentum River Expeditions and discovered the beauty of Southern Oregon. He got to work on the Rogue and Upper Klamath for the first time.

7) We are grateful for inspiring conservation efforts.

Meanwhile Ing-Marie connected with the Grand Salmon Source to Sea project and was deeply inspired by their work.

6) We are grateful for opportunities to help out.

Anvesh volunteered at the Meghalaya Kayak Festival in October and got to meet friends, old and new.

5) We are grateful for friendship.

The life of our friend and colleague, Narendra Singh, was cut short by an avalanche on the NIM Advanced Mountaineering Course on Mt Draupadi ka Danda-II in October. We treasure the time we spent with him. When Anvesh recently visited his family, they said that he was excited to go to the Northeast with us in November. We certainly missed him on the trip. He will be remembered fondly.

4) We are grateful for friendship.

Our friend and colleague from NOLS, Rory, as well as his wife, lost their lives in a senseless act of violence in the USA. Many years ago, Rory was the first one to suggest that Anvesh should join NOLS. Anvesh saw him in Idaho this summer, not knowing it would be the last time. Rory is dearly missed.

3) We are grateful for the Kameng Expedition.

We are always happy to return to this special river, this time with good friends - some of whom have been rafting and kayaking with us since before 2005!

2) We are grateful for the Siang Expedition.

We hadn’t run the Upper Siang since 2006, so it was good to be back. The trip was EPIC. In Anvesh’s words, “I’ve seen big water before, but not big water like THAT.” We had a stellar crew (although we missed Narendra) and terrific guests. We are already looking forward to being back on the Siang next year.

1) We are grateful for YOU.

You - our friends, guests, and colleagues - allow us to continue to do what we love: share the magic of rivers. We’d like to give a special shout out to Jangu, Manish and Vik as well as our friends from the Siang corridor: Anand, Kishon, Okit, Akoying. Thank you all for your continued love and support. We hope we have the opportunity to sit with you around a campfire in 2023!