La Venta Expedition Packrafting Course
La Venta River Packrafting Course
Course & Adventure Overview
Immerse yourself in both the stunning natural world of the Mayan region of Mexico, and its cultural offerings. And embark on an expedition on one of the most beautiful rivers in the world, Río La Venta.
This Expedition Course is for people who just want to paddle La Venta, who don’t have as much time to spend in Chiapas and who are Level 3 Intermediate or better packrafters.
To qualify for this course, you must have taken one or more intermediate to advanced or expedition courses with us or another accredited guide service (and with a recommendation from a guide from that other guide service). As well, you must solidly paddle Class II+/III or harder and be able to easily carry your full, 40-pound boat (or backpack) on slippery, difficult terrain for up to 2 to 3 miles. You’ll be paddling the same section of La Venta as our other Expedition Course, but we’re not going to preview your abilities before the trip on a training day (because we will already know your abilities). And we’ll be doing this trip more quickly and efficiently, with fewer guides.
We recognize this course is less expensive than our Level 2-3, Beginner/Intermediate La Venta & Other Rivers Packraft Expedition & Paddling Skills, Jan 18-25 course. However, this is because this course will be smaller and the participant to guide ratio will be 4:1 versus 3:1, as all expedition participants will be held to a higher standard than in our Level 2 courses.
Please see our post, “What Level Packrafter Are You?” to determine if you fit into this course.
Itinerary
Please pan to arrive no later than Saturday morning, January 18. Better even if you can arrive Friday night.
- ✔Saturday, Jan 18: We’ll have our first expedition meeting at 9a.m., where we’ll discuss the trip, gear choices, food, packing and logistics. Break for lunch, then early afternoon we’ll do a shakedown of our gear. Be prepared to have your guides assess your equipment, pack weight and extraneous items. They will recommend you leave behind items or share items with your expedition team. Please respect them as the leaders of your La Venta Expedition.
- ✔Sunday, Jan 19-Saturday, Jan 24: We’ll get up at 5a.m. and head to La Venta, getting on the river before noon. This will be a six day, five night itinerary. The final day of the expedition we’ll try to exit (via power boat shuttle) around noon-early afternoon and head back to San Cris in the evening.
✔The course is scheduled to wrap up the night of Friday, January 24. However, please plan to either fly out Sunday, January 25 or get flights that you can change easily and without additional cost. If, for example, it rains while you are on the river, you may have to wait a day or even two for river flows to stabilize at a safe level. At high water, La Venta can be very dangerous. We do not want you to miss your flights. But we absolutely cannot guarantee this itinerary because it could rain anytime, even during the winter dry season. Remember this is a remote setting with very difficult egress should something go wrong, so you must have an expedition mentality, which means being flexible and prepared for anything, including being forced to stay on the river for additional days.
Price: $2595
Our general policy: A 50% deposit is required to secure your spot on this course. You’ll need to provide the remaining balance 30 days prior to your course. The remaining balance is due immediately if you are registering inside of the 30 day window.
Additionally, please review our cancellation policy, which you will find on our Terms, Conditions & Cancellation Policy Page.
What's Included
This course includes permits, camping, backcountry sanitation kit, transportation to and from La Venta, all meals for the duration of the backcountry portion of the trip (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks). We provide gluten free, vegetarian, vegan and meat options. If you have special needs, you’ll have to bring your own food. And you will not get a discount if you do.
You will need a whitewater-capable boat for this trip (i.e. self bailer or decked boat). We do not provide whitewater boats. You may rent one from Backcountrypackrafts.com with a 15% discount. But we do have breakdown paddles, helmet and PFDs if you need one. We recommend a splash top or lightweight wetsuite if you run cold.
What's Not Included
This trip does not include flights, adult beverage, river knives, whistles, throw bags, whitewater boats (required), meals, transportation to and from the airport or taxis if you want to get around town. It also does not include lodging in San Cristobal de las Casas or any other cities/towns we camp or lodge in. I.e. we cover your food in the backcountry, but you’re on your own for food in the front country. You’ll mostly be eating out at restaurants, though in San Cristóbal del las Casas you’ll be staying at a hostel that has a refrigerator and kitchen. Meals at restaurants range from $5 to $12 without booze. You can pretty much eat as cheaply or expensively as you choose. And lodging/camping prices vary widely.
Instructors
Steve Fassbinder: Steve, aka “Doom,” is one of the country’s first Level 4 American Canoe Association Packraft Instructors. And he will be a certified International Rescue 3 Whitewater Rescue Technician Professional (WRT-PRO) and IRF Whitewater Packraft Guide late April. Steve is also certified in Advanced Swiftwater Safety and Wilderness First Responder. An early adopter of packrafting, he has guided or instructed bike-packrafting to kids and adults for over a decade. And he has done remote packrafting expeditions around the world for over a dozen years.
Thad Ferrell: Thad is a Level 4 American Canoe Association Packraft Instructor. He additionally has advanced Swiftwater Safety training and he is a certified Wilderness First Responder. An early adopter of packrafting and life-long cyclist and bikepacker, Thad has accomplished some ground-breaking, multi-week climb-bike-packraft adventures in the desert Southwest. He is also an expert fly fishing guide.
What You Will Learn
*New* Curriculum as of April 2024!
This intermediate expedition planning and paddling is for experienced paddlers who want to expand the skills they learned in our Level 1 and 2 courses in order to run Class II-III rapids in a backcountry environment and expand and refine their expedition skill- and mindset.
Advanced Paddling & River Running Skills
- ✔You should already have mastered all the Level 1 & 2 Course Skills.
- ✔Technical and complex strokes
- ✔Dancing with the river: running big waves and laterals.
- ✔Managing vertical drops
- ✔Advanced surfing
- ✔Paddling a expedition loaded boat in whitewater
- ✔How to read whitewater
Advanced Expedition Planning Skills
- ✔Expedition/multi-day trip planning & logistics
- ✔Expedition pack lists
- ✔Where to pack your gear (zippers, weight distribution, securing packs/gear to or inside the boat
- ✔How to pack light (i.e. what to leave behind and why + how to share gear)
- ✔Expedition food planning and prep
- ✔Leave No Trace practices in the backcountry
- ✔Navigation in the field, finding camp, etc
- ✔Advanced use of online resources: GIS, USGS water gauges, Google Earth, etc
- ✔Managing your backcountry camping and boating gear
- ✔How to find a good camp
- ✔Time management skills
- ✔How to efficiently transition from the river to camp
- ✔Read & run style boating
- ✔Expedition mentality
Advanced Group Dynamics Skills
- ✔Scouting and decision-making
- ✔Group selection
- ✔Expedition group dynamics
- ✔Group downstream travel technique & communications
- ✔Eddy hopping, traveling in groups. How to travel down a river safely by eddy hopping in groups
- ✔Clear communication: hand signals
- ✔Setting safety and choosing challenges: review, practice and implementation
Packraft Hacks
- ✔Basic optional roll instruction (not a focus, but you may request)
- ✔Backcountry repairs clinic
- ✔Storytelling
Lodging, Sightseeing & The Chiapas Experience
Check out our Facebook photo album from our 2024 courses. And check out Chris Brinlee Jr.’s blog post on his adventures to La Venta River, “Transcending the Arc of Time.“
-
00
days
-
00
hours
-
00
minutes
-
00
seconds