BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Embassy of Poland -- Fence Exhibit: 40th Anniversary of the First Descent into Peru's Colca Canyon

DC -- Embassy of Poland -- Fence Exhibit: 40th Anniversary of the First Descent into Peru's Colca Canyon:

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Description of Pictures: 40th Anniversary of the First Descent into Peru's Colca Canyon

The year 2021 marks the 40th anniversary of a historic sport and exploration achievement: the conquest and discovery of Colca Canyon, the deepest land gorge on Earth in 1981. A special exhibition celebrates the seven Poles who achieved this.
The feat, performed by an expedition of Polish canoeists called Canoandes‘79, was considered a breakthrough achievement of the 20th century by the likes of the National Geographic Society, Harvard University, and the Smithsonian Institute. As well as making it into the Guinness Book of World Records, the event was covered extensively in the media, including NationaI Geographic Magazine, Canoe and Kayak and in hundreds of popular science articles in the world’s press.
Due to martial law and the involvement of the Canoandes‘79 participants in the activities of the Workers' Defense Committee in Peru, the communist censors of the Polish People's Republic silenced news about the record in their home country – even today it is still little known in Poland, hence why it is worth commemorating and reminding ourselves throughout the world about what an exceptional event this was.

Death Before Failure: Wanda Rutkiewicz & The Golden Age of Polish Mountaineering
The communist era, generally viewed as a time of suffering and oppression, was a period of liberating exploration and unbelievable feats of bravery and persistence for one group: Poland’s mountain climbing community. Dramatically, many lost their lives in pursuit of glory. What was it that drove their extreme expeditions?
The Polish branch of The Explorers Club (OPTEC) and the Academic Canoe Tourism Club ‘Bystrze’ (AKTK) have prepared a comprehensive programme of anniversary celebrations in Poland, Peru and New York City (where the headquarters of The Explorers Club is located).
One of the planned activities is an exhibition of photographs ‘Canoandes'81: Conquest of the Colca Canyon’ (11 boards) on the fence of the Polish Consulate Genera.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. ECOLCA_220216_001.JPG: Canoandes '79 40th Anniversary of the first descent of the Colca Canyon in Peru
2. ECOLCA_220216_006.JPG: The Colca Canyon w Peru - The deepest canyon in the world 40th Anniversary of the First Descent of the Colca Canyon in Peru -- Canoandes '79 -- There is a river that flows from Andean slope in Peru at 4,886 meters above sea level down to the Pacific Ocean. The river travels 388 kilometers and its sections are called Pacco Pacco, Chilimayo, Colca, Majes, and Camana. Along the section of the Colca, the river has cut through the rock massif creating a nearly 100-kilometer-long narrow crevice: the Colca Canyon. The walls of the canyon climb up to 4,150 meters on one side and 3,600 meters on the other. It is considered the deepest canyon on the Earth. The name of the river and the canyon comes from the Incan names for granaries built on rocks, called qolqas or colcas, used to store food and sometimes entomb the bodies of prominent members of the ancient community. The canyon was first mentioned in 1929 when the abyss, overlooked by the peaks of Coropuna and Ampato, was spotted and photographed by George R. Johnson, an American aviator and chief photographer of the Peruvian Naval Air Service. Intrigued by his unusual discovery, he returned to the canyon two years later with the American geologist Robert Shipee. Together, they made aerial photographic documentation of Cuzco, the Urubamba Valley, Huancayo, Arequipa, and the Colca Canyon itself. Pictures from inside the canyon were published in National Geographic magazine in 1934 alerting the world to the existence of a canyon twice as deep as the famous Grand Canyon in Arizona. Since that initial discovery, the impenetrable and inaccessible nature of the Colca Canyon has made it a place of interest for many explorers. The Spanish professor Jos� Arias, who together with professor Max Weibel from Switzerland, managed to study the short section of the Colca, summed up his finding like this: "Colca Canyon is the deepest canyon in the Americas, if not the deepest on the Earth. However, this can only be confirmed by a thorough exploration of its interior with the help of kayaks and rafts. This can only be done by experts or madmen who will be favored by luck. Those men appeared at the entrance of the Colca River canyon half a century later on an expedition from distant Poland.
3. ECOLCA_220216_016.JPG: On the way to the Colca Canyon 40th Anniversary of the First Descent of the Colca Canyon in Peru -- Canoandes '79 -- A passion for kayaking and a great desire to learn about the world are the two main reasons why a group of students from the Krakow Academic Kayaking Club "Bystrze" mobilized all the efforts and resources to get to South America. And it was not so easy to accomplish this feat at the end of the 1970s in communist Poland. It required a lot of determination to obtain passports and permits to leave the country and to collect equipment, money, and food at the peak of an economic crisis. But why South America? After paddling dozens of rivers in Poland and Europe, someone came up with the idea to try their luck somewhere much further, for example in Argentina. The young kayakers quickly picked up on that idea and set up an expedition with a name that was the quintessence of their goals: kayaking the South American mountain rivers in 1979, hence Canoandes'79 (canoe + Andes). The set off on the expedition with ten members: Jacek Bogucki, Marek Byliński (leader), Zbigniew Bzdak, Piotr Chmieliński, Stanisław Grodecki, Tomasz Jaroszeewski, Włlodzimierz Herman, Jerzy Majcherszyk, Andrzej Piętowski, J�sef Woch and Jan Kasprzyk who drove the truck carrying their equipment. The weather conditions and political complications forced the kayakers to alter their destination from Argentina to Mexico. They started by rafting the R�o Amacuzak on July 16, 1979. Then they explored other rivers: the R�o Grande de Santiago, Balsas, Mixteco, Atoyac, Moctezuma, and the technically very difficult Santa Maria and R�o Pescados with their canyons. Photographic documentation made during those trips, especially of previously unnavigated rivers, gained a great recognition from the Mexican National Institute of Sport. From Mexico, the kayakers set off south, but only with five members: Jacek Bogucki, Zbigniew Bzdak, Piotr Chmienliński, Jerzy Majcherczyk, and the new leader Andrzej Piętowski. The other participants returned to Poland. Their route marked with the rivers to explore — Aguacapa in Guatemala, Grande de Matagalpa, Bocana de Paiwas in Nicaragua, Pacuare in Costa Rica, Napo in Ecuador — the group eventually reached Peru in May 1981. Along the way, two sailors Stefan Danielski and Krzysztof "Biczu" Kraśniewski joined the Canoandes expedition. The explorers now faced the most important and the most dangerous challenge to date: the unexplored, undefeated, and unrecognized Colca Canyon.
4. ECOLCA_220216_025.JPG: The first run of the Colca Canyon - May/June 1981 40th Anniversary of the First Descent of the Colca Canyon in Peru -- Canoandes '79 -- May 18, 1981, marks the beginning of the descent of the Colca. Two kayaks and a raft are immediately carried away by the fast Colca current. The bed of the river is lined with boulders of various sizes, polished smoothly by rushing water. Sometimes they form a narrow passage, which makes steering difficult. With big rapids every hundred meters, the water drops down up to five meters as the river descends. This is nothing compared to the upcoming 800-meter vertical drop. The further they venture down the canyon, the more obvious it becomes that this is a one-way trip. Only forward! There is no turning back! The explorers experience their baptism of fire on the second day. First, the water forces one kayaker out of his kayak, then the raft overturns, and one of the crew disappears in the water, a frightening sight for everyone. Fortunately, he comes out of troublesome water unscathed. But this is just the beginning. Two days later, the water smashes one of the two kayaks against the rocks. Although the Colca rushes by, the expedition seems to have stalled. Numerous waterfalls, sometimes combining two at one point, forces the explorers into portages — the tedious lifting of a raft, carrying it or sliding it on the ropes consumes a lot of time and energy. There are days when, despite many hours of struggle, the group manages to cover only a few kilometers. After a week of toil, it becomes clear that the food (initially only enough for seven days) will have to be rationed to last the remainder of the journey. The further and deeper into the canyon they go, the stricter and wilder the land becomes, land through which five paddlers, accompanied by photographer and filmmaker, must traverse. The huge rock debris rises several hundred meters up, and below, there are piles of boulders, which look as if they had only recently broken away from the walls and tumbled into the river. From a very inaccurate map of Professor Arias (still the only one available) that shows the route of the Colca River through the canyon, it appears that Hacienda Canco is not far ahead.
5. ECOLCA_220216_032.JPG: The first run of the Colca Canyon - May/June 1981 40th Anniversary of the First Descent of the Colca Canyon in Peru -- Canoandes '79 -- Canco is a Collaguan settlement located at the point where the Colca Canyon opens up in a short stretch of almost 100 kilometers, allowing exit or entrance to the canyon. For Canoandes, Hacienda Canco means the opportunity to replenish food supplies, which by the tenth day of the trip had been depleted. Tea with a little sugar and leftover biscuits satisfies the hunger. But this isn't the only reason the group is anxious to look for the village. The raft, while it was being lined through a 5-6-meter-high waterfall, has been carried away by the rushing river. The pulverizing water pulls it to the bottom and continues to throw it upwards in the air again and again. It seems that catastrophe is inevitable. Somehow the group manages to pull the raft to the shore with one of the ropes but all of the supplies are lost. There is a crack in the floor of the raft along the right side. It is floating helplessly on the rough mountain river. Water fills it through the hole in the floor making it heavy and the raft flows wherever the river throws it. The rafting is a struggle, and it quickly becomes obvious that in order to travel further into the canyon it is necessary to repair the damage. But that's only possible in Canco. And where is Canco? One more portage, a crazy ride on rock-filled white water, then a waterfall, and then another portage away. Finally, a village appears in the distance!
6. ECOLCA_220216_038.JPG: The first run of the Colca Canyon - May/June 1981 40th Anniversary of the First Descent of the Colca Canyon in Peru -- Canoandes '79 -- On June 8th, after a few days' stay in Canco, the group returns to the Colca in a repaired raft. Canoandes continues its journey deep into the Colca Canyon. The water in the river is clean, almost transparent. The route seems to be clear of boulders that are buried deep enough not to interfere with their movement. Even the oars are not needed to move fast. The journey is gaining momentum. Finally, the paddles have a dream river for kayaking and rafting! The next few days are spent covering the distance efficiently, passing the Class 5 and 6 rapids and waterfalls, undertaking portages, and camping under millions of stars illuminating the night sky. This relatively blissful calm is eventually broken by a waterfall tucked between the vertical walls on either side of the river. One member in a kayak conducts a short reconnaissance of the situation and finds that ahead there is not one but three waterfalls with a height of two to four meters each. And there is no way to portage around it! The raft falls two meters down, bounces like a ball, sinks in and bursts out, falls again, churns along the rocks like a tiger in a closed cage, becomes heavy and unsteady when filled with water, loses its crew and then finds them. But it moves on. Finally, the river flows into a tranquil pool crowning a series of waterfalls. Nobody says anything for a long time. It could have ended badly, but it didn't. The walls of the canyon on both banks are getting lower, more and more sunlight reaches the water; more and more plants appear alongside the river. The first ever descent to the deepest canyon in the world, the Colca Canyon, has become a reality.
7. ECOLCA_220216_049.JPG: Return from the rock abyss 40th Anniversary of the First Descent of the Colca Canyon in Peru -- Canoandes '79 -- Paddling the Colca Canyon included more than thirty-three days of exploration and struggle with 94 kilometers of rushing mountain river squeezed between high rock walls that shut out the sunlight from the bottom of the abyss. Without any information about the conditions inside the canyon, precise maps, or the thermal imaging and measuring devices available today, it was the expedition into the unknown for the Polish kayakers. Most of all, it was a challenge that crowned all their paddling achievements to date. The expedition resulted in rich film and photographic documentation as well as the descriptions of characteristic places which the group, by the law given to explorers, had the right to name — John Paul II Waterfalls (in honor of the Polish Pope shot by an assassin on the eve of entering the canyon), the Polish Canyon, and the Shipee and Johnson Falls. The first descent of the Colca Canyon became an event that was widely spoken about in Peru and around the world. During the meeting with Polish kayakers, Peruvian President Fernando Belaunde Terry emphasized the importance of that achievement for the tourism and economic development of the country. The international research and travel community, in turn, highlighted the breakthrough that Canoandes made in exploring a place, which had up until that point been inaccessible. In retrospect, publications such as National Geographic and Paddler Magazine included the achievement among the most important river expeditions of the 20th century. The expedition also gained entry into the Guinness Book of World Records.
8. ECOLCA_220216_065.JPG: Return to the Colca Canyon 40th Anniversary of the First Descent of the Colca Canyon in Peru -- Canoandes '79 -- the group organized kayaking trips twice in 1983, followed by further trips in 1985 and 1991. The aim was to prepare photographic material from the inside of the canyon and the course of the expedition. Thanks to these efforts, everyone is now able to see just how unusual, dangerous, and fascinating the world's deepest canyon truly is.
9. ECOLCA_220216_072.JPG: Historic Expedition 40th Anniversary of the First Descent of the Colca Canyon in Peru -- Canoandes '79 -- Traversing the Colca Canyon did not mark the end of the expedition. A month later, the Canoandes'79 team set off again in search of the destination that gave birth to their original expedition: Argentina. The group reached Argentina and Tierra del Fuego where, with the superhuman effort and resisting strong gusts of wind, they crossed the Earth's southernmost river — R�o Gallegos in Patagonia. The end result of the Canoandes'79 expedition, which had lasted two and a half years, was the navigation of 23 rivers in North and South America including 13 rivers descended for the first time. In addition, extensive documentation was used to develop a guide for Peruvian rivers, published in both English and Spanish (Kayak Through Peru / Deporte Y Aventura en R�os del Peru) as well as many other publications in Latin American media devoted to the Polish kayakers and their achievements. The experiences from the exploration of the Colca Canyon were presented by travelers in an article, „Roaring Through Earth's Deepest Canyon”, published in National Geographic. In most of the Latin American countries visited, the group also became promoters of whitewater kayaking, a sport which at that time was practically unknown in that part of the world. The obstacles that the expedition encountered at the beginning and delayed its departure from Poland also unexpectedly influenced its ending. In response to the imposition of martial law in Poland, the members of the expedition spontaneously formed the Solidarity Support Committee through which they engaged the Nobel laureate and well-known writer Mario Vargas Llosa to their cause. Almost all Peruvian political parties participated in the demonstrations of solidarity that followed with the Solidarity movement. Peru was filled with headlines and newspapers that „screamed” about the war in Poland ("Guerra en Polonia"). However, this spontaneous reaction by the Polish explorers also prevented them from returning home. When they eventually also had to leave hospitable Peru, it was the United States which would become their new homeland.
10. ECOLCA_220216_092.JPG: Development of the Colca Valley 40th Anniversary of the First Descent of the Colca Canyon in Peru -- Canoandes '79 -- The first crossing of the Colca Canyon became not only an important achievement in the history of exploration, but also opened up the canyon and its beauty to the world. This, in turn, contributed to the acceleration of the economic and social development throughout the entire region. The Colca Valley, which for centuries was a poor land isolated from civilization, has now become the tourist attraction all of Peru, second only to Machu Picchu. As the Peruvians themselves attest, tourism is quickly replacing agriculture as its main source of revenue. The Colca is visited by more than 200,000 people annually. Consequently, tourism and infrastructure are both gradually expanding and the quality of life of the region's inhabitants is rapidly improving. Social development, including education, is creating new life perspectives for young people in the region.
11. ECOLCA_220216_095.JPG: Canoandes'79 - 40 years later! 40th Anniversary of the First Descent of the Colca Canyon in Peru -- Canoandes '79 -- Jacek Bogucki continued to document the subsequent Canoandes expeditions. He eventually settled down in Casper, Wyoming where he established a video production company and lives there with his wife and their son. Zbigniew Bzdak would go on to the document the Colca and Amazon rivers for National Geographic. He now lives in Illinois and works as a photojournalist with the Chicago Tribune. Piotr Chmiliński would go on to become the first person to paddle the entire length of the Amazon River. He now lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his wife and their two sons, where he owns an environmental and engineering firm and sponsors expeditions around the world. Stefan Danielski lives in Canada with his wife, son, and daughter. He has spent all his personal and professional life on the water. He serves as a senior engineer working mainly on ships and continues his passion for sailing. Krzysztof "Biczu" Kraśniewski lives in Canada. He is retired after many years of work in security services. Jerzy Majcherczyk returned to the Colca with his three sons to lead expeditions through the canyon's uppermost section in 2008 and 2009. He now lives in New Jersey where he runs a travel agency with his wife and advocates for the Colca Valley. Andrzej Piętowski settled down in Chicago, Illinois, but returns often to the Colca Valley where he runs the English language school that serves the youth of the region. In 2021, a documentary film entitled "Godspeed, Los Polacos!" was released. The movie follows Canoandes'79 expedition, their exploits throughout North, Central, and South America, and the descending of the Colca Canyon. The movie, directed by Adam Nawrot and produced by Sonia Szczęsna, has already won several awards at exploration festivals, including Banff and Boulder International Film Festivals.
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