THE LAST RIVER | Todd Balf

Click here to see some photos of the Tsangpo River

The Last River
The Tragic Race for Shangri-la
Todd Balf

Nature
Crown | Hardcover
Sept. 2000 | $24.00
0-609-60625-5

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For whitewater kayakers, the Yarlung Tsangpo in southeastern Tibet is the Mount Everest of rivers. In its most treacherous and spectacular section, a 140-mile stretch known as the Tsangpo Gorge, a thunderous torrent of foam and fury plunges from Himalayan heights to a depth three times greater than that of the Grand Canyon. For centuries, the beauty and mystery of this place have inspired visions of an earthly paradise within, while its fearsome power has hidden its secrets from human eyes. At the close of the twentieth century, the world's most elite kayakers began looking at the Tsangpo Gorge as their ultimate challenge. The Last River is a breathtaking account of the Riddle of the Tsangpo Gorges Expedition, the first world-class attempt to make an end-to-end run of the gorge. It is a tragic, thrilling, and compelling trip through a passage of the most extreme danger and wonder.