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My name is Bruce Low and I want to raise money for a cancer support charity

www.clanhouse.org

But what is it that I want to do? Basically I am going to travel to the top of the deepest canyon in North and South America (some 3,250m from highest to deepest points....twice the depth of the Grand Canyon), then go to the source of the river and trave on a raft, through the Atacama Desert (the driest place on earth), 240km to the Pacific Ocean.  It will start in September 2010 and take about 6 weeks to complete.

This river is considered one of the finest, and hardest whitewater rivers in the world. Its first descent was not until 1994. It was then that they discovered many lost Incan settlemants, and some that date back to 100's of years BC.

Nevado Coropuna is also shrouded in Incan mystery, and has had several human sacrificial burial sites discovered on and around it.

SEE MY WEBSITE: www.raftcotahuasi.blogspot.com

 

I will walk to the the highest point of the valley Nevado Coropuna (6,425m), then travel to the source of the Rio Cotahuasi. I won't start rafting at the source but as close to it as I dare. There are many mini canyon sections within the greater Cotahuasi Gorge, including a 400ft drop called Sipia Falls (totally un-navigable, and involves a whole days mule-pack and walk to get around).

 

Why?

I have several reasons why I am doing this. The most important are:

1. I have known many people who have had, and survived cancers of many types, also people who have not survived. Some of these people have been my immediate family, and others friends, some have only been acquaintances, or who I met briefly and then heard later of their situation. All of them have affected me. The biggest was when both my parents had different types of the disease. My father passed on after 4 years of lung cancer. My mother has been in remission from Leukemia for 7 years, and is in great shape. A large part of this has been down to the support she received from CLAN. She now puts that back by being a volunteer for CLAN.

2. Its now my turn to put something back for all the support my mother got, and with that support CLAN have also supported me, and the rest of our family. CLAN also goes on to support many people directly with counseling and alternative therapies. The knock on affect of this support is also huge. As with my family, the support goes wider than the individual who is being directly helped, through counseling, massage, somewhere to stay, or just by being there to visit and have coffee with someone who has/is going through something similar, and this support is passed down to the people connected to whoever is supported by CLAN.

A very important thing is that CLAN also directly supports the carers of sufferers. They too can go and find aid directly from the charity. You don’t need to have a cancer to be supported.

These are my motivations for wanting to get some money for CLAN

But what is my reason for wanting to travel such a long distance? Well……..

 

I work in the outdoors. I have always been involved in activities in the outdoors, especially in water.
I first stepped into a kayak in 1980 (I think, it was a long time ago). I have been mucking about in boats, on rivers, and in the mountains: climbing, skiing, hiking, ever since. From 1989 I have worked and traveled mainly as raft guide, and kayaker, but also some ski teaching, in many parts of the world, and I will always be connected to that in one way or another. So, what better way of putting my skills to good use? Also where better to do it than in one of the harder places I can think of: the Andes, which are one of highest, driest, steepest, and deepest places on earth.