Click here for the Picked By You guidebook survey results
from the 48 Earth River clients that responded.

Fred Wiedemann
Co-founder Outward Bound
Veteran of nearly 50 outfitted trips

"Earth River and the Futaleufu stand out in my memory as the very best of the best"

Dear Eric,

Well, it's been a while since my gang (the WiedeMEN) were with you on the Futaleufu - just two years ago, almost exactly. And what a great trip it was!

Early this morning while still in bed, the river trips of my life suddenly started cascading and grade V-ing around in my mind with such intensity that I thought I'd better write you. As I'm sure we've talked about before, white water rafting has kind of been “my thing” over the years. It's a marvelous way to see a primitive and/or wild country and there's always a fine group of folks who nearly always are like minded about their enthusiasm for river running.

Earth River and the Futaleufu stand out in my memory as the very best of the best. I've been on nearly all the tough, commercially run white water on every continent throughout the world, and I must say that your group on the Futaleufu gets the very highest laurels. The scenery could not be grander nor the water swifter, clearer or more pristine, the base and river camps are superior, the food a camping gourmet's delight, and the river guides and their safety precautions of superb caliber.

It was my good luck to select the Futaleufu and Earth River Expeditions for my “swan song” as a river runner. The WiedeMEN (Frederic, Harden, Jonathan, Ryan and I) all say “Hi” and “thanks for the perfect trip”.

William Fair
New York City

" It was the first time in ten years of doing expeditions that I
thought the outfitter had not charged enough."

Dear Eric and Robert,

Thank you for the incredible experience on the Futaleufu.

Your private camps were stunning. They turned an amazing river into the trip of a lifetime. I've never been on an expedition where the natural beauty has been so enhanced as to make it almost supernatural. What a shame it would have been to race down the river and miss the cave, hot tubs, tyrolean traverse and other unique features you've added.

What made this trip superior wasn't just these wonderful additions but the attention paid to every last detail from logistics to safety.

In a world where our lives are so fast paced and vacation dollars are at a premium, an experience like this is priceless. It was the first time in ten years of doing expeditions that I thought the outfitter had not charged enough - and I was not alone in this sentiment.

Barry Kruse,
San Francisco, CA

"Without doubt your guides are among the most elite group ever assembled"

Dear Eric,

What a magical, extraordinary, wonderful trip I had to the Futaleufu with Earth River Expeditions. It was such an all-around intense experience in all of the senses: sight, touch, smell, taste, hearing, and emotion.

I don't have to tell you that this is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been. Your camps were fairy-tale-like settings with amenities and comforts commonly reserved only for resort areas. I'd guess I spent more time in your hot tubs than most of the guests, often witnessed only by The Nuns late at night. The gazebo was a haven on a rainy night, though the Patagonian weather was gracious.

The food was local and natural and absolutely extraordinary. Senora Nedia (sp?) needs a public television cooking show. Her plates were simple, generous, elegant, and delightful. The Gato Negro y Blanco is just, well, dangerously potable.

It'd also be no news to you that without doubt your guides are among the most elite group ever assembled. Boating skill can be hard to measure. Kindness, courtesy, amicability, open-mindedness, acceptance, thoroughness, conscientiousness, tenacity, joviality, and patience are not difficult things to measure. Your guides pegged the meter at every instant. They were extraordinarily patient and I deeply appreciated that. Your drivers and support staff were all incredibly friendly. But Beth, Joe, and Steve are simply some of my personal heroes. They are super-skilled, all-around, elite guides besides just being great people. Your guides are Earth River Expeditions. The clients absolutely loved them and I reveled in the chance to be on the river with them. I learned so much.

The Fu commands respect, and could get out of hand in a big way without the wrong guides and without the safety measures you've designed so well.

Finally, the activities were unforgettable. Along with the amazing camps, smokin' whitewater, incomparable guides, and unbelievable food, are some of the most challenging things anyone on the trip had ever done. Everyone couldn't stop talking about the Tyrolean traverse, the zip line, tower climb and the rappel. All were handled by your crew without any compromise for safety. Just icing on the cake.

Again Eric, thank you. I'm very grateful for such an extraordinary trip and certainly wish I would have had more time to spend in Chile and with your guides. I'd love to be invited on a Colca, Apurimac, or future exploratory trip. Thank you, and many thanks to your guides again for an unforgettable trip.

Ann Ehlers
Menasha, Wisconsin

"Thank you for placing so much emphasis on safety"

Hola Robert,

After the trip was over I was wishing I could go back to the beginning and start over again.

I wanted to thank you for placing so much emphasis on safety. It makes a trip like this much more enjoyable. With the two safety catarafts along I knew that if something happened I would still be safe.

The Earth River camps were an excellent part of the trip. When I saw the Mapu Leufu camp, I was very impressed with everything that was there: the hot tub, gazebo, kitchen, kayaking pond, etc. It was fun just to walk around the camp and take in the views from all directions. I don't think you could have found a more comfortable, beautiful place. After seeing that camp I didn't think it could get any better, but then we came to the Casa De Piedra cave camp I couldn't believe the things that you and Eric had done with the area and the activities we were able to do. Everything was fun and challenging. The Tyrolean traverse, zip line, and climbing the tower gave me a chance to do things l had never done before. Beth asked me which part I enjoyed the most, but I honestly couldn't choose. I enjoyed the excitement of the Tyrolean and zip line, but climbing to the top of the tower, seeing the view from on top, and then repelling down was a real challenge.

This letter wouldn't be complete without a compliment about your guides. I think you and Eric have hired the best in the business. They we're all very friendly and easy to talk with, and yet when things got serious they were very professional and let us know what they needed us to do. I was with Beth so I got to know her the best of all the guides and I want you to know she was a real pleasure to be with. She made all the days on the river very enjoyable and interesting. I can't say enough good things about her—she was a joy to be with every day—both on the river and after we made camp.

I'm sorry if this got a little long, but I believe in letting people know when a job is well done. With someone like you being a partner in Earth River and being an active member on the trips, I'm positive your company will do well. You have a quality operation and I will definitely recommend you to anyone I know who is considering going on this type of vacation.

Please let me know if there is a fund I can donate to, or anything I can do to help the people in the areas where the dams are being built or to help prevent more dams from being built on the Bio Bio and Futaleufu Rivers.

Again, thank you for making my trip to Chile so memorable. This was definitely the best vacation I have ever taken!

Lisa Bessel,

American Express Travel
Morristown, PA

"I fully agree with a previous guest that wasn't sure that you charged enough"

Dear Eric and Roberto,

The trip was as wonderful as your brochure describes it and as exciting as you told me it would be.

Having experienced your trip first hand, I fully agree with a previous guest who wrote that he wasn't sure you had charged enough for all the features your trip provided. From a travel agent's perspective I can tell you two of our biggest concerns about booking adventure/exotic travel are: 1 — not fully trusting that an outfitter is as safety conscious and reliable as they profess to be and 2 — not feeling completely confident that our clients are really getting their money's worth. Many new tour operators have sprung up, developed destinations and created niches to grab their share of this ever increasingly popular type of travel. Its impossible to know everything about them and often difficult to verify information especially when off-the-beaten path international destinations are involved. I've learned over the years that many companies don't deliver on their promises. Brochures are often over-rated and many times trips don't need to cost as much as they do. BUT... Earth River Expeditions stands among those tour operators who deliver MORE than expected. Your commitment to your guests and the integrity of the company and your guides were confirmed every day of the trip.

Everything Earth River arranged off the river went well... your representatives in Puerto Montt, the hotels, transportation etc. And everything on the Rio Futaleufu was first rate... I especially enjoyed staying at the different private camps where you didn't have to pack and unpack every day. This is an excellent feature because guests and guides have more time in the morning and evenings to visit, relax and enjoy—we aren't rushing to break down or set up camp each day which frees the guides to spend more time with the guests. They are some of the best guides in the world and have run rivers all over the world. With unsurpassed river running skills, these guides are wonderful, supportive, intelligent, insightful, multifaceted people who work as a cohesive team with each other and their guests.

Both private camps were incredibly beautiful. I thought the layover day with the challenge cirque were fabulous. The guides fully instruct and offer encouragement without any pressure.

Again thank you both for a beautiful trip. And please send my thanks to Steve, Joe, Beth, Chuck , Steve, Paulo, Joaquina, Nidia, and everyone else who helped to make it such a very memorable adventure.

Hunt Charach
Charleston, West Virginia

"What a fantastic trip! Back a week and can't get it off my mind."

Dear Eric:

As vacations wind to an end I normally get geared up in anticipation for return to the routine of daily life. In other words, I start to look forward to coming home. But this did not happen on the Futaleufu. After the trip I wanted to go with them and run the Fu again with the next group. Home did not seem inviting.

What a fantastic trip! Back a week and can't get it off my mind. But I don't need to tell you about the rivers, scenery etc.—you've heard it all before. What I will say is that I am super-impressed with the people who made this trip what it was. Principally Robert, Joe, and Steve—these guys are fantastic. Their attitude and their ability is exceptional, With these three on the river, I'd feel comfortable dropping over Niagara Falls. And, they are great folks to be around.

Moreover, the logistics of the Futaleufu portion of the trip were nothing short of stupendous. Everything worked. The Earth River camps (stunningly beautiful), the local transportation arrangements, the Chilean folks who helped out (Joaquina, Nidia, Luis etc.), the itinerary, the planning, the safety—I could go on and on. For all these reasons and more, the Fu with Earth River must be the premiere whitewater trip in the world.

Although I doubt anything could match the Fu, I'm already thinking about other adventures Earth River like the Colca. I loved the trip, Eric. Use me as a reference.

Debra King
Mill Valley, California

"My memories of this trip are much more vivid than from any other
great adventures, and I believe they'll remain so.'

Dear Roberto,

I meant to write long before this, but the “real” world sort of clobbered me over the head when I got back to it. I've been fighting it. I don't know how many times I've been back to base camp and the cave camp in my mind, but I think I'm going to have to pay a little more attention to work. It's not going away.

I had such a wonderful time on our trip and more than a great deal of it was because of you. You're a real pro—we felt so taken care of and cared for. You handled some pretty daunting logistics easily and professionally, but just as important—graciously and charmingly.

And I can't tell you how impressed and appreciative I was for the safety measures you take as a matter of course on your trip. I haven't filled out my trip evaluation yet (sorry!), but suffice it to say that I would (and already have) highly recommended Earth River to anyone interested. I also think Steve was an excellent guide, and I would feel pretty good about going down just about any river with him. wow—what incredible exhilarating fun!!!

We went to one of those outdoor expedition shows here the weekend after we returned home—thought we might see Eric, plus we had “the fever” (what are we going to do next!). Perhaps we were a little smug about having done our trip with “the best.”

My experience and memories of this trip are much more vivid than any of those I have from other great adventures, and I believe they'll remain so. Thank you, Roberto.

Suzy Calof
Atherton, California

"The Fu is so beautiful, so magical "

Dear Eric!

This is long overdue, and I apologize. We came home to some tough stuff and are just now sort of settling down and catching up.

Eric, the Fu is so beautiful, so magical a river with its incredible azure water, surrounded as it is by snow capped mountains, that we from now on compare all other rivers to it and find them wanting. It was everything you said it was and then some, and I can't thank you enough for encouraging us to go do it. The rapids were certainly the most challenging we'd ever done, yet with your tremendous emphasis on safety, there was the sense of complete security that no matter what happens, we'd all be fine.

The guides and crew you assembled were world class. It was a privilege to raft with them and a joy to get to know them individually. My problem is that I'd like to do this trip every year. I know Lar wants to do other rivers, too—we'll just have to duke it out, for the Fu is my Bali Hai. I simple have to go back many times over.