“Earth River Expeditions, pioneered rafting and multi-sport trips on the Futaleufu, making the first commercial raft trips in the winter of 1991 and has since established itself as one of the premier rafting companies in the world. It runs rafting expeditions on the world's wildest rivers, from the Primrose in the Yukon to the world's deepest canyon of the Colca in Peru to China's Great Bend of the Yangtze."

Paul Goldsmith, American Way Magazine, February 1991 

“Intrepid kayakers said the Futaleufu could not be rafted. But Earth River made an expeditionary first raft descent in 1991 and figured out how to safely navigate what today is one of the most intensive stretches of commercially run white-water in the world. They began buying the shoreline, including the river's most desirable campsites and have turned the Fu into an outstanding adventure destination for rafters and kayakers.”

New York Times, May 9, 2006

“For over 2 decades, Earth River partners Eric Hertz and Robert Currie have bought and helped conservation minded clients buy dozens of significant properties along Patagonia Chile’s Futaleufu River to protect them for perpetuity thus keeping them out of the hands of developers, land speculators, mining companies and the hydro-electric company, insuring that the Futaleufu would not meet the same fate as the once world reknowned Bio Bio River to the north where a land speculator acquired all the land and flipped it to the power company for profit. This company financed land conservation effort on the Futaleufu, consisting of a tremendous amount of company resources and countless volunteer hours, is nothing short of Herculean and represents the single largest river land trust endeavor ever initiated by a commercial outfitter. By joining an Earth River tour, you are providing direct financial support for Futaleufu land conservation and helping to prevent the dams planned for the river."  

 Ronald G. Dodson, President of Audubon International and Chairman of International Sustainability Council.

Chicago Sun Times, January 3, 2012 

Some people go to Florida, Arizona or Mexico over Christmas break. Others go skiing. Most stay home and celebrate with family and friends. Not Chicago’s new first family. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, his wife, Amy Rule, and their three children — Zach (14), Ilana (13) and Leah (11) — spent an exotic holiday exploring South America. Tanned, rested, but no less driven, Emanuel returned to work on Tuesday and offered up an oral report: “Every year, we try to take the kids to a different part of the world. The family went to Chile and Argentina on a white-water rafting trip. We did about 70 miles of whitewater on the Futaleufu [River] down in Chile with Earth River Expeditions. We went fly fishing and hiking and then spent New Year’s Eve in Buenos Aries,” the mayor said. When a reporter asked the mayor to “tell us about your vacation,” Emanuel was initially tight-lipped. “It was good,” he said. Pressed to “tell us more,” he said, “It was really good.” Pushed further, he said, “It was unbelievably good.”

"Multi-lodge" trip

Cost: (excluding air to Chaiten, Chile): $4,950 Note: The r/t frlight from Puerto Monnt will be reserved by Earth River and charged to clients individually ($250)

Total days U.S. to U.S.: 11 (Thurs. - Sun)

Days with Earth River: 9 (Fri. - Sat.)

Guide/client ratio: 1 - 3

Season: Dec. - March

Meeting place: Puerto Varas, Chile (Cumbres Puerto Varas Hotel)

Accomodations:  
1 night in Cumbres Puerto Varas Hotel at start of trip (night 1)
3 nights,  Lonconao Cottages (nights 2,3 & 4)
3  nights, Peuma Lodge (nights 5, 6 & 7)
1 night,  Yelcho Lodge (night 8)

Suitable ages: 6 - 80

Percent rafting vrs. multi-sport activiites: 50/50 (percentage varies depending upon individual client preference)

Multi-sport activities: Rafting class 4 (class 5 optional), class 3 whitewater inflatable kayaking (Espolon and Azul Rivers), horseback riding (optional for experienced riders), mountain biking, hiking, canyoneering, standup Paddleboarding and fishing.

Private departures: Custom groups of 14 or more participants are welcome. (groups of less than 12 can book must will have to pay an additional  50% of trip cost for remaining places up to 12.

Note: Depending upon the individual, trip emphasis can be on rafting, hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, fly fishing, kayaking or any combination.

Eric,

I just wanted to thank you and Earth River for a superb trip. Greg was everything and more one could have wished for in a trip leader, ably assisted by Abner and Christian and the complete guide team and support staff. Even with some challenging conditions which necessitated changes in plans on short notice, your staff managed to deliver an extremely high quality trip with all the adventure, drama and memories for which one could wish.

The only complaint Karen and I have is that we have not as of yet been able to shake the vivid presence of the trip from our psyches! We awake in the night, still feeling as if we are in Patagonia. A sound is heard and we are propelled back into the trip and that gorgeous scenery. We really appreciate the efforts put in to make this trip truly a life altering experience.

On a related subject, I am a doctor of anthropology with a specialization in the arctic and sub-arctic. I would be willing to set up a trip up there with native involvement just to be able to participate again in one of your Fabulous trips.

I look forward to meeting you in person in the not too distant future.

Sincerely,

Howard and Karen Higgins

Dear Earth River,

I meant to write long before this but the “real” world sort of clobbered me over the head when I got back. I don’t know how many times I have been back tin my mind, especially the Cave Camp 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 the trip and more than a great deal of it was because of you. You’re a real pro and we all felt so taken care of. You handled some pretty daunting logistics and diverse personalities easily and professionally, but just as importantly - graciously. When a bunch of us stayed an extra night in Puerto Monnt at the end of the trip, we semi-joked about “trip separation anxiety”. Here we were venturing out on our own and we all somewhat uneasy after all he wonderful shepherding and camaraderie we had enjoyed on the trip.

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

Deb Jenkins

Dear Eric,

Just returned from the Futaleufu. Thanks for putting together such an epic trip. The best. The camps were every bit as beautiful as you described and I was happy to see how minimally they impacted the environment. The food was great and I enjoyed the cooks emphasis on using fresh vegetables. I ate better on your trip than I do in New York.

Ultimately I’m convinced the success of trips such as these is almost entirely determined by the quality of the people who run them, and again I can only tell you what you already know. That you have a great group of intelligent, dedicated, hard working people working for you. They are upbeat and enthusiastic and refusing to let up on the pace. Everyone one of them just gets it. Happy to spread the Earth River word. Eric, please give my thanks to everyone who worked on our trip and let me know when your operation needs a middle aged art director with good cleaning skills.

Sincerely,

David Harris, New York, NY