“Will have river veterans nodding in agreement and surprise. I loved the journey.” — Doug Stanton, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Horse Soldiers
“An important contribution to the literature of exploration. This book had my pulse racing.”— Peter Heller, author of The Dog Stars and The River
A dramatic narrative tour of 10 of the world’s most incredible whitewater adventures—spanning 5 continents and 40 years—guided by a legendary whitewater trailblazer
This fascinating history of daring whitewater explorers stands alongside classic works on mountaineering, outdoor survival, and extreme sports
Perfect for fans of Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air and Candice Millard’s River of the Gods
In 10 thrilling real-life adventure stories, pioneering whitewater explorer Wick Walker examines what lured a generation of incredibly daring pioneers into some of Earth’s most wondrous yet forbidding river canyons:
- below Victoria Falls on the Zambezi,
- the Great Bend of the Tsangpo in Tibet,
- Tiger Leaping Gorge on the Yangtze,
- the flanks of Mount Everest, and more
Loaded with great moments and personal stories, Walker details what these adventurers found there, and within themselves. The extraordinary characters, driven by different motives and visions, but united by their compulsion to seek the unknown and the pulse of free-flowing water, are as remarkable as the daunting geography and conditions they confront.
Whitewater sport today stands side-by-side with mountaineering in participation and public attention, yet it has lagged in generating its own literature. Torrents As Yet Unknown helps fill that gap for readers interested in human drama played out against great natural challenges.
Mountaineering history is deep and its literature rich, but whitewater adventurers approach and experience the same forbidding terrain from a different vantage, between the steep walls of their canyons and atop powerful torrents of cascading water.
