Patagonia Quadcrown 2023

By Aniol Serrasolses

I've been living in Chile for years now, but in the summer of 2023 I had some friends coming over. Sven Laemmler, Ian Salvat, and Benny Marr gathered in Futa for some serious big water training.

Afterwards, we headed South to fulfill a long-time dream: completing four of the best rivers in Patagonia in one season. The quad-crown, as they call it, is one of the most epic big water trips in the world, encompassing the Baker, Pascua, Mayer, and Bravo rivers. These are truly the jewels of Patagonia.

While I've done most of those runs a few times before, I was particularly excited about descending the Rio Pascua for the first time - known as the scariest, toughest, and most legendary of them all.

Flowing out of Lake O' Higgins the Pascua ranks among the most powerful rivers globally. With over 1200 cumecs rushing through tight canyons in the middle of nowhere, navigating its rowdy whitewater poses high consequences in a very wild setting. It's a big water mission like few others left in the world.

We started the hike midday and paddled most of the lake overnight to avoid the wind. By midday the next morning, we reached the put-in. Despite the terrible weather, we pressed on, completing all the major portages that day and camping just before the start of the runnable gorges.

After a goodnight's sleep, we set off early and paddled the remaining whitewater - some massive holes and must-run gorges in the menu. In just a couple of hours we were out, having completed a run we’d been wanting for a very long time.

Soon, we were on our way to Villa O'Higgins to see our friend Papo, he of course had an asado awaiting for us. If you ever go to this region he’s your best contact.

Over the next few days, we paddled the Mayer, Rio Bravo, and Baker. Great
sections which were multi days at a time but now have come one day runs. They all felt amazing with the light boat. We were paddling Puffy Steezes and OG.

It took us six days to complete them all. It was one of the best missions I've ever had in Patagonia. I'm grateful for the fun times with an amazing group of friends and for Gonzalo, who not only filmed our journey but also did all our shuttles.

Stoked for the next one!

Aniol