Stookesberry started river running in 1998 in Moab, Utah, after discovering "it was the only thing you could comfortably do outside when temperatures soared to 110 degrees in the desert." After suffering a life-changing injury when he snapped his femur mountain biking, he recalls, "It took over a year to fully heal, yet only a month after the injury I was back in the kayak floating down the river. By the time my leg was completely healed, I had fallen in love with kayaking and it completely changed true focus of my life."
After graduating from college, he produced two well received kayaking films No Big Names and No Big Names 2 (the latter was a finalist in the Banff Film Fest). But, he says "I still had to do four to six months of construction work every year to make ends meet and it was not until 2009 that I became a fully sponsored professional kayaker."
Q: Where are your three favorite places to go kayaking?
A: Chiapas, Mexico; Arunachal Pradesh, India; Chico, California
Q: What is the most extreme trip you've taken? Your thoughts during the most dangerous part of the trip?
A: For me the most extreme trip I have ever taken was the trip to the Rondu Gorge of the Indus river in Pakistan, when three weeks before we were set to arrive the Marriott in Islamabad was hit by a massive truck bomb killing nearly 400 people. But my thoughts on the ground were contrary to my immense feeling of anxiety prior to the trip. The Pakistani people in the Gorge were so kind and the river at itself was one of the most wonderfully challenging and spectacular whitewater and canyon that I had ever seen. Certainly we owe much of the success of that trip to our guide Roland Stevenson, and his wonderful contacts on the ground in Pakistan.
In our most recent expedition into the Congo my feelings of anxiety were not quite as great as those coming into the Pakistan trip, but on the ground I quickly realized that the Congo expedition was going to be a much more serious endeavor through our visuals of the wildlife in the Nile river, and the massive logistical struggle that it took to get us through no less than six international border crossings. It's worth saying much more about the Congo and our guide Hendri Coetzee but I will leave that for the movie to tell. (During the trip, when the First Ascent-sponsored team kayaked down the Lukuga River, Hendri Coetzee was attacked by a huge crocodile, dragged out of his kayak and killed.)
Q: Suggestions on safety, and risk/reward for up-and-coming extreme kayakers
A: A friend of mine and fellow kayaker Jesse Coombs always said that if he did not see himself having fun he would not do it. And I think that is a fairly good barometer to follow when considering risk. If you are paralyzed by fear don't do It. If you think you might have fun... give it a little more consideration.
For me, it is a little more than that. I know that the expeditions that I set out to complete are not going to be all smiles and laughs, and for me fear and suffering is a part of the experience. I knew going into the Congo expedition that there would be moments that I might not have fun with: dealing with dangerous soldiers, the inevitability of dysentery, the potential for a dangerous encounter with African wildlife, etc. So, for me it isn't just about fun, it's really about telling and experiencing a meaningful expedition - maybe a boyhood dream is a better way to describe it.
I guess at the end of the day, the only real advice I can give to up and coming adventurers is to be extremely cognizant of the heightened risk of exploratory kayaking. Proceed with passion and not with hubris.
Q: What one major point do you want to emphasize for all adventurers?
A: Follow your heart to adventure and use your mind when considering risk.
Q: Have you seen a major change in the eco-system of the rivers since you started kayaking?
A: In a place like Arunachal Pradesh, India where I have been kayaking for the last five years, the changes are coming quick. The Indian government has long referred to this one-of-a kind cultural and environmental wilderness as the powerhouse of India, and in the last 5 years that desire is coming to fruition in the massive push to damn these tributaries to the mighty Brahmaputra river system.
Canada is also seeing a massive influx of hydropower development, which is altering forever the incredible BC landscape. Here at home in the US, there are examples to the contrary especially in the Northwest where damns are actually being removed, and the rivers are returning to a more natural state many times quicker than anyone would have anticipated. An amazing example of this is the Rogue river in southern Oregon where a full 50 miles of river has been returned to the once thriving salmon run.
