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J El EI Sumidero Trip film Scheduled in hi A special film showing the conquest of oC El Sumidero The Drain Canyon in Mexico made by a group of Utah adventurers adventurers adventurers ad ad- will be shown Mar 1 7 at the Ule Bount Bountiful ul High School auditorium Jack Curry of or Salt Lake City and Bill Gibbs formerly formerly for- for merly of North Salt Lake will narrate this fantastic trip first made Nov 18 to Dec 10 1962 I ITIlE THE TIlE RIO Grijalva gre hal gre hal hal- va ca is the second largest river in Mexico This turbulent rier riv ri river er cr drains through a high- high walled canyon called The IThe Drain and drops 1000 feet in 16 miles churning over 19 rapids and 11 falls Since Hernando Hernando Hernando Her- Her nando Cortez years jears ago hundreds of adventurers have tried to run the Drain in small bo boats ts All have been killed totaling an estimated peo peo- One eOne recent tr try was made in 1960 by the Red Handkerchief Bo Boys s Their Their boat was destroyed de de- str i cd almost immediately leaving the boys to walk through the can canyon on occasionally occasionally occasion occasion- all ally crossing the river by raft 3 from one side to the other othel when necessary No formal Cormal written report of their trek 1 was made the story is now I I heard only as local legend 4 TilE THE WORLDS WORLD'S first successful suc sue expedition the Curry J Expedition not only shot the rapids but had the Ote great honor extended by the Mexican Mexican can government to g give i v e names to 30 rapids five water 1 falls two springs and two beaches during the famous famous' trek The expeditions expedition's lead e a r I I Jack Curr Curry 29 formerly of I z Kansas now heads the Western cst West West- ern River Expeditions Inc of oC Salt Lake City Others on the trip were all experienced nver nv- nv er runners The expedition took 11 da days s SETTING OUT from rom a point t five miles below Tuxtla Gu Gu- Gu- Gu the the adventurers ad an ran into trouble after only a day and a half hall in the canyon At Atthe Atthe Atthe the first series of or falls one of or ureic their four fOUl rubber boats was smashed against the tho rocks no noone noone noone one was hurt but man many supplies supplies supplies sup sup- plies were lost Later the same day a boat carrying Robert Moran 1 and Paul enin shot over the lip of the second falls and plunged its three passengers into a swirling swirling swirl swirl- ing maelstrom 30 W feet below Moran stated I UI had the feeling of or the bottom dropping out and the top falling in itt There was this Ulis fierce roar of the water hitting the bottom and the tremendous suction chewing at our clot h he c e s. s Moran and Curry escaped injury injury in injury in- in jury but received a severe concussion on the head Despite this he lie continued the journey THE TilE MISHAPS continued Dr Richard Preston an ophthalmologist ophthalmologist ophthalmologist broke a bone Allen Web Weber r aerospace engineer engi engi- neer sprained his ankle and had to be airlifted out by a helicopter which checked on onOle the Ole expedition once a day The helicopter almost crash e d against the narrow canyon rocks on lilt lift off Bill Gibbs Salt Lake City attorney was flown out when he became ill Progress was snail-s snail 1 low o w and in th the canyon the gloom was alive with bats Moran said The depression was not only psychological but geographical geographical geographical geo geo- graphical as well down in that deep deep hole you felt the walls were going to fall fallin fallin fallin in on you ou Crew members called the descent one l hid hideous d. d drop after alter another FIVE RAPIDS IDS were too high to run free the boats had to be lined down guided guided guid guid- ed by ropes from shore It was tough lough not getting pulled in after them says Moran l Four times the men had to pull the their l' l two remaining boats out of the water and manhandle manhandle man man- handle them across boulders Says Moran 1 Wed shout One two three heave t and pull with all our strength Each time we made an inch or so At Al dusk on the eleventh day the tho expedition finally emerged from the canyon at a village 16 miles from the Ule starting point We had planned to go farther downstream says Dr Pres ton But wed we'd done what we set out to do Wed We'd run El Sumidero and nobody ever did that before EQUIPMENT consisted of three 20 man neoprene life liCe rafts and one man 4 neoprene life raft with a 10 hp motor Each of or the large boats weighed 80 pounds and the theo o oar r locks weighed an additional addition addition- al pounds Approximately pounds of or gear was loaded in each of the three boats The TIle C film lm presentation Mar 1 8 is sponsored by the Orchard Third Ward MIA rw |