Welcome to the Klinaklini Heli-Raft Expedition: an unforgettable river trip through some of British Columbia’s most spectacular glacial wilderness. To fully enjoy this adventure, please take the time to familiarize yourself with the information provided. We want to be with you every step of the way in your expedition preparations so please do not hesitate to call if you have any questions or concerns.
Klinaklini River Photo Gallery
Find out what past participants have said about this trip on the ROAM blog.
Notes from the River - A letter from Brian McCutcheon
In the autumn of 1996 we flew into the Coast Mountain Range of Southwestern British Columbia for an exploratory look at a river expedition. Some colleagues that worked on the film, Seven Years from Tibet, had told us about an impressive watershed they had flown over during filming and descriptions alone prompted the flight.
With Knight Inlet, a stunning fjord penetrating 60 miles into the mountains from the Pacific Ocean on our left and flanked by British Columbia’s highest mountains, the Klinaklini River did not disappoint us. Wrestling its way from the Chilcotin Interior to the Pacific Coast it harbors some of the most dramatic scenery we had every seen.
I realize that is hard for people in the lower 48 to comprehend that there are vast tracks of wilderness and un-navigated waterways less than 200 miles north of Vancouver. However, if you ever have a chance to fly over this region you will soon see how this can be true. The Coast Mountains have proven over the test of time to be a formidable opponent to development let alone explorers. Stretching up as far as the Yukon, these mountains are the birthplace of many raging rivers flowing out to the Pacific. The Klinaklini is one of the prize jewels.
After months of preparation, and Men’s Journal Magazine along to cover the event, we attempted the first ever descent of the Klinaklini. Our expedition utilized two floatplanes, a helicopter and a host of professional river runners. In August of the same year, we operated the first-ever commercial trip. It is exciting to have been involved in a part of history and be able to develop a state of the art expedition allowing participants to travel where it was once thought unimaginable.
It is ironic that technology now allows us to access regions of the earth where we go to escape technology. Like a magic carpet, you visit untouched alpine meadows and diamond blue glaciers. Unlike explorers of the past we are blessed with the comforts of home as well.
Brian McCutcheon founded Rivers & Oceans in 1985 and has been operating rafting and kayaking trips in British Columbia since the late eighties. In 2000, we changed to Rivers Oceans And Mountains as the addition of “mountains” better reflects the topography of the regions we visit. In 1997, Brian orchestrated the first-ever descent of the Klinaklini River. Since then, he has run the Klinaklini more than any other person. When not out on the water, Brian is the Managing Director of ROAM from our offices in Nelson, British Columbia.
