Snapdragon paddler, Jon Bowermaster has been producing incredible adventure films for some time now. His most recent series, Into the Altiplano (Parts 1 and 2). With some of the most spectacular footage, Jon takes us on his journey through South America’s most amazing locals.  We thank Jon for taking us all with him on these adventures!  They are truely a spectacular example of Snapdragon adventure and spirit!

Below is his outline of both DVDs:

Into the Altiplano Part 2

We went to South America’s Altiplano, the mountainous desert region crossing the borders of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, looking for water in the driest place on earth. We pulled kayaks behind, which sounds either Quixotic or foolhardy. During six weeks we traveled from sea level to 20,000 feet and ultimately found more than just signs of water. After all, man has scratched out a living here for more than 10,000 years, longer than anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere, suggesting there must be water out there somewhere.
  In fact, the sea used to be here – everywhere – and there were abundant signs. While our days were dusty and cold, spent mostly above 14,000 feet, and visited by strong winds that stopped for only a few hours in the early morning, they were linked by the long history of water in the Altiplano. Daily we traversed dry salt beds and lakes that were once covered by ocean. Over tens of thousands of years, as the high, long ridges of the Andes rose up volcanically, the ocean was pushed aside, its deep valleys filling with ash, lava and rock. But as recently as 12,000 years ago, sizable lakes still covered these Andean plains. What they left behind – thick salt beds, marine coral and fossils of sea life mixed in with the desert sand – are only the most visible evidence.
  This was much more than just a quest for paddle-able lakes. The motivation was to not only to seek out water – the big salt lakes, high Andean rivers and streams and man-made reservoirs I knew were out there somewhere – but to explore just how man has managed to survive here for one hundred centuries.

Into the Altiplano Part 2

Starting on the ocean at Antofagasta, Chile, we pulled and paddled our kayaks across northern Chile and into Argentina. Part 2 of our Altiplano adventure begins on the largest lake in northern Argentina – Lago Vilama – which surprised us by being just a few inches deep. From there we continued into southern Bolivia, crossing the 20 mile by 40 mile Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt lake in the world. Not long ago (12,000 years) the salt lake was covered by a lake 200 feet deep. Today its salt is raked and dried and sold as table salt.

The expedition ended atop 20,000 foot tall Volcan Licancabur, affording us an incredible view over the high desert and lakes we had just negotiated.

We went to South America’s Altiplano, the mountainous desert region crossing the borders of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, looking for water in the driest place on earth. We pulled our kayaks behind, which sounds either Quixotic or foolhardy, and during six weeks as we traveled from sea level to 20,000 feet we ultimately found more than just signs of water. After all, man has scratched out a living here for more than 10,000 years, longer than anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere, suggesting there must be water out there somewhere

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