Expedition Mongolia First SUP 🇲🇳Descent of the Chuluut Valley 2024

I’ve worked as a guide and expedition leader since 2012. I have been lucky enough to work in some amazing places, including Rain forests in Sri Lanka, jungle rivers in Panama and New Zealand's waterways. I have seeked out Personal expeditions on Icelandic glaciers, Canadian lakes and Paddle boarding the Amazon. Mongolia has been a dream destination since I was a teenager reading Conn Iggulden books on Genghis Kann. This year, everything finally came together for expedition Mongolia. 

I’ve been guiding five-day canoe expeditions in New Zealand with Phil, owner of Canoe Safaris NZ. On a trip I mentioned I had a half-formed plan for a trip to Mongolia, he immediately asked to join. His enthusiasm pushed the idea from a dream into a reality.

The plan was ambitious: 9 days paddling 270 km along five rivers, starting in the basalt canyons of the Somon Gol, flowing into the Chuluut, then joining the Ider, merging into the Delgermörön, and finally forming the mighty Selenge. This would be the first recorded stand-up paddleboard descent of the Chuluut Valley. We contacted Canoe Mongolia who were able to supply us with a Canoe, some old soviet maps and a driver. 

Getting to Mongolia was an expedition in itself. From New Zealand, we took three flights and got stopped at every security check point for extra bag checks. We had our powder vitamin mix for our drinks checked, power banks inspected, first aid kit looked at and the filter in my water bottle looked suspicious. My SUP bag also went on its own trip but did turn up in the right place after I had been called to confirm it was my bag. Eventually we arrived in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar. The evening we landed we stocked up on supplies, fruit, oats, bread, a slab of bacon, half a wheel of cheese and snacks as well as the all important Mongolian Vodka and chinguss beer.

The following day we met our driver, and set off on an 18-hour journey across the country through spectacular steppe landscapes. We stopped at the site of the old capital Karakorum for a quick visit to the ruins. Then it was back into the car to our starting point on the Somon Gol River. We pitched our tents in the last of the light and the last of the dry weather for the night. All night we had torrential rain and sheet lighting. It felt like we were going to be washed away, I clipped my kit bags together and pegged them into the ground. 

Day 1 began with bright, clear weather and a change of plan. Our driver confirmed our pick up point and time, he was collecting us from the river and driving us to a train station to catch the Trans Siberian Railway back to Ulaanbaatar. The problem was he was coming a day earlier than we had planned. We had spent over 18 hours with the man but we had a large language barrier. He gave us our train tickets we had purchased through Canoe Mongolia and they were for a day earlier so we were stuck with a quick change of plan.

 The first three days were expected to be the most challenging, with steeper gradients, large rapids, and tricky rock gardens. The basalt canyon was stunning, we were surrounded by sheer cliffs, and the rain the night before meant we had some powerful currents, and plenty of big waves and stoppers to keep us focused. We aimed for 37 km that day, but with daylight left we pushed further, banking extra distance in case of delays later. We had to make a few pauses and stops to empty the splashed water from the canoe, it had most of our heavier supplies in it. We found a flat place for camp and quickly erected the tarp. We were expecting a localised storm like the one from the previous night. Each evening the storm clouds gathered and threatened us but we were lucky. 

Day 2 We awoke to a stunning day and an endless blue sky, although it was looking sunny it was still very cold, each night and morning was chilly. We started  the day with tea and porridge before breaking camp and loading the canoe and paddleboard. We had rapids and a few rock islands to navigate past as well as some calmer sections where we could watch the eagles sore on the thermals. The day ended with a brutal half-hour rock garden. It felt like a never-ending series of slaloms, pivots, and quick decisions to avoid boulders the rapid eventually ended with a series of large waves and holes. The last set of waves swamped the canoe but Phil kept it upright. The nose of my SUP disappeared into a hole sending me dancing along the deck. By the time we emerged, we were physically and mentally drained, having covered over 40 km of unfamiliar flowing river. We were meant to paddle 34km stopping before the long rapid but we had been feeling fresh and wanted to get a bit further, once into that section we had to just keep going. 

Day 3, the river has calmed down, it still has waves and rock gardens but isntl the same level as day 1 or 2. The valley is changing shape and opening in places. We once again set the tarp up at camp because the sky has been threatening rain, we could see the hills in the distance are being hit with heavy rain. Phil had his his fishing rod out and at camp trying to catch us dinner with no success. Clean drinking water became a surprising challenge. The main river was brown with clay sediment, which quickly clogging our filters, and many “streams” marked on maps were dry in summer, only flowing during spring snowmelt. Whenever we found a clear side stream, we filled every container we had — including the empty beer bottles from earlier in the trip.

Day 4 during the night it had rained and our tarp had collected a couple of pools of water. We took advantage of this fresh clean water to fill up all our bottles and have a couple extra cups of tea. we met a nomadic family beside the river. The father spoke no English, but his daughter knew a little. They were curious about our journey, and we were equally interested in their life on the steppe. We had questions about how they lived and what animals they kept. She had returned to the farm after uni in Ullanbataa. The canyon was slowly opening up and we saw more signs of nomadic life as we paddled yurts, herds of goats, and horses running along the banks. We stopped to investigate an abandoned shack and stable all made out of rough timber and trees felled from the immediate area. 

By Day 5, the canyon had opened into wide steppe country. The river had slowed and we had some stretches paddling into the wind. Our meals were mostly dehydrated packs, but we supplemented them with fresh spring onions picked along the banks, a block of cheese, and our enormous chunks of bacon although this was mostly fat. Bacon and cheese lunches became a daily highlight. I clipped my fin a few times today, the river was constantly narrowing and widening with braids weaving around islands. At lunch I rearranged my bags to put more weight on the front of the board to try and lift the back. I had my deep fin attached and my short river fin in the kit bag. I started with the river fin but after day 2 I swapped, the short fin didn't give me the tracking I needed with the long heavy board. A few fin clips and some board dancing was a price I was willing to pay. We spent the night camped on an flat island. Usually when I camp by a river I go up to get to high ground in case of floods and rising rivers but this river was quick and the land surrounding it was flat. The rain washed down the rivers staying in its own almost canal shaped path. There was rarely any sign on the banks of flood damage or trees washed down stream and now stuck on the banks.  

Day 6, Our river the Chullute has merged into the Ida, on the maps the Chullute is marked as a stream and the Ida as a river. At the confluence the river grew in size, it also changed colour and became a lot browner. The Ida looked on the maps to flow through more mountainous terrain and we had hoped for it to be cleaner, unfortunately we didn't know they quarry and mine along the river banks and all the sediment and mud falls or is pumped into the river. We were hoping for a wash and shave in some cleaner water at the confluence but we had to settle for a small side stream for a quick dip and Phill had a scratchy shave. 

Day 7  was a short day, we had gained enough distance that we could have a short river day. We paddled into civilization, there were more huts, yurts and gravel/mud roads. Our plan that night was to stay at 5 rivers camp, a ger (yurt) site, the land was once a farm but is now run by the family as a site for cross county cyclist, bike tours and sometimes canoe groups coming the opposite direction from us on the Delgermörön. When we started the day we were on the Ida river but we ended paddling up the Delgermörön after a brief visit to the selenga. The 5 rivers camp was living up to its name! We spent the night here and the enjoying the families hospitality, swimming in the rivers and preparing for the following day. We were also joined in the ger by the calfs and a herd of goats who wandered through the camp. 

On the

Day 8 final day, we packed the paddleboard and loaded everything into the canoe. We started paddling back down the Delgermörön and onto the Selenga. The Selenga flows east at the point where the south flowing Delgermörön and the north flowing Ida meet. This day was meant to be a 31km day and the following day a short 16km but we had lost a day. From the information we had we were expecting a headwind and shallow braided slow channels. This was the first day with real time restriction, We had to get to our pick up point so we could get to the train station early the following day. With the SUP deflated and Two paddlers in one boat we made swift progress, and we reached our pickup point on time. We spent one last night under canvas and in the eye of a storm, our expedition started in the rain and ended in the rain. 

The following day our driver brought us to the train station to catch the overnight Trans Siberian Railway back to the capital.

The Chuluut Valley delivered everything I hoped for — challenging whitewater, remote landscapes, encounters with nomadic culture, and the satisfaction of a first SUP descent. It’s an expedition I’d gladly repeat.