Lost in Mongolia: Rafting the World's Last Unchallenged River - Softcover

Angus, Colin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0767912802 ISBN 13: 9780767912808

Publisher: Broadway Books, 2003

Synopsis

From the Yenisey’s headwaters in the wild heart of central Asia to its mouth on the Arctic Ocean, Colin Angus and his fellow adventurers travel 5,500 kilometres of one of the world’s most dangerous rivers through remotest Mongolia and Siberia, and live to tell about it.

Exploration is Colin Angus’ calling. It is not only the tug of excitement and challenge that keeps sending him on death-defying journeys down some of the world’s most powerful waterways, it is a desire to know a place more intimately than you could from the window of a train, to feel the soul of a place. Angus emphasizes that rivers have always been key to the development of complex societies and the rise of civilizations, offering as they do irrigation, transportation, hydroelectric power, and food. But, as Lost in Mongolia captures with breathtaking detail, while they giveth plenty, the great rivers also taketh away in an instant. In Lost in Mongolia, Colin Angus takes readers through never-before-seen territory and his wonderful sense of adventure and humour come through on every page.

About this title

About the Author

Colin Angus began his adventuring career at nineteen with a five-year, mostly solo, offshore sailing odyssey. He
has co-produced two documentaries including Yenisey: River of Extremes (runner up for the “People’s Choice” award at the Banff Film Festival) for National Geographic. When not in the field, Colin shares his adventures with the public through presentations and articles. Publications he has written for include Cruising World, The Globe and Mail and Explore. Based out of Vancouver, B.C., he is currently preparing for his next adventure.

From the Back Cover

Praise For Amazon Extreme:
“Not for the faint of heart . . . a riveting book that combines adventure, excitement, and human drama with just enough history and geography to help us share in the total experience.” -- The Tampa Tribune

Reviews

Angus didn't know the Yenisey River existed until he came across its name in a book while researching another trip. The Yenisey, he learned, is the world's fifth-longest river, flowing 5,500 kilometers (3,300 miles) from western Mongolia to the Arctic Circle, and had never been run from source to sea. That kind of challenge proved irresistible to the Canadian adventurer. In short order, Angus (Amazon Extreme) cobbled together three companions and (barely) enough sponsorship dollars to keep them afloat, and in spring 2001 set off for Mongolia. The quartet paddled through territory covered by few travelers and even fewer writers. They dealt with financial difficulties, freezing temperatures, a kayak-swallowing maelstrom and more. The book is nearly a blow-by-blow account of the harrowing five-month journey, with trivial events reproduced as faithfully as extraordinary ones. Some sections read as though they were plucked unedited from Angus's journal (e.g., after mentioning fresh milk in one entry, he concludes, "The remaining liter of milk turned into yogurt overnight. I guess with unpasteurized milk, you don't need to stimulate the process. Still, it tasted great"). The characters Angus meets along the way-a kindly Mongolian army officer; a Russian mafia boss; and the indigenous people of the Arctic-are tantalizing, but Angus doesn't linger on them or on the three young men he's traveling with. Some readers may wish Angus had something more to say, in the end, than "we did it." Still, his book should please readers looking for a straightforward, uncomplicated adventure tale. Photos.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Asia's Yenisey River, the world's fifth longest (at 3,250 miles), had not been navigated until the author and his two companions made the five-month journey in a whitewater raft and two kayaks. Angus, a "full-time adventurer," describes the trip that began at the 13,000-foot summit of Otgon Tenger in Mongolia, which entailed treacherous rapids; extreme heat, cold, and snow; intense fog; and plagues of mosquitoes and blackflies. One of the most interesting sections details his being separated from his fellow travelers and of a run-in with Russian police. His journey took him through Siberia and into the Arctic Ocean, and Angus describes the people the trio encountered along the way, including shepherds in the Gobi Desert and the Nenets of the Arctic, who lived in reindeer-skin tepees. It's a trip that readers will relish--from the comfort of their homes. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Broadway Books
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0767912802
• ISBN 13: 9780767912808
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 270