Flashback: High Peaks and Deep Canyons by Kayak

The late 1970s and the early ‘80s were a time of fierce and friendly competition to claim first kayak and raft descents down hundreds of miles of unexplored California rivers. In order to make a successful first descent more likely, most boaters explored Sierra rivers in teams. Two teams stood out for the number and difficulty of first runs they made -- the team of Reg Lake, Doug Tompkins, and Royal Robbins, which came to be known as the “Billy Goat Crew;” and the team of Lars Holbeck, Chuck Stanley and Richard Montgomery, known as “The Hipsters on the Move.”

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