In a frozen wilderness, Todd Wells navigates a kayak solo, plummeting over a waterfall with a drop of over nine meters before crashing into an icy pool... "Just looking at this will make you shiver," read the headline in the January 20th Daily Mail as it covered this extraordinary challenge. While the news quickly spread across domestic media and drew widespread praise online, Todd Wells was actually deep in the Nujiang Grand Canyon in Luzhi, Yunnan, scouting and testing the waters for the second Red Bull Kayak Freestyle Challenge.
"Reading the water" is a technical term in freestyle kayaking. Compared to traditional canoeing and modern kayaking, which became an Olympic sport in 1936, freestyle kayaking is a relatively new extreme sport. In 1999, Canadian company RIOT KAYAK designed the first freestyle kayak. This new type of kayak—smaller, shorter, with bow and stern that can submerge—is designed for athletes to perform dramatic aerial spins and flips over waterfalls and whirlpools in river upstream areas, creating breathtaking and thrilling scenes. Since freestyle kayaking competitions take place in complex river environments with challenging hydrology and terrain, "reading the water" becomes essential. It has two meanings: first, selecting the optimal competition section based on water flow speed and pattern before the event; second, formulating race strategies during the competition according to real-time water conditions. After all, water is ever-changing, and the higher-skilled the athlete, the better their ability to interpret and adapt to the water.
As one of the competitors, Todd was invited by Red Bull to come from the U.S. specifically to survey the competition waters in Nujiang. After arriving in Beijing on January 18th, he flew from Beijing to Kunming, then from Kunming to Baoshan, and finally drove five hours up the Nujiang Grand Canyon to reach his destination. From the moment he entered the canyon, the American shed all signs of fatigue, continuously marveling, "It's so beautiful. Competing here will definitely be thrilling."
Seeing large photos of his icefall challenge featured in mainstream Chinese media came as a big surprise and thrill for Todd. "These photos were taken by my friend, who is a very famous outdoor sports photographer." However, he also said the situation depicted in the photos was actually very "easy" for him, "because I do this every day." The waterfall in the news is only a 30-minute drive from his home. "I go there almost every day to play. It looks crazy in the photos, but it's not really that difficult. I just need to control the angle of the boat during the dive to avoid injury." Todd mentioned that compared to his previous "feats," the upcoming Red Bull Freestyle Kayak Challenge in March will be "a much bigger test."
"I've heard about Nujiang for a long time and have always wanted to come. Now that I’m actually here, I find it really amazing, so even though the journey took over forty hours, I think it was totally worth it." After arriving at the competition site, Todd tried out both the racing section "Tiger Eagle Rapid" for the sprint event and the freestyle section "Zen Wave" for the hole tricks.
The name "Tiger Eagle Rapid" comes from its Nu ethnic name "La Zuo Suo," where "La" means tiger, "Zuo" means eagle, and "Suo" means rapid. Its literal meaning is a rapid so tough that even tigers and eagles struggle to pass. Spanning approximately 500 meters from start to end with a vertical drop of nearly ten meters, the current is turbulent and complex. "This place is very similar to Canada’s famous rafting spot, Elaho River," Todd said after personally experiencing Tiger Eagle Rapid. "The waves are huge, and there are some large vortices along the course. The water flow routes are very complicated. There are two route options at the start, which branch into four midway. Competing in such conditions presents a huge challenge."
The freestyle kayaking spot known as "Zen Wave" gets its name from renowned Canadian paddler Ben Marr. In 2012, after paddling through this section, he discovered it had both a powerful wave and a large hole, which allowed paddlers to "stay longer in the hole and better reflect on life," hence the poetic name. In fact, the longer top-level paddlers can stay in the hole, the more opportunities they get to pull off various freestyle maneuvers, making the freestyle competition even more intense. But for Todd, who excels in sprint events, Zen Wave is a tough "nut to crack." "The waves here are really hard to conquer. I struggled a lot on them. I think I’ll need to spend more time training on freestyle moves before the race."
Of course, the biggest challenge lies in Nujiang’s most dangerous rapid — Tiger Jump, known in the Lisu language as "La Kuai Luo." Here, the river narrows, and massive rocks rise from the middle like knife-carved cliffs, splitting the surging current into two turbulent streams. The river width is less than five meters, with water speeds exceeding 18 meters per second. Waves crash against the rocks, creating thunderous roars that are awe-inspiring. This year’s Red Bull Freestyle Kayak Challenge will feature not only the sprint and hole freestyle events but will once again take on the legendary Tiger Jump Rapid.
"Is this the Tiger Jump that no one in the world has ever passed?" Todd stood atop a boulder at the entrance of the rapid, staring at the roaring torrent. "I want to give it a try!" Learning that even the world champions—the Jackson family from Canada—had given up trying to conquer it in the last competition, Todd joked, "Are they waiting for me? Only a few of us can get through this place."
The Red Bull Freestyle Kayak Challenge is the only event organized by the International Canoe Federation (ICF) in China. The first edition was held in 2014 in the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan, open only to domestic athletes. This year, the event has been upgraded further, with world-class athletes including world No. 1 Dane Jackson and reigning world champion Nick Troutman confirmed to compete. The venue remains in the Nujiang Grand Canyon, where the race section is flanked by the Biluo Snow Mountain to the east and Gaoligong Mountain to the west. The Nujiang River surges between the two mountains, featuring significant elevation drops, rapid flows, and towering waves, earning it the title of "Whitewater Paradise" among global whitewater kayaking enthusiasts.
After learning that hundreds of millions of Chinese people have come to know him through the internet, Todd said he feels "very lucky." He also expressed his hope to deliver an even more exciting performance for Chinese audiences in the March competition. "I know many high-level athletes will join this event. I’m really looking forward to meeting them here. The races will definitely be thrilling and fun. I believe they’ll love this competition and this place as much as I do."
Todd Wells: 22 years old, American, born in Trout Lake, Washington State. A kayaking enthusiast since childhood, in recent years he and his younger brother Brandon Wells have rapidly risen to fame, winning multiple awards in international competitions. Todd is regarded as one of the world’s top five whitewater kayakers. In addition, Todd is passionate about film and photography. He studied film production and environmental science at Western Washington University and later worked for Bomb Flow Magazine and WCA (World Class Academy). But his love for kayaking has taken him across major rivers in the Americas—from Canada and Mexico to Chile, Argentina, and Costa Rica. He currently lives in Bellingham, Washington, and works part-time as an instructor at Cascadia Adventure Education School, sharing his experience with younger adventurers.