Paddling an uncharted river in Mongolia

The expedition to Paddle the Delgermoron was first planned in 2019 for a 2020 trip.  The participants were essentially paddlers & adventurers looking for something a little bit different.  Covid and Putin put the brakes on this unfortunately until Turkish Airlines came up with an alternative simple (non-Russian Airspace) route in.  The new team actually had one of the original team members and was once again comprised of individuals with a thirst for adventure.

Despite not really knowing one another, the team gelled quickly and performed well both in terms of supporting one another on the water and also really getting involved in the setting the camp up which involved, setting up cook tent, stove, collecting wood and water and making sure that all team jobs were completed before they sorted their personal kit.

The goal of the expedition was to safely paddle the length of the Delegermoron river in Northern Remote Mongolia.  This is a remote and wilderness paddle which takes in the amazing Mongolian Steppe and all that it has the offer.

Day 1 resulted in several capsizes on some of the whitewater.  This continued into day 2 and so did the nature of the water we faced.  Whilst this did not change our plans, I was constantly re-evaluating our progress and doing lots of speed/distance/time calculations in my head which essentially translated to plan b, c, d and e. These new plans were options where we could possibly get picked up earlier given our delayed and challenging start.  

The reality was that we did not need to use these options and managed to successfully navigate 300km of the Delgermoron to its end at 5 rivers Camp.

1 specific example of having to change plans was when we were lining a rapid (I often refer to this sort of rapid as a graveyard – lots of rocks and boulders submerged just enough to cause us problems which would be extremely difficult to fix.  Therefore, I made the call that we would line and wade the boats.  Lining is the process of using ropes on the bow and stern of the canoe to make progess downstream, without having to empty to canoe.  Given the nature of the river, this often meant we also waded.  After 500m of this activity (a great team event in itself) we came to a left hand bend and a cliff.  As we approached it from upstream, my heart sank and I held onto to something inside me that said, just get there and solve the problem.

However, once we arrived, cushion waves, strong current, deep water and undercut rocks were the reality.  When I lead expeditions or indeed any outdoor activity, I really need to be aware of the ‘Human Factors’ that can result in making decisions based upon taking the easy way out/the short cut.  As I stood and inspected the challenge, I realised that I already had my answer as the time it was taking was directly correlated to the reality that it would certainly be possible to get the group through this rapid, however, the consequences of failure would be extreme.

Therefore, we about-turned and were faced with the reality of ‘tracking & wading’ our boats back up the rapid we had just lined them down.  Most definitely not a popular decision with the group – not a popular decision for me, but 100% the right one and after getting upstream to a suitable location we were able to ferry glide over to river left and make camp.

The expedition was 10-28 June 2025. Water levels were good and we potentially were still enjoying an element of winter snow melt.

The Delger mörön (Mongolian: Дэлгэр мөрөн, lit. 'wide river') is a river in the Khövsgöl aimag in northern Mongolia. It rises in the Ulaan Taiga range close to the Russian border. It is 445 kilometres (277 mi) long, and has a drainage basin of 26,600 square kilometres (10,300 sq mi).[1]

Together with the Ider River, it is the headwaters of the Selenge River. It meets with the Ider at Tömörbulag, thereafter becoming the Selenge.

The Delger mörön is frozen for 128–175 days through the year. There is a ferry in Bayanzürkh, and a concrete bridge just south of Mörön.

The goal of the expedition was to complete a full descent of 300km to the rivers at 5 Rivers Camp.  It was designed to be a ‘Real Adventure’ where we literally had no idea of what was around the next bend and ultimately, we there were definite risks to life and limb, ambiguity and no assured chance of success’.

As described, this is a very infrequently paddled river and we have been led to believe, that potentially we are the first British group to have completed the top section and maybe even the whole river (TBD).