Testimonials

RAHM EMANUEL'S SOUTH AMERICAN TRIP 'UNBELIEVEABLY GOOD'

Chicago Sun Times, January 3, 2012 

Some people go to Florida, Arizona or Mexico over Christmas break. Others go skiing. Most stay home and celebrate with family and friends. Not Chicago’s new first family. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, his wife, Amy Rule, and their three children — Zach (14), Ilana (13) and Leah (11) — spent an exotic holiday exploring South America. Tanned, rested, but no less driven, Emanuel returned to work on Tuesday and offered up an oral report: “Every year, we try to take the kids to a different part of the world. The family went to Chile and Argentina on a white-water rafting trip. We did about 70 miles of whitewater on the Futaleufu [River] down in Chile with Earth River Expeditions. We went fly fishing and hiking and then spent New Year’s Eve in Buenos Aries,” the mayor said. When a reporter asked the mayor to “tell us about your vacation,” Emanuel was initially tight-lipped. “It was good,” he said. Pressed to “tell us more,” he said, “It was really good.” Pushed further, he said, “It was unbelievably good.”

RONALD G. DODSON, PRESIDENT AUDUBON INTERNATIONAL

“For over 2 decades, Earth River partners Eric Hertz and Robert Currie have bought and helped conservation minded clients buy dozens of significant properties along Patagonia Chile’s Futaleufu River to protect them for perpetuity thus keeping them out of the hands of developers, land speculators, mining companies and the hydro-electric company, insuring that the Futaleufu would not meet the same fate as the once world reknowned Bio Bio River to the north where a land speculator acquired all the land and flipped it to the power company for profit. This company financed land conservation effort on the Futaleufu, consisting of a tremendous amount of company resources and countless volunteer hours, is nothing short of Herculean and represents the single largest river land trust endeavor ever initiated by a commercial outfitter. By joining an Earth River tour, you are providing direct financial support for Futaleufu land conservation and helping to prevent the dams planned for the river."  

 Ronald G. Dodson, President of Audubon International and Chairman of International Sustainability Council.

NEW YORK TIMES

“Intrepid kayakers said the Futaleufu could not be rafted. But Earth River made an expeditionary first raft descent in 1991 and figured out how to safely navigate what today is one of the most intensive stretches of commercially run white-water in the world. They began buying the shoreline, including the river's most desirable campsites and have turned the Fu into an outstanding adventure destination for rafters and kayakers.”

New York Times, May 9, 2006

AMERICAN AIRLINES MAGAZINE

“Earth River Expeditions, pioneered rafting and multi-sport trips on the Futaleufu, making the first commercial raft trips in the winter of 1991 and has since established itself as one of the premier rafting companies in the world. It runs rafting expeditions on the world's wildest rivers, from the Primrose in the Yukon to the world's deepest canyon of the Colca in Peru to China's Great Bend of the Yangtze."

Paul Goldsmith, American Way Magazine, February 1991 

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

“I've rafted with Eric down some tough rivers—the Futaleufu in Chile, the Colca in Peru. He's one of the best in the business—obsessed with safety. Coming to China was his idea. First thing tomorrow morning we plan to set out for the Shuiluo (scway-lo), a wild tributary of the Yangtze, or Jinsha, River whose 150-mile-length, locals say, has never been run before. Paralleling the border of Tibet and Burma, the Shuiluo carves a deep gorge through a series of 16,000-foot mountains.”

John Bowermaster, National Geographic Magazine, November, 1996

Natlional Geographic Magazine

FRED WIEDERMAN, CO-FOUNDER OUTWARD BOUND

“I’ve been on nearly all the challenging, commercially run rivers in the world and I must say that Earth River and the Futaleufu stand out in my memory as the very best of the best. The scenery could not be grander, nor the water swifter, clearer or more pristine. The spectacular camps were superior, the food a camping gourmet’s delight and the river guides and their safety precautions of superb caliber. It was my good luck to select the Futaleufu and Earth River Expeditions for my “swan song” as a river runner.“

Fred Wiedemann, Co-founder Outward Bound, Veteran of nearly 50 outfitted trips

“Earth River made an expeditionary first descent of the Futaleufu in 1991 and figured out how to safely navigate it."
"Earth River is the premier river runner in the world. Their staff includes the finest guides to be found."
“Earth River is more than a great whitewater outfitter. Their contributions have made a real difference in our efforts to preserve some of the world's most beautiful rivers in Chile and Canada."
"I want to personally thank Earth River for helping us stop the hydro-electric projects on our land preventing the destruction of one of North America's last great wildernesses.
“I’ve rafted with Eric Hertz down some tough rivers—the Futaleufu in Chile, the Colca in Peru. He's one of the best in the business—obsessed with safety."