Cade Hertz

Director of Operations

Cade has been guiding for 14 years (ten on the Futaleufu) and being part of expeditions since he was 6. He has worked as a guide on the Middle Fork of the Salmon, Tuolumne, Alsek, Rogue and a handful of other day trips across the US. Internationally he has guided expeditions in Patagonia, Peru, Tibet, and Quebec. At 9 he began paddling a kayak down the Magpie River in Quebec and recording videos to create advertising material as well as videos for the guests. The following year he was on the first exploration of the Lakes of Patagonia in Chile, featured in National Geographic Adventure Magazine. In 2003 he became active in the fight to stop multiple dams slated for the lower Magpie River in Quebec, testifying at government hearings and showing a video he took that contradicted the developers claims that the River’s most impressive and soon to be flooded rapid was not runnable. His Magpie footage of a conservation expedition was shown across Canada on CBC Television. In 2010 he shot video on the first raft and commercial descent of Peru’s Yavero River. In 2014, he coordinated the safety for a first descent on the Rio Ventana. His video work can be seen on the Earth River site and has also appeared in National Geographic.. Cade is an avid kayaker and has first descents in the United States and Chile. When Cades not guiding you can find him hanging with his dog Osito, often mountain biking or gardening.

Personal Reflections

Teal Hertz

Guide, Sales Manager

Teal was fortunate enough to grow up in the outfitting industry having done expeditions throughout the U.S. and internationally; in Patagonia, Fiji, Costa Rica, Belize, Ecuador, Yukon Territory, British Colombia, Quebec and Jamaica. His first multi-day rafting trip was at 3 years old down California's, Tuolumne River. Subsequently, twenty-one years later he would follow in Eric's footsteps and spend three seasons working there. In the US he started guiding in 2013 and has since guided rafting trips in Oregon, California, Arizona, New York, and West Virginia as well as organizing and leading multiple hiking trips in Yosemite National Park. Internationally Teal has guided in Patagonia, Canada, Mexico, and Peru, he started working for Earthriver on the Magpie in 2013 and on the Futaleufu in 2016. It was his first season in Futa that solidified his love for the beautiful valley the river flows through and jump-started his desire to hike into the alpine there. Having spent hundreds of hours exploring new places in Futa he has discovered 9 alpine lakes and gathered 7 first ascents of mountains surrounding the river. As a professional photographer he has documented his journey along the way, his photos can be seen on the EarthRiver website and on his Instagram https://www.instagram.com/teal_hertz/

 

Tyler Smith (Ty)

Guide, Musician

Ty is from Ontario, Canada and has been guiding for 14 years. He has managed a large rafting company on the Ottawa River and is been a guide instructor on the W.I.L.D guide school; where participants run rivers from Canada to Costa Rica over a three month period. For four years Ty has guided for Earth River on the Magpie and for three on the Futaleufu. Ty has a masters degree in Environmental Science and did his thesis on the disastrous impact a breach in a British Columbia mine's tailing pond would have on the down stream watershed.  Ironically, the following year, in Canada's worst environmental mining disaster, that very same British Columbian mine had a dam failure sending millions of metric tons of poisonous waste water into the downstream waterway. Ty has led a number of Inui First Nation trips down the Magpie River in Quebec, in order to build an awareness within the native community to what is at stake with the proposed dams. This awareness within the native community is paramount if the river is to be protected. Ty plays the mandolin and guitar and often sings around the campfire.

Personal Reflections

Humberto Reyes

Guide

Humberto was born and raised in the central Valley of Chile and has been a guide and kayak instructor since 2009. He attended Araucania University in Pucon, Chile where his love for rivers began and graduated with a major in guiding and tourism. Guiding has taken him to Peru, Ecuador and Canada and he has acted as an assistant rescue instructor for different international organizations. Humberto loves sharing the beauty, natural history and cultural importance of the Futaleufu while always respecting the environment so future generations, can enjoying this magical place. Humberto fell in love with the Futaleufu valley; the mountains, people and culture and moved to the valley where he lives with his son, Rio. He has guided for Earth River on the Futaleufu and Magpie rivers since 2017.

Tomas Prior

Guide, Musician

Thomas, grew up in the Maipo Valley outside of Santiago, Chile and began rafting at 14 on the Miapo river. Thomas has spent 8 seasons guiding on the Futaleufu river and spends the other half of the year as the head guide in Italy on the Noce river. Thomas has also worked on the Colorado on the Arkansas river. Thomas is fluent in 3 languages, a fantastic musician and an exceptionally talented kayaker. He has a passion for kayaking and if you cant get ahold of him he's provably paddling, some of the disciplines he participates in are whitewater kayak racing,  exploratory paddling, and the art of running waterfalls.  Besides his love for adventure and the outdoors Thomas cares deeply about the protection of natural resources and has participated in protests against the Alto Maipo project, which is a hydro project that dewatering his home river and area that he grew up in. Thomas is very social and loves to meet people and learn about new cultures. Thomas aims to continue rafting, kayaking and exploring new rivers around the world.

Jose Castillo (Momo)

Guide, Photographer

Jose has guided internationally in Chile, the United States, Peru, Ecuador, Slovenia, Switzerland and Norway. He has been a guide and safety kayaker on the Futaleufu for 16 years. Jose is a professional chef, photographer, carpenter and sponsored world class kayaker. He lives on a gorgeous property along the Futaleufu in a house he hand built.

JIYUE ZHANG

Chinese Partner/Guide

Jiyue is one of the grandfathers of adventure travel in China. Upon graduation from Sichuan Sports Institute in 1982, where he was a highly ranked 400 meter runner, Jiyue began working for China Mountaineering Association as a climbing guide and liaison working with international climbers. In 1985 the Chinese government sent him to the U.S. for whitewater training where he ran eight different rivers. The following year, he participated in the joint Sino-USA, first descent of the Yangtze River which completed 2000 kilometers of the previously unrun river. ABC's American Sportsman,featured the expedition in a two-part, 90-minute special titled, "Challenging China's Yangtze".

In 1993, under China's Open Door policy, Jiyue founded, Sichuan Earth Expeditions, one of the first private adventure companies in China. The company organized and led numerous first ascents throughout China and Tibet including the North Face of Gonga Mountain with one America's of America's most distinguished mountain climbers, Fred Becky. Sichuan Earth Expeditions also participated in the 2005 Chinese climb of the Mt. Everest and the 2008 World Olympic torch relay to the top of Everest.

As Earth River's China partner, Jiyue helped organize and run the first descent of the Shangri-la's Shuilo and Po Tsangpo Rivers in Tibet, as well as early commercial descents trips down the Great Bend and Upper Yangtze, He has been featured in Outside, National Geographic (yellow), National Geographic Adventure, Men's Journal and on National Geographic Television, China's Outdoor Exploration and Japanese Outdoor Magazine.

Personal Reflections