Kalispell native tells of paddling derring-do

Brad Ludden and his expedition mates wanted to know just one thing from the man in a remote village in Madagascar: "Is there anything downstream that might kill someone?"

"He said there was," Ludden told about 100 people attending a slideshow at the Summit on Thursday night in Kalispell. "And we thought, 'Perfect.'"

Ludden was part of an expedition down the Betsiboka River in Madagascar, off the coast of southern Africa last year, what they thought at the time was a first descent.

After they emerged from the remote river 12 days and nights later, the group discovered adventure guides Mountain Travel Sobek had sent rafts down the river years before, but portaged around all the rapids that Ludden's team had run.

"We realized that it really didn't matter," Ludden said. "It was our trip."

The Kalispell native was in town to promote a documentary about that expedition that will be coming out this summer, and continue to drum up support for the non-profit foundation he started called First Descents, which offers kayaking and mountaineering camps to young adults with cancer.

First Descents is the only such camp for people who are between age 18 and 39 in the country, according to Ludden, and the Vail, Colo.-based foundation is very much indebted to Ludden's home Valley.

Each year one of the camps is held in and around Glacier National Park, where Ludden himself learned to kayak at age nine. Local paddlers volunteer their time to help teach, while others donate food and logistics support and — not least — money.

With Bigfork's sizable paddling community, and the annual Whitewater Festival and Paddlefest events in the spring, First Descents is a well-known presence in town, and Ludden said after the talk that Bigfork is known for its support of the program.

But Ludden wasn't the only one speaking highly of the program Thursday, a pair of Flathead Valley cancer survivors, and First Descents alums, gave powerful talks to the crowd.

"It was a different environment," said Christina Schmidt, 27, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in August 2007. "It was the first time no one felt sorry for me."

Schmidt said beyond learning a new skill, she met a group of people who shared the "newfound and unasked for change" of a cancer diagnosis at a young age.

"I emerged (from camp) with restored self-esteem and a renewed self-image," she said.

Mindy Swan, a Columbia Falls resident who has fought breast cancer on and off for 15 years, said the real crux of the experience was that "It wasn't really about cancer, it was about kayaking."

This year, First Descents has nine camps scheduled in six states, Ludden said, including a mountaineering camp. But the Flathead still boasts more visits than anywhere else from the organization.

"That's because of the volunteers we have here and the commitment from those volunteers," Ludden said.

For more information on First Descents, visit their Web site at http://www.firstdescents.org.