Wednesday — February 25, 2004

Documentary
follows riverboarders
down the Colorado

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By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer

The film, “Three Women, Three Hundred Miles,” is a look into the unconventional lives of three friends on an unconventional adventure. Wood River Valley resident Rebecca Rusch, Julie Munger and Kelley Kalafatich spent 19 days navigating 300 miles of the Colorado River through Grand Canyon in winter using only river boards as floatation. The film will be screened 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, at The Community School theater in Sun Valley.

“Three Women, Three Hundred Miles” won best documentary feature in the Durango Film Festival in 2003, and has been submitted for inclusion in the Banff Mountain Film Festival’s 2004 repertoire.

The film depicting the rugged journey through the wilderness was filmed on the Colorado by Kalafatich. Clifton also hiked into the canyon to document their progress.

Kalafatich was the double for Meryl Streep in “The River Wild.” Streep returned the favor by introducing the documentary, which she calls “an incredible journey.”

Munger, Kalafatich and Rusch are teammates on the U.S. Women’s Rafting team. Rusch, a professional adventure racer, describes Munger and Kalafatich as being among the top female guides in the world. Both guide in Alaska in the summers.

“Class V water, really gnarly. They are super hard core and really well respected. It’s a great story and not some sort of cheesy homemade, like guys hucking themselves off cliffs.”
The dynamics played a big part in the success of the journey, Rusch said.

“It was 19 days long. We were cold and hungry and terrified. It can get escalated if you’re not looking out for each other. The people I was with were a huge part of my going.”

Munger, who is based in Columbia, Calif., guides in Alaska and “she’s been a guide in the Grand Canyon for years and years,” Rusch said. “She knew every rapid and every nook and cranny.”

Both Kalafatich and Rusch will be at the screening Friday night.

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