Follow Rafa Ortiz Down Niagara Falls

Some people dream of buying a big house or a nice car and others dream of kayaking Niagara Falls.

In the latter camp falls Mexican professional kayaker Rafa Ortiz, a remarkable man whose journey is the subject of the documentary Chasing Niagara. To give you some idea of the scale of the undertaking, the last person to try and kayak Niagara Falls was never seen again after dropping into the water in 1990.

The film follows Ortiz and his team on a three-year journey, training for an eventual attempt at the big one. Not only does the extreme volume of water make the falls highly dangerous, but the sedimentary rock means the plunge pools are thought to be relatively shallow, adding an extra element of risk.

Chasing Niagara was supported by Red Bull and made by pro-kayaker Rush Sturges. It is the eighth action sports film Sturges has worked on, and let’s just say it doesn’t end in the way you might predict.

The film won the best mountain sports film award at the Banff Mountain Film Festival, and it captures the emotional toll of taking on such a monster of nature. Check it out for yourself at the Red Bull website or download it from iTunes and OnDemand.