Jeff Jackson speaks about what a first descent truly means and how in most cases it's not possible to tell who really was the first person down that river.  In the end though, does it really matter?

"Unlike Sir Edmund Hillary and Neil Armstrong, our river running forefathers tended not to plant a flag on the summit of their accomplishments.  Assuming natives, fur traders, gold miners, log drivers or surveyors didn't travel it earlier, there is little way of knowing who was first down a river."  While many kayakers fly around the globe trying to bag first descents with only a few rare cases can they make the claim with any assurance.  Would you be tempted to run something you wouldn't otherwise if you thought you were the first people ever to do it?

Read the full Virginity Lost Article in the Early Summer 2009 issue of RAPID magazine.