"In February 2002, in the heart of the Eastern Himalayas, seven extreme paddlers set their kayaks on the sandy beach, squeezed into the brightly colored shells, and stretched their sprayskirts over the cockpits of their boats. With a thrust of their paddles, the seven began what is widely acknowledged as the world's last great adventure challenge : the first descent of the Tsangpo River Gorge." "It is a story of a fluid place where East and West have collided for more than 100 years. Filled with the almost-unbelievable history of the Gorge's exploration, with the physics and beauty of world-class kayaking, with the hydrogeology of cataclysmic flash floods, and with the often-cruel politics of Tibet, Hell or High Water paints the portrait of a grand adventure in a place that time never touched."--BOOK JACKET.