There's a new name in the world kayaking picture after the latest, and most shocking descent that would seem to put the world record waterfall debate to rest. Zane LaTourneau, a 21-year-old kayaker from Chaminix, France, has jumped into the waterfall fray with his unprecedented 268-foot descent of Snoqualmie Falls in Washington State.

The descent comes less than two weeks after Brazilian Pedro Olivia established the apparent world record on 127-foot Santo Belo in Brazil. Last December, Paul Gamache ran 108-foot Cascade Falls in British Columbia, one foot more than Tyler Bradt's descent of 107-foot Alexandra Falls in the Yukon Territories in 2007.
LaTourneau, dressed in a clandestine black drysuit, black motorcycle helmet, and two PFDs for added buoyancy, put in underneath a small bridge a half-mile above the falls at approximately 7:15 p.m. Tuesday night, ignored the signs warning of the falls and paddled the flatwater to within 100 yards of the lead-in before fear forced him to paddle to shore on river right. He sat there for 15 minutes, apparently chasing away the demons plaguing his psyche before raising his fist in the air and chanting loudly.
"It sounded like he was screaming the song 'One' by Metalica," said Derek Robbins, a 44-year-old graphic designer who was vacationing with his family at Snoqualmie Lodge Resort, which overlooks the falls. "You know, 'Hold my breath as I wish for death, Oh please God wake me.' I thought he was absolutely crazy. Suicidal."
LaTourneau ferried out into the current, aimed downstream and disappeared into the 70-foot-high spray enshrouding the base of the waterfall.
He emerged twenty seconds later about 200 yards downriver, bleeding from the ears, nose, and mouth, but still in his kayak.
LaTourneau's two friends, both of whom asked not to be identified, paddled out to mid-river, where he asked, "Did you call Tao?" an apparent reference to the famous extreme kayaker Tao Berman, before passing out. They rushed him to North Bend Animal Hospital three miles away.
"We didn't really know where we were so we just pulled over at the first place that looked like they could take care of him," said one of LaTourneau's friends.
A person answering the phone at the veterinary clinic would only say that LaTourneau was there last night but that he was no longer there this morning. She would not elaborate.
Check back with www.paddlermagazine.com as more details emerge.