Ken Warren, Outdoorsman, River Rafter

WEST LINN, Ore. - A memorial service is scheduled Saturday for Ken Warren, the internationally known outdoor guide whose attempt to raft China's Yangtze River five years ago ended in controversy.

Mr. Warren, 63, who was training for another attempt at conquering China's wildest and most dangerous river, died from a heart attack last Saturday while gardening at his suburban home south of Portland.

A native of Washington state, Mr. Warren had been working on a proposed television miniseries about his life as an adventurer. His cremated remains will be spread across different locations around the globe, said his wife, Jan Warren.

Born in Aberdeen, Mr. Warren moved to the Portland area at an early age. He attended Oregon State University on an athletic scholarship. He worked as a vitamin salesman, and used his weekends to occasionally take clients on outdoor adventures.

``He started thinking that it was more fun being outdoors, and the more clients he was selling products to, the more wanted to go with him,'' his wife said. In 1973, she said, ``He decided he'd do that full time and never put on a necktie again.''

In 1976 and 1977, he led expeditions down tributaries of the Ganges River that marked the first float passage through its headwaters.

In 1984, after India Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated, he was asked by India to lead a 16-day memorial excursion down the Ganges. And in 1987, he was asked to conduct a 10-year anniversary of the 1977 conquest of the river.

In 1983, Mr. Warren organized an expedition to raft the most turbulent section of the Yangtze on a 50-day, 1,970-mile trip. The expedition was canceled, however, after Mr. Warren's group flew to China and faced delays in negotiating with the Chinese for the necessary permits.

The failure threw Mr. Warren into bankruptcy in 1986, but later that same year, he was ready for a second attempt. That trip was thrown into controversy after David Shippee, 29, a Boise, Idaho, photographer, developed altitude sickness and died.

Some expedition members abandoned the effort, and Mr. Warren himself was forced to cancel when the time allotted for the trip by the Chinese government ran out. He had completed more than 1,000 miles.

Mr. Warren was subsequently sued by Shippee's family, who charged that he recklessly contributed to Shippee's death. A jury ruled in Mr. Warren's favor last February.

Jan Warren said her husband suffered high blood pressure and the condition was being monitored. She said he had intended to launch a third attempt to complete the final leg of the Yangtze trip later this year.

Besides his wife, Mr. Warren is survived by seven children and eight grandchildren.