Seems like this year has an excessive number of river deaths in the region around Colorado. Two people drowned on the Arkansas today in or near the Numbers, teenager drowned in Westwater last weekend. C-1'er died on the Encampment a few weeks ago. Fisherman on a raft drowned on the Upper Colorado in Little Gore canyon a couple of weeks ago. Boater drowned at Black Rocks in Ruby Canyon on the Colorado last month. Kayaker drowned on Little Gore creek last month while another kayaker died running a water falls somewhere in that same general area. Can't remember a year with this many fatalities.
Lots of river deaths this year
- Thread starter kerry
- Start date
kellymoe
Expedition Leader
Last week there was a foot entrapment death on the South Fork of the American at Trouble Maker rapid. He was taking part in a guide training class. This is not the first time there has been a foot entrapment in the same spot, a few years back there was another entrapment in the same location and possibly the same rock.
durango_60
Explorer
We also had a Mother of two die on the Upper Animas a couple of weeks ago.
cruiseroutfit
Well-known member
We were on the Colorado-Westwater/Cisco segment the day before the teenager fell victim to the Funnel Rapids. Very sad and humbling at the same time! Be careful out there.
Question about the Westwater teenage boy incident. He had serious movement impairment. I think I read he was a paraplegic. If I was taking a person like this on a river with serious rapids, I'd have a person assigned to go in the water with him if he went into the river. When my daughter was very young and strapped into a floating car seat in a canoe on class II water, either my wife or I would be attached to the seat with a tether and a quick release on either end so that if she went in the water there would be a rescuer attached. Anyone know if this is standard practice on raft trips where paraplegics are involved?
Didn't want to raise this question on the thread over at MountainBuzz because I think the boy's mother was at the oars.
Didn't want to raise this question on the thread over at MountainBuzz because I think the boy's mother was at the oars.
grahamfitter
Expedition Leader
Is this weather related? I heard Colorado is looking green this year on account of the rain so I'm assuming most rivers are higher than normal.
Cheers,
Graham
Cheers,
Graham
I haven't heard anyone say that unusually high water has caused these problems. Most of the cfs numbers I am reading are typical for run off. Westwater was about 15,000cfs last weekend. Pine Creek section of the Arkansas was about 1800cfs yesterday. Not a high flow but perhaps too much for the Pine Creek section.
Overland Hadley
on a journey
Not Colorado, but we had a guy drown in a local river over the weekend. Father of two swimming with his family, the body was held under for more than twenty hours. Very sad.
Another guy who was fishing a river near town drowned a couple of weeks ago.
Respect the power of water.
Another guy who was fishing a river near town drowned a couple of weeks ago.
Respect the power of water.
Desert Proven
Observer
Foot entrapment on the american
Just to add a little clarification on the foot entrapment on the SF of the America. The accident occured a short distance downstream from troublemaker rapid. I live in Coloma and am very familiar with spot where it occurred. The other guides on trip did throw a throw bag to the victim, but he did not respond well before floating into the hazard. It is a very tragic situation, but it did not occur in the main part of the troublemaker rapid, but rather, about 50 yards downstream.
Just to add a little clarification on the foot entrapment on the SF of the America. The accident occured a short distance downstream from troublemaker rapid. I live in Coloma and am very familiar with spot where it occurred. The other guides on trip did throw a throw bag to the victim, but he did not respond well before floating into the hazard. It is a very tragic situation, but it did not occur in the main part of the troublemaker rapid, but rather, about 50 yards downstream.
kellymoe
Expedition Leader
Thanks for the clarification, I used to live on Little Rd at the 49 bridge during 84-85. I guided for 2 years up there and know the spot well.
What a tragic accident, I really feel for everyone involved especially the others onscene who attempted the rescue.
Re:
High water changes the character of the rapids on the Wild and Scenic section of the river, where rafters, drift boaters and kayakers enjoy multiday trips through a canyon of remote lodges, screeching osprey and periodic tumults of whitewater. Two rafters have drowned in a single rapid and a third died while trying to swim across the river.
Tommy Bahama Linens
High water changes the character of the rapids on the Wild and Scenic section of the river, where rafters, drift boaters and kayakers enjoy multiday trips through a canyon of remote lodges, screeching osprey and periodic tumults of whitewater. Two rafters have drowned in a single rapid and a third died while trying to swim across the river.
Tommy Bahama Linens
RMP&O
Expedition Leader
Mutiple people die every year here in Jackson Hole...mostly on the Snake River. The vast majority of them are tourists who rent a boat and do the river alone. Many guides here have told me stories of saving tourists running the rivers without a guide....the guides are passing by the solo tourists while running their floats. They are known to jump out of their guided boats and save the tourists.
Once in a great while we lose a local boater....but it is not very often. Usually a local dies from making a bad decision, trying to save somebody else or a freak accident.
From what I have seen over the years the majority of those who perish are tourists. Lack of experience boating, not knowing the river and bad judgement is almost always what kills them. Any river with class 2-3 or higher rapids should not be taken lightly. These deaths are also not just kayaking deaths they happen to people in all kinds of boats.
We also lose a number of people every winter to avalanche. The large majority of these are also tourists. 14yrs ago when I moved here we almost never had a death in the winter. Now several are normal. 10+yrs ago tourists didn't venture into the backcountry to ski/snowboard. Since much exposure in ski/snowboard magazines many people unfamilar with this area and its conditions have died. Also snowmobilers are dieing in the winter around here which was rare 10+yrs ago. Now it is at least several times a year snowmobilers die. I myself spent 4yrs snowboarding in the backcountry here, most of that was alone. I never took a line I should not have when conditions were bad and I never in hundreds of solo runs in the backcountry even had a close call. I think that is my point here....people who lack experience make bad judgement calls which can cost you and or others your lives. Also no amount of gear makes up for good judgement.....live by these things and your chances of having fun year after year will be 99%.
Since mountain biking blew up here in the last 8yrs or so we are starting to see many more mountain biking accidents......
Once in a great while we lose a local boater....but it is not very often. Usually a local dies from making a bad decision, trying to save somebody else or a freak accident.
From what I have seen over the years the majority of those who perish are tourists. Lack of experience boating, not knowing the river and bad judgement is almost always what kills them. Any river with class 2-3 or higher rapids should not be taken lightly. These deaths are also not just kayaking deaths they happen to people in all kinds of boats.
We also lose a number of people every winter to avalanche. The large majority of these are also tourists. 14yrs ago when I moved here we almost never had a death in the winter. Now several are normal. 10+yrs ago tourists didn't venture into the backcountry to ski/snowboard. Since much exposure in ski/snowboard magazines many people unfamilar with this area and its conditions have died. Also snowmobilers are dieing in the winter around here which was rare 10+yrs ago. Now it is at least several times a year snowmobilers die. I myself spent 4yrs snowboarding in the backcountry here, most of that was alone. I never took a line I should not have when conditions were bad and I never in hundreds of solo runs in the backcountry even had a close call. I think that is my point here....people who lack experience make bad judgement calls which can cost you and or others your lives. Also no amount of gear makes up for good judgement.....live by these things and your chances of having fun year after year will be 99%.
Since mountain biking blew up here in the last 8yrs or so we are starting to see many more mountain biking accidents......
kellymoe
Expedition Leader
Yep, there are always the tubers and yahoos who die every year but this year has seen an exceptional number of very experienced kayakers and rafters die. My personal opinion is that kayaking has really grown fast in the last few years with a big emphasis on steep creeking which is already a dangerous off shoot of the sport. You combine steep creeks and a technically good boater but few actual years on the river to build experience and you have a recipe for disaster, they are technically good enough but lack the years of experience to identify hazards or potential outcome.