Fellas,
It aint rained in the Ozarks since the High Sheriff rode inta town. Some of them Ozark paddlers drive out fer the big western water blowin' down off the Great Divide. I cut 'n pasted a tale by a fella who went thru a big scare 'n a tale by hiz pal who helped him 'n then helped save a gal stuck on a tree.
********
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2005 8:40 pm Post subject: Reply with quote
Well heck, I wrote up a trip report today during my free time and I guess the early Fish gets the worm. So I guess I'll just throw it away and just tell you about my Bailey run.
Saturday was going to be our last day to paddle and we were happy to hear they started to release this weekend. I was a little worried but didn't think it would be any harder than what we already ran this week.
We came to the first major rapid named four falls. After scouting what looked to be a class III+ drop with class V consequences, I decided I could make the move easily. Then after Fish ran the drop, it looked even more easy. So I fired up the drop.
I was on what seemed to be a perfect line when at the lip, I gave to much power to my stern draw and turned about 6" too much. I landed in the hole only to be stopped by a rock on river left. I was then pulled back into the hole were I was back endered upside down.
Before I ran the drop, I told Fish, if for some reason I get messed up to throw a rope on my boat and I would reach up and grab it. Not even trying to roll, because I knew it probally would'nt do me much good in this very strong hole pushing under a bluff, I pulled my skirt.
As soon as I broke the seal, I was sucked out of my boat instantly and pushed under the undercut bluff. It turned into total darkness and I was surrounded by rock above, below and all around. I felt like I was inside of a washing machine. I felt like I was being washed around in circles in a bowl shapped room for about 15 seconds.
I then thought to myself, "this is the end" then said "God, get me out of here". Instantly, I balled up and started to flush through either a cave or a series of small holes threw the rock.
I suddenly was stopped as if I was damming up the exit. When all of a sudden pressure built up behind me and shot me out as if I was in a canon. I then could see the light at the end of the tunnel. It was about 5' up and 3' out.
I then flushed out about 25 to 30' down stream from were I first went down, out of a boil coming out of the bluff wall. I was never so glad to be breathing again. I saw a rope that Rob had thrown into the hole that had washed down a little, and as I grabed it I could feel the undercurrent trying to pull me back in. Rob pulled me to saftey(thanks Rob).
I then looked up at everybody and it was as if they seen a ghost when I looked into there eyes, for they hadn't seen me since before I flipped. And while I was in my cave, they kept seeing my boat being pulled under the bluff and back up for brief moments.
After getting some of my senses back, it was time to try to retrive my boat. We had to duct tape a beanner to the end of a stick atached to a rope. Then I was tied into my saftey vest and was leaning over the hole to try to recover the boat.
Failure of my equipment would have resulted in a do over in the hole. After about 45 minutes of tring to snag my boat, I finally hooked it. We then took a break for some much needed hydration an food. I was sore ribbed but was ready to climb back on the horse to finish the rest of the class IV rapid.
I ran the next drop somewhat succesfuly and then fell apart. I was pinballing of of every rock in my path. I flipped over only to roll up against a bluff to be flipped again. I rolled back up and broached a rock, thankfully was able to work myself off. As I came off I was upside down and tried to roll up again only to have failed because of great fatigue and disorientation.
I was then greeted by yet another great throw of a rope (thanks Rob), right across my shoulder. I was able to grab my boat and paddle and was pulled back to saftey. I then looked at Fish and Rob and said "I was done, my game is gone".
I then focused all my worth to the group to film my friends run the river and set safety rope. After walking miles I decided to get back into my boat. I knew there was a Deer Cr. rapid down stream and I had full intention to portage it when the time comes. But my guide didn't remember were it was at, so off into the class IV+ rapid we went.
I was right behind Fish, when he suddenly he got inches off line and caught the tip of his bow into an eddy line behind a hole. He was turned into the eddy on a dime. Now I was in the lead and had finally got my game back.
After nailing a very nice line through boulders and over drops I finally reached the bottom. I then turned around only to see my two companions coming around a huge bolder drop into the pool.
I was glad to have paddled that rapid successfuly, I didn't want to leave Coloraldo on a bad note. I will never purposely run a drop feeding into an undercut ever again. And If anyone ever wants to run Four Falls, stay away from the first falls, it's a killer.
Anyways, it is great to be home and I think I'll stick to the class II for awhile. Thanks for the all the concern my fellow boating buddies.
Ryan
*************
Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2005 11:27 am
I'll go ahead and write up two tales of rescue on Bailey for those who are interested in such things. We haven't focused on the rescue technique in our accounts so far, and I think it's important to reflect on it after these things happen. Pardon the length of this all, but I'm trying to think it through on paper and get down as much detail as I can remember.
~~~
#1: The Cliff That Ate Ryan
Where: on Bailey Canyon on the North Fork of the South Platte R. in Colorado near Denver (class 4-5 run) at 340 cfs at the first fall in Four Falls, a class V+ slot with a solid class IV runnout. At the level we had, the slot funnels water into a badly undercut cliff wall on the left (the right is supposed to be a seive too at lower levels) and is a drop of about 6 feet into a hole with a strong backwash.
What Happened: Ryan walked up to run the drop after watching a successful run of the slot. The line had been discussed amongst the group (angle right and work to keep the nose of the boat on the right away from the undercut left wall) and Ryan had been boating class 4-5 water every day for the previous week without incident.
Ryan's group included of Fish and Rob and were joined by three Denver area boaters who were scouting the drop (they intended to portage). Fish was filming with a rope very close to the drop and Rob and one of the Denver boaters all had ropes near the hole. There were no boaters in the water below the drop.
When Ryan ran, the boat rotated from a right angle to a left angle as it passed through the hole - he surfaced, bounced into the pothole-like formations in cliff wall and was immediately sucked back into the hole.
According to Ryan, he pulled his skirt immediately and was pulled out of his boat and pushed under the wall (very dark) where he felt he was being churned around randomly in one place. He then balled up and was shoved into a place where rock was all around him and he felt pressure build up until it forced him through (sore ribs afterward). He then quickly saw some light, swam toward it and surfaced.
The rescue team began to throw ropes into the hole at Ryan's boat within 5 seconds of his flip. They could not tell whether he was in the boat or out of it. All three ropes were in the water within 10 seconds and the boat was beginning to pull under the surface near the cliff.
Ryan then surfaced near a boil comming out from under the cliff wall about 30 feet downstream of the hole. Rob's rope had floated downstream and Ryan grabbed it and was hauled into the eddy. Ryan indicated he was OK and the group rested and began to consider retrieval of the boat that was now trapped in the pothole-like formations near the hole.
Positives:
- Very good bank support team in place, all with good equipment (everyone involved had a rope, PFD with rescue harness, carabiners, knife, etc.).
- Line, risks, and rescue issues were discussed beforehand. Ryan had discussed wanting us to throw a rope at the boat if he was caught in the hole. We had discussed the risks at length - no one was under the impression that this was anything but a dangerous rapid with serious consequences. The line had been carefully scouted and successfully probed.
- Although his class IV+ whitewater experience is limited to the past year or so, Ryan had been boating for the previous 9 days in a row on class IV to V whitewater in Colorado on several streams, leading groups down on several runs. He had been running difficult drops with no mishaps all week. His was not a "go for it" decision of someone who is in over their head - he had commented that this was a class III+ line past a class V hazard before he ran it - an accurate assessment of the drop.
- Everyone made an effort to check on Ryan after the incident and to encourage him to rest, eat, and drink.
Issues:
- No boaters below the drop: if Ryan had been unconcious in the water after the drop, this could have cost us time trying to get to him. Several were going to portage and Fish had already run the drop. We could and should have had a boater sitting down there for safety.
- All ropes were thrown into the hole before Ryan was seen. At least one rope should have been held until Ryan was visible (and thus a target) - we could have easily ended up having to re-throw a rope.
- We lost three water bottles from Ryan's boat and one of his shoes. These losses could have proven to be really bad for us had we had more issues downstream. We ended up rationing liquids before the trip was done (a 10.5 mile total trip that we finished just before dark). Would have been better to have everything secured into the boat, but, then again, we were lucky to get the boat back at all.
Points to Consider:
- There's not much anyone could do except throw a rope and hope when Ryan was in the hole and under the wall. He never surfaced and was on his own. In fact, if he had grabbed a rope, it might have tangled him up as he was sucked into the underwater cavern that he passed through. This is typical of a class V rapid - assisting a boater is very difficult or impossible which elevates the risk.
- This is an extremely dangerous spot - it is highly unlikely that anyone who witnessed Ryan's swim that day will ever run the drop again, especially at that water level.
Boat Rescue Extra:
After Ryan had escaped, his boat was stuck in the hole backwash and entrance to the undercut wall (looked like two half-potholes that the backwash surges into). We were all on the opposite bank on rocks about 20 feet away.
First I taped a "paddle-biner" (large gate carabiner) open with duct tape (remember to bring your duct tape!) to make a hook. Then I made several throws with a rope bag at the boat to try to hook it and pull it out. When this approach didn't work, we found a big, long driftwood stick and taped the biner/hook to the end of it with the rope attached.
Ryan (being the biggest, strongest guy there) was belayed by his safety harness and reached with the stick to try to hook the boat's grabloop. The rapid, erratic movements of the boat made this very difficult - most of the time the grab loop could not be seen or was underwater.
The stick was very heavy and Ryan had trouble keeping it extended across the slot. Another stick was located that was much thinner and we retaped the hook onto it. Within 3 minutes, Ryan was able to snag the grabloop and I had the boat hooked on the end of the rope. We pulled it to the rocks, put another biner on it (too heavy to haul it up there) and then tossed to rope to a downstream boat to be pulled to shore below the drop.
Were it not for some improvisation, duct tape, a large biner, and a handy stick, we would probably not have retrieved the boat. It's worth noting that when we got it back, the drainplug had been sanded flat via abrasion with the granite!
~~~
#2: The Tree that Ate Maya
Where: Bailey Canyon about 0.5 mile below Super Max Rapid.
What Happened: Maya, a Denver area boater was with another group than ours. They were slightly ahead of us at this point. We saw an obvious very bad tree across the creek that blocked all but 3-4 feet of the creek on the right. This was a Ponderosa Pine with lots of ugly broken branches.
The other group appeared to be out on the left bank scouting the next rapid, just past the tree. I went for an eddy on the left and then ferried to a right eddy to pass around the tree. Ryan and Rob stopped in the left eddy and then quickly got out of their boats.
Not having an easy portage option from my spot, I waited to see what they would do. Ryan came back up and yelled at me - all I could understand was that I should run on the right, but he didn't see how I could do it. This confused me - I could see a line on the left below the downed tree.
The bank scouters seemed to be getting pretty frantic, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Ryan came up again and signaled me to the right, so I headed around the tree in front of me and took a far right route through the rocks below.
As soon as I rounded the first big rock/drop, I could see Maya pinned on a second large tree that was jammed diagonally across the middle of the boulder choked drop. I avoided the tree to the right and hit an small eddy 40 feet downstream on the right bank.
Maya was only about 15-20 feet from the right bank and 40-50 feet from the left, and I was the only one on the right. I got out and scrambled up the bank and started to try to wade the fast chute to get to her. It nearly picked me up and carried me downstream so I had to proceed slowly trying to find rocks on the bottom to brace myself on.
Maya's head was up, but 90% of her torso was underwater with her legs under the tree. She was hanging onto the top of the tree trunk with both arms. When I reached her, I grabbed her PFD to support her but didn't try to move her yet.
I asked her if she was hurt, and she said she wasn't. She was talking to me coherently and was giving me instructions not to move her or her boat. That's when I felt underwater and realized she was still in her boat with sprayskirt on!
At that time one of her paddling team had managed to wade/swim across from the left bank with a rope on his harness held by Ryan. When he got there, he grabbed for her boat and pushed on it, with Maya shouting not to move it.
The boat came free of whatever was pinning it and Maya was getting pulled under the log by the current. I had her PFD straps, so I pulled hard back on them and pulled the nose of the boat around to the right and out from under the tree. The boat popped to the surface and I could hardly hold her and the boat in position, so I asked her if she could paddle from there to an eddy (she still had her paddle in her hands somehow through all of this - amazing).
She said she could and I let her go. She paddled to the eddy where my boat was. I waded back across to the bank and her team member swung back to the left bank on the rope. I asked her if she was OK and encouraged her to rest, eat, and drink before continuing downstream.
Positives:
- Again, very good bank support team deployed ASAP after the incident, all with good equipment. Her group was quick to get out and start working on rescue options. Our group (minus me) was also quick to help. Ryan noted that Maya's team asked him how to rig the rope. Ryan and Rob were obviously much more experienced and helped them make some good decisions I think.
- Having someone comming from each bank was critical. If I had not accidentially been over on that side, someone should have ferried below to get to the other, more accessible bank.
- Good emphasis on getting to the victim quickly but with minimum risk to rescuers. Victim's head was up and she was stable and responsive (and in fact shouting instructions part of the time!), so even with a dangerous situation imminent, I think the right balance between hurry and recuer safety was struck. Additionally, Maya stayed very cool and calm throughout this - a great victim if I ever saw one.
- Victim stayed still and didn't try to free herself. I shouted to her to not move at all until we got to her (not sure if the other bank was able to communicate this). This was critical - one move and she could have been pinned head-down in a very difficult place to get to.
Issues:
- Listen to the victim: Maya was trying to communicate to us that her boat was pinned down there (which I didn't know at first) and that if it moved, she was going to get sucked under the tree. Her teammate didn't hear her or didn't listen and moved the boat, which went exactly as Maya had predicted. If I had not been there to grab her, things could have quickly gotten ugly.
- Stabilize before freeing the victim: Maya was head up and in good shape when I reached her. She needed help to maintain that postion and that's what I did immediately. Pays to do this and then think things over carefully before trying to free the victim, which can result in an even worse pin.
- Both rescuers had some risk in crossing the creek in the middle of a rapid with pushy current. On the right bank, if I had gotten foot-pinned, I would have been on my own for a while. Would have been nice to have some backup over there, and we could have probably ferried a boat in the time we had to get someone else over there.
- Again, we had plenty of time to get a boater in the water below the drop, but everyone was on the bank. Having a chase-boater stay in the water would have been a good idea since the rapids just kept on going downstream.
Points to Consider:
- The second tree was hidden from view making it very dangerous. The right side of the rapid where the tree was was blind and rocky - the left was more open. However, the tree just above forced a right side approach and the choice between a difficult ferry to the left or a run of one of the slots on the right. Experience dictates to not run those types of blind slots and to go for the ferry, but who knows? No matter how confident you are, this is a great place for a scout at the first tree, and if I had it to over, that's the approach I would take.
- Maya is a lightweight boater - maybe 100 lbs or so - in a big creek boat (a Liquid Logic El Jefe). This worked in her favor in providing bouyancy to keep her head above water I think. Also, if she had been twice as heavy, I would have had a much tougher time grabbing her to keep her from going under the tree. Moral to the story: use a high-volume creekboat and don't eat too many hamburgers before you get on the river.
~~~
Alright, that's my viewpoint of the two incidents on the S. Platte last Saturday. Helps me to go through it and hopefully it helps others to read it - please comment on it if you see anything I missed (no doubt I did). I have a think skin and like to learn from these experiences as much as I can so I do it better next time.
Thanks,
Fish
****************
This iz a pichur of the rapid.
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/photos/?photoid=2232
Here iz the pichurs of Ryan tryin' hard ta git outta that hole.
http://community.webshots.com/album/389294903LvkYxp
regards,
bearridge
It aint rained in the Ozarks since the High Sheriff rode inta town. Some of them Ozark paddlers drive out fer the big western water blowin' down off the Great Divide. I cut 'n pasted a tale by a fella who went thru a big scare 'n a tale by hiz pal who helped him 'n then helped save a gal stuck on a tree.
********
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2005 8:40 pm Post subject: Reply with quote
Well heck, I wrote up a trip report today during my free time and I guess the early Fish gets the worm. So I guess I'll just throw it away and just tell you about my Bailey run.
Saturday was going to be our last day to paddle and we were happy to hear they started to release this weekend. I was a little worried but didn't think it would be any harder than what we already ran this week.
We came to the first major rapid named four falls. After scouting what looked to be a class III+ drop with class V consequences, I decided I could make the move easily. Then after Fish ran the drop, it looked even more easy. So I fired up the drop.
I was on what seemed to be a perfect line when at the lip, I gave to much power to my stern draw and turned about 6" too much. I landed in the hole only to be stopped by a rock on river left. I was then pulled back into the hole were I was back endered upside down.
Before I ran the drop, I told Fish, if for some reason I get messed up to throw a rope on my boat and I would reach up and grab it. Not even trying to roll, because I knew it probally would'nt do me much good in this very strong hole pushing under a bluff, I pulled my skirt.
As soon as I broke the seal, I was sucked out of my boat instantly and pushed under the undercut bluff. It turned into total darkness and I was surrounded by rock above, below and all around. I felt like I was inside of a washing machine. I felt like I was being washed around in circles in a bowl shapped room for about 15 seconds.
I then thought to myself, "this is the end" then said "God, get me out of here". Instantly, I balled up and started to flush through either a cave or a series of small holes threw the rock.
I suddenly was stopped as if I was damming up the exit. When all of a sudden pressure built up behind me and shot me out as if I was in a canon. I then could see the light at the end of the tunnel. It was about 5' up and 3' out.
I then flushed out about 25 to 30' down stream from were I first went down, out of a boil coming out of the bluff wall. I was never so glad to be breathing again. I saw a rope that Rob had thrown into the hole that had washed down a little, and as I grabed it I could feel the undercurrent trying to pull me back in. Rob pulled me to saftey(thanks Rob).
I then looked up at everybody and it was as if they seen a ghost when I looked into there eyes, for they hadn't seen me since before I flipped. And while I was in my cave, they kept seeing my boat being pulled under the bluff and back up for brief moments.
After getting some of my senses back, it was time to try to retrive my boat. We had to duct tape a beanner to the end of a stick atached to a rope. Then I was tied into my saftey vest and was leaning over the hole to try to recover the boat.
Failure of my equipment would have resulted in a do over in the hole. After about 45 minutes of tring to snag my boat, I finally hooked it. We then took a break for some much needed hydration an food. I was sore ribbed but was ready to climb back on the horse to finish the rest of the class IV rapid.
I ran the next drop somewhat succesfuly and then fell apart. I was pinballing of of every rock in my path. I flipped over only to roll up against a bluff to be flipped again. I rolled back up and broached a rock, thankfully was able to work myself off. As I came off I was upside down and tried to roll up again only to have failed because of great fatigue and disorientation.
I was then greeted by yet another great throw of a rope (thanks Rob), right across my shoulder. I was able to grab my boat and paddle and was pulled back to saftey. I then looked at Fish and Rob and said "I was done, my game is gone".
I then focused all my worth to the group to film my friends run the river and set safety rope. After walking miles I decided to get back into my boat. I knew there was a Deer Cr. rapid down stream and I had full intention to portage it when the time comes. But my guide didn't remember were it was at, so off into the class IV+ rapid we went.
I was right behind Fish, when he suddenly he got inches off line and caught the tip of his bow into an eddy line behind a hole. He was turned into the eddy on a dime. Now I was in the lead and had finally got my game back.
After nailing a very nice line through boulders and over drops I finally reached the bottom. I then turned around only to see my two companions coming around a huge bolder drop into the pool.
I was glad to have paddled that rapid successfuly, I didn't want to leave Coloraldo on a bad note. I will never purposely run a drop feeding into an undercut ever again. And If anyone ever wants to run Four Falls, stay away from the first falls, it's a killer.
Anyways, it is great to be home and I think I'll stick to the class II for awhile. Thanks for the all the concern my fellow boating buddies.
Ryan
*************
Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2005 11:27 am
I'll go ahead and write up two tales of rescue on Bailey for those who are interested in such things. We haven't focused on the rescue technique in our accounts so far, and I think it's important to reflect on it after these things happen. Pardon the length of this all, but I'm trying to think it through on paper and get down as much detail as I can remember.
~~~
#1: The Cliff That Ate Ryan
Where: on Bailey Canyon on the North Fork of the South Platte R. in Colorado near Denver (class 4-5 run) at 340 cfs at the first fall in Four Falls, a class V+ slot with a solid class IV runnout. At the level we had, the slot funnels water into a badly undercut cliff wall on the left (the right is supposed to be a seive too at lower levels) and is a drop of about 6 feet into a hole with a strong backwash.
What Happened: Ryan walked up to run the drop after watching a successful run of the slot. The line had been discussed amongst the group (angle right and work to keep the nose of the boat on the right away from the undercut left wall) and Ryan had been boating class 4-5 water every day for the previous week without incident.
Ryan's group included of Fish and Rob and were joined by three Denver area boaters who were scouting the drop (they intended to portage). Fish was filming with a rope very close to the drop and Rob and one of the Denver boaters all had ropes near the hole. There were no boaters in the water below the drop.
When Ryan ran, the boat rotated from a right angle to a left angle as it passed through the hole - he surfaced, bounced into the pothole-like formations in cliff wall and was immediately sucked back into the hole.
According to Ryan, he pulled his skirt immediately and was pulled out of his boat and pushed under the wall (very dark) where he felt he was being churned around randomly in one place. He then balled up and was shoved into a place where rock was all around him and he felt pressure build up until it forced him through (sore ribs afterward). He then quickly saw some light, swam toward it and surfaced.
The rescue team began to throw ropes into the hole at Ryan's boat within 5 seconds of his flip. They could not tell whether he was in the boat or out of it. All three ropes were in the water within 10 seconds and the boat was beginning to pull under the surface near the cliff.
Ryan then surfaced near a boil comming out from under the cliff wall about 30 feet downstream of the hole. Rob's rope had floated downstream and Ryan grabbed it and was hauled into the eddy. Ryan indicated he was OK and the group rested and began to consider retrieval of the boat that was now trapped in the pothole-like formations near the hole.
Positives:
- Very good bank support team in place, all with good equipment (everyone involved had a rope, PFD with rescue harness, carabiners, knife, etc.).
- Line, risks, and rescue issues were discussed beforehand. Ryan had discussed wanting us to throw a rope at the boat if he was caught in the hole. We had discussed the risks at length - no one was under the impression that this was anything but a dangerous rapid with serious consequences. The line had been carefully scouted and successfully probed.
- Although his class IV+ whitewater experience is limited to the past year or so, Ryan had been boating for the previous 9 days in a row on class IV to V whitewater in Colorado on several streams, leading groups down on several runs. He had been running difficult drops with no mishaps all week. His was not a "go for it" decision of someone who is in over their head - he had commented that this was a class III+ line past a class V hazard before he ran it - an accurate assessment of the drop.
- Everyone made an effort to check on Ryan after the incident and to encourage him to rest, eat, and drink.
Issues:
- No boaters below the drop: if Ryan had been unconcious in the water after the drop, this could have cost us time trying to get to him. Several were going to portage and Fish had already run the drop. We could and should have had a boater sitting down there for safety.
- All ropes were thrown into the hole before Ryan was seen. At least one rope should have been held until Ryan was visible (and thus a target) - we could have easily ended up having to re-throw a rope.
- We lost three water bottles from Ryan's boat and one of his shoes. These losses could have proven to be really bad for us had we had more issues downstream. We ended up rationing liquids before the trip was done (a 10.5 mile total trip that we finished just before dark). Would have been better to have everything secured into the boat, but, then again, we were lucky to get the boat back at all.
Points to Consider:
- There's not much anyone could do except throw a rope and hope when Ryan was in the hole and under the wall. He never surfaced and was on his own. In fact, if he had grabbed a rope, it might have tangled him up as he was sucked into the underwater cavern that he passed through. This is typical of a class V rapid - assisting a boater is very difficult or impossible which elevates the risk.
- This is an extremely dangerous spot - it is highly unlikely that anyone who witnessed Ryan's swim that day will ever run the drop again, especially at that water level.
Boat Rescue Extra:
After Ryan had escaped, his boat was stuck in the hole backwash and entrance to the undercut wall (looked like two half-potholes that the backwash surges into). We were all on the opposite bank on rocks about 20 feet away.
First I taped a "paddle-biner" (large gate carabiner) open with duct tape (remember to bring your duct tape!) to make a hook. Then I made several throws with a rope bag at the boat to try to hook it and pull it out. When this approach didn't work, we found a big, long driftwood stick and taped the biner/hook to the end of it with the rope attached.
Ryan (being the biggest, strongest guy there) was belayed by his safety harness and reached with the stick to try to hook the boat's grabloop. The rapid, erratic movements of the boat made this very difficult - most of the time the grab loop could not be seen or was underwater.
The stick was very heavy and Ryan had trouble keeping it extended across the slot. Another stick was located that was much thinner and we retaped the hook onto it. Within 3 minutes, Ryan was able to snag the grabloop and I had the boat hooked on the end of the rope. We pulled it to the rocks, put another biner on it (too heavy to haul it up there) and then tossed to rope to a downstream boat to be pulled to shore below the drop.
Were it not for some improvisation, duct tape, a large biner, and a handy stick, we would probably not have retrieved the boat. It's worth noting that when we got it back, the drainplug had been sanded flat via abrasion with the granite!
~~~
#2: The Tree that Ate Maya
Where: Bailey Canyon about 0.5 mile below Super Max Rapid.
What Happened: Maya, a Denver area boater was with another group than ours. They were slightly ahead of us at this point. We saw an obvious very bad tree across the creek that blocked all but 3-4 feet of the creek on the right. This was a Ponderosa Pine with lots of ugly broken branches.
The other group appeared to be out on the left bank scouting the next rapid, just past the tree. I went for an eddy on the left and then ferried to a right eddy to pass around the tree. Ryan and Rob stopped in the left eddy and then quickly got out of their boats.
Not having an easy portage option from my spot, I waited to see what they would do. Ryan came back up and yelled at me - all I could understand was that I should run on the right, but he didn't see how I could do it. This confused me - I could see a line on the left below the downed tree.
The bank scouters seemed to be getting pretty frantic, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Ryan came up again and signaled me to the right, so I headed around the tree in front of me and took a far right route through the rocks below.
As soon as I rounded the first big rock/drop, I could see Maya pinned on a second large tree that was jammed diagonally across the middle of the boulder choked drop. I avoided the tree to the right and hit an small eddy 40 feet downstream on the right bank.
Maya was only about 15-20 feet from the right bank and 40-50 feet from the left, and I was the only one on the right. I got out and scrambled up the bank and started to try to wade the fast chute to get to her. It nearly picked me up and carried me downstream so I had to proceed slowly trying to find rocks on the bottom to brace myself on.
Maya's head was up, but 90% of her torso was underwater with her legs under the tree. She was hanging onto the top of the tree trunk with both arms. When I reached her, I grabbed her PFD to support her but didn't try to move her yet.
I asked her if she was hurt, and she said she wasn't. She was talking to me coherently and was giving me instructions not to move her or her boat. That's when I felt underwater and realized she was still in her boat with sprayskirt on!
At that time one of her paddling team had managed to wade/swim across from the left bank with a rope on his harness held by Ryan. When he got there, he grabbed for her boat and pushed on it, with Maya shouting not to move it.
The boat came free of whatever was pinning it and Maya was getting pulled under the log by the current. I had her PFD straps, so I pulled hard back on them and pulled the nose of the boat around to the right and out from under the tree. The boat popped to the surface and I could hardly hold her and the boat in position, so I asked her if she could paddle from there to an eddy (she still had her paddle in her hands somehow through all of this - amazing).
She said she could and I let her go. She paddled to the eddy where my boat was. I waded back across to the bank and her team member swung back to the left bank on the rope. I asked her if she was OK and encouraged her to rest, eat, and drink before continuing downstream.
Positives:
- Again, very good bank support team deployed ASAP after the incident, all with good equipment. Her group was quick to get out and start working on rescue options. Our group (minus me) was also quick to help. Ryan noted that Maya's team asked him how to rig the rope. Ryan and Rob were obviously much more experienced and helped them make some good decisions I think.
- Having someone comming from each bank was critical. If I had not accidentially been over on that side, someone should have ferried below to get to the other, more accessible bank.
- Good emphasis on getting to the victim quickly but with minimum risk to rescuers. Victim's head was up and she was stable and responsive (and in fact shouting instructions part of the time!), so even with a dangerous situation imminent, I think the right balance between hurry and recuer safety was struck. Additionally, Maya stayed very cool and calm throughout this - a great victim if I ever saw one.
- Victim stayed still and didn't try to free herself. I shouted to her to not move at all until we got to her (not sure if the other bank was able to communicate this). This was critical - one move and she could have been pinned head-down in a very difficult place to get to.
Issues:
- Listen to the victim: Maya was trying to communicate to us that her boat was pinned down there (which I didn't know at first) and that if it moved, she was going to get sucked under the tree. Her teammate didn't hear her or didn't listen and moved the boat, which went exactly as Maya had predicted. If I had not been there to grab her, things could have quickly gotten ugly.
- Stabilize before freeing the victim: Maya was head up and in good shape when I reached her. She needed help to maintain that postion and that's what I did immediately. Pays to do this and then think things over carefully before trying to free the victim, which can result in an even worse pin.
- Both rescuers had some risk in crossing the creek in the middle of a rapid with pushy current. On the right bank, if I had gotten foot-pinned, I would have been on my own for a while. Would have been nice to have some backup over there, and we could have probably ferried a boat in the time we had to get someone else over there.
- Again, we had plenty of time to get a boater in the water below the drop, but everyone was on the bank. Having a chase-boater stay in the water would have been a good idea since the rapids just kept on going downstream.
Points to Consider:
- The second tree was hidden from view making it very dangerous. The right side of the rapid where the tree was was blind and rocky - the left was more open. However, the tree just above forced a right side approach and the choice between a difficult ferry to the left or a run of one of the slots on the right. Experience dictates to not run those types of blind slots and to go for the ferry, but who knows? No matter how confident you are, this is a great place for a scout at the first tree, and if I had it to over, that's the approach I would take.
- Maya is a lightweight boater - maybe 100 lbs or so - in a big creek boat (a Liquid Logic El Jefe). This worked in her favor in providing bouyancy to keep her head above water I think. Also, if she had been twice as heavy, I would have had a much tougher time grabbing her to keep her from going under the tree. Moral to the story: use a high-volume creekboat and don't eat too many hamburgers before you get on the river.
~~~
Alright, that's my viewpoint of the two incidents on the S. Platte last Saturday. Helps me to go through it and hopefully it helps others to read it - please comment on it if you see anything I missed (no doubt I did). I have a think skin and like to learn from these experiences as much as I can so I do it better next time.
Thanks,
Fish
****************
This iz a pichur of the rapid.
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/photos/?photoid=2232
Here iz the pichurs of Ryan tryin' hard ta git outta that hole.
http://community.webshots.com/album/389294903LvkYxp
regards,
bearridge
