American Kayakers Yearly Death Report

Decked Canoes, Open Canoes, as long as they're canoes!

Moderators: kenneth, sbroam, TheKrikkitWars, Mike W., Sir Adam, KNeal, PAC, adamin

Post Reply
Louie

American Kayakers Yearly Death Report

Post by Louie »

.I was just readin Walbridges list of deaths, Nine were either flush drownin, high water or big hydrolics entrapment, didn't see a one where someone died by boatin stuff at low rocky level. However you can't believe a thing those people say I bet all the deaths this year were really on ELF runs and they didn't want anyone to make fun of them. Two were canoes and the rest were rafts or butt boats. They don't call them floatin coffins for nuthin.

All you canoes and C-boaters please stay safe and off of flood, there aren't enought of us as it is. We are suppose to do this to have fun not to prove anything.
cadster
CBoats Addict
Posts: 326
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 3:17 pm

Post by cadster »

Where did you see the report?

Two canoe pictures on their 2010 calendar should give them some points with you.

See http://americanwhitewater.org/content/A ... play/full/
Louie

Post by Louie »

WELL AFTER READIN ABOUT THE TEN OBITCHARY In their club newletter about how canoein was dead, see their "Kayakin isn't a crime" tee shirt I raised such heck with them and had people like Chris Kelly and Milt before he quit boatin raise heck with them they finaly began to amit we were all dead. There was such a back lash that they have even had a once a year what they called "Canoe and Raft issue" which weren't really. Heckfires this year they talk about Milt and Frazier both cuttin edge boaters of the late 90"s ( they paddle Captions solo). Wait you have some personal contact with some of their paid staff Mark Singleton and Ambrouse. They don't care for single stickers and just throw us a bone too keep up quite, but they wish all the articles they publish about our demise were true. No they are the American Kayaker and dam proud of it.

I was sent the early report by a tI have in their origanization who doesn't care for them anymore than I do.
cmnypny
CBoats Addict
Posts: 387
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2007 2:26 pm
Location: Innisfil, Ontario, Canada
Contact:

Post by cmnypny »

cadster wrote: Two canoe pictures on their 2010 calendar should give them some points with you.

See http://americanwhitewater.org/content/A ... play/full/
Holy crap the crazy french man with the triceratops made it in to the AW Calendar.

Way to go Martin.
cadster
CBoats Addict
Posts: 326
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 3:17 pm

Post by cadster »

I would think 120 CFS would be low flow for most.

The White Salmon fatality was at "low" water, too.

Whitewater Accident Report
Accident Report:
Whitewater Fatalities
July-December 2009

The 2009 whitewater accident year is over and reports sent to American
Whitewater tell the tale. The total number of fatalities, 45, is just
about average for the last decade. This breaks down to 15 kayak, 7
canoe, and 24 rafting deaths, seventeen of which occurred during the
last six months. The most typical causes are no stranger to
experienced paddlers: pinning in strainers, recirculating in dam
hydraulics, and failing to wear a PFD. Three of the casualties in the
last six months apparently were caused by health problems unrelated to
whitewater, which is pretty unusual. These reports come to us from a
variety of sources, but none are more important than my regular safety
correspondents: Dave Cernak, Slim Ray, Margaret Weise, Ken Dubel, and
Aida Parkinson. Other accounts come from various listserv's, including
the IBWWW Newsletter; the U.S. Coast Guard "Incidents" report, and
Yahoo's "SwiftH2O News" chat room.

Here's a summary of the reports received from July to December, 2009.

Kayak Accidents:

The Big South run on Colorado's upper Poudre River is a steep, small
volume Class V creek running through an isolated area. On July 18th
two kayakers attempted to run it with about 120 cfs releasing from
Long Draw Reservoir. This is a rather low flow. A local paddler who
knows the paddlers and the river summarized what happened:

"Bouncing Betty is a narrow slot drop with a rock outcropping on the
right. A good portion of the flow goes under the shelf and boils up
in the pool below. The left side of the drop can be run with hard
left angle and right to left momentum to avoid the rock. The pin
potential of the drop is higher at low water since the slot fills in
at higher flows. Derk Slottow, 21, entered the drop straight on, and
without left angle, and ended up under the rock outcropping.

"His partner was in an eddy above the drop and he realized something
was wrong when Mr. Slottow did not appear downstream. He got out of
his boat and ran downstream to the drop on river right where he saw
Mr. Slottow's boat pinned upside-down, with the nose of the boat
visible under the rock . He got into the pool below the drop and was
able to pull himself up to the nose of the pinned kayak. It was wedged
tightly, and needed a hard, sustained effort to free it.

"When the boat got loose it washed downstream into a recirculating
eddy on river left. Mr. Slottow was still inside, upside down and
unconscious. Since this eddy was on the other side of the river, the
second paddler ran back up to his kayak, ferried across the river
above the drop, and ran down to the eddy on shore. The eddy has steep
rock walls and the rescuer had to haul both Mr. Slottow and his kayak
out of the water and onto the bank before pulling him free and
starting CPR. He had been under water 6-10 minutes.

When there was no response after extended rescusitation efforts the
second boater hiked out and notified authorities. He should be
commended for his relentless rescue efforts. Given the consequences of
a missed line, boaters running this drop should consider setting
safety above the overhang on river right. Its probably a good idea for
first timers scout the drop. Some newspaper accounts mentioned a head
injury, but apparently the scrape on his head was from a previous
run."

An experienced kayaker drowned on the Alberton Gorge section of
Montana's Clark Fork River on August 9th. Gary Markovich, 55, had not
been on the water for some time because of health problems. He'd been
tagging along with a raft trip when he flipped in Class III Tumbleweed
Rapid and bailed out. Although he initially swam well, he quickly
faltered. Nearby boaters saw the swim and moved in to help. A kayaker
had Mr. Markovich on his stern and was trying to pull him ashore when
he let go and floated away face down. Several groups came together to
get him ashore and begin CPR. After 20 minutes he was transferred to a
raft. CPR continued as he was carried to the takeout where medics
pronounced him dead. According to the Billings Gazette the state
Medical Examiner ruled that the drowning was the result of head
trauma. We don't know where he hit his head, but the impact apparently
stunned him and left him helpless.

Ryan Morgan, a Mollala, Oregon city councilman, expert kayaker, and a
leader in the whitewater community, died while running Washington's
Little White Salmon River on August 9th. This is one of the most
spectacular Class V day runs in the country, featuring big ledges in a
cliff-lined gorge. Water levels that day were low. This incident
occurred near the end of the run. The rapids here are intense and his
partner didn't see what happened. When Mr. Morgan, 31 did not make it
through the last big rapid his partner, who could not get back
upstream, notified authorities. The next day a search team from Wet
Planet, a river outfitter, found Mr. Morgan's body stuck in a logjam.

Although Oklahoma isn't known for its whitewater the Mountain Fork
River near Broken Bow has a small 2-3 foot ledge called Presbyterian
Falls. At normal flows it's class II; On October 22nd, when the river
was running at 10,000 cfs, a keeper hydraulic forms. Bobby Ray Bohn,
46, was caught in the hole while running the river. He was an
experienced kayaker,a video memorial on AOL shows him running big
drops with good gear and skills. Eventually he bailed out and was
recirculated for some time before he disappeared. A man on shore
downstream of the drop spotted Mr. Bohn's body and pulled him ashore.
NewsOK.com talked to witnesses who said that Mr. Bohn had removed his
life vest and helmet (!) to help him get free of the hole. Although
this tactic has been discussed and tried over the years, experienced
river swimmers keep their PFD on because they need it after washing
out. Aggressive swimming to the edge of the hole or down deep into the
oncoming water is a better strategy.

Canoeing Accidents

The dam at the Rocky Mount Water Treatment Plant on Virginia's
Blackwater River has claimed its second victim in two months. The dam
is west of Blacksburg just above the Route 220 Bridge. The accident
occurred on July 23rd when two tandem canoes went over the dam. Water
levels were high, and none of the paddlers wore PFD's. According to an
article in the Franklin News-Post both boats flipped; one pair washed
out, but the second pair was trapped in the hydraulic. One of the
paddlers washed free of the hydraulic and got to shore. He found a
throw line and ring buoy stored at the dam and used it to rescue one
of his companions. But he could not help Nicole Mason, 21, who was
pulled under and disappeared. These two deaths prompted a joint effort
by local governments to modify the low-head dam. Contractors placed a
number of huge boulders in the hydraulic at a cost of $23,000. This
had been tried once before, but the boulders washed away. This time
they used bigger rocks and also created signage and a portage trail.
American Whitewater commends this action and hopes that other
jurisdictions with dangerous dams will take note.

On October 16th a couple paddling Missouri's Jacks Fork River capsized
after hitting a root bal near Mahan's Creek. Barbara Catt made it to
shore, then saw her husband, James Catt, struggling and clutching his
chest in chest-deep water. He quickly slumped over and disappeared.
Presumably he was not wearing a life vest, or he would have floated
and might have been rescued.

Rafting Accidents

Although Alpine Canyon of the Snake River is a Class III run its
rapids are powerful and must be treated with respect. The Rexburg, CO
Standard Journal described Craig McCuiston as a 50 year-old Boy Scout
leader who lived to share his love of the outdoors with others. On
June 26th his group had been running the river for several days. On
their third run that day a raft containing six boy scouts and four
adult leaders hit a large hole that knocked all the adults into the
river. The three other men were carried downstream quickly, but Mr.
McCuiston recirculated in the backwash for three minutes before
washing out. The Scouts pulled the other adults back in the raft, then
went after their leader. After they got him, they paddled ashore and
began CPR. Twenty minutes later they flagged down a local outfitter,
who contacted authorities at the takeout and helped with the
evacuation. These efforts were in vain; Mr. McCuiston was pronounced
dead at a local hospital that evening.

Bad swims leading to fatalities can happen in any large river. Lodore
Canyon of the Green River is another example of run that's not
difficult, but still demands respect. On July 29th a couple fell out
of a raft in Class III Middle Triplet Falls. According to the web site
Inside NPS Carol Jacobson, 54, was unresponsive when she was pulled
from the water. Her group performed CPR for over an hour before being
relieved by a commercial outfitter. Their guides used a satellite
phone to call the Park Service.

On July 7th three men and a woman launched a raft on the Pine Creek
Section of Colorado's Arkansas River. Its not clear if they really
intended to run this section. Pine Creek rapid is rated Class V, and
the day's level, 1800 cfs, is way too high for the average rafter.
According to the Denver Post, Jimmy Nakama, 40, and Thomas Spicknall,
36, fell out in Pine Creek Rapid. The other two paddlers got one of
the men back in their raft. He was unresponsive, so they got him
ashore and started CPR. A second man was picked up by another raft
downstream. He initially seemed OK, but lost consciousness a few
minutes later. Both were transported to nearby hospitals where they
were pronounced dead.

A similar incident occurred on July 25th when a group of ten people
attending a family reunion tried to avoid a crowded launch area in
Banks, ID by launching a rented raft on the North Fork of the Payette
River about 3.5 upstream. That was a big mistake! A blog post by Jaque
Barclay describes the accident. The group didn't realize that they
were getting onto the North fork of the Payette, an infamous class V
run! About 5-10 minutes after launching they hit a huge rapid and two
people were thrown into the river. Two teens were recovered quickly,
but Sharon Barclay was out of reach. Just downstream the river split
around an island. The raft hit a rock and went to the left while Ms.
Barclay, 47, was swept to the right. When she did not appear at end of
the island they knew something bad had happened. A search party
located her body, hours later, trapped under a log.

Every year number of whitewater paddlers fail to wear a life vest and
pay a steep price for the omission. On August 2nd Shannon Phillips
died after her inflatable kayak flipped above a large hole on Maine's
Little Ossipee River. In a similar incident Hin Hon Siu died after
being thrown out of a rental raft in Class II Staircase Rapid on the
Upper Delaware River near Port Jervis, NY. This latter accident
occurred despite strong efforts by local outfitters to encourage their
guests to wear the PFD's they are issued.

Three commercial rafting guests died on West Virginia's Upper Gauley
this past fall, making it the most tragic Gauley Season on record. Two
of these fatalities, Eric Clark at Insignificant Rapid on September
12th and Eric Hampton at Pillow Rock Rapid on September 28th,
followed a similar pattern. In both instances rafters fell out of
their boat, were recovered quickly, but experienced severe respiratory
distress soon after. To me, this suggests an underlying health problem
was probably responsible for these fatalities. The story of Shane
Loveall's death in Lost Paddle Rapid on October 2nd is more complex.
His raft was downstream of a second boat that flipped in "5-0", the
big breaking wave in the Second Drop of Lost Paddle. The raft moved in
quickly to rescue the swimmers in very continuous whitewater. As the
rescues proceeded the raft washed into the left side of the fourth
drop, Tumblehome. Here it was pushed onto a rock to the left of the
usual kayaking slot and pinned. In the ensuing chaos Mr. Loveall was
caught underwater and drowned.

Tubing

There are always fatal tubing accidents each summer on whitewater
runs. This summer's toll of 5 is high, but not unprecedented. Although
an inner tube is not legally a boat, these incidents worth noting
because they affect public perceptions of river safety and may lead to
restrictive management policies. Tubers are typically inexperienced in
whitewater, and depend on their tube, rather than a PFD, for
flotation. The results are quite predictable.

On July 15th Susan Dennis, 61, drowned on Utah's Provo River while
tubing with her grandchildren. She was wearing a life vest, and may
have suffered a heart attack. Nearby kayakers pulled her ashore and
called 911. On July 28th two tubers washed into a logjam on Idaho's
South fork of the Payette River. The incident occurred on a calm
stretch just below the mouth of the Deadwood River. Commercial river
guides pulled the two men free and began CPR. One man was revived, but
Michael Asche, 57, died. On August 3rd Michael Jennings, 29, was
tubing and fishing West Virginia's Bluestone River with a friend in a
canoe. Neither man wore a life vest. According to the National Park
Service the two became separated at the end of the run. After his
friend didn't appear at the takeout the canoeist called 911. Rescuers
found his body submerged in an upstream pool. Lastly, on August 17th,
28 year-old Heath Park drowned after his PFD came off on Utah's Weber
River. His two brothers tried to help but couldn't reach him in time.

An incident on the Deerfield River in western Massachusetts is worthy
of special note. Everyone running the popular Zoar Gap section is
startled by the number of tubers found on the river below that drop.
On August 1st the river was flowing at 6000 cfs, well above the normal
800 cfs releases. Although police were on the scene encouraging tubers
to stay off the river almost no one listened. That afternoon a group
of 10 friends launched near Mohawk Park. One of them, Shanara Henry,
was thrown in the river when her tube flipped. Ms. Henry was a
non-swimmer, and without a life vest she didn't have a chance. Even
though massive search involving outfitters and first responders began
that day her body would not be found until August 6th.

Near-Misses

On September 28th the New River Gorge was running at 15,000 cfs, a
high level. This motivated a group of paddlers to move their trip to
the "Dries" section downstream. This part of the river derives its
name from the Hawks Nest Tunnel, which diverts the first 9000 cfs of
flow. That day, with the high water, 6000 cfs would be in the
riverbed. It was expected to be a good intermediate run.

According to a report sent in by Ken Dubel, the river was indeed
filled with pleasant Class III rapids. Part way down the river Gisela
Zarcofsky flipped while surfing a play wave. She bailed out after
several roll attempts; a kayaker picked her up on his stern, but she
was exhausted and could barely hold on. After letting go she washed
into a benign-looking hole at the center of the river. She
recirculated many times and was clearly not coming out. A paddler
threw her a line, but she couldn't grab hold. Several other paddlers
tried to paddle out to her, but were unsuccessful. Finally a boater
got out on shore, ran upstream, and swam out to the hole. He grabbed
Ms. Zarcofsky and pushed her free of the hole. Then, after being
recirculated a few times himself, he swam free and was able to help
another boater get her ashore. This truly courageous rescue
undoubtedly saved her life.

When Ms. Zarcofsky was pulled from the river she'd been under for 3-4
minutes. She was blue, with no detectable pulse. CPR began at once,
and two paddlers took off downstream to summon help. After 15-20
minutes they detected a weak pulse and shallow breathing. Her color
gradually returned, and they continued rescue breathing as needed
until she could breathe on her own. Initially confused, she eventually
remembered who she was but not how she got there.

An hour an a half later volunteer firefighters from Smithers and
Gauley Bridge, West Virginia came down the railroad tracks, many on
ATV's and dirt bikes. Everyone worked together to carry Ms. Zarcofsky
up the steep, briar infested slope to the railroad grade. There a CSX
high-rail truck took her downstream to a waiting ambulance, which in
turn took her to the Cotton Hill Bridge. There a MedEvac helicopter
landed on the bridge and ferried her to Charleston, WV. Both the rail
line and Route 16 were temporarily closed to permit this. She was in
intensive care for two days, one of which was on a ventilator, and
released from the hospital a by the end of the week. She has made a
full recovery with no permanent problems.

We hear a lot in these reports about unsuccessful CPR. It's true that
the overall success rate is low, but when it does work it's very
rewarding! We can learn a lot from this group, which had the
organization and first aid skills needed to handle the situation. Our
thanks also goes to local firefighters and medics for their strong
response, and for arranging the transportation that got her to the
hospital so fast.

All of the reports that American Whitewater receives have the
potential to teach the paddling community how to avoid trouble and
react effectively to emergencies. Help us out! To report a whitewater
accident, near miss, or serious injury, please go to the Safety page
on the American Whitewater site, click "report an accident", and start
writing!. You can also forward newspaper articles, chat room posts,
and first person accounts to the safety editor at ccwalbridge@cs.com.
Thanks!
Post Reply