leong Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 This is a scary cliffhanger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I still can't get over that they didn't attach to him and get him out. Just letting him slide though the under cut is really bad. That's why rescue PFD's have shoulder straps that one can attach to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leong Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 I don’t have any experience with whitewater rescues so this may be naive. It seems that someone should have moved out on the ledge above the victim to try to pull him straight up, perhaps using one of the existing lines (the victim was trying hard to get a handhold on the ledge above him). The rescuer to the left was trying to pull the victim to shore and the line on the right was pulling in the opposite direction; i.e. the two lines were pulling in opposition in directions perpendicular to the force of the water. You can’t raise something up by pulling perpendicular to the “up” direction. Well, that’s how it looks to me sitting here in a comfortable chair with the advantage of hindsight and ample time for analysis.-Leon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick stoehrer Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 i've never had / taken a swift water rescue class and do not know the appropriate actions/protocols....I {think} you're right jason but i sure don't know.i do believe that had the fella on screen to the L of the victim run that line behind and around him on his back/shoulders, he may have been able to exert more pulling force on the line...not that i think that would have helped, frankly. seems you'd need a lot of mechanical advantage to be able to pull through or better yet, at an angle to, the opposing force of the water (please, please for the love of god, no engineering arm chair stuff. please?) and that someone mighta/coulda rigged that (had there been time, preparation, expectation, etc., etc) while the one fella tried to keep his head above water....but who knows? those are forces and thing's i've not played with at all....glad the guy lived.hey josko, you were asking about talking a froze up paddler through something? guessing this is beyond that standard, huh? wrap it up and call it a day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leong Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 (please, please for the love of god, no engineering arm chair stuff. please?)Hmm, once I couldn’t spell injuneer, and now I are one.-Leon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I have taken one 3 day swift water rescue class so far. I am looking to take another one this spring. Swift wate rescue classes are a ton of fun and really help build/reenforce the skills that we should have on the water. I was shocked that the rescue wasn't done. I can't get over that someone spent the time to video it but not to drop the camera and help him. It looks like his friends don't have the proper training. It's a great what not to do video. I am very surprised that they let the video see the light of day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leong Posted July 12, 2015 Author Share Posted July 12, 2015 I can't get over that someone spent the time to video it but not to drop the camera and help him. I think the videographer was on the helicopter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flipe8 Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Yikes, no thanks! I've got a couple good buds who do a fair bit of creek and they talk about close calls on a semi-regular basis, like it's just part of the game. It appeared like the group wasn't anticipating a rough section and things just went south. I'd be checking my shorts after experiencing anything even remotely close to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEL Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I believe it is part of the game. Little like mountaineering. If you don't accept the odds of dying or serious injury, you don't do it. I know a former a class V WW paddler who starting seakayaking once it became probable that if he kept upping the ante doing more difficult runs, he would die. The close calls add up in many ways as you get older.Ed Lawson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kate Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Hey, it's class 5+ whitewater, and I'm sure they had scouted it and knew the lines they wanted to take. That's standard for such runs, no way is a "rough section" going to take them by surprise. Even so, random things happen, people miss their lines. I thought they did as good a job as could be done. Amazing that they even got to him as quickly as they did. Then, two ropes on him in an attempt to stabilize his position. Looks like the sprayskirt was trapped under the rock and he couldn't release it until he finally went under. No way he could have been lifted up and out. In that strong of a flow, I doubt they could have pulled him and the boat back out unless there'd been time to stabilize him and then set up a Z-drag - once the boat de-stabilized, the only way out was through. He's a lucky man. Usually those undercuts have all kinds of debris lodged in them. Yes, people who run rivers at this level know what they are getting into and the price of a mistake. Kate (20+ years of whitewater, up to class 4, and many safety/rescue classes, and a few times putting what I learned about rescue into practice.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flipe8 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 A better use of words other than "rough section", might have been "things just went wrong" for a second or two. Looking back would be all it took, or simply missing the line, as already stated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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