View Full Version : Trip Report Westwater this weekend
soitgos
07-22-2007, 04:17 PM
This past week Razor Rock showed it's head for the first time this year and created a new element of the most famous rapid in Utah.
So Alex, how did your trip go? Is this the first time you've seen Razor Rock?
tanya
07-22-2007, 04:28 PM
Great shot! :2thumbs: :popcorn:
Looks like so much more fun that cleaning the multitude of rooms I cleaned this weekend, the working the chevron at night --- but at least I did not get graveyard this weekend! :roll:
soitgos
07-22-2007, 04:39 PM
That's 19-year-old Brandi Karren. I fear I've ruined her life. She was talking about another permit before we even got off the river.
tanya
07-22-2007, 04:41 PM
Yep! Rough life! River Rafting :lol8:
Steve, it was awesome! I think I hooked my dad on it now. He still had a sunburn grin on his face. We hooked up with ranger Dean (is that his name)? A very friendly fella and his group, it was safer in numbers to go down.
That was the first time I have seen the razor rock and boy was it mean looking, I snuck on the left of it and it was another successful Skull run for me.
Right after me a commercial trip was coming down and one of the guides (no so average boatwoman) messed up and Skull and got sucked into the left side flush against the Skull wall. Losing the hold of her both oars and barely making it down. She was ok though, right after her a commercial paddle boat, barely missing the Skull hole hit the Rock of shock very hard.
The Sock it to me gave me a little bit of a hassle, put my boat on the 45 degree angle on the side, came close to side flipping, but I managed to pull out. Of course I wanted to give my parents the most fun for their buck and took them on the right of Sock It To Me and the river didn't forgive me :eek2: . Regardless, both my parents and I had an awesome time with good company. Seems like every time you go down Westwater it's your favorite time.
Did I mention fishing? My dad caught about 30 fish in 2 hours. We had a full dinner that night!
tanya
07-23-2007, 06:38 AM
You did not dunk your parents did you :eek2:
How many people I wonder..... quit rafting after they are thrown from a raft into the water? :popcorn:
Sounds like a great trip Alex! :2thumbs:
I had a friend who refuses to go rafting after he flipped a boat, too bad I say.
I got my parents plenty wet, but no they didn't fall out "on purpose", it was pretty hot, so everyone was jumping in just to stay cool.
This is the image from my video where I almost lost the control of the boat in the Sock It To Me.
tanya
07-23-2007, 01:41 PM
I wonder how scarey it would be going into a hole in something like Lava Falls or Sock it to me? When we were on the trip people said they have gone in often. Don't those holes drag you down under?
You mean like swimming the holes?
I have done a few swims in the past, they are hard for sure. If you time the waves right though, you can manage it.
tanya
07-23-2007, 01:53 PM
Like those huge holes ... or at least that is what our group called them. The swirling awful big things that look like they will gobble a boat whole! :mrgreen:
soitgos
07-23-2007, 05:54 PM
A hole, in river lingo, is a wave that turns back on itself. Also known as a reversal. It's caused by water running over a rock. It can be a rock just below the surface of the river or several feet below, depending on how big it is. Classic holes are Lava Falls (The Ledge Hole), Crystal, and Satan's Gut. They ebb and flow, but at some levels never release. These will recirculate a person or even a raft. There is a video of an 18-foot raft in Satan's Gut going around for a couple of minutes before it is finally released. Some places just have big waves, like number five in Hermit. The wave builds and breaks. You hit it as it crests and it's like hitting a wall. You hit it when it's releasing and you might slide right through. Others are just standing waves that don't break. A series (called a wave train) is about as fun as it gets.
The amazing thing, and what keeps some of us coming back again and again, is how the river changes at different water levels. That's what makes Skull, well Skull. It changes dramatically, but is always a legitimate class four rapid.
tanya
07-23-2007, 06:05 PM
That's them!
So what do they do to people that fall in one? I was only a second away from going in head first when my boat mate drug me back in the boat! :eek2:
soitgos
07-23-2007, 06:23 PM
Heraclitus: "You cannot step into the same river twice . . ."
Heraclitus was referring to something rather different, but the sentiment is the same. So, in answer to your question, something different every time. The worst case scenario is that a person couldn't break out. The only case I know where someone has actually died in a reversal was in a low-head dam.
tanya
07-23-2007, 06:27 PM
....so it is really not so bad? How do people die on river trips?
soitgos
07-23-2007, 06:40 PM
Hypothermia and entrapment are probably the two biggest problems. A guide died on the SF Payette this year when he got a foot caught in rocks after a flip and couldn't get out. Drowning occurs occasionally just from someone in big waves who just can't get a breath, but that's pretty rare. There have been five deaths on the Arkansas this year. It will be interesting when the AW reports come out and see what the causes have been.
Just about anything you can imagine has happened at some point. Especially in Utah drowning are pretty rare.
Just about anything you can imagine has happened at some point. Especially in Utah drowning are pretty rare.
...unless you want to tube Westwater with no life jacket :eek2: :nono:
soitgos
07-24-2007, 05:31 AM
...unless you want to tube Westwater with no life jacket :eek2: :nono:
Yeah, but (thankfully) even that doesn't happen very often.
The majority of deaths I'm aware of have been due to someone doing something stupid or someone doing something he didn't have the skills or experience to be attempting.
Regardless, we need to realize rivers are dangers and take it seriously. So is driving . . .
tanya
07-24-2007, 06:19 AM
I keep trying to get Steve to talk but all I can think of is how to drown (or not) and his Son for him to post on.......
There must be more! More stories please! Alex and Steve you must have some river stories. :popcorn:
soitgos
07-24-2007, 06:34 AM
I keep trying to get Steve to talk but all I can think of is how to drown (or not) and his Son for him to post on.......
There must be more! More stories please! Alex and Steve you must have some river stories. :popcorn:
I can't even remember what stories I've already told. It's a joke among the kids I hang out with. They just laugh at me for repeating my stories. Sometimes one will just say, "I'll take this one . . ." and then repeat my story.
I do wish Bo was writing his stories. He once did Cataract Canyon in 25 hours. That's 100 miles. In a raft, with no motor.
There are stories and trip reports at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/utahrafters/files/
I suggest:
My name is Werner Catsman
Marsh Creek, Middle Fork 2003
Selway Trip, May 2002
hehe tanya, here is a good one:
How do you know when a river runner is lieing?
....when his mouth opens :lol8:
tanya
07-24-2007, 08:23 AM
I don't think I could keep up with another group..... I need time to play too. :mrgreen:
:lol8: Funny Alex
soitgos
07-24-2007, 08:36 AM
I don't think I could keep up with another group..... I need time to play too. :mrgreen:
You have to join to read the stories, but you don't need to participate. Just choose "No email".
tanya
07-24-2007, 09:05 AM
I don't think I could keep up with another group..... I need time to play too. :mrgreen:
You have to join to read the stories, but you don't need to participate. Just choose "No email".
I have been a member for a long time..... but now I know you are in there I will have to peek in more. :five:
soitgos
07-24-2007, 10:50 AM
I have been a member for a long time..... but now I know you are in there I will have to peek in more. :five:
The stories I'm referring to are in the "Files" section. You can read them without searching through emails.
Felicia
07-24-2007, 08:19 PM
Several years ago we were running the Kings River, CA in spring. I went out at mule rock. Got sucked down to the bottom. I never open my eyes under water....but I did that day. I was always told to "let your life jacket save you", relax and the hole will spit you out. That is what I did. I remember thinking that it was taking a long time.......I could see the boat above. Then all of a sudden I shot up out of the hole......bumped my head on the bottom of the boat and then back down. Damn...no air. OK...so really, your life does start flashing before your eyes. All of a sudden, up I went again....broke the surface. Forgot to breath and down I went again. Sat on the bottom for a moment.....and back-up I went again. Grabbed by the scruff of my neck (life jacket) and hauled into the boat!!!!! They all swear that I was in the water for less than 2 minutes, but it felt like a lifetime! Had a massive headache. The river was running over 8000 that day.
I do know that it is all about the life jacket.....gotta have a jacket. :-)
soitgos
07-24-2007, 08:32 PM
I do know that it is all about the life jacket.....gotta have a jacket. :-)
Actually, what I said earlier is totally wrong. I was thinking of drownings where people are doing what they should be doing, or at least being reasonable.
The number one cause of river deaths is people not wearing a PFD. You're right, it is all about the jacket.
tanya
07-24-2007, 10:47 PM
Several years ago we were running the Kings River, CA in spring. I went out at mule rock. Got sucked down to the bottom. I never open my eyes under water....but I did that day. I was always told to "let your life jacket save you", relax and the hole will spit you out. That is what I did. I remember thinking that it was taking a long time.......I could see the boat above. Then all of a sudden I shot up out of the hole......bumped my head on the bottom of the boat and then back down. Damn...no air. OK...so really, your life does start flashing before your eyes. All of a sudden, up I went again....broke the surface. Forgot to breath and down I went again. Sat on the bottom for a moment.....and back-up I went again. Grabbed by the scruff of my neck (life jacket) and hauled into the boat!!!!! They all swear that I was in the water for less than 2 minutes, but it felt like a lifetime! Had a massive headache. The river was running over 8000 that day.
I do know that it is all about the life jacket.....gotta have a jacket. :-)
:eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2:
Did you avoid the river after that?
tanya
07-24-2007, 10:48 PM
I do know that it is all about the life jacket.....gotta have a jacket. :-)
Actually, what I said earlier is totally wrong. I was thinking of drownings where people are doing what they should be doing, or at least being reasonable.
The number one cause of river deaths is people not wearing a PFD. You're right, it is all about the jacket.
Is it true that those old cheap orange life jackets with the flap at the top are safer than the small and fancy types?
Did you avoid the river after that?
I think the more close calls you have with the mother river, the more you want to get back to her :twisted:
Is it true that those old cheap orange life jackets with the flap at the top are safer than the small and fancy types?
Tanya, you have to look at the buoyancy rating on the PFD. The higher the rating the heavier you can be to float. There was a discussion on the PFDs on the utahrafters mailing list a while back. All you ever wanted to know about it was discussed. The bottom line is, if you want to live, get a higher floatation PFD and have it CLIPPED in and not just on you when you are on the river.
Any life jacket is better than nothing, I think the biggest mistake people make is not adjusting it correctly and/or clipping all the clips in. Pretty much all the newbies that come on my trips do not have adjusted life jacket. I usually throw them in to the flat water (before rapids) and see if they fight the life jacket or not. It's a great wake up call for them and then they easily let me adjust them because they almost lost their PFD in the flat water. :eek2:
Felicia
07-25-2007, 06:16 AM
The following year we went back, but I the kids with me and they were too young to leave. I stayed behind and became the shuttle driver. It was fine with me.....the river was running at 13000. :-)
I would for sure go again, we just gotten side tracked with other sports.
Felicia
07-25-2007, 06:16 AM
The following year we went back, but I the kids with me and they were too young to leave. I stayed behind and became the shuttle driver. It was fine with me.....the river was running at 13000. :-)
I would for sure go again, we just gotten side tracked with other sports.
Rafting goes well with canyoneering! They are such different sports that you get the reward from both. I actually manage to mix and match the gear I used with both sports, all the water gear in canyoneering goes great with rafting.
Felicia, next time you guys are vacationing in Utah, make sure to leave a day for the Westwater canyon (just a bit north/east of moab). It's rated as a number 1 weekend canyon in Utah (or is it in the west?).
tanya
07-25-2007, 01:59 PM
Is it just a one or two day trip through there?
Tanya, it's roughly 5-7 hours flow, depends on the flow. You can do it in one day easily and a lot of people do that, but I like to take my time and do a two day out of it :2thumbs:
Then you get to spend the night under the open sky with a person of your choice.... :naughty: :naughty: :naughty:
tanya
07-25-2007, 07:17 PM
So this is why you and Steve hang out together? :ne_nau:
So this is why you and Steve hang out together? :ne_nau:
Hmmm, I haven't been on a overnighter with Steve yet, but he is known to have lots of babes on his trips. Babes and beer.... now there is a living.
So this is why you and Steve hang out together? :ne_nau:
Oh oh... almost forgot, What happens on the river, stays on the river and flows under the bridge :roflol: :cool2:
tanya
07-25-2007, 11:32 PM
So this is why you and Steve hang out together? :ne_nau:
Hmmm, I haven't been on a overnighter with Steve yet, but he is known to have lots of babes on his trips. Babes and beer.... now there is a living.
Is this not what defines a River Rat? :lol8:
soitgos
07-26-2007, 04:35 PM
Well, sometimes they're cuter than others . . .
tanya
03-04-2008, 02:18 PM
Tanya, you have to look at the buoyancy rating on the PFD. The higher the rating the heavier you can be to float. There was a discussion on the PFDs on the utahrafters mailing list a while back. All you ever wanted to know about it was discussed. The bottom line is, if you want to live, get a higher floatation PFD and have it CLIPPED in and not just on you when you are on the river.
Any life jacket is better than nothing, I think the biggest mistake people make is not adjusting it correctly and/or clipping all the clips in. Pretty much all the newbies that come on my trips do not have adjusted life jacket. I usually throw them in to the flat water (before rapids) and see if they fight the life jacket or not. It's a great wake up call for them and then they easily let me adjust them because they almost lost their PFD in the flat water. :eek2:
But the things are made for men! How could they fit a woman tight? There are obstacles! :roll: :haha:
soitgos
03-04-2008, 06:07 PM
But the things are made for men! How could they fit a woman tight? There are obstacles! :roll: :haha:
There are a few made for women, with, ahhmmm . . . places for obstacles.
tanya
03-04-2008, 08:20 PM
Okay! I am relieved now. ~whew~
http://www.lostweekend.tv/inflatablebikini.jpg
I guess they are not a one size fits all. :haha:
How do you tell what are the safest life jackets... as in which will get your head out of the water fastest!!! :mrgreen:
Sombeech
03-04-2008, 09:07 PM
There's some cushion for the pushin.
soitgos
03-05-2008, 05:20 AM
Okay! I am relieved now. ~whew~
Well, I don't know if they will accommodate those kind of obstacles!
tanya
03-05-2008, 06:56 AM
There's some cushion for the pushin.
I am afraid to ask what kind of pushin' you have in mind. :lol8:
tanya
03-05-2008, 06:58 AM
Okay! I am relieved now. ~whew~
Well, I don't know if they will accommodate those kind of obstacles!
This is not an obstacle. It's a floatation device! :lol8:
http://www.lostweekend.tv/inflatablebikini.jpg
soitgos
03-05-2008, 03:40 PM
This is not an obstacle. It's a floatation device! :lol8:
Now that's funny right there. I don't care who you are!
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