Westwater this weekend

[soitgos]

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]

Great shot!

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!

[soitgos]

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]

Yep! Rough life! River Rafting

[Alex]

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 . 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]

You did not dunk your parents did you


How many people I wonder..... quit rafting after they are thrown from a raft into the water?


Sounds like a great trip Alex!

[Alex]

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.

[Alex]

This is the image from my video where I almost lost the control of the boat in the Sock It To Me.

[tanya]

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?

[Alex]

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]

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!

[soitgos]

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]

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!

[soitgos]

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]

....so it is really not so bad? How do people die on river trips?

[soitgos]

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.

[Alex]

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

[soitgos]

...unless you want to tube Westwater with no life jacket

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]

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.

[soitgos]

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.

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