Re: [Paddlewise] 15 dead?

On Thu, 19 Feb 1998, Ari Saarto wrote:

> I could not believe my eyes!  
> 15 dead during 1997 in whitewater 
> kayaking (Paddler Magazine Online, 
> http://www.aca-paddler.org./paddler/index.html).
> 
> That just tells me that we are not talking about safety in vain...
> Ari Saarto


Ari, Thanks for the link to paddler's article, which is very interesting
from a whitewater boaters perspective. I knew two of the
paddlers mentioned, and these are not happy thoughts, but they are
important nonetheless.

With regards to the discussions of safety on this list however, I don't
see much usefulness so far. The important aspect of how to recognize, and
then avoid or safely deal with danger while kayaking has not been
discussed. Probably the only result is a negative one, because many people
are probably now frightened to learn whitewater at all.

Those who died were paddling Class V, where death is always a decent
possibility in the event of a mistake or mishap. Here is quote from
Charlie Walbridge that I copied directly from the Paddler article:

"The only cause of these deaths," he adds, "is the demanding nature of
Class V, which is brutally intolerant of errors in water reading, boat
handling and judgment. We're getting to the point where kayakers are
pushing the envelope the same way mountaineers have been doing since the
1930s. Just as in climbing, skilled, competent people are cutting their
margins too fine. The really high-end stuff can't be run forever. 
Eventually statistics catch up with you."

This is not to say that death is not a possibility on easier whitewater,
because this also happens, just like sea kayakers die occasionaly on flat
water. These deaths on easier water are quite avoidable however with
good judgement and safety.

I propose we start new thread, which I'll post next.

Best Regards,

Kevin

/--------------------------------------------\ /---------------------------\
|Something there is that doesn't love a wall  |       Kevin Whilden        |
|That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it  | kwhilden_at_u.washington.edu  |
|And spills the upper boulders in the sun     | Dept. of Geologic Science  |
|And makes gaps that even two can pass abreast| University of Washington   |
|			-- Robert Frost	      |(206)543-1975(w) 632-5140(h)|
\--------------------------------------------/ \---------------------------/

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