# Too many ropes



## LLubchenco (Nov 23, 2016)

super common unfortunately. Thanks for posting! a really good reminder for all of us to keep those things pocketed until its really time to toss. One of the most safety oriented people I've ever paddled with, at every scout, makes a gameplan about where everyone is going to be and ends with: No one throw a god damn rope unless it's necessary! Wise words


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## kayakfreakus (Mar 3, 2006)

Snakes in the water are horrible. Unless you have contact with the swimmer to acknowledge the rope throw or a very strange situation needing a blind throw, keep that shit in the bag.


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## Randaddy (Jun 8, 2007)

Probably the AHRA rangers throwing unnecessary ropes in Zoom again.


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## Blade&Shaft (May 23, 2009)

Gotta make that eye contact before whipping it out


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## Ever_Cat (Jan 20, 2009)

We were on the Poudre this past weekend and passed over a rope stretched taut by current in the water on the Stevens Gulch to Bridges section. My instant reaction was is that coming from my boat somehow? It wasn't. Scary shit and unfortunately I don't recall exactly where it was located. I get it that once a rope is loose in the water it is difficult to retrieve, but if you are the source of a rope in the water, do whatever you can to get it the hell out of the river. Leaving a death trap is bad juju.


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

People buy throw bags and then don't practice with them. Seems some things never change.. 

Always blow a whistle, or shout SWIMMER, ROPE!! to the swimmer (everyone who's in the water's name is always swimmer) and make sure they acknowledge and look toward you, throw the rope in front of them once there is a safe place to drag them to shore. Extra points if you can hit them in the head with the bag (LOL)

Roping a swimmer in the middle of a rapid, and then pulling them to a place they can't get out of the river does nobody any favors and potentially puts your swimmer in greater danger. Throwing the rope behind them does little good either. 

THINK about what you're doing, form a plan, then act upon that plan. Practice with your throw bag a couple times a year. Toss a stick in the river and attempt to "bag it".. Do it until you can. Lather, rinse, repeat LOL. 

Lastly, always think about your footing when using a throw bag, seen a few would be rescuers that didn't have the footing to take the weight of the swimmer, and added themselves to the rescue when they were dragged into the river. Hopefully they were wearing their PFD when this happens.


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## littlefoot (Jun 30, 2018)

I photographed Tunnel Falls on Gore Canyon during the annual Gore Race several years ago. As I was taken in on a train car with all my gear, they dropped me off very early and well before the race started, so I got to sit and hang out by the falls for several hours prior. Many private rafters and off-duty guides came down the river before the race began, as there's never more onshore safety during a Gore run than there is during race day…and I assume a lot of them also did it to get to good viewing spots. 

If you've ever done Tunnel Falls, you'll know that it's a fairly low consequence flip/swim spot, with a pool to the right where it's easy to catch the eddy and get pulled back into the boat or onto shore. (I myself have flipped there and swam to the right for a quick and easy recovery.) Raft after raft flipped, and the quickly growing crowd of off-duty raft guides all began to gather on nearby rocks and throw ropes with abandon. 

One boater in particular came out from under the raft after a flip and swam immediately to the eddy and was able to stand up in less than knee deep water, but alas, too many ropes in the water (none having been thrown with any confirmation from the throwers or receivers) and she got her ankles caught and had her feet ripped out from underneath her and then had to be rescued from the ropes. What bothered me most was that these were raft guides, who should've been trained on the safety and procedure of using a throw bag…yet there were dozens of them seemingly hungry to use their throw bag for the first time in their career just tossing them haphazardly into the slack-water with abandon. Still frustrates me thinking back on this memory!


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

That's the problem, they were random guides with no trip leader to tell them what to do and what order in which to do it in. 

So they are all geniuses, and all think they know more than the guy standing next to him, so havoc ensues. Been there done that seen it a few times. Thankfully in the instances I was involved in nobody got injured and people were rescued, but I can't imagine that many ropes in the water at one time... On the Arkansas, at least back in the early '90s when I was guiding, if there were two ropes in the water if there were a hundred on the shore they weren't thrown, because in this case more isn't better


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## Pinchecharlie (Jul 27, 2017)

Iam a kook newbie. I did a rescue course and iam a scardy cat so took it seriously. Last trip I did we had two new kayakers swimming. It was a easy rapid and easy swim but the second I watched the guy swim I started my whistle cause our boat spacing sucked and really I wanted the down stream kayakers to just know so they could collect the boat or paddle. Well after it was over I could tell the dude swimming was just a bit annoyed I blew my whistle. No one said anything but I could tell and the saftey advice I gave was taken with shrugs of "it's no big deal". I am so new and not a good boater I keep my mouth shut about most everything but I get upset in my brain when everyone doesn't do exactly what we where taught at that course. I know its conditional but still makes me feel like we are doing things "wrong". The whistle, the signal from swimmer to throw, the throw, the downstream saftey. Perfect world stuff I guess but iam so new I feel like horror stories are awaiting lol? It's actually pretty hard to get a rope to a swimmer in easy conditions and we watched guys huck them in trees and straight up and all manner of stupid. I played baseball in my youth and had fun beaning guys but thats cause iam dumb. I kinda wish that rescue courses where more affordable or like mini ones cause it's such a great way to start a season.


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