# Some ugly CC narrows carn from social media.



## iSki (Oct 11, 2005)

Damn, that was an ugly swim.


----------



## craven_morhead (Feb 20, 2007)

It's tough to see what the swimmer is doing during a lot of the video, but overall it's a good argument against the "whitewater swimmer's position" in class IV-V whitewater. Trying to keep your arms and legs out of entrapments is all well and good, but if you're swimming in heavy whitewater, your goal needs to be to swim hard to shore. For most of the narrows, your goal is to get to the right shore ASAP.


----------



## jonny water (Oct 28, 2003)

That was nasty! I know that it is hard, but please don't swim after just your second roll....swim as a last resort! Again, hind sight is 20-20, but in Class V, roll up like your life depends on it (because it just might!)!


----------



## TELEYAKCO (May 17, 2007)

It might just be me,but I didn't see alot of aggressive self rescue,just a bunch of "hey buddy still in your boat,come save me!".Being a solid class 4 swimmer,I know the waters cold,and it zaps your energy,but get on that belly and freakin' swim!


----------



## FastFXR (May 22, 2012)

He could have been on shore alot faster had he swam a little. By the end I can see him being too tired to effectively swim, but for the first minute or two he had plenty of time to get to river right and out. 

Bet he changes hobbies now.


----------



## Redpaddle (Jan 10, 2007)

Note to self: be skeptical of anyone that wants to run class V and gears up with shin guards.


----------



## -k- (Jul 15, 2005)

IDK, seems like something went wrong in that class IV eddy, seems to quick to be a skirt pull like it imploded from the pour over or his leg popped out of the brace. Scary long swim.


----------



## blutzski (Mar 31, 2004)

That's not a class IV Eddy. That's Mr. Bill. Probably the nastiest hole on the river after Rigor Mortis.


----------



## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

Swim! I'd put them on your cockpit so you can see them and paddle with a ferry angle to shore..


----------



## CBrown (Oct 28, 2004)

Have a plan B. Know where you are. Know when to float and when to swim like your life depends on it!


----------



## El Flaco (Nov 5, 2003)

blutzski said:


> That's not a class IV Eddy. That's Mr. Bill. Probably the nastiest hole on the river after Rigor Mortis.


Mr Bill eats cub boaters for breakfast. :mrgreen:


----------



## -k- (Jul 15, 2005)

Sorry I don't know the rapid as I not ready for the Nar. It just looked to me that when he rolled up the first time he was in an eddy that then recirced him back into the hole which makes more sense now that I know it is a stomping hole.


----------



## KSC (Oct 22, 2003)

That would qualify as a gnarly swim. The irony is if you drop the horizon line at the right spot at that level you can hit a flake that kicks you past the hole without even getting your skirt wet. Personally I'd rather deal with the Rigo holes than Mr. Bill. I agree it looked like maybe there was a skirt malfunction, but I've seen people pretty adept at pulling their skirts as well. I've seen some people do some impressive Olympic swimming to the right shore from that hole and that's definitely the way to go. 

Personally I like the idea of leg protection and I bet those shin guards were worth their weight in gold for that swim. I guess if you don't ever plan to swim then why tie in any of your gear? Why buy float bags? You might as well strap yourself into your seat and buckle your skirt closed.


----------



## Don (Oct 16, 2003)

*SWIM!*

Swimming in Class IV and above it is time to unlease your inner cheerleader. You need to Be Aggressive B E Agressive. 

Life first and EQ second. That means "YOU" and your thought process. Exposure equals minus everything.


----------



## gannon_w (Jun 27, 2006)

I was thinking the same as others about aggressively swimming. It looked like the guy/girl had many chances to roll over and aggressively swim for the side. I was afraid he/she wasn't going to let go of the helper and drag them into something.

Glad the swimmer is ok.


----------



## yourrealdad (May 25, 2004)

I think that is some of the best helmet cam footy I have seen. I am sick of the no perspective going through rapid action. Give me more swims with out of breath cussing at the end.


----------



## flipper42 (Apr 8, 2011)

that was very ugly hope its a wake up call!


----------



## Roy (Oct 30, 2003)

There's also something to be said for knowing where you are and having a plan. It seemed like he was swimming to river left in that whirling eddy at Mr. Bill, which is a one way ticket back into the hole.

But yeah, right after Mr. Hand was the big chance to bust ass to the right with everything he had. His boat was even waiting for him there. Glad it all worked out!


----------



## MikeThulin1972 (Mar 23, 2012)

You guys are brutal ... We have all swimmed and made mistakes while boating..
But I know this guy was back in his boat a couple days later trying to learn from mistakes..
Give the guy a FN break ....


----------



## d.e. (Apr 5, 2005)

Man, there's alot of perspective packed into 5:52 of video. That's the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of kayaking right there all in one video. What you should do, what you shouldn't do, how fun this sport and how serious all at the same time. No criticism here. A lot of things going on. Boaters should watch this several times just to grasp the nuances and intangibles of what mistakes and mere seconds on Class IV and V can mean. Definitely props to the partner boater!!!! He hung it out there. That's a Gold Star moment.


----------



## glenn (May 13, 2009)

MikeThulin1972 said:


> You guys are brutal ... We have all swimmed and made mistakes while boating..
> But I know this guy was back in his boat a couple days later trying to learn from mistakes..
> Give the guy a FN break ....


Mostly constructive criticism here. If your buddy is back in his boat he is either tough enough to hear what needs to be said or too stupid to figure this stuff out on his own anyways. Much better to hurt feelings and teach than read about an easily avoidable accident or death.


----------



## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Ouch. 3 minute beatdown / swim. Brutal!

I've swam out of Mr. Bill at 750. I had heard horror stories of paddlers swimming the entire runout of the narrows, so I was in full red alert mode. I floated on my back in passive swim position until I went over the next ledge (the Hand), as you have very little chance of getting out between Mr. Bill and the Hand. I was also able to catch my breath and conserve energy to bust a move to swim to shore. As soon as I surfaced after the Hand, I turned on my chest, pointed straight at the right bank, and swam for my life as powerfully as I could. I got to the right bank pretty quickly after an aggressive self rescue, and it ended up being a pretty mellow swim, or as mellow as swimming out of Mr. Bill can be.

Not beating the swimmer up, but as a learning tool...
1) Don't try to get out against the current in an eddy. Doesn't work. The only way out there is to go back into the hole and flush. 
2) Aggressively self rescue by swimming with full arm and leg strokes on your chest ASAP. Don't wait for a boat to grab, he can't pull you to shore as fast as you can swim to shore.
3) Know which bank to swim to, where the hazards are when swimming etc. Know when to float and conserve energy, and know when to bust a move to get out.
4) Active and aggressive coaching by other paddlers in the group yelling at the swimmer to swim for shore helps. Sometimes swimmers get gripped and freeze up. Yelling as loud as you can something like... SWIM! SWIM! GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE RIVER NOW!!!! SWIM SWIM! 
5) Never point your nose left going over Mr. Bill. Right angle with a right stroke.
6) Its been a long time since I set safety at Mr. Bill but when I first started running blackrock, we did several times. A person with a rope below the Hand could have nailed the swimmer and gotten him out. Safety is a pain in the ass to set there, but it might be worth it for newbies.

And... nice work Steve getting him a grab loop to hold on to and staying with him though the whole rapid!


----------



## Canada (Oct 24, 2006)

*Awesome!!*

That had me gripping. Go Pro is the best invention ever, and also one of the worste.

He was tenative into every hole. That first one below the bridge took me out once. It has one level where it is really retentive!

Thanks for putting that up. Glad he is alright.


----------



## KSC (Oct 22, 2003)

#5 - you mean a left stroke, right?

Don't think most posts are personal attacks. Evaluating what went wrong is useful to everybody. From what I heard part of the problem with the guy not swimming is he was pretty exhausted when he flushed from Mr. Bill. Probably swimming directly into the hole would have shortened the beatdown, but I've seen people take some good downtime there no matter what.

I've noticed lots of carnage and swims in the narrows recently. It's a bad place to swim, and those levels were even pretty moderate in there. I think a lot of the carnage can be averted with a little extra planning. Check that entrance hole and find the sweet spot for the level. At most lower flows hitting it with a right boof stroke and a good bit of left angle will avoid getting slammed back into the right mank. At higher flows there's usually a wave you can ride through it. Mr. Bill at most reasonable flows has some nice flakes that will autoboof you over the hole as long as you line them up correctly. Know when to boof The Hand (hole below Mr. Bill) and when to sneak around it. Below that, stay off the left cliff wall where there's a hole feeding into a nasty undercut.


----------



## tmcdevit (Jun 8, 2008)

That made my butt cheeks clench up. Not sure if it's harmful or productive watching something like that, but clear creek is definitely a place to stay in your boat.


----------



## hojo (Jun 26, 2008)

Tractor Beam.


----------



## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Oops brain fart... #5 right angle left stroke. Hopefully I can remember that tonight.


----------



## GAtoCSU (Apr 18, 2005)

He looks uncomfortable form the start. Glad he survived that. Perhaps next time he will stay away from that type/difficulty of water, prepare better with a drysuit, and swim like he's getting chased and his only exit is the shore. 

He could benefit from some creekboating classes!


----------



## ouachita (May 27, 2009)

https://vimeo.com/67150453

At least he didn't scream too much...


----------



## gannon_w (Jun 27, 2006)

Hey Ouachita who are you???

I was totally gonna post Doug's video on here!


----------



## blutzski (Mar 31, 2004)

For a swim involving screaming and wimpering (from a tatted up dude, no less) this has to be my favorite. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyV7MtE9OIM


----------



## islandertek (Apr 4, 2008)

blutzski said:


> For a swim involving screaming and wimpering (from a tatted up dude, no less) this has to be my favorite.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyV7MtE9OIM


 
This made me laugh!


----------



## Redpaddle (Jan 10, 2007)

You're right KSC:shin guards are great protection, but I still think that, ultimately, they don't make a lot of people's list of creeking gear. In high consequence rapids we should all be focusing on staying in the boat and doing the most we can to ensure we stay that way (scouting etc.) Of course we all end up out of our boat at some point and then padding comes in handy. But why not suit up in full crash gear like DH bikers? why don't we all wear face cages? I understand shit show boating, I was there myself for a spell, I still stand by my statement: I will be skeptical of anyone at the put in gearing up in shin guards. I'm not gonna say they have no right to charge but I'm also not gonna volunteer to be responsible for people who routinely expect to swim class IV/V 

That said; gnarly swim, good lesson about self rescue!


----------



## Pcdc2 (Jan 24, 2011)

blutzski said:


> For a swim involving screaming and wimpering (from a tatted up dude, no less) this has to be my favorite.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyV7MtE9OIM


Hahaha oh man that was classic. Love the "oh my god!" As the dude realizes they're going perfectly into the ledge hole.


----------



## islandertek (Apr 4, 2008)

*F'n LAVA Man!*



Pcdc2 said:


> Hahaha oh man that was classic. Love the "oh my god!" As the dude realizes they're going perfectly into the ledge hole.


 
Yeah...I love how he is like "F'n Lava Man!" in the beginnning......then a minute later he enters full prayer all the way until he turns off the camera! OH MY GOD...OH MY GOD...he heeee! ......

Thanks for the good laughs at work guys!!!!


----------



## brettb (Apr 9, 2005)

ugh.. I wanted to skip ahead and see the end outcome... its been a long time since I've swam a rapid like that!!!! last few out of boat/raft experiences i was to the shore in seconds...... ACTIVE SWIM LIKE HELL!!!!especially in clear crick!

we are fortunate to have such great water (when it snows) and a narrow river so when we F up.... we can get out quickly!!!! I think he will next time!

oh and that was a sweet line in Lava! made me laugh as well...


----------



## GoodTimes (Mar 9, 2006)

"Oh...we're going right down the center dude".....

Classic...I would have immediately deleted that video before anyone saw it if I sounded like that while swimming.


----------



## iceclimb (Apr 24, 2013)

ouachita said:


> https://vimeo.com/67150453
> 
> At least he didn't scream too much...


People still paddle Whip Its? Wow.... I had no idea, I shouldn't have sold my Piroette S! 

That's a kind of nasty place to swim, but not as bad as the CCC swim. At least it was a nice day.


----------

