# OBJ ALERT: HORRENDOUS PIN SPOT



## Meng

July 18, 2011

There is a terrible pin spot on OBJ. One of our team was pinned under water for almost 30 minutes last night as we tried many ways to extract him. He is alive and well. If he's down with it, I plan on posting an incident report. Many lessons learned and much previous knowledge utilized to get our friend out alive. 

We were on the river at about 7pm for maximum flow. It was medium low (you could barely go left on the put-in drop) definitely not bone zone.

The PIN HAZARD is on the river right side of what I've always called the 'Old Growth' drop. This drop is 3 up from the big waterfall. Or, put another way, the sequence goes goes meadows, 8-foot boof, S-Turn Slide, Old Growth Drop, two drops to the left eddy, 25-foot waterfall. 

So, hopefully you understand which drop this is. It is TYPICALLY run on the LEFT side - which the way to go. There, it is a nice little slide. The middle is a boof over a hole and is fine. The right side is where the bad pin potential is. Do not run this drop on the right if possible. If you do get pushed that way, do everything you can to keep your bow up (boof).

The 'old growth' drop can be seen here (3rd drop up): http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jBsBv1kbLhM/TBf814QjKNI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/1opEEBxaSBE/s1600/DSC_0157.jpg. NOTE: this image is several years old and at lower water than last night. You can see the wood in the drop in question, which is no longer there. The pin spot is river right of the downstream midriver log (again that log is gone). I will look for a more recent photo but this will have to do for now.

There used to be an old growth tree in the middle of the drop and wood blocking the right, forming an eddy river right and making the only real line down the left. All of that wood was flushed out last year due to super high flows brought on by dust-on-snow and some hot days. Now, its just a riverwide drop with the three distinct characteristics: left: good slide, middle: boof over hole, right: junky chunk with pin potential.

We almost lost a highly experienced class 5 paddler with likely 100's of OBJ runs last night. His semi-vertical, fully submerged pin was almost impossible to access. I had 3 ropes on me from 3 different directions when we got him out. Without a good crew in adequate #'s it could have turned out much worse. 

Please take a look at this spot when you go up next year, and stay out of this potentially fatal pin zone. Treat the run with respect and carry your rescue kit whether you consider the run 'roadside plop and drop' or 'full on creeking'.

Rescue report and insights potentially coming soon. SOO grateful my good friend went home to his woman and 1-year old. No fucking way were we going to allow any other option.


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## jmack

Holy crap! Thanks for posting and great job helping your buddy. I know that lots of people (including me) were running that drop right at higher water this year. It kind of landed on rocks but I didn't think it was a big deal. I will definitely take a closer look next time.


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## Meng

Yeah, I ran it over there once at high water as well but was not stoked to be there but it went fine. Still, I felt like i did not want to repeat that move too many times. I have been looking at that right side with a leery eye ever since the wood came out, thinking there might be pin potential or underwater wood. This was a bad-luck, specific angle, 1 in a thousand weird thing. Better to stay away if you can...


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## CBrown

Damn, we all ran that drop right 4th of July weekend. Thanks for the heads up and glad yall are alright.


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## Gary E

Nice job getting your buddy Chris.


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## KSC

Glad you guys got him out safe. Humbling that even with a strong crew it took so long to extract someone from a pin. 

Big thanks for the heads up on that spot and thanks in general for the regular updates on the creeks out there. I was also just kind of read and running that drop without realizing there was any hazard. I know one of our runs I was the last one through and everybody in front of me ran all the way to the eddy above the big drop. There's something that can get funny about the dynamic out there running OBJ - I think because there's always tons of people around, you feel like you can step off the run at any point and everybody's always congregating about. It deserves the standard creeking precautions though in my opinion.


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## TKrammen

Hey, we met one of your crew today at the put in, they were doing some boat retrieval. Anyway, we found said victims paddle on OBJ today, we were going to drop it off but had no time or means to. We have it down at Rocky Mountain Outdoor Center near Salida. Give me a shout at 860-916-1322 or post here.


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## Meng

Cool, thanks Krammen. Where was the paddle when recovered? I'm friends with some RMOC folk so if it's at the shop there I'll be able to get ahold of it.


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## Nathan

Scary stuff, glad everything turned out ok. Pretty sure I went over there at least once over the 4th weekend and never thought twice about it.


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## milo

*......rescue....*

....i was not kayaking with my boys....i was in town and called by somebody from the fire dept. asking if i was OK......she put the phone up to the radio and all i heard was, "submerged kayaker on ob joyful creek"....i blasted up there beating the rescue crew....felt sick to my stomach to see all my buddies cars at the campground....panic mode hit....i grabbed fleece, pfd, drytop and 5-tennies....i fuking spaced my rope....(dumb)....ran across the slate and started up the hill...i found the police man sitting in his car(he was maybe there for 15 mins)...."i asked what the fuck?"..."are they ok?"...he just looked at me dumbfounded.....there were trees he could not pass in his vehicle....i was rude to him wondering why he was not on foot headed up....he is the biggest and strongest looking dude in our county!!!!...i blurted out something i shouldn't have and ran off....the kayaker was on shore when i arrived....he had just flushed out and was plucked from his boat....the accident report will fill in the details....rescue arrived shortly there after and took over.....afterwards i was invited by the kayakers to go look at the GO-PRO footie....unreal....those dudes are super fukin studs!!!!!!..i have a new respect for my boys....they never gave up, never faltered, never slowed down, always communicated new ideas, traded off in risky attempts, tried everything but throwing in the kitchen sink....one individual was overheard saying "we need to do something fukin heroic!!!".....and he did....within a minute the boat flushed and the kayaker was saved!!!!(much clapping and rejoicing)......a happy ending for sure.......when i asked him how he kept it together under water for so long, he just said, "my family".....this is not intended to be an accident report ....and after talking to rescue persons, they said the police man was not under oath to go and jump into a freezing creek.... i feel he should have footed it up to the scene...he had a radio, strength and a fresh mind....not knocking on him but.....when i see him next, i will tell him what i think, while not in panic mode......peace(milozreallynotadik andhereallycanski 420 cb)


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## jonny water

Nice work everyone....I am glad everything ended well!

How did the pinned kayaker breath while pinned vertically and fully submerged?

This sounds like the go pro footage should be posted so that everyone can learn how to perform a successful rescue. Even if it is 30 minutes or more, I am willing to watch.


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## Meng

I am going to do my best to put together a real report on this incident in a timely way. I will collaborate with other rescuers and the victim so that we have a number of perspectives (not just mine). As far as footage, let's pretend for now that it does not exist. The victim has not seen it yet. Neither have I. Without his consent or encouragement it will not be released. He should not have the pressure of the boating community influence his decision on whether or not to release it IMO (that's how we're gonna play it anyway). Whether or not that happens, we do plan on sharing insights and lessons learned/reinforced from the rescue as well as welcoming others.


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## kayakArkansas

Meng said:


> I am going to do my best to put together a real report on this incident in a timely way. I will collaborate with other rescuers and the victim. As far as footage, let's pretend for now that it does not exist. The victim has not seen it yet. Neither have I. Without his consent or encouragement it will not be released. He should not have the pressure of the boating community influence his decision on whether or not to release it IMO (that's how we're gonna play it anyway). Whether or not that happens, we do plan on sharing insights and lessons learned/reinforced from the rescue as well as welcoming others.


As anxiously as I have been waiting to read the account of what happened etc, I am impressed with how you're handling the above issues. You're a class act Chris. Way to come through for your friend, both on the water and off.


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## bobw

Meng, Thanks for the report. Sounds terrifying and that you folks did great work. Milo, don't be so hard on the cops, they don't have very much knowledge about whitewater or rope rescue and know enough to stay out of the way of folks that do. The rescue efforts didn't need another victim and it sounds like additional help was on the way. I'm glad that everybody came out OK and home to hug the young one. 
Sorry I couldn't be there to help. See you in a couple of weeks.


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## jonny water

I hear you. Handle this the way you feel like you should.

Anytime I am involved in a rescue, I am shaken up for weeks.


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## TKrammen

Meng, the paddle was floating in the take out eddy for the upper half of the run. Aka, right below the slide before you get to the big ones. Give me a call, 860-916-1322, may be headed to numbers tonight if your in the area we could drop it off.


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## badswimmer

Cheers to the rescued, for holding on! Cheers to the rescuers!! Nice work! Rescues stoke me out and open my eyes for awhile, bringing "scary vision" into play and heightening awareness. Recoveries SUCK for everyone. Know and trust your crew, be fully prepared, they may save your life!! Props on not posting the vid sans permission, we all could use to see more successful efforts on film though, instead of recoveries and accidents.


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## Cphilli

It is great to hear everyone involved in this incident came out ok. Obj is probably my favorite run in CO, and it would be terrible to hear of an accident in the stretch (especially by an experienced paddler that knows the run). Thanks to those involved for relaying this hazard to the community quickly.


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## CB Rob

bobw said:


> Meng, Thanks for the report. Sounds terrifying and that you folks did great work. Milo, don't be so hard on the cops, they don't have very much knowledge about whitewater or rope rescue and know enough to stay out of the way of folks that do. The rescue efforts didn't need another victim and it sounds like additional help was on the way. I'm glad that everybody came out OK and home to hug the young one.
> Sorry I couldn't be there to help. See you in a couple of weeks.


Its a good thing that Fire, EMS, and search and rescue don't just sit in their car when they come to a tree in the road. There are lots of ways he could potentially have assisted that didn't involve getting in the water. 
Awesome to hear about your teams heroics, Meng!! I hope when I finally get on OBJ that I'm with your crew.


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## NathanH.

I'm glad everyone came out of this incident alright. I watched numerous people run right on that drop (I run it left). Definitely a stellar effort from everyone involved. Had to have been an impressive, heads up rescue from the crew.

To shed some light on a serious incident we need to ask the real question here:

Was a booty consumed?


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## gh

From looking at the picture, I would have never imagined that the bulkhead would bend in like that. Its amazing that anyone got out of that boat.


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## kennyv

Serious incident and the damage to that bulkhead is unreal. So glad everyone came out ok. Incredible recovery! Extraordinary responses to extraordinary circumstances both on and off the water. I'm with BobW on the police thing. Better not to make more victims. If he's the BobW I know from CB, then he's on SAR. I did a Grand trip with him years ago. Solid dude who speaks from the heart. Congratulations to everyone involved. So glad it worked out well.


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## afraid

where's the picture of the bulkhead?


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## caspermike

Main homepage


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## cbgood

*was busy with hypothermia*

To shed light on the true question from NathanH.

I tried to get a booty beer down but everyone was ripping my clothes to get me warm from being submerged for 20min.

Then they took my boots off (thanks CB SAR) and put me in a litter to get me to the truck to get to the ambulance to get me to the ER.

Everyone must have forgot the protocol to get a booty beer down, once your off the water.

By the way NathanH,Are you the paddler that ran only the entrance drop on OBJ the weekand after the 4th of july? did you get your booty beer down after losing your paddle on the upper drop of OBJ?


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## deepsouthpaddler

NathanH. said:


> To shed some light on a serious incident we need to ask the real question here:
> 
> Was a booty consumed?


This is rediculous. The guy was an inch from death, and you are asking about a booty beer?

Kayaking isn't a college drinking game... Yes we have a lot of fun, yes beer is sometimes the right call, but don't ever forget that things can go serious in a heartbeat.

Respect the creeks. This was a crew of seasoned locals who know the run better than most everyone. So many people play down OBJ and CB creeks. Low skilled plop and drop has been tossed around since the bible, and its one of the biggest misnomers out there. Low skill, until your buddy is pinned, your back is broken off the big one, or you get your body broken in one of the big slides.

Be careful, be safe...


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## cbgood

Thanks, 
deepsouthpaddler


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## JDHOG72

First off super glad that this nightmarish story had a happy ending. Amazing work by you and your crew to get you out. Since I paddled my Burn on OBJ not long ago and saw the pictures of your bulk head I had a couple of questions since it definately makes me wonder about the safety: Did you have any foam in your bulkhead or just the small block? Do you think it would have made any difference to have the big foot block plus foamed out? I have the big one in with about 8 inches of foam and wonder if that would give it any additional support. I love the Burn design but do not like the outfitting at all.


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## Ryanrugger

When, and if you release the video, the ending scene should be you drinking your booty beer. That would be boss! What a story to tell your grand kids one day. Great job by your crew and you to survive. Will definitely be taking more caution on that drop as well as remembering this as a reminder to keep my wits about me on all flowing water.


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## Nathan

Come on guys, fuck the booty beer, the man is lucky to be alive. This should stay a serious thread.

My opinion, what Chris said in the original post is what matters, there is a hazard in that drop that everyone should be aware of. It does nothing for anyone to see a video of someone drinking beer from a booty.


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## abron

Damn, Glad you're ok Chris. thats some heavy shit. Good friends are the best thing in the world, (besides women, wine, song and beautiful babies) :]


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## Cphilli

I too paddle the burn, and absolutely stand by its performance. Did you have a foam block between your feet and the plastic foothold? or were your feet bracing on the plastic itself? My diesel 80(and L burn) has the same exact style of metal lock-in holes to a plastic block.


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## cbgood

*Bulkhead*

I got the Burn from Chris Menges,I was the third owner in a couple weeks but thats another long story. It is a 2010 model. Chris and I are about the same weight but I'm a couple inches taller. He had put the standard couple of inches of foam from the outfit package that you receive when you get the boat. Cut to fit tightly as always. Foam was rip out during the ordeal. Honestly we have talked about how the foot got trap but can not figure it out.


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## deepsouthpaddler

Lots of boats (dagger, LL, Pyranha) have the metal side rail design for the bulkhead. Its not clear if the foot was wedged, and the act of getting it out bent up the metal, or of the metal got bent first by a hit or dent to the nose somehow (or maybe combo). This seems to be a pretty rare incident, but still it makes you think about the entrapment hazards in your own boat. I have heard a few similar stories about peoples shoes getting caught up in bulkhead screws or hardware.

You could take the metal rail system out and simply foam the bulkhead out I guess. I have a jackson villain, and they did away with the metal side rails, so there is potentially less to get your legs snagged on (I like the jackson bulkhead design). The center pillars could get damaged and potentially block exit, so I don't think that there is a system that is 100% fool proof.

When you guys get time it would be interesting to hear more about how and where you got the ropes on the boat and what the rescue process was (ie what was successful and what wasn't). The hazard to avoid is great info. I also think we can learn a lot from what you guys did in such a technical rescue.

Thanks for sharing the info with the community.


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## Meng

Hey Ian,

We are still gonna do the accident/rescue report including the above info you requested. Might not be untill next week though. (Should I post it here or do it as a new thread?)

Re bulkheads - No idea how this happened but after seeing this I am gonna gorilla tape those metal bulkhead runners to the plastic of the boat as well as taping the small gaps between my bulkhead foam and the boat so that there is no place for a foot to slip through.

If the leg had not been caught up, all of this would have never gone down - it would have been a quick swim (with energy) to an eddy and then a boat recovery.


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## Jensjustduckie

Did the boat have a piton dent in the front when you got out? I am wondering if the straps folded in when you pitoned if you hit hard enough to bend the plastic and deform the metal upon impact then got stuck. That looks horrifying - what is left of your bulkhead.


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## cbgood

I didn't see the boat after the fact. When i saw it the next day it looked like any other creek boat. fine with scratches.


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## skylinekelley

DAMN!


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## MCSkid

don't buy any more boat's that Springer's fat ass has been in!


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## afraid

That's funny, Springer's fat ass! Talk about booty beers...


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## NathanH.

I paddled the Burn and the H3, which both have the same bulkhead configuration. Therefore I am very interested in hearing how design affected the incident.

I didn't mean to offend anyone, simply trying to lighten up a situation that we all know is very serious. As I stated before I asked about the booty, it must have been a very impressive rescue and I am very happy that everyone made it out of this situation alright. I am sure the footage would be very educational for real life rescue scenarios.

I stopped drinking boots after I got Giardia from a boot last year.


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## afraid

NathanH, respect Chris, he has tried to pimp you out for gape-ing it at the first drop, answer the question.


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## Kendrick

Were you drinking from someone else's boot, by chance?

Tensions seem high around Buzz lately, with all the deaths popping up, but people should keep in mind, that buzzards themselves don't tend to be the fatal victims you hear about in the news lately. 

It's kind of a buzzkill. :| Just the way of things, I guess.


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## CBrown

Wasn't there some POV footage of this rescue? I was just watching some Bomb Flow rescue footage and it was insightful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQTtwmJCOAU&feature=youtube_gdata_player


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## bobw

I was thinking the same thing. A month or so ago I did talk to one of the people involved and they are thinking of releasing it soon.


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## CBrown

Like watching the video above, I imagine there might be something to be learned.


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## coloclimber512

Oh Be Joyful Creek a Pinned Kayaker and Rescue on Vimeo


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## lmyers

Thank you for sharing. That is the scariest thing I have ever seen. Unbelievable that he survived. Amazing rescue.


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## glenn

At worked and haven't watched the whole thing but I almost puked when I saw the pin footage. Will review in full later and glean what I can. I somehow missed this thread until now but cheers to everyone involved.


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## Swank

WOW!

That is horrific but I'm so glad the outcome was good. I'm still ignorant as to how he was still alive after that time in the water. Was the water basically cavitating around his head enough to breath?

I'm still pretty new to paddling (3 years) but don't like the designs with metal rails for bulkhead mounts.


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## ENDOMADNESS

God bless you Chris. And incredible rescue fellas. That is crazy to watch.


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## CBrown

That is so scary. I cant eat my lunch after watching that. So glad everyone is OK. Good work fellas.


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## KSC

Wow fellas, I watched enough of that to realize how it intense it was. I understand why it took some time to want to discuss it or release any video footage. 

I can tell you that the alert of this hazard has been very important. I was out there this past weekend and the water was pushing over to that side of the drop. Knowing the hazard was there, I was charging into the eddy above it and ferrying back over to the run the left side.


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## Mut

That is intense to watch. I am choked up thinking about a good friend that passed away in a waterfall pin. 

You guys did a great job of not giving up. 

I'd love to hear if anyone had a better idea (based on hindsight) on how to access the pinned kayaker.

I'd also like to point out a couple things that may seem obvious and that this crew did right. I do not mean to preach and there are way more qualified folks out there tan me but here are a couple observations. 

1) It was key that those in the water were dressed appropriately. As a reminder, you can't help your friend who is about to die if you are hypothermic and not able to use your brain and muscle. As well, you give people a way better chance to save you if you are dressed appropriate. Even on a hot day your entire crew should be dressed super warm. Dress as if you plan to spend a lot of time in the river rescuing someone. 

2) Stay alert enough to recognize you are getting tired, cold, etc. If you have the opportunity to change out being in the water like these guys did, you should.

3) Never give up. Whether it is trying to get the boater unpinned, trying to get your friend to shore, trying to go for help, hanging in there until you get rescued, trying to do CPR, or anything else. Do not give up. 

4) Get as much 1st aid training as you are willing to take. You never know when you will need it and when you do need it, you always want more. I have been fortunate to only use minor first aid with my crew but have been the first on auto accidents in the middle of nowhere and on scene at a drowning at Black Rocks on Ruby. I was glad to have some knowledge but kept thinking I wish I had more.

Nice work crew!!


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## hojo

Exhausting. I'm glad you published the footage. It's fascinating to see how video cams are changing the way we can evaluate and understand incidents. Personal recounts, no matter how accurate, will always be incomplete and biased. The camera enables a greater degree of impartiality when analyzing an incident.

I'd wager all of you aged a fair bit and grew some extra white hairs after that incident. Way to stick with it!


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## deepsouthpaddler

Amazing rescue video. Shocking how long the pinned paddler was submerged, and more shocking that it turned out ok.

I assume he had a good air pocket under there. I can't imaging getting pummeled by water for 1/2 hour.

Also, completely agree with Mut's comments. Dress for the swim or the rescue. People give me goofy looks when they see I always wear a drysuit, but when you need it, its invaluable as a rescuer or a victim.


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## carvedog

Thank you for releasing the vid. 

Glad for the outcome. Even knowing that it was very hard to watch. 

What impressed me: 

How quickly every one moved.

The tenaciousness. 

the guy going in without clothes or pfd at the end to help get him out. 
There is a point where you don't want anymore victims and there is a point where you say fuck it, I am going to do what I can.

I applaud all of you for an immense, intense effort.


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## gh

Holy shit, I think I am going to go throw up now.


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## Chief Niwot

Wow, impressive work and commitment, thank you for sharing. I could hardly sit still and watch.


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## DoStep

*Aqualung boater*

Truly incredible how long the paddler was under water, I mean he was invisible for most of that incident. I could feel for the camera man and his newfound lack of vocabulary. Those guys stuck with it to a good ending, and kept working hard at getting further into the fall until someone could actually grab him. Herculean effort actually, and I teared up when it became apparent those guys saved their buddy's life. I can't imagine what was going through the pinned paddler's mind for 40 minutes, prob seemed like 40 hours. Way to keep it together on all accounts.


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## huck_finn

Top notch way to keep cool and keep going. Your efforts were nothing short of amazing. I was shaking after watching this video, truly heroic. I don't even know what to say other than that.


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## glenn

Got a chance to watch it through. Man that was tough. It was hard for me to find a fault in the rescue. So lucky for an air pocket the whole time. It's hard to practice for situations like this since pins are so unique/rare as are in boat entrapments. The response was just about perfect. Start quick and dirty and build up to a more elaborate setup. There were some minor communication issues that inevitably happen even with the most tight knit groups. Heavy shit... tell you're loved ones how you feel regularly and don't take anything for granted. Sometimes we are walking a tight rope without even knowing it.


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## cupido76

carvedog said:


> the guy going in without clothes or pfd at the end to help get him out.
> There is a point where you don't want anymore victims and there is a point where you say fuck it, I am going to do what I can.
> 
> I applaud all of you for an immense, intense effort.


100% agree with this.

Sometimes you just have to take a risk.


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## panicman

This video is a must to show at any whitewater rescue course.


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## colorado_steve

x2.



gh said:


> Holy shit, I think I am going to go throw up now.


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## upshitscreek

deepsouthpaddler said:


> I assume he had a good air pocket under there.


someone in the comments section on vimeo put up this link. he talks about what he did to keep an air pocket in the article.



thanks for passing the video along, as well. hopefully, it's lessons save another life one day. cheers.


The Crested Butte News - Local kayaker survives accident on Oh Be Joyful



Local kayaker survives accident on Oh Be Joyful 
Written by Than Acuff 
Wednesday, 20 July 2011
“All I did was concentrate on keeping my air pocket”

On Monday evening, July 18 at approximately 7 p.m. Crested Butte Search and Rescue (CBSAR) received a call of a kayaker pinned underwater on Oh Be Joyful Creek.



Oh Be Joyful is a little over four miles from Crested Butte in the Slate River drainage and is a popular Class V steep creek run for kayakers during the runoff.
Local kayakers Chris Goodnough, Ethan Passant, Chris Menges and Paul Muirhead decided to run Oh Be Joyful Monday evening.
Goodnough has been paddling Oh Be Joyful since the late 1990’s including competing in the Oh Be Joyful steep creek competition.
This summer he’s run it four times and the four boaters decided to get another run in before the steep creek season on Oh Be Joyful ends as the runoff disappears.
“It’s been an exceptional year,” says Goodnough. “We wanted to get another lap in. It was at a good quality level, boatable but not bony.”
After taking a look at the creek level and scouting a couple of the drops, they decided to run the ‘race course’ section of the creek.
The four boaters worked their way down the creek through the series of waterfalls and rapids, eddying out and taking turns going first.
“Everything went fine,” says Goodnough. 
Things took a turn for the worse at a six-foot drop called Old Growth Drop. Menges went through first and hit an eddy to turn and watch Goodnough.
“I saw him come over the top and get stuck and get pinned in the falls and disappear,” says Menges.
“Previously this summer I’d run it river right with no incident,” says Goodnough. “Monday, my nose pitoned and stopped me vertically and I said, ‘oh this isn’t good’.”
The stern of his boat swung around and landed in the water perpendicular to the river and Goodnough was pinned under the waterfall.
“My spray skirt started to implode so I looked to get out and rotate downstream,” explains Goodnough.
When Goodnough was exiting his kayak, his left foot got stuck in the boat and he was pinned under the full brunt of the river flow.
“I knew I was seriously in a bad situation,” says Goodnough.
Facing downstream with his left leg caught in the boat and water pouring over him, Goodnough pushed the upper part of his body up locking his elbows creating an air pocket directly in front of his nose and mouth.
“It was just pounding,” says Goodnough.
Goodnough felt throw bags hit him in the arm and a kayak paddle and a stick but he couldn’t move to grab any of them.
“I couldn’t grab anything,” says Goodnough. “All I did was concentrate on keeping my air pocket.”
Goodnough knew that even if he had grabbed the throw bag, because his leg was stuck in the boat and the boat pinned under the waterfall against a ledge, there was no way they would be able to pull him out.
“The only way they could get me out was they’d have to free the boat,” says Goodnough.
After attempts to reach Goodnough by paddling to him and perform a “T rescue,” Passant and Menges had to come up with a different plan.
They rigged up a “V-system with live bait” with two individuals on either side of the river holding a rope across with Menges and Passant taking turns working their way up stream to reach Goodnough while tied into the rope.
“Typically with a pin like that we get access from upstream and do a V lower system,” explains Menges. “In this particular case we thought that was impossible because of the nature of the drop. It was a really sketchy place to be.”
They made several attempts to jump into the waterfall and grab Goodnough and pull him out and as time wore on, Goodnough’s air pocket started to shrink and cold started to set in.
“A body came over me and grabs me but I knew my body wasn’t going to pop out,” says Goodnough. “My air pocket got smaller and my hands were getting so numb. My whole body was getting so numb.”
Goodnough held his position and waited until another attempt to grab him proved unsuccessful at which point things went from bad to worse, before it got better.
“The water changed again, the pressure increased and my air pocket was minimal at best,” says Goodnough. “At that point it really got bad. That lasted maybe 10, 15 seconds and then boom, I was floating.”
Still roped in, Menges grabbed Goodnough and flipped him over to get his head out of the water but his leg was still stuck in the kayak. Passant grabbed the boat and got his leg loose and with the help of another bystander, he was pulled to shore after spending an estimated 25 minutes getting pummeled by the waterfall.
“As soon as I was on shore I was done,” says Goodnough. “I couldn’t move anything. I knew I was better, but not great.” 
They pulled his wet clothes off and almost immediately, CBSAR was there to assist in warming him up and getting him out.
“The timing couldn’t have been better,” says Goodnough. “I knew I was going to make it. I just had to get warm. I’ve never been that cold.”
According to CBSAR president Nicholas Kempin, the team was on scene within 15-20 minutes of the call and had to remove trees through the use of winches and other ways on the road adjacent to Oh Be Joyful creek to reach the scene.
CBSAR took Goodnough from the creek’s shore down the drainage and across the Slate River before transferring him at a waiting ambulance.
“Search and Rescue’s role was to get him from where he was onshore to the ambulance waiting at the road to give him medical care along the way,” says Kempin.
Goodnough remembers every minute vividly and recalls that one thing kept him fighting the whole time.
“All I was just thinking is, I cannot leave Gage and Andi,” says Goodnough of his wife and child. “People have their power or force that keeps them going, for me it was the love for my family.”
Goodnough was treated at Gunnison Valley Hospital and released that night with trauma to his left calf and ankle but, miraculously, nothing more.
He points out a couple things from the whole incident from making sure you have your search and rescue card to making sure you choose your kayak partners wisely.
“If you’re going to be boating class V stuff, even roadside park and hucks, there should be a quality of boaters and expertise with you,” says Goodnough. “Never take it for granted. Even the East River can still spank you. Chris Menges, Ethan Passant, Paul, Adam, Nick and search and rescue all saved my life, it’s that simple.”


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## ric

*Rodeo rapid Rescue!?*

Any of you out there old enough to remember Tom's ordeal in Rodeo Rapid on the Colorado way back...
We were headed back to the Boat after a session at Eddy's Garage...Ender City Yahoooo
When we came around the corner and...
rescue in progress
Leg entrapment for over an hour, Same kind of thing, he was out there in middle of river, no way to get to him, but you could see arms waving every now and then, water was flow over his back, He had to create air pocket to breath which also prevented him from attempting to free himself.
Ropes everywhere, helicopter on the way, think he said he finally went way down under, which released pressure on his body and freed his leg, and then he popped up! Could not believe he was out there all that time. Interesting story about how it all happened...
Never give up
It ain't over till the snowman melts...


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## Spade Hackle

What a great crew! Tenacious, prepared, committed. I am humbled! Props to all!


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## yourrealdad

Crazy video. Glad everything worked out. Just so I am clear on where this is: 
Is it where you kinda start sliding and on the right where he got pinned there is basically a huge almost rectangular looking chunk just below the drop? Looks like the river forgot to erode the section? I saw it last week when I was up there and didn't remember it (didn't make it up in 2012). That chunk backing up the ledge looks nasty and looks high enough 2-3 feet that you could get horizontally pinned and that would be all.

Thanks


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## KSC

I'm not sure about that description. I thought Chris's original description was pretty spot on, but the way I think of it in detail is:

- Slight S-turn into 8 foot boof. 
- Two tiered slide: first tier you hit a diagonal hole that typewriters you right, second tier takes you left of, right of, or straight through a little rooster. 
- Then you go directly into a speed trap hole (insignificant at low water). 
- Then the very next drop is this "Old Growth" drop where the pin occurred. It's just a 3-4 foot ledge. At low water there was an eddy right above it on the right. I think many people have and still run the right side without incident, but obviously dropping in at the wrong angle can yield terrible results.
- After this ledge there's a decent eddy on river right that has a view of the last 2 ledges and setup eddy above the big waterfall. The sequence from here of course is ledge 1, ledge 2, big eddy, big waterfall, etc.


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## Anchorless

Incredible.


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## cadster

Instructional video:

Rescue for River Runners: Episode 11 -- Foot Entrapment Strategies - YouTube


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## caspermike

Great video cadster


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## Meng

To everyone who has boated OBJ, or anywhere in the Gunnison Basin, please remember to take AW's Gunnison River Flow Survey.

Your feedback will give us the info we need to protect river flows here despite prolonged drought.

Everyone that completes the Survey will be entered into a drawing to win KEEN shoes and other great prizes.

PS - In regards to the rescue, I am working up a post incident reply that will be up here when I have a few extra moments....


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