# Death on Flathead River



## GOTY2011 (Mar 18, 2018)

The Flathead County Sheriffs Office has a press release available on their Facebook page.


----------



## Tanaman (Nov 13, 2020)

Yeah the press release I see says about the same thing as the media... not much.


----------



## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

The MF has been HUGE this June. Not 1964 huge, but near historical max flows. It looks like they hit it right on the peak flow on 6/21.











Tanaman said:


> Local Man Dies After Raft Flips on Middle Fork Flathead River - Flathead Beacon
> 
> 
> A local 43-year-old man died yesterday after his raft flipped in whitewater rapids below Moccasin Creek on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, according to Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino. The sheriff’s office received a report of an individual thrown from a boat at around 3 p.m. on June...
> ...


Heard through the grapevine that he flipped in Pinball which is normally really mellow...but has some strange hydraulics from the laterals on each side.
It's only 3 river miles from Pinball to West Glacier, and at 24k, the river was probably moving 9-10mph so it was some distance..but not much time.

Friend of mine was on the Moccasin run on Sunday at 15k and she said, _"It was pretty clean no hazards, logs on the banks but the river path is clear. Pin ball does have a swirly with hydraulics kinda of a lateral on the right the hole is on the left"_

There's a photo on the UW Rugby Facebook page in memorial. Looks like high flows (brown water and no bank showing)...and he's wearing a PFD but no immersion protection. Not sure if it was a photo from 6/21 or a similar day. The water was 45ºF on the Main last week, so couldn't have been more than that temp in the MF.  A fit guy without much body fat isn't going to keep his core warm very long.
*Please friends, wear not only your PFD but also your drysuit on cold water. Even if the air is 75°F.*

Turns out my wife knows his family through 4-H. Sounds like he was a really good guy.


----------



## Pinchecharlie (Jul 27, 2017)

Sucks man. High water is just all together different and shockingly powerful. My heartfelt condolences to his family and his friends.


----------



## Tanaman (Nov 13, 2020)

MT4Runner said:


> The MF has been HUGE this June. Not 1964 huge, but near historical max flows. It looks like they hit it right on the peak flow on 6/21.
> View attachment 78825
> 
> 
> ...


Very Sad. 
Thanks MT4 for putting out the info. Might not see these levels again for a while but if we do, it's always nice to know where the keeper holes will show up.


----------



## greenwave77 (Feb 14, 2020)

This is very sad and I feel for friends and family and partners. I have run this section at around 20k and it’s a powerful river at that level. Most of it is straight forward big pushy water but the hydraulics created at that rapid at high flows (assuming it’s the same one I’m thinking of) get nasty on river left. And could easily hold a swimmer under terminally even with a high quality PFD. And at flows under 10k that spot is class 2. Again, to anyone reading this connected to the deceased I am so very sorry. I did not know him but sounded like a good guy to be on the river with and an asset to the community.


----------



## greenwave77 (Feb 14, 2020)

……and double to what MT4 said on immersion protection. A river full bank to bank and loss of equipment makes for a longer time in the water than what the core can take. I’ve taken a lengthy swim in freezing brown runoff WITH a full dry on and thin base layers and was so cold upon reentering a boat I couldn’t pull myself in nor stand when extracted. It SUCKS to climb into a dry suit and row your ass of when it’s 90 and blazing sunshine t here are times it’s mandatory


----------



## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

The river is usually 55°F this time of year.
It's 45°F right now and you lose muscle control/dexterity in 3-5min.
I'm with you, @greenwave77...it sucks having a drysuit and a thin base layer when the sky is hot...but if you swim, that thin base barely feels adequate--but is FAR better than nothing and direct skin contact with cold water. It hit almost 80°F on Saturday on the NF, but I still wore a drysuit.






Dress for the Water Temperature | cold water safety







www.coldwatersafety.org


----------



## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

So sad. My condolences to the friends and family, that's way too young to leave this world..


----------



## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

greenwave77 said:


> ……and double to what MT4 said on immersion protection. A river full bank to bank and loss of equipment makes for a longer time in the water than what the core can take. I’ve taken a lengthy swim in freezing brown runoff WITH a full dry on and thin base layers and was so cold upon reentering a boat I couldn’t pull myself in nor stand when extracted. It SUCKS to climb into a dry suit and row your ass of when it’s 90 and blazing sunshine t here are times it’s mandatory


My wife said that his wife had posted a report on her FB page.

_Gorgeous sunny 75°F day. The two of them and a college buddy went rafting. They'd run it before (but few had run it at this level).
The raft flipped somewhere around Pinball, and all 3 were ejected. The buddy got the wife to shore but was unable to locate Danny and he flushed all the way to the golf course. (3mi but probably only 15-20min at those flows)_

I can only imagine how terrifying it was for them not to be able to find or help him.

The photo I referenced in post #4 was a selfie of the 3 of them taken a few minutes earlier that day. He was wearing a performance long sleeve tee and compression shorts/pants. No wetsuit or drysuit, and it appears the other two were wearing the same.

The high water caused the flip, but I'm 110% certain it was the cold and not the high water that caused the fatality. I'll say it again: *Please friends, wear not only your PFD but also your drysuit on cold water. Even if the air is 75°F.*


----------

