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 Post subject: Calgary kayaker killed
PostPosted: May 25th, 2010, 6:55 am 
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Location: Near Ottawa ON
http://www.calgaryherald.com/Calgary+ka ... story.html


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PostPosted: May 25th, 2010, 10:39 am 
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Location: sutton, ontario
thanks for posting.

I think this story proves that no matter how much experience you have, no matter how much preparation you do, unexpected things can and do happen.

My condolences to his friends and family.

lynda


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PostPosted: September 15th, 2010, 4:28 pm 
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Calls to mind the death of US Olympian slalom kayaker R. Weiss on a southern Washington ww river with huge drops.

I think that all those who run really steep drops know that powerful hidden forces are greatly magnified. It's part of the human adventure.


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PostPosted: September 15th, 2010, 6:25 pm 
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Location: southwest of Thunder Bay
ezwater wrote:

I think that all those who run really steep drops know that powerful hidden forces are greatly magnified. .



Do you think so? Coz from the standpoint of a bystander like me, it seems that it's the people who DONT do those things that know that.


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PostPosted: September 15th, 2010, 6:59 pm 
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Some who run these drops are very precise in their approach of running these drops and they are very serious in developing skills to succeed in surviving.
Then there are those that have big kahunnas and little grey matter with no skills (darwin award winners)
And back in the day when I was younger we ran many first decents, but sometimes s@#$ happens and little things go wrong and it ends up a bad story.
We have seen it happen in many of the boating deaths this year.
Putting one self at risk is not for everyone.
But the ability to run these harder rapids drops is providing a better argument to maintian our access on all our watersheds.
Jeff

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Choosing to save a river is more often an act of passion than of careful calculation. You make the choice because the river has touched your life in an intimate and irreversible way, because you are unwilling to accept its loss. — (David Bolling, Ho


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PostPosted: September 16th, 2010, 11:07 am 
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Never ran a drop higher than about a dozen feet (Husum Falls on the White Salmon) and at my advancing age, I'm more and more a bystander. Yet I know that some drops can be classed as pretty safe by analysis and experience, while others can be reliably classed as having obvious and hidden dangers.

Dangers may not become apparent unless many, many boaters and swimmers negotiate a drop. Lesser Wesser on the Nantahala was long regarded as a safe run and a safe swim. Then two swimmers dropped over the left side, snagged legs in a hidden crack, and died. What so many bystanders regarded as good harmless spectator fun suddenly killed people.

Sometimes the drop is blamed when a hidden health issue has intervened. I have had paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (paroxysmal meaning it happens only very rarely and then corrects itself) since I was 19 years old. It never interfered with competition rowing, but if it should happen to occur on the brink of a waterfall, I might fail to roll and drown. And autopsy would be very, very unlikely to determine that fibrillation had occured. I manage my risks accordingly.


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PostPosted: November 2nd, 2010, 10:49 am 
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Joined: October 23rd, 2010, 10:39 am
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Wayne9 wrote:
ezwater wrote:

I think that all those who run really steep drops know that powerful hidden forces are greatly magnified. .



Do you think so? Coz from the standpoint of a bystander like me, it seems that it's the people who DONT do those things that know that.


While taking risks has always been part of mankind's nature and entertainment I think it's gone way, way, way too far. Example, over 80 'climbers' died on one mountain in the past decade. One hundred people drowned in Ontario this past summer. But .. if people want to risk their lives, there is no way to stop them. Another factor .. not enough emphasis on safety in forums like this one.

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I think, in general, outdoor enthusiasts on internet forums should spend more time on the water, in the water, around the water, etc.


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PostPosted: November 2nd, 2010, 8:38 pm 
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Most of the folks I encounter on this forum have a very good working knowledge of safety. So more safety discussion might be like carrying coals to Newcastle. However, any of us is able to bring up safety topics, and I will try to raise some that need examination.


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PostPosted: November 2nd, 2010, 9:11 pm 
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Well we do seem to have, on a regular basis, discussions on PFD's in which some posters insist that we should wear PFDs even on a scorching summer's day on a calm warm lake, but I don't think that's the sort of thing you had in mind.

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