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I was paddling with the person who was pinned. I could be wrong about many of these facts, but this was my impression:
He was a solid paddler, but had not run the river in several years, or at least not this year. He was following a very experienced person down the rapid who took the left line. He hit a rock, and I don't think realized how important it was for him to make the ferry over to the right, and went down the left. I think that he hit the tree jammed under Tombstone rock and it pushed him towards the undercut and wedged him into the slot.
He was completely under for 4-5 minutes, and his arms were trapped so that he could not free himself from his boat. Fortunately, when he lifted his neck up, he could create an air pocket from which to breathe. He said that he was losing strength when Scott came along and pulled him up out of his boat and sprayskirt.
A clarification: The name of the rapid is Lost and Found. F**K up falls is the big hydraulic BELOW Tombstone rock at the end of Lost and Found. Tombstone rock is the only place any paddler has died on the Upper Yough to the best of my knowledge.
I also heard of someone else taking the right line line that day, who I believe was a first-timer and did so simply becuase he or she didn't know any better and didn't have a guide. I wonder if there is any reason to be concerned if people are taking the Upper Yough too lightly. I mean, it isn't too hard, but a knowledgeable guide for the first half-dozen or so times down seems mandatory just because the time-frame doesn't allow for scouting everything, and there are definitely some nasty spots, like Tombstone, that can't be identified by reading and running, at least not until it is too late. I wonder if people are starting to look at the UY as just a standard IV, and thus eschew a guide.
Chris |
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My account of the incident and clarification New 
BoaterTalk 
