Allright.  Lets set the tone straight.

It was an epic day on the Skykomish river, Mar 21, 2009.  We had 2 fairly new paddlers join us with one being on the run for the 1st time.  The river levels were in a state of chaos at the beefy level that is 2500cfs.  So much in fact that 2 people decided to portage BD and it turned a paddler into a swimmer there.  That is not the shocking story....  No sirree.  What opened my eyes along with everyone else was the fact that it took down one of the professor's of the paddle, not once but twice.... Yes.  You heard right.  Twice....  You must be thinking, he got worked in BD or Lunch hole...  Right?  The scenes of the crime are an unnamed class II rapid before Anderson's and the a wave after aquagasm. 
Unfortunately, I was unable to capture the moment since it happened so fast and so unexpectedly.  It was as if.... the river had it in for him.  I'm thinking he has bad river juju since this run was his last choice.  That's my theory...  I think tis true considering he managed to do BD just fine.  Basically what is captured is the aftermath.  

I had several titles in mind but the one I chose says it all.  
Some that came to mind are Epic Sky Run at 2500.  
Professor of the paddle gets schooled.  

Don't knock down the sky cuz she'll kick u down. (for those who take this river for granted and blow off the low flow runs) 

I want to set the record straight that I'm doing this all in good fun.  Not to bring the Leifer down.  He has this notion that me posting this video will ruin his reputation.  Which brings up the question.... Is someone's reputation ruined if he swims class II water?  I certainly hope not.  If I saw D4 swim the powerhouse a few times, I wouldn't hold it against him.  Heck, I would still ask him to show me the lines on FITW.  

I must admit that I too have swam the sky more than once on a single run. So hopefully I don't get knocked down cuz of it as well.  In Leif's defense, he was demoing a creeker and his outfitting was kind of jacked.

Sorry guys.  As you can tell from the video, the image quality is crappy. Somehow it was set to the lowest setting.  The photos however were set to the highest and the file size is just as big as the video.  <Sigh>. The boulder drop videos look like crap which is why I didn't post them.  My bad.  We'll have to do a do-over next time.

Check it out......

http://www.professorpaddle.com/media/albumview.asp?album_id=509

So the question for the week is ......  would you blacklist a paddler if they swam a class II rapid or does he get a free pass?  

I like Leif, he's funny!!!

Ouch, posting a video of someone swimming is about as classy as posting video of somone leaving the bathroom stall at work sans swamping.  I understand the humor though. :)

how about Vegas, Skim? have you ever been there?
you know what they say about it? it applies to the river as well.

what happens on the river stays on the river.
you've just set a precedent of ugly behavior with regards to how this site ought to be used.
the courts, juries, and whitewater municipalities have already decided their verdict, and weather you choose to acknowledge it you have been fined by the judicial system.
the air bubbles are screaming indignation
the green smooth tongues, normally silent, all agree you should be punished
the rocks will not let you slip out of a tight spot certain to find you in your future

skim skim you should know better
skim skim you shall be wetter
one day will come when you least expect
leaving you and your confidence wrecked

skim skim you're no better than him
skim skim...


funnywater loves to have fun
funnywater loves everyone
you say it's all in good fun
but there is nothing funny
about what you've just done

video is a powerful tool
not to be weilded by class II fools
if you hope to survive these drops and pools
you better learn to respect some rules

some are written and some are spoken
some once broken can be paid with a token
amount of learning from one's mistakes
some rules need to be set by one's self
ethics are a cornerstone to your personal health
and the doorways to community wealth

it would be best for you to acknowledge you are wrong, to avoid compound interest,as far as you're fine is considered. a good suggestion would be for you to remove that video. If left unaddressed, you fate on the river may be one to be feared.

don't look at me, the river has ruled
make no mistake you will be schooled

Alright everybody, put down the pitchforks and torches.

For me to justify this post is retarded.  I can't believe
I have to explain myself, but I guess some people need an explanation.

First, I consider Leif a friend.  We're close enough that we rank on each other.  I receive the brunt of it if more than anything.  And no I did not post this out of revenge.  Can't say the same for you funnywater. If you read the post, I noted that I too have swam the Sky twice as well.  I also defended his situation that it's due to a mis-outfitted boat.  So no this thread was not meant to be condescending to him whatsover.  Nowhere did I mention I'm better than him.  I don't know where that came from.  

I don't know if it's obvious or not, but there is no ill-intent on my post.  I spinned up the story with headlines to add humor to it, but apparantly some people got offended.  Hopefully, Leif brushes this off and gets a kick out of it too, but who knows.

I told him I would post this unless he gave me a good reason.  His main concern is that he feels people would judge him and not invite him to harder runs if I posted this.  I told him that he's silly to think that
people would do it and it made me curious.  As you can read from the post, I mentioned his concern and it became my concern as well.  Did you not read the last sentence?  The question of the week whether or not
people get blacklisted over freak of nature swims?  Maybe I shouldn't have exploited him out of my curiousity.  I think it's hypocritical for people to bash me for this and yet accept indirect references to a similar incident (a past post reference someone needing wine for bootie beer, which we all know who it is. chances are that swim was a lot more fatal than this lil stream thing).  Is that the PC way of doing things?  

Why don't you man up and let us know who you really are.  If you don't want to for whatever reason, you can PM me who you are.  I'll be sure to let no one know.   You have my word.  It will do both of us a favor.  I doubt you will since you like to hide behind your cover.  Obviously, you're offended by this post.  I'm more disturbed of the fact that you
want me to swim, and I would really appreciate it if you tell me who you are so we don't have to cross paths.  I would never wish someone to swim for any matter especially over something silly like this.  I can only hope that I can trust the people I go with will bail me out in times of need and not wait for me to swim especially if my
life is at stake.  As you can see from the footage, there is hardly a ripple and Leif's standing in the middle of the rapid.  I would not post footage if someone swam BD, lunch hole, or any significant rapid since swims should be taken seriously.  But if someone is standing in the middle of the rapid he just swam in and clears water out of his boat, I find it hard to believe he's in any danger. I think it's kind of funny seeing something like that happen.  Maybe some people think that's immature and I'm sure it can be viewed that way but it was done for the love really.  Since probably 95% of the peeps on this site know Leif, I'm sure they would get a good chuckle out of it because they know him as a friend and not to see it as a let down.  You can see he's giving me the finger in one of the pics.  I don't think it's out of anger but more like you're a punk.
I know Ryan, and I took it as a joke when he posts that I'm next or so I hope.  You Mr funnywater, I don't know what your deal is.  Saying I'm setting a BAD PRECEDENT and that I should ask for forgiveness is retarded. I may be wrong.  If others agree with your statement, then I would be more than happy to apologize.   

I know I will swim sooner or later.  I even mentioned it in my post I swam twice on the Sky just like Leif last year.  I also pointed out he did BD and lunch hole just fine.  I don't see the point in which I'm bragging or any of that sort.  I would be very happy if all my swims were the one's like Leifs.  Unfortunately, my swims are more than what I ask for.  I think the line is crossed once you want someone to eat it.  Maybe you've gotten screwed over one too many times. Maybe your mommy didn't hug you when you needed it.  I don't know what your deal is.

Perhaps you have trouble understanding people's messages and like to cast judgement without knowing all the facts.
 
So the real question is..... did I really go to far and post an inappropriate video of someone standing on a class II rapid draining his boat?  I would still like to know if people would judge someone based on this which is why I brought up D4 as an example.

I will man up and apologize if most people agree with your assessment.  I can only hope you man up and reveal yourself.

Since you're most likely gonna be a big pussy and not reveal yourself,
here's my take on you:

A.  You're Leif's secret significant other (we'll leave it at that)
B.  You're in love with him.
C.  Drinking all that funnywater gives you IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)

I personally think you're a leifblower (and i'm not referring to the lawn tool)

Maybe I'm a class II boater.  Who cares? 

JP, you know who I am.  I won't cop out behind a screen name (Samson).  It's sad to hear you want to see me swim too.  Thanks for showing me some cool lines on the Sky as well as FITW, but I need to be able to trust people who'll bail me out when the time comes.  No hard feelings.  I figured people would get a kick out of it since he's standing on the rapid he swam in unlike a beat down at lunch hole.  I had no intentions of making him look bad, but if you took it that way then I'm sorry if it offended you. 
 

Here I am Dave! Leaf, how many times have we heard that "my outfitting slipped...my skirt blew....I hit rocks...I got sucked out of my boat...I broke a paddle...etc" from you after a swim. You make too many excuses. That is the reason that people do not ask you to boat harder runs - because you never own up to your screw ups. I swim because I fuck the line up, same reason you do.   

Hugo, like everybody else, is sick of hearing your excuses.

...shit in your drysuit.  LOL i missed that earlier.  That would stink...

Hey Hugo, that sandwich looks good.  Needs some BBQ sauce awwn it though.

  There are hours of footage of me swimming, and I personally have hours of footage of Leif swimming.

Edited by Tobin - 24 Mar 2009 at 2:21pm

Dont forget way too much dill in the eggs as well.

This "Welch's" looks promising...