Accident on the Sky
Printed From: ProfessorPaddle.com
Category: General
Forum Name: Whitewater Forum
Forum Discription: Open Discussion Forum. Whitewater related subjects only
URL: http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5556
Printed Date: 17 Jun 2025 at 1:44am
Topic: Accident on the Sky
Posted By: tradguy2
Subject: Accident on the Sky
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2007 at 10:22pm
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I just saw on the news some guy has his foot/leg trapped somehwere on the Sky. Luckily he was rescued. Looked like it could have been BD. Anyone know anything about this? ------------- ... preparing for a river beating! |
Replies:
Posted By: Jimmy
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 8:20am
| http://www.king5.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=166787 |
Posted By: Courtney
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 8:25am
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Looks like he was on the left side of the entrance just above Airplane Turn at Boulder Drop.
Courtney
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Posted By: James
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 8:29am
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Its a good thing that he was ok ... being on the most dangerous rapid on any river is not the place you want to get stuck! Anyone buddies with Mr. Kemp! He's Famous and has been the conversation piece for about 10 of my co-workers. Hey you kayak right? Did you hear.... yea yea yea ------------- |
Posted By: Tobin
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 9:08am
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I love the phone call I got from my mother,
You dont kayak THAT river ? Do you? ------------- Sure? |
Posted By: Jimmy
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 9:19am
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Originally posted by James
He's Famous and has been the conversation piece for about 10 of my co-workers. Hey you kayak right? Did you hear.... yea yea yea I'm getting good mileage out of it at work. I've been telling people "Yea, I run that rapid". If my wife didn't read the posts on here I would tell ya'll about the women that wanted me to sign their boobs!
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Posted By: Otter Boy
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 10:13am
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Has anyone ever died on the Skykomish? I remember a death on the NF Sky a couple years ago, but don't recall any accidents on the main.
- B
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Posted By: cronar
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 11:21am
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Yep, way back. That's why the sign is up by the confluence bridge stating helmets required. -N |
Posted By: tradguy2
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 12:27pm
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If I recall correctly the guy who died was a teenager who decided to run BD in a cheap raft with his brother and no pfd. ------------- ... preparing for a river beating! |
Posted By: ashleygoesdisco
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 2:02pm
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Originally posted by newtobin I love the phone call I got from my mother, You dont kayak THAT river ? Do you? ![]("smileys/smiley36.gif") Two of my friends texted me last night. "Are you alive?!" "We heard about an accident on the Skykomish River, if you don't respond, I'm calling the po-po on you!!"LOL. ------------- Ashley Duffus Well behaved women rarely make history. www.naiyadays.blogspot.com |
Posted By: franzhorner
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 2:36pm
There was a fatality associated with a commercial trip on the Sky about
10 years ago...It was a big water trip and the raft flipped somewhere
in the picket fence. the guide of that boat told me his client
was pulled out of the wier....![]("smileys/smiley6.gif")
------------- MORE RAIN PLEASE |
Posted By: joshcrossman
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 2:52pm
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that's one more reason I don't IK. and isn't the sky too low anyway?
------------- i like it when it rains |
Posted By: Otter Boy
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 3:00pm
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Tragic as those deaths are, based on this informal survey I'd say driving Highway 2 over Stevens Pass is more dangerous the running the Sky.
- B
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Posted By: bronkrdr
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 3:02pm
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Talked to a County Sheriff's Deputy at the Big Eddy takeout who said they actually have a number of bodies they pull out of that river in a given year. I think he said last year it was something like 20. He could have been full of it, too. He also said that they can ticket people for being on the river from above Index down to Big Eddy if they don't have PFD's or helmets. ------------- I drink rum and wear my wife's underwear when no one is looking! |
Posted By: franzhorner
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 3:12pm
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The problem with IK's is that usually greenhorns are using them.
When I had my Stiletto out in WV people thought I was crazy for wanting
to run the Cheat. The host of our campground even called
Jim Snyder and asked him what he thought. Jim recommended against
us taking a ducky down the Cheat. He did this because he figured
anyone with a duckie must not know what the heck they are doing.
We did it anyway and made some believers out of the off-duty raft
guides when I surfed Big Nasty and endered out... Most accidents like this are a result of poor boater skill, knowledge, or drunkeness. The craft should not be blamed for somebody going into the Lemming Chute and getting pinned. Also, I don't know about you but I would much rather be pinned in an inflatable kayak than in a hardshell. Boat preference should have nothing to do with knowing where the heck you are going or knowing how to paddle.... the Sky is never too low ... Horner. ------------- MORE RAIN PLEASE |
Posted By: slickhorn
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 3:50pm
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hey ... some of my best lines are the result of drunkeness!
------------- |
Posted By: cronar
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 4:41pm
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I like IK's. They make getting across those pesky holes a lot easier. That is when they are parked in them that is. Sorry Brian, too many times boating with you and Chatham to resist the slam. -N |
Posted By: tradguy2
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 4:44pm
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For an "experianced" boater, as this guy was reported to be on the news, he took a pretty unusual line. Of course, this does not mean he isn't experienced. He could have just been trying to make things interesting, but it does make me wonder. ------------- ... preparing for a river beating! |
Posted By: slickhorn
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 5:11pm
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Originally posted by cronar I like IK's. They make getting across those pesky holes a lot easier. That is when they are parked in them that is. Sorry Brian, too many times boating with you and Chatham to resist the slam. -N ha, I swim more than anyone I know except chronic dave! ------------- |
Posted By: SupaSta
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 5:28pm
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Originally posted by Jimmy
[...women that wanted me to sign their boobs! Of course, I would NEVER do something like that either, no matter how much they begged. That would be wrong.
![]("http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/smileys/smiley1.gif") Dan
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Posted By: clandestine
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 5:59pm
| Well ,I got a close view of everything yesterday afternoon , these guys (3) on IKs were walking their boats , literally, down the Northfork of the Sky , they had put in at Trout creek , wich is amazing they made it all the way down to the confluence due to the minimum amount of water coming down right now on the NF, we got to see them when we were driving over the bridge at Index , and they had their life jackets and helmets which seemed to be fine other than that there was not H2O , and it was kinda funny to see them walking the last rapid before the bridge... anyway it was pretty hot yesterday so Chris and I decided to go for a cooling Kayak run down the Sky from the confluence to split rock ; like one hour later after we saw these guys over here , with no idea what they were really doin'...we put in and by the time we got to the Boulder Drop there was some fisherman looking at something from the river right side , so after the first turn around the Scallop rock at the entrance (middle) we noticed there 2 IKs stuck on the far left, close to the big rock of the left side , so chris eddied out next to the IKs to try to let them go ,after a few times trying to move them she came back over to the right and said , Let;s go around to see if everybody is OK , so we did ...Big sorprise , just getting on the bubble pool we turn to see to the left and there is this guy facing upstream , he is hanging with his arms on the two rocks next to him , in this tide shoot , with water up to his chest and his pants half way down , and he has this face of Oh Shit!! and a half smile on his face,like he knew he 's screwd and can't do anything about his shorts anyway.. . , actually the Goldbar rescue team was on the river left side of the Boulder drop and they just got there like 5 minutes before while we where messing with the IKs on the entrance and they had him with a rope around his chest , pulling upstrem preventing his body from going over backwards totally under water , which could be the worst picture at that moment since his leg was totally wedged up to the knee in between rocks and with a wetsuit totally around his legs pushing down ..So Chris decides to hop out of her boat on top of a sumerged rock and then scrambled over to him since it was really close to get to him from the top of the Bubble pool(river left) . I didn't get out cuz' there was no way to get the boats out of the water so I just cliped my tow tether to her boat and hold there ..Chris gets there , talk's to him really quick ,and reached down to pull his shorts back up ... then she try's to see what's going on under water , she reached her hook knife and started to cut off the wetsuit , that reduced the pressure of the water a little bit on the legs , she called the people on the other end of the rope to pull while she tried to push him out , but is really hard to pull his leg out of there still , so she turned to me and screamed to me she needs help quick ... I pealed of to my left towing her boat behind me throught the bubble pool towards the airplane turn concerned if the other boat flips behind me it might get me in trouble, but it was pretty easy ,lucky me , I eddied out , got the boats to dry rocks and got back into the water without my skirt , it was actually really easy to get to the rock were the victim was from the down stream side . I get there he is shivering, and Chris has a plan , I got I piece of webbing out of my pfd and a carabiner , she made a harness around him and set him on a secondary line besides the one that he has around his chest which is the stabilization line , there is the whole team of firefighters holding on the ropes and Chris gave them the pulling comand , while she and I are pulling up from each side of the harness , Scott was this guys name , cryed from the bottom of his lungs , !Oucchhhh!! my leg.... while he got free .... the ropes got him quick and safe to shore with some hypothermia a |
Posted By: tradguy2
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 6:13pm
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THanks for the info, as I suspected, the term "experienced" means different things to different people. Glad you were there to help, good karma.
THis should be a good reminded to all of us to be careful at low water, pins and entrapment are much more likely. ------------- ... preparing for a river beating! |
Posted By: franzhorner
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 6:40pm
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Awesome job! Its knowing there are people out there like you that gives me an extra bit of confidence on the river for me, my friends, clients, and dudes like Scott! Way to go! Luck and speeedy thoughtful rescue works nice...
There was an accident on the NF Payette this weekend that wasn't so lucky and had a very sad ending. A fella named Conrad passed on after his buddies strong swam a bunch of times to get him. This happened near Nutcracker in a gnarly piece. They heroically got him to shore but an hour of resusitation didn't save him. He was quite a boater and a beloved member of the NF community..... ------------- MORE RAIN PLEASE |
Posted By: water wacko
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 7:46pm
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Take a Swiftwater Rescue class!!! Take a CPR class!! First Aid too!!! After taking a WFR class last year I was frightened and could not understand why everyone on the planet hadn't taken a basic first aid and CPR class. They could be incorporated in the public schools as part of the health classes. One a year, every year for 12 years? Something's gotta stick. You know? ------------- "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ~Howard Thurman |
Posted By: clandestine
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 9:09pm
| in the last 20 years , there is 3 reported deads on the Sky on the comercial sections , and a few other in the waterfalls of the south fork around 8 total |
Posted By: clandestine
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 9:21pm
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VALLEY CO. - One man is dead after a kayaking accident on the Payette River in Valley County Sunday.
The accident happened near Highway 55 at milepost 91 just south of Smith's Ferry. Rescue workers tried to revive Conrad Forney, but were not successful. Cascade Ambulance and Valley County Sheriff's officials arrived on scene, and Life Flight was called out. Forney was a skilled kayaker, and helped rescue a fellow kayaker in November. He is the second experienced boater to die on the river this summer. Dean Fairburn drowned on July 1st when his foot was pinned against a rock. |
Posted By: ashleygoesdisco
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2007 at 11:33pm
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After reading this, I'm totally skipping spring quarter and just getting certifications galore.
------------- Ashley Duffus Well behaved women rarely make history. www.naiyadays.blogspot.com |
Posted By: Tobin
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2007 at 6:44am
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Originally posted by ashleygoesdisco
After reading this, I'm totally skipping spring quarter and just getting certifications galore. Wow the dedication to college of young people today ![]("http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/smileys/smiley33.gif") ------------- Sure? |
Posted By: bronkrdr
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2007 at 7:42am
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There's a time and place for everything... Its called college. I spent 6 years there and came out with a B.S. in BS. I done did get me some of dat dere edumaction. ------------- I drink rum and wear my wife's underwear when no one is looking! |
Posted By: ashleygoesdisco
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2007 at 11:21am
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Originally posted by newtobin Originally posted by ashleygoesdisco After reading this, I'm totally skipping spring quarter and just getting certifications galore. Wow the dedication to college of young people today Hey. No one said I wasn't going to finish college. Plus I'm going to a tiny private school next year. And skipping a quarter is completely different from skipping a quarter at a university. ------------- Ashley Duffus Well behaved women rarely make history. www.naiyadays.blogspot.com |
Posted By: Tobin
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2007 at 12:19pm
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No Worries Ash,,
Take a SRT class from Chris, or I think Jonathan is an instructor now?
The ability to deal with an "issue" is very important, however I am kicking myself for not having the ability to prevent an issue!
The fact that 5-6 others missed it, including Ambre, is shocking! It doesn't matter what your boating ability is, it should always be " safety first"
I have noticed a trend, myself included, of the " follow me " mentality. Is there anything wrong with setting safety on BD for a first run through? Swimming Boulder, and I only use it as a common example, SUCKS! Why swim above the fence and only get help in the eddie? It's easy to get someone to shore in the pool. It's the complacent attitude that we have towards things we have already done, just because we have, doesn't mean they have.
I am not scathing anyone! Repeat ANYONE!! I am an obvious offender! But it's a matter of perspective. My first real river ( aside from Powerhouse ) was the Tieton, I trusted the guys that said I wouldn't have a problem. I got my royal ass kicked, I swam 8 times. I had someone offer to take me to the hospital that evening!
The fact that Ambre is my girlfriend and I introduced to kayaking ( with her first river ever resulting in a dislocated shoulder, and an extensive rehab) I feel a sence of responsibility for her well being. She is ultimately resposible for her own safety, learned through judgemant and experience, but I have a responsibility also, it's the same responsibility I feel for amyone I boat with, it's a team sport.
I suppose the guy getting entrapped in BD this week has a part to play in my thoughts, but its a good thought process.
------------- Sure? |
Posted By: water wacko
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2007 at 6:30pm
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For those interested I'm putting together an Intro to Creekin' class next spring. It'll be a one day affair on an easy creek with the main points being scouting/boat scouting, safety and judgement. A great class for sure. Plan on a full 8 hours. ------------- "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ~Howard Thurman |
Posted By: SupaSta
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2007 at 8:47pm
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Originally posted by water wacko
For those interested I'm putting together an Intro to Creekin' class next spring. It'll be a one day affair on an easy creek with the main points being scouting/boat scouting, safety and judgement. A great class for sure. Plan on a full 8 hours. Looking forward to it!
![]("smileys/smiley20.gif") Make it a weekend and give me lots of notice and I'll be there.
Dan
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Posted By: water wacko
Date Posted: 17 Aug 2007 at 9:07am
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PM me if you want one day or two day. The two day version would have a full day of kayak rescue for the second day. ------------- "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ~Howard Thurman |
Posted By: Wiggins
Date Posted: 18 Aug 2007 at 10:21am
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I don't doubt that Sno County pulls about 20 bodies out of the Sky a year. The Skagit River is not nearly as popular a recreation spot and we pull about 10 out of it each year. I seriously doubt they are all kayakers. Most are probably suicides or shore folk who make a mistake and end up in the water.
This year for some reason there is a unusually large number of people who venture out into the river in a boat with no motor or paddles (at least on the Skagit). I think their basic plan is to use the log jams and their oarless row boat to make the river a giant game of plinko. They may not have PFD's, but at least they make up for it by tying themselves to the boat.
Kyle ------------- I smell bacon |
Posted By: water wacko
Date Posted: 18 Aug 2007 at 9:31pm
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Everybody knows you tie yersef to the boat. That way it dudint get away ferm ya. ------------- "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ~Howard Thurman |