All,

Wanted to post this sad article to keep your guard up while running the rapids.  As a guide on the South Fork this is my worst nightmare.  
Please be careful while boating.  This is from Yesterday...

From news10.net/storyfull2.as…

"A rafting outing on the American River ended tragically Saturday when a 13-year-old girl's foot caught in rocks and family and sheriff's divers couldn't save her.

Ten people on two rafts were floating south of the Chili Bar put-in on the South Fork of the American River in El Dorado County when the watercraft entered rapids known as the "Meat Grinder." A father and daughter in the first raft bounced out in the turbulent waters. The girl, identified as Christine Piatti of San Rafael, headed downstream and went underwater. Her father Mark Piatti tried to reach her but couldn't because of the swift current.

The group beached their rafts and Piatti again went out to rescue his daughter but he couldn't free her from the rocks where her ankle was wedged.

The El Dorado County Sheriff Department Search and Rescue Dive Team was summoned but couldn't retrieve the girl, who was under several feet of water, from the dangerous current conditions. The river flow was recorded at 2,500 cubic feet per second Saturday. The typical flow for this time of year is 1,500 cfs.

Pacific Gas & Electric and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District were requested to reduced river flows through their dams so divers could recover the victim's body at first light this morning.

Judging by how the victim's leg was trapped, the sheriff's dive team believe the fast-moving current forced the girl backward and underwater.

The victim and all others in her group were wearing life vests and several had rafting experience."

That's terrible. What class is that rapid...does anyone know?  Just goes to show that you can't ever be too careful. I went down North Folk Stanislaus this year and half of the boats in our trip dumped people. Next year, Cherry Creek!

This is so sad.....and I was just going to plan a white-water raft trip with friends.

Kam,

Meat Grinder is a quarter mile of sustained Class III.

Class 3 should be doable. I was thinking, I hope they didn't have that kid on a class 5 or something. But yeah, anything can be dangerous if you get stuck in rocks.

b g -

I have been bugging my boyfriend to go up with me to do this very route....Now I am freaked out! I know these things happen - hey driving a car is probably just as dangerous but it still spooks me.

With your experience do you find that this time of year the currents are a bit too strong? Or was this a freak accident?


Sari

My friend just sent me the article......
 Well the sad thing is that I was there when it happened.  Her cousin waas yelling at us to call 911.  What is even worse there were 5 of us who are nurses and we couldn't do anything.  We were the first boat to go down the rapids after she drowned and the sheriff wanted us to look for her since they could not locate her.  We saw her under water, but could do nothing.  It was the most helpless feeling.  I again saw the family later that day when returning to get my car.  It made me very sad.  I'm glad to know they were able to recover her and give the family some closure.  I talked with the campsite owners and they said it happens very often.  Sometimes they never even find people when they drown.  I have been on this route 3 times now and on Saturday the rapids were wicked that day.  They were close to a class 4.  Several people in our boats fell out at the same exact place where she had fallen out.  I'm glad we had an experienced guide and made it down safely.

Vibrance

I've been guiding and teaching both guiding and swift water rescue on that river for a few years.  This is no freak accident.  At risk of sounding quite callus, this poor child is another statistic.  Every year people drown and that rapid is on of the more fatal statistically speaking.  

That being said, boating has inherent risks and when those risks are managed with education, skill, practice, they are not eliminated, they are simply managed.  A lot of people are very caviler when it comes to running rapids.  The uneducated and untrained people who go on these trips need to listen and pay attention and do what the guides tell them to do.  The cause of this girl's drowning, from what they can gather, is from her trying to stand up in the river.  No guide would ever tell anyone to stand up in a river until you are in less than a foot of water.  I have swam that entire rapid on more than one occasion.  It is swim-able, but you have to keep your feet up and out in front of you.  "Swimmers Position" can and will save your life.  

Please listen to your guides and do what they tell you.  Pay attention to the safety talks, buckle up your PFD correctly and make sure you know what to do if and when you fall in.   Lastly, don't mix alcohol with white water.  



Alli,

I am so very sorry you had to experience that.  There are few things in this world as sad as a child dying and there are even fewer things than a river rescue to make you feel powerless to help.

Thanks bg I am trying not to be a paranoid liver of life - so I may just go especially since I have already been when I was younger. Good advice and thanks for keeping it real.

Sari