RMA Poudre Rock Report

Boaters- Now that the Riv has dropped below 5 I imagine there will be a whole lot of you looking to get up above the Filter Plant (myself included). Listed below is some Riv intel from fellow boaters. Names will not be given, but for those of you who recognize your work- thank you for the intel. I trust each of these boaters and the intel they provide. As usual, this is not an endorsement by the PRR, nor does the PRR assume any liability for your decision to play on the Riv (or anything that may happen to you if you choose to do so). Enjoy!

First- Steven’s to Poudre Park:
We did Stevens to Poudre Park and had a ball. The right run on 3-way was fine, Tunnel can be run mostly down the right side (that center hole is big!) the first big hole in Mish was big but could be skirted to the left (I guess by someone, not by me today, I wound up stalling in it for a few seconds). Ansel Watrous was a little bigger than I expiated (and bouncy!) Ouzel was smaller than I expected. We had thought about running PP/Pineview but kinda ran out of time and steam after a pretty much non-stop run. If I’m going to run Pineview at 4.9, I want to be fresh!

Next: Upper and Lower Rustic Runs:
For what it’s worth the wave at Norman Fry/Chapel
Bridge on Rustic changed. It used to be a full on
wave that was fun to try to surf. Not possible to now. At 5′
it’s more of an upstream V shape wave/hole. The water on the eddyline
on river right is much more boill. It still packs a punch when you hit
it, but tosses you further left now than it used to and isn’t really
playable anymore 🙁

Also, there’s 2 large trees, one looks worse from the road than it
really is, but is located below Profile Rock. It’s been there the last
3 weeks. This tree eliminates the left sneak on the second half of the
rapid, but is easy to avoid. The second tree is huge and is located
just downstream of Death by Decap/Dismemberment/Foo Fang Falls, whatever
you want to call it. It spans 2/3 of the river. You can run far right
or far left. It’s a big guy.

Everything else was as clean as normal. Heck, the eddy in Indian
Meadows that normally collects logs was mostly clean, much better than
the last few years.

Thank you and Boat Safe!

Peak flow dips below 5!! Still very bouncy at the Rock, eliminating any kind of accurate drive-by reading. Currently 41˚F, sunny and slightly breezy.

Gauges:
Hewlett Bridge- 5.16′ and 1963.3 CFS
Mouth of Canyon- 6.05′ and 3380 CFS
North Fork below Seaman- 5.66′ and 540 CFS
North Fork Livermore- 571 CFS

Today’s expected Wx: Sunny, with a high near 68. Northwest wind 6 to 13 mph becoming east in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.

Tonight Clear, with a low around 46. East southeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming west after midnight.

Another slight drop in Riv, but significant rain in the FCST for the high country. Currently 50˚F, overcast and damp.

Gauges:
Hewlett- 5.82′ and 2579.8 CFS
Mouth of Canyon- 6.56′ and 4060 CFS
North Fork- 670 CFS
Joe Wright snow depth 30″ with 18.1″ Snow Water Equivalent

Today’s expected Wx:
A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59. East southeast wind around 9 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Tonight A chance of showers and thunderstorms before midnight, then a slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47. Southeast wind 6 to 9 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

On Tuesday Evan and I assisted in the rescue of the women who tragically passed away after the raft she was on flipped in Tunnel Rapid. Our sincere condolences go to family and friends.

After much reflection over the last few days we’d like to make the following comments in an effort to minimize the chances of a repeat incident. We understand that a short a time has passed since Tuesday, but the river is very high today, and will remain so over at least the weekend, so we are compelled to comment now.

Our river at flood stage is extremely cold, fast and powerful. Surface waters reflect off the banks and push to the middle of the river. Rapids overrun the flat sections making it extremely difficult to swim to the shore. Currents can hold a well attired swimmer under water for long stretches of time. This setup considerably increases the risk of immersion hypothermia and flush drowning.

The woman was well dressed for the conditions, with a wetsuit, PFD and helmet. Despite this she became unconscious at some point of her swim. The rescue services responding to the incident had no effective way of reaching or dealing with an unconscious swimmer. About 15-20 minutes had passed when we came across the scene driving up the canyon. Once in our boats we were able to retrieve and pull the woman to shore within a couple of minutes and begin CPR. This confirms our experience that a boat based rescue by experienced, equipped people is the only fast and effective method in a situation such as this. In addition, kayaks provide a far more nimble option than rafts.

We implore boaters not to go it alone while rivers are so high. Have backup. Another boat at least. Preferably more. It is our opinion that raft trips should be backed up by experienced safety kayakers. And of course, should you end up swimming, be dressed for the frigid waters so you have more time to reach the shore.

In short… if you have to rely on outside resources for rescue, the chances of a tragic result rise greatly. Please respect the river.

Our goal here is to create awareness. Please share this opinion with friends, privately or publicly. Thank you.

Marty and Evan