Drowning on the Bruneau
Vince Thompson
Just heard a quick blip on the news that a female kayaker from
California has drown of the Bruneau River in Idaho. Does anyone have any
information about this?
The Bruneau is running around 1200 cfs. It's a technical somewhat boney
run at that level, at least in a raft. They mentioned that a rescue crew
would take about a 4 hour trip on mules to get to the boaters so I would
assume it happened in 5 mile rapid.
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Vince Thompson
Following is a sort article in the local paper:
"Owyhee County sheriff's deputies on Saturday recovered the body of a
California woman who drowned in a remote stretch of southwestern Idaho's
Bruneau river.
"Kathleen Callahan Anderson, 44, died while whitewater kayaking on Friday,
Sheriff Gary Aman said.
"A Utah woman who was with Anderson made her way to town late Friday night and
reported the accident that killed her companion, who was from Orinda.
"Aman said he hired a river outfitter to help his deputies in the recovery
effort. With mules carrying packboards, they hiked to a spot along the high
desert canyon above the river, which the sheriff said is running extremely high
and fast this time of year."
Again, not a lot of info. One could assume that the accident occurred in five
mile rapid, 1/2 way down the main Bruneau. The flow was in the 1,100-1,200
range on Friday. The river is fast and technical at that flow with most of the
rocks exposed and coming at you quickly. Most boaters consider 2,600-3,000 cfs
as entering the "extremely high" flow for the Bruneau.
Any one have the details?
Vince
Dr. Charles Pezeshki
Having done the Bruneau a couple of times, I'd call 1200 cfs on the low
side, with 5 Mile Rapid as the only rapid of consequence on the run, and
a staged series of drops at that level (and relatively easy--- Class
III+, -IV).
I can only speculate, but I suspect some freak aspect to the accident.
My condolences to the person's family.
Chuck
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Charles Pezeshki, Director
Clearwater Biodiversity Project
To check out my new book, "Wild to the Last: Environmental Conflict in
the Clearwater Country", go to
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ema...@buncombe.main.nc.us
In article <354C7E8C...@micron.net>#1/1,
A few more details, this time from the San Francisco
Chronicle:
Esprit's Top Lawyer Killed In River Rafting Accident
by Glen Martin, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, May 4, 1998
Friends and colleagues of Kathleen Callahan Anderson,
head legal counsel for Esprit de Corp., were shocked
yesterday to learn that the experienced kayaker drowned
Friday in an accident on a remote Idaho river.
Anderson, 44, of Orinda, died when she apparently was
unable to right her capsized kayak on a rapid on Idaho's
Bruneau River.
Keith Miller, a friend of Anderson's and the owner of
California Canoe and Kayak, a chain of whitewater equipment
stores in the Bay Area and Sacramento Valley, was stunned
when he heard about her death.
``My God, I can't believe it,'' Miller said. ``She was a
good boater, a competent boater. This is awful.''
The Bruneau is a high-desert river in southwestern Idaho
renowned among river-runners for its remoteness, austere
beauty and steep-walled gorges. Anderson was kayaking the
river with a friend, Barbara Schuster, of Utah.
The mishap apparently occurred as Schuster led the
way down a rapid. She waited for Anderson at the bottom.
When Anderson didn't appear, Schuster got out of her
boat and hiked up the bank next to the rapid and spotted
Anderson's body in an eddy.
An attempt by Schuster at cardiopulmonary resuscitation
was unsuccessful. She then hiked out of the rugged river
canyon and contacted authorities. Anderson's body was
retrieved late Saturday by a local outfitter.
Anderson's death is apparently the first fatality of
the western river-running season. Concerns over whitewater
mishaps have grown in the past two years because kayaking
death statistics have climbed abruptly.
The concern is particularly acute this year in California
because the huge snowpack left by El Nino assures a long
and tempestuous whitewater season.
Anderson was an experienced kayaker who had travelled the
world in search of whitewater adventure. She also regularly
ran rivers in the Rocky Mountain states, as well as the
Pacific Northwest and the California Sierra.
As the head legal counsel and vice president of
administration for Esprit, the trendy San Francisco
clothing firm, Anderson also was widely known in the
north state's legal and fashion spheres. She received
her law degree from the University of California at
Berkeley.
John Ordona, a spokesman for Esprit, said Anderson
was his friend and mentor.
``She worked here 10 years, and she'll be very deeply
missed,'' he said. ``She was an avid kayaker, and an
avid outdoorsperson in general. She was one of the head
organizers of the Esprit ski team.''
The Bruneau River offers runs of varying difficulty.
``Some of it is pretty tough,'' said Bev White, a
spokeswoman for the Owyhee County, Idaho, Sheriff's
Department. ``It's also really remote -- it's hard to
get in and out of there.''
Anderson and Schuster had opted to run a 25-mile
stretch of the river characterized by Class 3 rapids.
Whitewater is rated on a scale of class 1 to class 6,
class 1 consisting of small riffles and class 6
generally viewed as ``unrunnable.'' Class 3 rapids
are considered suitable for intermediate boaters.
Peter Sturges, a close friend of Anderson's and the
owner of Otter Bar Lodge, a wilderness resort and kayak
school on the Salmon River in northwestern California,
said he considers Anderson's death a fluke because she
was a cautious boater who did not overestimate her
abilities.
``She took a three-day tune-up class from us just
before she left for Idaho, and she was looking good,''
he said.
Also, said Sturges, the section Anderson and Schuster
chose to run wasn't particularly difficult.
``They had decided not to do another run on a nearby
tributary because the water was too high,'' Sturges
said. ``She wasn't reckless. Before she left, she
called for the flow information on the Bruneau, and
it turned out it was optimum."
-- Chris
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Rob Gendreau
To add a couple more details to the posts on Ms. Anderson's death on the
Bruneau:
The Contra Costa Times reported that the accident happened at 5 mile
rapid. Ms. Shuster went back upriver, and saw Anderson swimming. She tried
to reach her with a throw rope, but by the time she got to her she was
unresponsive. The article mentioned that Anderson was unconscious only 30
seconds after she was last seen swimming.
Condolences.
Bill Tuthill
Rob Gendreau (gend...@ccnet.com) wrote:
>
> The Contra Costa Times reported that the accident happened at 5 mile
> rapid. Ms. Shuster went back upriver, and saw Anderson swimming. She tried
> to reach her with a throw rope, but by the time she got to her she was
> unresponsive. The article mentioned that Anderson was unconscious only 30
> seconds after she was last seen swimming.
Low-flotation PFD by any chance?
I'm starting to get angry at a whitewater "industry" that seems to be
giving us increasingly dangerous equipment: playboats, low-profile helmets,
low-flotation life vests, drytops unsuitable for swimming...
This woman sounds like my friend who died in Carson Falls-- successful,
popular, generous-- and I am sorry it happened to her.
SaunaSpice
Don't buy inadequate equipment.
patrickatcyberhighwaydotnet
admin@loopback $LOGIN@localhost $LOGNAME@localhost $USER@localhost
$USER@$HOST -h1024@localhost ro...@mailloop.com
Daniel R. Gore
Bill Tuthill wrote:
>
> Low-flotation PFD by any chance?
>
> I'm starting to get angry at a whitewater "industry" that seems to be
> giving us increasingly dangerous equipment: playboats, low-profile helmets,
> low-flotation life vests, drytops unsuitable for swimming...
Don't buy a playboat! They are "dangerous equipment"!
Next, you will get angry at the cuttlery industrie for selling knives
that are sharp and could hurt someone.
> This woman sounds like my friend who died in Carson Falls-- successful,
> popular, generous-- and I am sorry it happened to her.
Most people are sorry for the loss of life. Nobody wants that. But to
blame the industry for providing specialized equipment for special
performance is rediculous.
Buy a good helmet that is comfortable. It does not mean it will always
protect you in all situations.
Buy a performance Kayak that you can control well. It does not mean it
will always keep you from pinning.
Buy a good life jacket that will float you sufficiently. It does not
mean it will float you upright, face up, and well enough all the time.
I have a Coast Guard approved life vest. I have been sucked down at
least 8 to 12 feet in a whirlpool. S??? happens on rivers. Try to
prevent and be ready. But let me buy the performance equipment I see
fit for my play needs. I want to be able to buy that squirt boat to
sink with control on class IV fun.
Dan
Roger Lynn
On 5 May 1998 18:18:00 GMT, tut@ishi (Bill Tuthill) wrote:
>Low-flotation PFD by any chance?
>
>I'm starting to get angry at a whitewater "industry" that seems to be
>giving us increasingly dangerous equipment: playboats, low-profile helmets,
>low-flotation life vests, drytops unsuitable for swimming...
The industry is not to blame for giving us what some of us want. BTW,
I am seeing a lot more rescue vests on people today than we had 5
years ago. And the boats now have broach loops and keyhole cockpits.
If anything the industry is trying to give us safer equipment,
partially because they are tired of being sued by people and their
families who don't truly understand the risks, and costs of error, in
our sport.
>
>This woman sounds like my friend who died in Carson Falls-- successful,
>popular, generous-- and I am sorry it happened to her.
>
Our condolences go to her family and friends. May they take some
solice in knowing she died doing something she loved.
Roger Lynn
Safety Chair
CWWA
http://www.earthnet.net/~cwwa