Actually it took more than one, however, it is also the rapid in which I proposed to my wife 31 years ago... Many make it through in good form... but it requires skill, concentration and effort... or else there may be carnage!
I only have one... but it's huge! ;-) We were young and stupid. When I showed this vid at the 20 year guides reunion many old timers came up to me and said "What the F...k were we thinking???"
I thought The Cheat at 7ft was scary and it was but that stuff is hard to even wrap your head around. Trying to picture some of those eddies is nightmare material. Im assuming it was hey diddle diddle and stay away from the Eddie's or were the rafts and oar rigs able to eddie out and back in?
@@Bizarreparade One had to scout every eddy line like it was Lava. Several rafts got sucked down to the frames doing 360's, all hands hugging in the center and praying to the river gods to be released.. and that was in the middle of the current. The whirlpools and eddies came and went like magic out of nowhere, and many eddy lines were 3-5 feet tall walls. One trip rowing snouts it took us from Bass (109 mile) to past Elves (117 mile) to all catch the same eddy what with the fast current, huge eddy lines and downstream wind. Amazing time for sure.
Sorry... which snout? The ones in Crystal? If so, nope... all Diamond motor boatmen doing their one or two trips a year on the oars. Otherwise let me know a time point.
Hi Jeffe, I saw this come up the other day that it had broken out. When I looked the other day the wind was heading to the north east across the Hwy and river and into the other planned burn area. Knowing roughly where your place is I was wondering how you were fairing. Hope all is going ok. I saw your fire video of some yrs ago some time back.
Thanks amigo... a bit frantic for a bit but we're all good. Check my Facebook page for visuals and commentary... we're glad they did it despite tons of competing burns and have their backs as they had ours. Writing a letter of support and thanks to the powers that be as we speak.
Having experienced this first hand with 35+- trips '79-'84 from CFS in the teens to highest recorded (1983) since the dam was built I truly appreciate this incredible piece for which those who created it clearly spent countless hours. Thank-you. Runoff following winter '82-'83 required Glenn Canyon Dam spillways to be raised. As to not blow the spillways out entirely as the concrete in thos spillways was not holding up. Working along Georgie at times collecting her crew and gear following another notch in her history of numerous flips over the years. She was not only a trend setter way before her time she was a warrior and legend that quickly gained respect of everyone that met her. Sun up to sun down, rarely was she seen without an open coors in hand. Times working along side Martin Litton, a true gift to behold. Another legend and wealth of knowledge. Gart Bundy-RIP Cowboy! truly missed and never did he meet one that didn't become an instant friend. What a joy he was to work with. All that met him were blessed by his keeping all as safe as possible and his light hearted & friendly spirit. There were certainly other along the way. Somewhere there are pictures I hope to see again one day of our crew, 4 boats gently backing down each rapid to slow our down stream movement as we hauled and successfully delivered a Jeep CJ, a generator, a dump truck and a backhoe to Phantom Ranch so that a water and if memory serves, a waste water plant could be built. Memories to extend for lifetimes.
Thanks for that. It took me a few years to collect all the footage and a lot of time learning Final Cut Pro and editing. Ironic that till she died Georgie denied ever flipping or killing anyone. I tried for decades to get up earlier than her and have a beer in hand, but never won that contest. I posted a vid on my site with Garth telling his second worst pain story. Loved that! If you ever find those shots you mention I’d love to get them! Could make for a third version.
2:28 that boatman, rondo, now has a bike shop in western colorado, i worked for him for a summer. Great dude. He's a real chill guy these days, if you spent your 20s battling that river i get it. Thanks for uploadin!
I always thought of him as a nice old timer. I found him watching this in his office while we were locking up, he started telling me some stuff about his days guiding. He watched an older guide flip his raft and go under once, they couldnt find him. Rondo had to run that section right after. He said "I didnt think about it much. I just had to keep rowing, keep the nose pointed downriver." Amazing.
The national parks service never warned those of us on lake powell houseboating, nor the rafters below, government agencies to not not be to blamed, repeat in Lahina
Was on a commercial trip during that week. our 30+ foot motor rig flipped in that hole after the guide thought it was a good idea to ram the boat in front of us that was stuck in it. Sat on rock alone for 3 hours while family swam for miles. A bit much for a 15 year old. But it was memorable.
Just watched, 7/7/23. I was there with Grand Canyon Dories (now absorbed by OARS) in June, 1986, same big water and all our dories got through upright, what a ride!
Yep, it's everything. Spending the time, energy and money making your place "defendable", and not being the hero turned to zero with the flipflops and garden hose on the roof is key. ;-)
Awesome! Just finished reading the Emerald Mile. I've rowed the Grand a few times but was a Cataract boatman back in the 90's and saw 50-70k many times in an 18' oar rig. It hit close to 70k this year and I can honestly say I'm not sorry I missed it!
Nothing on earth bigger than Cat at high water. I heard I was the first to row an 18 footer down there in ‘78. Nothing bigger than Crystal hole T 70k in ‘83, but it changed forever when it hit 100k and now ain’t the same. Some balls rowing Cat at high water amigo. The most awesome place on earth for sure.
We launched either the same day as McCallum or next day. But we were there when he called the Superintendent and told him basically "you show me a ranger whose had more experience under different water levels for so many years than I and I'll wait." So we managed to weasel our way into going (private trip) because we were already there and mostly ready. The NPS closed the river for about a week after we launched so we had lots of privacy. River was so fast we hardly scouted many rapids, they were mostly covered over, and we had longer days in camp, after getting there so fast. We didn't have any issues. And when we got to Crystal the ranger gave us the same spiel about passengers walking around and we just laughed and said we're all passengers and all boatmen (it was a relatively small group) so he let us all ride in rafts. I back-ferried into the big lateral close to right bank and made it fine, but then the current swept me and passenger towards the big waves which we just rode over the edges of and enjoyed that. One of our rafters blundered into the middle but did fine. When we got the helicopter sand bag note it was our first night I think. So we all got excited and moved our stuff too far, but the river was pretty wide there and didn't actually come up that much. That was my third full GC trip but I'd been rowing commercially on the Animas in Durango which isn't much of a river experience but the point is that that constant exercise and reading the water helped me on the Colorado. I went on to complete 12 full GC private trips in the 80's and early 90's, plus a half trip with some geologists in 1980, from Phantom Ranch down to Havasupai and we hiked out there and hitched back to Flagstaff. Prior to that I managed to ride on a commercial with snouts from below the LC confluence (on a backpacking trip) down thru Hance, stayed overnite with the group, and hiked back out the next morning after eating too much! Chuck Zemach has given a bunch of dialogue to (?)Tom Martin for the history of 1983, and he did make one boo-boo when he said that I portaged my raft thru Hance, when I actually lined it down the left bank until past the first nasties, then we jumped in and continued safely. Anyway, enjoyed the video.
Hah!!! Awesome to hear more background on our great friend Dick McCallum. Too funny. Thanks for that, I might use it in future if that's ok. Great you had so many trips down the Colorado in Grand Canyon... it feeds our souls, eh? Don't worry about some historical inaccuracies... we all make that mistake from time to time. I'm sure if you contact Tom he'll correct it for future reditions. Keep boating!
@@Jeffe01 I did contact Tom with a short memo and assume he corrected those misstatements. After being allowed on the river when the NPS wanted to close it, we all thought Dick was our "hero." But the run through was an experience of a lifetime. We spent a lot of time on the beach playing cards, doing our dayhikes early to beat-the-heat, not having to spend much time rafting or even scouting since most rapids were just covered over.
Might have been but... When we scouted it was pretty clearly a no-go zone, but everyone has their own run. More likely he wanted to hit what is normally the "ledge hole", which at this level was the most beautiful, smooth, exquisite ocean wave imaginable, right at the top. And he did. Thing is, we determined (rightly as it turned out) that anyone riding that wave was in for it since that water went straight into that monstrous hole downstream caused by what is usually called the "cheese grater" or black rock. In any case, he also lost his angle, and his snout riders turned out to be low-siders because they were upstream when he hit the hole. Bummer.
I was on one of the baloney boats (Georgie’s Royal River Rats) that flipped that summer. I was 14 years old. The fatality was a woman on our trip. Very sad. Strength of the current and thrashing of the rapids tore the clothes off her lower body. Life jacket kept her body afloat and she was recovered. Greatest nature adventure of my life, despite the tragic component. Rags Ragland, I’ve always remembered you and became a firefighter myself 6 years later.
Guide does superb job of recovering QUICKLY to avoid the rock wall at Lower Lava. Yes, it is often necessary to yell at the clients, who will not comprehend the urgency unless you do.
Thanks for that... as noted before: I'm in a fragile wood and fiberglass boat, and one gets exactly 2 minutes to right it before entering Son Of Lava, and slamming into the left wall and splintering the boat (not to mention hurting people). I've had a few snarky comments in this thread, but I'd bet a lot of money none of those snarks have ever rowed a dory in Lava Falls. If you look at videos of soldiers at war, or even just a war movie, when they're in a firefight they're yelling, not because they're scared, but because it's loud, and it's important ;-). If you look at the gal in the water's eyes (she's still a great friend), she's looking for direction... and she gets it. Finally not all the loud voices shouting directions are mine. In any case, we got the boat back over and all hands on deck within 2 minutes and just in time for me to row away from the wall. Whew. Everyone was rather thankful, me included (at 60 years old I did need help getting up on the overturned hull super fast, but how many 60 year olds are still guiding, and if it works, who cares how it's done eh?) I'm now retired since I found my skills hit a mark at 65 that I recognized as not up to my own standards. Now it's the young bucks (male and female) with the best dang job on earth! ;-) PS: I flipped in Lava one more time after this video, that time in the Big Cahuna on the right. I was 62 at the time and we righted the boat with all on board and me rowing within 1 minute and even before the tailwaves were over, so the technique was perfected perforce. The spotting boats downstream were coming out to help, stopped mid stroke with mouths agape when they saw me rowing with all hands in the tailwaves, and said "I thought you'd flipped!!" We just smiled.
@@Jeffe01 Jeffe I recognized it right away. Guided a bit myself, not in GC, but enough to recognize the urgency. The river does not "wait" or "give you time" or "pause." So, when something happens, like the Rolling Stones song "You Got To Move"! LOL Cheers amigo!
@@Jeffe01 Wow this is amazing and inspiring, I've always liked the Grand Canyon and want to come out and experience this I'm nearly 52 what's it like? and is flipping in those rapids scary? 😮
@@calebwigglesworth2740 I’m 69 and going back again the fall. It’s magical, powerful, and nearly a half century of world traveling clients have universally told me it was the best damn river trip on earth. Go!
@@Jeffe01 That's great and its sure gotta be one of the most spectacular and greatest places on the planet 🌏 Thank you, I'm definitely gonna go and take Girlfriend and few friends with me and have a great once in a lifetime adventure, film it then put my own music to it. Have you seen Canyon Dreams 1987 from Miramar? A music video album of the Canyon with great photography and Synthesized score?, its like John Muir was right its as if you found it after Death on some other Star 🌟. All the best on yr Fall trip back on the Mighty Colorado, I await my trip with Anticipation and excitement. Cheers. 👍
