Looks like a fun rapid, but class 6 means that if you swim death or suffer serious injury are almost guaranteed. I agree with Drew; low consequences probably make this a 4.
as a 11 year whitewater guide from CA, this is NOT class 6. class 6 is simply not runnable. If you want the biggest commercially run river in the USA, come up to Cherry Creek on the upper Tuolumne River.
The rafting company is known as "Class VI Rafting". PS: Class VI is not unrunnable. It just rarely happens, and before they added 5+ (aka 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, etc.) there were a large number of rapids in the Southeast that were known as runnable Class VI rapids. The thinking that Class VI is unrunnable is a new age way of thinking because if a Class VI is run enough times it is usually reclassed these days.
i love ww rafting its a lifelong summer ritual but the threat of randomly tipping over & getting fatally caught under a rapid like this spooks me just a bit every trip. my home base is the Middle/South Forks of the American River, eg tunnel chute & meat grinder. cheers!
definitely not class 6. I would classify this as 4 because of the low level of risk with a swimmer. The water is big, but if you swim you get washed into a big pool at the bottom.
That guy in the right front of the first raft got what he deserved for smacking the rock. I don't let my crew do that, I've seen too many preventable injuries. 👎👎
The room of doom. Hmmm not a 6 but do not say it has no consequences during a swim. It tends to push swimmers to the bottom of the river about 20 ft deep below vw rock
There is only one grade V on that river, and it's built up as being a lot more than it really is. It's an ok ride, but nothing remotely close to rivers like the Zambezi. And no you definitely won't die. :)
as a side note there is absolutely no chance of you staying on your feet. I tried once in nepal and was thrown sideways... And got then sucked into a class 4 rapid...
It doesn't take much water for foot entrapment to happen. The current pins your foot against a rock and you don't have enough strength to pull it free. I was involved in a rescue where someone's foot was caught and the flow was only 125 cfs.
ed schlater I'm 16 and went on the upper gualey earlier today for my first rafting trip ever. Wasn't bad at all lol. Fell out 3 times but we somehow made it through swallows falls backwards without going out. Was much better than I expected.
Because water is a super powerful force, maybe they should tell people rafting the Gauley in WV is not a joke. That bitch is bad, class 4 , 5,and 6 are common. I've only been rafting once in my life at Cantrell, I'd say that it was fun but I'm not going to do it again. Honestly that's just because I'm afraid of water. That shit is strong so I definitely respect it. Lots of people are aqua phobic.
JudeBoys you never stand in running water because your feet can get wedged under a rock and the water will force you face down in the water and you will drown. I've seen it happen in less than a foot of water. Good question though.
