Rising star killed in attempt to master extreme kayaking 

Man, respect to the guys who got her out. how horrible of an accident. r.i.p. Shannon

Shannon and I were from the same small town in appalachia, population around 2000, where not many escape the clutches of addiction. She was a light to our community, a local legend. Call it arrogance or what have you but Shannon was good and is a prime example of how ferociously we should pursue our goals and dreams. I miss this girl dearly.

"Don't worry. I'm going to take you home." Bone chilling. Great men who helped make that happen.

Inexperience and over confidence are a deadly combination.

if no one saw it happen, she was running class V river alone...paid dearly for ignoring the first rule of kayaking...even the best needed help at times...you always go with one or two others for safety reason

"Don't worry. I'm going to take you home." That was beautiful...and home she went...I almost cried.

In my 70's now. 35 years running rapids. Friends have drowned. Though young, Shannon had run some big water and done well by all accounts. I have always considered the first two times down a run to be when you are most vulnerable, especially in the event of a mishap. Something went wrong on her second run, she made a decision and was unlucky. That's risk sports. Great job by those guys recovering her body. Very sad day.

This is heartbreaking. That woman was brave to face the challenge and those men were brave to risk themselves in finding her. It's been 7 years, but I hope her family has found peace.

Unbelievable this happened during the filming and even more unbelievable she was warned multiple times even by the host who has probably never kayaked.

Thank you Steve Fisher and crew for your recovery. With respect to Shannon and her family, our kind regards. We salute Shannon.

Man really sad, such a close interview, and next moment she's dead.

That sucks. Poor girl. My heart goes out for her. I've been stuck under a waterfall for what felt like an eternity and really thought I was going to die until I just floated up by chance. Another 10 or 15 seconds, I would have blacked out and probably drowned. The only other time I thought I was going to die was when I had a car on top of me after a motorcycle wreck and I couldn't breathe. There's no feeling as helpless as needing to take a breath and not being able to, and I've lived through it twice. May she rest in peace.

I'm 72 now, and looking back I always had a love/not-quite-hate,more-like-mild-dread relationship with the sport. Never could master the off-side roll, so that would limit my risk taking. Still, due to life/work circumstances, I violated the cardinal rule and did boat alone quite often, but only lost a paddle or two in the process. Only injured once, having bruised my back going over a ledge upside down on the South Fork of the Payette in Idaho. Overestimated my abilities and signed up for the two-week Grand Canyon trip. First day in, learned my roll wasn't bombproof, and that fear stayed with me the entire trip, although seven days in I made some mental and physical adjustments that made the rest of the journey a lot more "somewhat" relaxed. The three biggest rapids: Hance, I swam. Crystal, I portaged. Lava Falls, I paddled. After the trip, put my kayak up for sale at a yard sale, telling myself, if I sold it, I was done kayaking. If not, I might do it again. First thing I sold. Great time in my life, learned a lot about myself and fear.

I learned something a long time ago and it applies to soo many adventures. "There are Old pilots and Bold plots but there are NO OLD BOLD PILOTS!" RIP Shannon!

That's really sad, RIP to her.... It's really cool that you guy's recovered her body so she could go home... Props to Steve Fisher and everyone involved in getting her out...

It’s crazy to me that she died during filming for this interview, and that the interviewer kept alluding to the fact that this was dangerous and she should reconsider.

Lost friends on the green River narrows. I absolutely love the rush this sport provides, but you NEVER paddle alone.

im from VA and grew up kayaking with my dad. i have more good memories kayaking than anything. she was definitely doing what she loved. i'm sorry ti hear about this, hope she gets to explore the stars.

Lost a friend in May 2023 on the Colorado river kayaking...the kayak, gear and backpack were found, but his body still has not been found (7 months later), and is believed to be pinned between the Byers Canyon walls and rocks under the water. This is so sad, but this video helped me understand what happened to my friend Ari :(

That is heartbreaking .... Bless You Shannon and your family .

Big respect to Steve, that took some courage

I'm watching this after getting flipped out of my kayak in easy-peasy class-1 rapids. Beneath my knees I got torn up pretty bad from jagged rocks, but I walked away. I can't imagine what these rapids would do to the human body when you get it wrong.

it is fun and games.... until it is not. Seemed overconfident and naive. it got her killed. I quit the sport after only 3 years,, after my buddy died in class four rapids. we did all the safety right, everything went wrong. this is a very sad story.

I was always taught 'Your judgement comes from experience. Your experience comes from misadventure'. You need to shit your pants enough times to know how to avoid the situations where you are going to shit your pants. Sadly I guess she did not shit her pants enough times in three years to avoid the one thing she was told not to do. Like Bringabongalong, I was also taught, 'Less than three there should never be'. Paddling alone ??!!!! Very bad judgement. Hubris is followed by nemesis. Very sad. Not for her but her friends, family and fellow paddlers.

So sad, such a lovely young lady. RIP sweetie

First a hero and then the tears. I have known the scene for 30 years and the unconscious pressure to go to the limits and beyond. Christy's facial expression in the video says it all. Nobody expected it before, life changed afterwards. It took a dead woman for that. R.I.P

I hate hearing about these accidents. RIP, Shannon.

A real tear jerker. The gentleman who retrieved her body is quite the soul.

I was just getting my gopro's and kayak ready to do this. Think I'll stick to the Class 2's I hit on the weekend and call it a day.

If I ever die doing something like this I do NOT want others risking their lives to find me

Very sad, I’ve known a few people in my life who have died in kayaking accidents, as fun as it looks and as much I have wanted to try, I don’t think I’ll be participating in this sport.

Tragic story. It's a dangerous sport, & an extremely dangerous spot even for the veteran pros. RIP 💕

My heart breaks for her, rest in peace Shannon and hoping for the deeply sad memories to be replaced with joy at the funny things she did and said when she was with us🌷

Rest in peace Shannon.

That’s absolutely heartbreaking 💔. You can’t get too confident around water.

Never even heard of her and Iam sick to my stomach.... sorry for such a loss......

May you rest in peace, our beautiful comrade.

That's so sad. Her last mins on earth had to have been so scary for her. RIP

Very sad. I kayaked all over the world - Canada, Alps, Himalayas, Costa Rica, Norway, Scotland, Wales and USA. I visited Washington DC and went up to see Great Falls but I didn't have a kayak to run it and I am not sure I would have if I did. Confidence is probably 70% of what you need to be proficient in whitewater - 10% is your kit, 10% your skills and 10% is your buddies/team. Multiple water falls are very dangerous. Screw up the first drop or get lost or run backwards down a fall and you are in big trouble. After over 20 years of running falls you have to learn when to walk away and not be too confident. Sadly, and this is not a sexist remark, she may not have had the upper body strength to get her self out of trouble and "drive" the kayak hard if she was getting pushed down the wrong route. God bless her

She was confident in something she didn't have experience in. That was the mistake that took her life.

God bless them men and the man recovered the body Amen

Great Falls, an Olympian died there previously before her just practicing. I live near there, it'd dangerous

Excellent video and group

Sorry for your loss

How awful!! I'm so sorry for her, her family and her friends! There was no way she could have saved herself, where she ended up. 💔Amazing that those men were able to find her and return her body to her family.

R.I.P Shannon You Will Be Missed By All 😢😥😓

Very sad. Sorry for her loss.

Well at least she died doing what she loved. RIP.

what a tragedy rest in peace shannon

Very sad indeed. She seemed like a very likable person ,who just loved life! But kayaking is inherently risky, and this has happened to the best of the best. Including a guy running a double drop on the Poudre river, just north west of Ft. Collins, Colorado. He died the same way, behind a waterfall. RIP young lady.

I'm a 53year old man that doesn't even know her, and watching this made me cry... so very sad!! I hope the best for her family and friends.. God bless you Shannon

R.I.P Shannon. And to u Steve a true friend and detection to a extreme sport.

Very sad & tragic. Accidents can happen no matter how prepared you are in life. Being pinned to rocks with that amount of water pressure you stand no chance.

I have a hard time understanding why people risk their life like that. It just seems so pointless. The upside is you get a temporary rush. The downside is death. Just a shame. The reporter told her (pretty directly) that it was a bad idea. You can't help people who won't listen.

So sad condolences to the family

Oh, that's just heartbreaking. Rip

This was the equivalent of doing your first solo flight after doing only ground school. Way too much of a stretch and she paid dearly.

That’s so sad

Tears!!😢

Rest In Peace my condolences to the family.

may this be a reminder to all in extreme sports; Never. Kayak. Alone. overconfidence is your enemy, and being by yourself is even worse

Unbelievable that she would do this without a group working together. I was taught that age 10 - never go out kayaking alone. You never know. And I was on grade 2-3 rivers. In these conditions, no-one even noticed her absence? It took a TV crew to notice? Bizarre.

🙏for Her,her family!

why was this randomly in my recommended videos almost 8 years later?

Enthusiasm and self confidence are no substitute for experience and respect for one's own safety! She did the very thing that she had been specifically warned not to do and died because of it.

This is why i kayak on small lakes that barely have any current lol

I just started kayaking 2 years ago but I don't do anything this crazy.. you have to respect the water and your kayak...

For those that don't know, Steve Fisher was part of the team that did the first, and as far as I know only, descent of the Inga Falls on the Congo, which has got to be the toughest whitewater known to man.

damn...this felt a little like 'ive climbed in a gym for a bit, lemme go try some of this soloing Yosemite thing."

As Dirty Harry once famously quipped, "A man's gotta know his limitations".

what was the highest level race she has completed before this ?

It's called "Subway" because the chute goes under a huge boulder. He can stand there at 2:25 because the water is going under the rock. The previous death in this center section was in the next set of ledges upstream, in which the victim was also trapped in a complex of underwater boulders and undercuts at the base of the drop. The "Falls" are the middle of mile long rapids. Every time it floods, huge boulders come from upstream and get stacked by the water. You see a boulder that you figure has been there forever, and then you see a flattened golf ball under it. There are plenty of strainers, many of which are no doubt unknown.

Confidence brought her to the sport, inexperience took her from the sport

Always important to remember that the sport that we love can be our end if we are not careful. I will keep this video in mind when I go on the river the next time.

So tragic .......RIP young lady

Being humble can go a long way sometimes.

RIP Shannon 💓

where's the original footage?

Everytime this story comes up all I can think to my self is she had nothing to prove, she was told not to and yet she did it anyway. She could have become one of the best.

This is so sad 😢 Bless her soul..

I am a surfer and a river rat. I was taught to wear a vest at class 4 rivers well, all, and also taught to have at least 300 miles with the river running at say 650 gallons per minute before going on to each new phase. I ran a 26 mile ride white water everywhere in an hour at 1000 gallons a minute. I did these carefully and put in my time to run class 5 rivers. And even in a swimming pool, never be in the water alone. My heart goes out to his family.

It's a shame, Confidence cannot replace experience......

R.i.p baby girl 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏😓😓

Shannon Christy, may you live on forever. RIP.

Thank you for your gift to the world Shannon... That gift being your bold strong light that demonstrated to us all what it means to chase your dreams and live life to the fullest by taking the risks you did. Life would be nothing more than sitting home watching a ball game while having a few beers... aka slow death.

All rivers lull you. The slower ones are just more tricky about it

mad respect for getting the run in though! sad that no one in the comments are acknowledging that. she died doing something she wanted to do. Kudos to the fellow kayakers for risking their lives to help retrieve her

How sad, god bless her & her beloved family

As my dad tells me always be there with someone other than yourself

this kind of stuff is why I ,with over 30 yrs of kayaking experience, just stick to class 1 and 2 water, with the very occasional class 3 kayaking alone did not due her in - nobody could have fished her out of that hole before she died she CHOSE to take on very dangerous water over falls - nuff said

My Condolences 🙏

Very sad. Rest peacefully Shannon.

Poor girl. Confidence kills. In hang gliding we call this the intermediate syndrome. Never underestimate nature

Gotta pay your dues. Two years of experience is not enough to tackle that much risk. If you go out backcountry skiing in the fashion she approached kayaking you're dead!

Such a loss.... But respect and love. Will out.

I love you girl rip give me your spirit

Overconfidence is a flimsy shield.

The river does not discriminate for race, creed, color or national origin.

That poor girl. Heartfelt sympathy for her family.

I can’t give a thumbs up here but; we all know; we salute Shannon and every Kayaker.