Archives for August 2011

A handful of Emergency Services personnel and Commercial Outfitters met this morning at the Tunnel Rapid to assess the hazard. We have come to the determination the hazard is a rock that has either rotated, moved or been split. This feature is a BOAT RIPPER, with four known casualties. The rock in question is right in the middle of the line most boaters use at the bottom of Tunnel Rapid! The rock is not visible at river level until you are right on it, due to a large wave just above it. We are unable to remove this hazard.

Scout the rapid before you boat it. Let’s start at the very bottom- The very last hole in Tunnel is River Center, slightly right. Many boaters use this hole to slow and rotate the boat before they hit the wall. Others skirt the hole to the left- THIS IS WHERE THE RIPPER IS! From the last hole in Tunnel the RIPPER ROCK is approx 6 feet up stream and approx 10 feet left (towards center). It’s just below another wave. When you scout from the road you can see an air pocket behind the sharp edge.

If you value your boat- RUN LEFT at bottom of Tunnel Rapid. This may take you right into the eddy river left, but that’s OK at his level- it’s easy to get out of. You can run right of the last hole, but it’s more likely to dump passengers on that run.

Boat safe, and if you’re going to run Upper Mish I encourage you to scout the bottom of Tunnel Rapid and run left.

S

Mark your calendars- Aug 5 and we just now dipped below 3! Currently 61.3F sunny and calm. Heading up to Tunnel in a couple minutes to analyze that hazard. Be careful in Tunnel (see last night report for details).

Home Wx: Today: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. West southwest wind between 6 and 11 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Tonight: Isolated showers and thunderstorms before midnight. Partly cloudy, with a low around 60. West wind between 9 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Boaters, raft and kayak, there is a new feature at the bottom of Tunnel Rapid that is ripping boats and is a potential life threat for anybody in the water.

Ranger Rob this evening has reported about a new, most likely man-made, feature at the bottom of Tunnel Rapid. The location, as described by Ranger Rob, is 4-5 feet to the left of the bottom River-Center hole, just before you have to back-paddle off the wall.

The feature has a Rooster Tail and is identifiable from the road. This new feature has already ripped four commercial boats in what is described as a razor sharp edge. Ranger Rob, myself and some other boaters will assess the hazard in the morning and come up with a plan. If you have equipment/gear and feel like helping out the boating community, meet us at Tunnel Rapid sometime close to 1000.

If you plan on running Upper Mish before this hazard has been mitigated, I suggest you scout the rapid (focus on bottom portion) and do everything it takes to avoid the hazard. If we can mitigate the hazard tomorrow, I will post the good news.

Safe boating.

A high 3.0, but not quite 3.1. Currently 64.6F, partly cloudy and breezy. Home Wx: Today: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 84. Calm wind becoming west southwest around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Tonight: Scattered showers and thunderstorms before midnight. Partly cloudy, with a low around 60. West wind 5 to 8 mph becoming south. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

We had a nice little hail storm gettin’ off the Riv yesterday. Good times!!

Currently 74.7F, sunny and calm. Home Wx: This Afternoon: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79. South wind between 6 and 8 mph.

Tonight: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. South wind at 11 mph becoming west. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph.