Fish and Wildlife Service in Vernal – Looking For Whitewater Boatmen
Posted: January 12, 2013 Filed under: Environment, Whitewater Rafting | Tags: Boat, Employment, Fish, Rafting, Recreation, United States, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Vernal, Vernal Utah, Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »Fish & Wildlife Service – Vernal – Looking For Boatmen
The FWS offices in Vernal and Grand Junction are recruiting people for seasonal work operating boats for fish work. In particular, we are looking for folks with solid whitewater rafting skills who can operate heavy oar rafts. This job is not the same as our seasonal fish tech job, so it focuses on boat operation, although all staff will eventually be proficient on the fish end of things. The link for the announcement is below. The announcement will be open for 2 weeks, starting today.
If you know any boaters looking to have a long season, are maybe a little burned out on taking care of guests, or want to see what’s been living under their boat all these years, please pass this along. There may also be an opportunity for guides looking for early season work before they go to their guiding job for the summer. We really need people in April and May.
From: FWS HR Sent: Friday, January 04, 2013 10:00 AM Subject: Seasonal Small Craft Operator link to USA Jobs
Good morning, below is a link to the Small Craft Operator announcement, which opened today on USA Jobs:
R6-13-813050-D https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/334857400
George Wendt, Founder of OARS will receive the Mark Dubois Award
Posted: October 17, 2012 Filed under: Environment, Whitewater Rafting | Tags: AdventureTravel, George Wendt, Jim Moss, OARS, River Conservation, Wendt, Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »George deserves it!
The Mark Dubois Award is given by the Friends of the River for accomplishments in saving rivers in California.
This is what the award announcement says about George.
George Wendt’s passion for running rivers was born in the 60’s when he became one of the first 1100 people to descend the seldom-traveled Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. In the decades since, his rafting company, O.A.R.S., has been an industry leader in environmentally and culturally responsible travel on over 35 rivers and coastlines worldwide. In 2008 and 2009 the company was recognized by National Geographic Adventure as “The Best River & Sea Outfitter on Earth” and George was a recent recipient of the Adventure Travel Trade Association’s Lifetime Achievement award. Over the past four decades, George has donated countless hours and river trips in support of youth, community and conservation causes and his company has introduced more than half a million travelers to the beauty of rivers and the natural world.
The announcement misses a couple of big points.
First, George is a nice guy. You cannot walk into a room and find George and not get a smile on your face. He is always glad to see you, and he is genuine.
First, 2, George made whitewater rafting a business. He took a hobby by many introduced it to 500,000 people over the past 50 years. George started out taking Boy Scouts down the river and has taken everyone from 11 Scouts to heads of state, Hollywood celebrities and everyone in between.
First, 3, George was the first rafting company owner to realize that the voices necessary to keep rivers open and free flowing where on his rafts.
George’s “Firsts” don’t stop there, they go on for five decades.
George is a great guy and deserves this like no one else. His work in saving rivers, his understanding of the connection between his guests and keeping rivers free flowing, his commitment to his staff is amazing.
To watch George talk about his accomplishments see http://rec-law.us/P7qZrt.
Send George a congratulations: george@oars.com
Congratulations George.
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Posts will keep coming but I’m in the Grand Canyon
Posted: April 20, 2012 Filed under: Arizona, Rivers and Waterways, Whitewater Rafting | Tags: Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park Leave a comment »Sorry, but you can’t turn down a Grand Canyon Trip
My posts will keep coming, I’ve scheduled them in advance and however comments will not get approved.
I’ll be back after May 13th.
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Poster for Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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The Long Term Experimental and Management Plan for the Grand Canyon scoping deadline has been extended
Posted: December 30, 2011 Filed under: Grand Canyon River Guides Association (GCRGA), National Park Service (NPS), Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »
Image via Wikipedia
If you have been down the Grand Canyon, peered over the side of those beautiful walls or dreamed of doing it some day, now is the time to act.
January 31, 2012 is the New Scoping Deadline!
The scoping deadline for the Long Term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP) has been extended from December 30, 2011 to January 31, 2012, giving you time to emerge after the holidays, get focused, and submit your own comments! This is THE important plan, folks – one that will determine the flows you boat on and the state of the resource for the next 15 years or so.
Consequently this EIS is on par in importance with the initial Glen Canyon Dam EIS in the early 1990s. The current scoping effort is an outstanding opportunity for the public to inform the NPS and the Bureau of Reclamation (co-lead agencies) on the development of the LTEMP draft EIS – the scope, what should be considered, what the important issues are, and possible alternatives.
The official website for the LTEMP can be found at: http://ltempeis.anl.gov/ .
Thanks to the Grand Canyon River Guides Association for their help and information. If you are not a member, you should be! Go here to become a member of the GCRGA!
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International Whitewater Hall of Fame Induction
Posted: September 30, 2011 Filed under: Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »2011 Inductees are a stellar list.
The 2011 International Whitewater Hall of Fame annual induction will occur October 15, 2011 at the Sierra Nevada House, Coloma California.
2011 Inductees are:
Richard Bangs Explorer
Jean-Pierre Burny Champion
Oliver Cock Advocate
If you cannot attend, please donate!
What do you think? Leave a comment.
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It’s time for my Annual Working vacation
Posted: June 9, 2011 Filed under: Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »Rowing a Grand Canyon River trip for OARS!
I’ll be disappearing from the communication and electronic community June 4 for 16 days. No doubt the Grand Canyon and Grand Canyon National Park are some of the most beautiful places on the earth. The work is hard however the people I work with and customers of OARS are the greatest in the world.
Consequently if you post a comment, it will be a while before it appears. I hate to do that, but it is amazing the amount of crap (spam) that gets posted if I do not moderate the comments.
As much as I’ll be having fun, I sometimes think that I enjoy the trip because I can’t be found, I don’t have a keyboard and there is no phone in my ear. J
My Office for the next 17 days!
What do you think? Don’t even think about Leaving a comment.
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Fort Collins and Rafting: Bring in money and put out press
Posted: April 19, 2011 Filed under: Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »Another study shows that whitewater rafting is a major economic and visitor draw to the Fort Collins area.
40% of the visitors to the Fort Collins area attractions were outside of the Fort Collins area. The “average income for those visitors ranged from $50,800 at the mall to $95,094 at the hotels.”
The survey showed that whitewater rafting was a major draw to the Fort Collins area. Fifty percent of those that came for rafting said they would also dine or shop while they were in the area. About one-third of the rafting visitors stayed overnight. 42% when shopping after rafting and 50% dined in the area.
Whitewater rafting is a major draw to the Fort Collins area with numerous other businesses benefiting from the rafting.
See Fort Collins visitor study shows rafters lead the way
Do Something
If you run a tourist centric recreation business work with your local chambers of commerce and visitors bureaus to determine what your economic value to the community is. You can then use this information with the legislature or just the country road paving department to help your business and the community succeed.
Let the world know how you work together with the community and let the community know that you have value to them.
What do you think? Leave a comment.
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Whitewater Rafting in Colorado on the Poudre River brings in money.
Posted: April 5, 2011 Filed under: Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »Poudre River whitewater rafting brought $11 million to the region in 2010.
2010 was the third best year for whitewater rafting in the last 20 years. 37,400 people rafted on the Poudre River an increase of 400 over the prior year.
Recreation can still be great, even when the economy is bad.
$4.2 million in direct money from rafting on the Poudre translates into $11 million overall.
See Rafting on the Poudre River brought $11 million to region in 2010.
What do you think? Leave a comment.
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Whitewater rafting suit stopped because deceased signed a release.
Posted: November 22, 2010 Filed under: Case Analysis, Release / Waivers, Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »A well written release creates in a jurisdiction that supports releases creates short appellate court decisions.
Schoeps v. Whitewater Adventures LLC, 136 Fed. Appx. 966, 2005 WL 1523438 (C.A.9 (Cal.))
The plaintiffs are the parents of the deceased. The deceased went rafting with the defendant Whitewater Adventures LLC and died. The parents sued the rafting company and its owner.
Prior to the raft trip the plaintiff signed a release. The plaintiffs argued the deceased had non time to read the release and was forced to sign the release. If she did not sign the release the deceased would not have been able to go rafting and would have been stuck in an “isolated area.” The court stated the deceased would have also lost her pre-paid ticket price if she failed to sign the release. The court commented on all of these issues and found them unpersuasive. However, the fact the court commented on the issues is important and something to be aware of in the future.
The court held that the deceased was informed that she had to sign a release and the fact she might be stuck in an isolated area was not oppression to force a signature on the release by the deceased.
However, this is not sufficient to constitute oppression or lack of meaningful choice, particularly insofar as Sandra had been given a brochure before the rafting trip in which Whitewater Adventures stated: “[w]e require all trip participants to sign a liability release*968 waiver before embarking on your trip.”
The plaintiffs are also argued the release was unconscionable. The court found that unconscionability is a two part test. Failing to find both tests are met will violate the release. Here the court found:
Substantively, it is not unreasonable or unexpected for an organizer of adventure sports to reallocate risk to the participants through a liability waiver. Procedurally, there were no hidden terms in the liability release….
So?
Give your guests plenty of time to read and sign the release
Give your guests their money back if they don’t sign the release
Let your guests know, in advance, that they must sign a release before they can go rafting.
When a court lists items raised by the plaintiff as issues and comments about them, it is good for the immediate case. However it can also be picked up by other plaintiffs and other courts and used as a way to void your release in other decisions.
On a moral basis if you are as an operator of a business or program and someone finds out they do not want to engage in your activity, happily give them back their money.
Put on your website that participants will have to sign a release and put the release on the website also. With the new laws concerning electronic signatures of contracts you can even have your guests sign the release online. Let your customers know in advance what they are going to be undertaking so they do not have issues or questions in your office the day of the activity.
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Criminal charges for rafting problems.
Posted: October 5, 2010 Filed under: Criminal Liability, Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »Angry and Upset customers from some trips lead to an investigation which resulted in charges from other trips.
Patrick Cunningham, the owner of Hudson River Rafting Co and an employee Heath Bromley were charged with second-degree misdemeanor reckless endangerment for allegedly endangering rafters and a kayaker this summer.
The specific allegations leading to the charges are sending customers out without a licensed guide and deceiving customers about the need for licensed guides.
The allegation of sending a customer out without a licensed guide stems from having a customer paddle an inflatable kayak. Pretty hard to stick a guide in most inflatable kayaks……
The second charge was based on a trip that went out with a guide.
However, the article is full complaints and problems the company had this summer.
The investigation came after three people were injured this year on Hudson River Rafting Co. rafting trips, Curry said, and at least one group that included children was stranded on the Hudson River and had to hike several miles out of the woods to find help.
That stranding occurred when the rafters did not time the water release correctly, and wound up stuck in low water conditions, officials said.
….
Cunningham was charged for an Aug. 12 incident in which he allegedly failed to provide a guide and sent a man down the river in an inflatable kayak despite the fact the man told him he did not have any experience rafting or kayaking, Ovitt wrote in court records.
Cunningham, though, said the man “insisted” on trying to get through difficult rapids on his own despite his lack of experience. He was unable to make it through mid-level “Class 3” rapids, Cunningham said.
If every allegation is true and if this is worst raft company in the history of mankind, why are there criminal charges in this case? Just yank the permits so the 32 year old company can no longer operate. No one was hurt. What is the criminal part of this that warrants the filing of criminal charges?
I believe the relevant statute is:
ARTICLE 11. FISH AND WILDLIFE
TITLE 5. FISH AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES COOPERATIVE PROGRAM; PROHIBITIONS; TAKING OF FISH, WILDLIFE, SHELLFISH AND CRUSTACEA FOR SCIENTIFIC OR PROPAGATION PURPOSES; DESTRUCTIVE WILDLIFE; RABIES CONTROL; GUIDES; ENDANGERED SPECIES
Go to the New York Code Archive Directory
NY CLS ECL § 11-0533 (2010)
§ 11-0533. Licensing of guides
1. As used in this section, the term “guide” shall mean a person who offers services for hire part or all of which includes directing, instructing, or aiding another in fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, white water canoeing, rafting or rock and ice climbing.
2. All guides engaging in the business of guiding on all lands and waters of the state shall possess a license issued by the department, except for any persons operating or assisting upon a public vessel for hire (passenger carrying vessels), licensed by the United States Coast Guard or New York state, upon the Atlantic Ocean and all other marine and coastal waters, tidal waters including the Hudson river up to the Troy barrier dam, St. Lawrence river, Great Lakes and the navigable portion of their tributaries, and other navigable waters, as determined by the department.
3. Except while guiding for the purposes of hunting and/or fishing, no license as defined in section 11-0701 is required for such acts.
4. Employees of children’s camps as defined in subdivision one of section one thousand four hundred of the public health law shall be exempt from the provisions of subdivisions one and two of this section, provided such activities are carried out within the scope of said employment.
5. A license as required under subdivision two of this section shall be issued for a period of five calendar years and the fee therefor shall be established by the department, not to exceed two hundred dollars.
6. Every licensed guide while engaged in guiding shall wear in plain sight identification furnished by the department. Licensed guides shall be at least eighteen years of age. They shall be skilled in the use of boats and canoes whenever use of these craft is required and shall be persons competent to guide one or more of the following: camping, hunting, fishing, hiking, white water canoeing/rafting, rock or ice climbing or other similar activities. The department shall by regulation establish standards and procedures for testing and licensing of guides.
7. Any licensed guide who violates any provision of this chapter or who makes any false statement in his application for a license shall in addition to any other penalties, immediately surrender his license to the department, which may be revoked by the department for up to one year following the date of such surrender.
8. The department shall publish a list of guides annually.
The statute does not define a guide as someone who guides on rafts or kayaks in its definition, in section 1. However, the statute requires knowledge about whitewater rafting and canoeing in section 6.
The lessons to be learned here are simple.
- Take care of all of your customers. Any angry customer may come back to haunt you.
- Know the laws affecting your business or operation.
- Be very wary when the district attorney is running for office and trying to get more time in the media.
See Rafting company owner charged with endangering customers
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West Virginia recorded a 9% drop in Whitewater rafting in 2009
Posted: July 22, 2010 Filed under: Whitewater Rafting 1 Comment »This is a decade-long drop in Whitewater rafting West Virginia.
The 9% drop in Whitewater rafting and was meant only 164,871 people went Whitewater rafting on the state’s rivers. This was a 13% drop on the Gauley River and 8% drop on the New River.
The peak year was 1995 when 257,400 or he six people went Whitewater rafting in.
This drop was compared with 10% drop over two years in Colorado and 11% increase in rafting in Tennessee. The increase in Tennessee was attributed to the proximity to the great Smoky Mountains.
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YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING
Posted: June 29, 2010 Filed under: Criminal Liability, Whitewater Rafting 5 Comments »A raft guide was arrested the other day because he rescued a stranded girl.
A 13 year old girl was rafting with Arkansas Valley Adventures. She ended up stranded on a rock in the river. A raft guide from Arkansas Valley Adventures against the sheriff’s orders jumped into the river and rescued the girl.
The sheriff arrested the raft guide for obstructing government operations.
Let’s look at this without going nuts…….
Who has the most experience in whitewater?
1. The raft guide
2. Any raft guide
3. Alpine Search and Rescue
4. Clear Creek County Sheriff’s department
I’m pretty confident the correct answer is 1; however credit will be given for answer 2. I’ve done legal work for alpine Search and Rescue and know a lot of them. A great group of dedicated rescuers who do not have any whitewater experience.
Who is going to affect the rescue quickly and safely?
1. The raft guide
2. Any raft guide
3. Alpine Search and Rescue
4. Clear Creek County Sheriff’s department
Let’s see, this is a tough one. The raft guide who is right there, the sheriff who is trying to figure out what to do or Alpine SAR who are volunteers that have to be organized. Raft Guide wins again.
Are there a lot of questions that need to be answered here other than how low is the IQ of the Clear Creek County Sheriff? Or maybe it is an ego issue.
Clear Creek County just spent thousands of dollars on a kayak park. Who is going to go there if you risk being arrested if you attempt to help a friend? Hold on, I’ll get your paddle for you and a $150 ticket from the ego with the badge.
Support Arkansas Valley Adventures because they are standing behind their guide.
Notify the sheriff and let him know what you think: webadmin@clearcreeksheriff.us or call (303) 679-2376
Notify the Clear Creek County District Attorney and let them know what you think: 303-569-2567.
Let Clear Creek County know how you feel by posting on their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Georgetown-CO/Clear-Creek-County-Colorado/130701711250.
See Raft guide arrested after helping stranded rafter on Clear Creek
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Editorial wants the Government to put an upper limit on rafting water levels
Posted: June 22, 2010 Filed under: Whitewater Rafting 1 Comment »Part of me is against this, part of me is not sure.
An article Time For Sensible Whitewater Rafting Regulation has postulated that the state should tell whitewater rafters in West Virginia at what water levels they can open rafting to commercial customers. Part of my concern is the reasoning that the state has or is the expert in whitewater rafting. We all know that is not true. When you are the power to arrest or fine or limit, a government and/or individual always abuses those powers.
Commercial operators want to make money so they may set those limits to far apart. (On one section of the Arkansas all of the deaths occurred at low water, not high water levels.)
Who should set these limits? If limits are to be set, then a committee of government, commercial and whitewater experts should make those decisions. (That should stall the proposal for at least 10 years.)
Twenty years ago, economics would have forced an outfitter to impose personal limits. The press about a fatality would drop the number of people going to an outfitter considerably and the outfitter in response would make changes. An example of that is the first outfitter on the Arkansas to use helmets (bicycle helmets) did so after a fatality. People going rafting would be concerned about the risks and not go with a dangerous outfitter.
I also think that outfitters would change because they did not dealing with a fatality. Not the legal issues but the personal issues of having someone die on a trip with you.
Both issues have gone by the wayside. Go marketing and so many people have all but eliminated the issues that a fatality would cause. Any I believe that once someone dies, you deal successfully; you maybe grow a little immune to the issues of dealing with a fatality. I hope not though.
So where does this go. Probably the issue of setting limits will grow legs and the state will take it on. Probably the state will take credit for limiting fatalities. Probably those people who want to push the limits will find some way of doing so not matter what someone sitting on the side line believes. No matter who believes they have the right to tell you how to die.
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Comments about the Eastern Washington University sued over student death on a rafting trip
Posted: December 17, 2009 Filed under: College Program, Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »More thoughts about the post Lawsuit filed over death of university student during school sponsored rafting trip.
Eastern Washington University is being sued over the death of a student on a whitewater rafting trip on the Clark Fork River in Montana. The freshman student fell from the raft and was trapped by a strainer.
A EPIC Adventure conducted the trip. The suit claims EPIC Adventure failed to understand the dangerous of the trip and had been informed of the strainer the day before the trip.
There are going to be no winners in this litigation except the attorneys.
The family will not get their daughter back and will attempt to confuse or substitute money, if they receive any for their daughter. That may also come as a sense of relief to find someone else was at fault for their daughter’s death, but I doubt it. The family will not win, even if they win. Litigation is a grueling wearing grinding way to achieve “justice.”
The university and all other students will lose, even if they win because the university will probably pull back from offering any more opportunities for the students to stretch and grow. This appears to be a freshman orientation program, which studies have shown, can increase the graduate rates of participants significantly.
So the only people who will win are the defense attorneys, they will be paid an hourly rate probably and possibly the plaintiff’s lawyers who may receive a percentage of any settlement or payment to the family.
No mention has been made of any defenses to the suit or if the student signed a release. What will probably never learn is, was there an indemnification agreement between the university and the outfitter for this type of issue.
Strainers kill people. Do you stop rafting, canoeing, kayaking, living every time a tree falls into a river? I hope not. However, that is what the lawsuit is claiming. Life should be put on hold until the world is perfectly safe and no one can get hurt. Therefore, after you read this, we should all climb back under the bed, turn on our little lights and then heave we are alive…..if you can call that living.
See Family sues university after daughter’s death
For other posts about fatalities and strainers, see Large Jury Award in death of 9 year old Camper and Common Mistakes made by Outfitters and Insurance Companies.
For other posts about suits against colleges and universities see Middlebury College getting sued over climbing wall accident by student, Ohio University settles lawsuit brought by injured student, Settlement reached in suit against Idaho State University group CW Hogs
For Outdoor Recreation Law Review Articles on cases against colleges or universities see Court decides participant cannot assume the risk of a team building exercise, College successfully defends student high altitude fatality, College loses suit by parents of deceased student from snow skiing class, Assumption of Risk and Inherent Risk in Higher Outdoor Education, Case Brief: Release Protects Gonzaga University from Lawsuit Following Student Death and State Law Prohibiting Releases.
A lawsuit settles before jury has opportunity to reach a decision
Posted: November 6, 2009 Filed under: Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »We first commented on this in The word “Safe” comes back to haunt outfitter and travel agent.
The Federal District Court judge announced that the parties in this lawsuit had settled the case. The trial was scheduled for four weeks and settled after two weeks. The amount of the settlement was not announced.
See Parties Settle Lawsuit In Fatal Wyo. Raft Accident.
Lawsuit filed over death of university student during school sponsored rafting trip
Posted: October 13, 2009 Filed under: College Program, Whitewater Rafting 5 Comments »The deceased, a freshman at Eastern Washington University drowned on the Clark Fork River which is west of Missoula Montana. She fell out of the raft at Tumbleweed Rapid and was found pinned under a log.
The issue seems to focus on the fact the guides were advised of the strainer the day before the trip and signs were posted at the put in.
See Family sues university after daughter’s death
For other articles about suits against colleges and universities see: Ropes course injury, Lawsuit against university outdoor program and Update on Ohio University Lawsuit
For Outdoor Recreation Law Review articles about suits against universities see: Court decides participant cannot assume the risk of a team building exercise, College successfully defends student high altitude fatality, College loses suit by parents of deceased student from snow skiing class and Assumption of Risk and Inherent Risk in Higher Outdoor Education.
Grand Canyon River Trips on Sale
Posted: October 9, 2009 Filed under: Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »
Legal Shield or Level Playing Field: North Carolina Ski Resorts working to get a Skier Safety Act Passed.
Posted: August 25, 2009 Filed under: Legislation, Ski Area, Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »
North Carolina Whitewater Rafting Industry attempting to do the same. An article in the Asheville North Carolina Citizen-Times is reporting that North Carolina Ski areas are attempting to get a law passed that would update the law about ski industry lawsuits in the state. Some label the law as a legal shield for ski areas while others call the law a leveling of the playing field. The law would create responsibility on the part of the skier to watch for terrain issues such as rocks or bare spots. Area operators would have to inspect runs twice a day and post run conditions. Lift tickets would have a notice to skiers of the risk of skiing. The whitewater rafting industry is attempting do get a similar law passed. Both bills are fairly week in all honesty. The plaintiff’s bar association appears to be quite powerful and is stopping any major modifications. See Ski resorts, whitewater rafting industry seek legal shield. For Outdoor Recreation Law Review articles about this see It Takes More Than a Ticket Purchase to Enforce a Contract and Release.
Two people charged with crime in fatal rafting accident.
Posted: August 4, 2009 Filed under: Criminal Liability, Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »
The North Central Illinois News Tribune is reporting that two people were charged with operating a boat under the influence of alcohol. They were on the Vermilion River when their raft went over a low head dam. A third passenger in boat drowned. They part of a group of seven people in two rafts. The first raft made it down a boat shoot on the right hand side. The charges are a Class A Misdemeanor offense with a penalty of a $2500 fine or up to one year in jail. See Two charged in wake of fatal rafting accident and Ex-St. Charles woman charged in fatal rafting accident.
Duh – Sloshing your drink is dumb
Posted: July 16, 2009 Filed under: Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »
Rafting drunk is dumber and a crime. The Oregon Court of appeals is a violation of state boating laws in Oregon. The court decided that a raft is covered by the laws regulating boating. The defense argued that a raft was not a boat……… There was also an argument made that the drunk defendant did not have control of the raft at the time he was intoxicated, which in all honesty could be argued about whitewater rafting all the time. See Court: River rats can’t legally raft drunk But still…..
Commercial drowning on the American River in California
Posted: July 8, 2009 Filed under: Guide, Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »
It is being reported that a 20 year old man died of a foot entrapment while training to be a whitewater rafting guide. The victim was in a boat on the South Fork of the American River when the boat tipped or flipped and the victim was thrown in the water. The boat had hit Gunsight (rock) in Troublemaker rapid. The victim got lodged 70 yards downriver of the accident. For more details see Man drowns rafting American River
Slow news day + somebody wants’ their 15 minutes of fame and you have the ingredients for a lawsuit.
Posted: October 28, 2008 Filed under: Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »
A woman died whitewater rafting on Glacier Creek outside of Girdwood Alaska. The local news must have a slow day because following the reports of the fatality they started to do some investigative work. See Raft accident brings safety concerns. The TV station interviewed the local fire chief and found a “rafter” for some comments. The report does not indicate whether the “rafter” knew what he was talking about, was a commercial operation or just some guy who volunteered to be on TV. Here are some of his quotes from the story. The rafters were wearing helmets and dry suits but they were all in one raft which is something experienced rafter Gary Klink says is uncommon. Klink says part of being a responsible tour operator is knowing when to turn down clients. “There’s always that desire to put anybody on anything that they want but if they’re reputable they’ll say you probably shouldn’t be doing this creek, you need this amount of experience,” he said. The issue is not whether the raft company was wrong or right. Great arguments can be made on either side of this discussion. Until a credible rating for the creek is established who knows what the commercial operator should have done. What is evident is this guys comments, whether intending to or not, are the basic starting blocks for a lawsuit. In less than a minute this “rafter” has provided everything anyone needs to file and possible win a claim. If he is a commercial operator his own insurance rates are going to go up because of these stupid statements. If he is a private boater he does not know jack. Either way the TV station got a story, someone got their 15 minutes of fame and the rest of us may have to deal with a lawsuit because of it.
Marketing is where lawsuits start.
Posted: September 16, 2008 Filed under: Marketing, Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »
This one takes a prize for being the dumbest article/press release I’ve seen in years. The article starts out talking about fatalities in whitewater rafting. The next paragraph states that whitewater rafting is safe. Now its the midst of the busy season guides and companies want people to know the river is not only fun, but also safe. Wiktionary describes “safe” as Not in danger; free from harm‘s reach. Free from risk; harmless, riskless. Providing protection from danger; providing shelter. Properly secured; secure. The Free Dictionary describes “safe” about the same way. Secure from danger, harm, or evil. Free from danger or injury; unhurt: safe and sound.. Free from risk; sure: a safe bet. I don’t see how a fatality meets the description of safe? The article is an absurd attempt to bring tourism to an area or activity. It gets better though. Later in the article the reporter describes the safety talk where the guide states: “Anyone of you guys or anyone of us can be really seriously hurt and or killed out here on the water,” But we quickly slip back into “lawsuit creation time” with the quote from the guide: “I’m a swift water rescue instructor, I’m also certified in emergency care so you are in pretty good hands but you need to watch out for yourselves today too,” “Everybody thinks whitewater rafting oh it’s so scary, and dangerous well, it’s really not all that dangerous.” “If you listen to the guide and you do everything that he says then you’ll be fine as long as you just pay attention and keep your eyes open.” I understand what is going on. In an effort to get people back on the river after several fatalities a first time rafting reporter was offered a trip down the river. The reporter thought he was reporting well. The raft company thought they were doing a good job telling the reporter how safe the river was. The guides were in heaven because the reporter was having them repeat their quotes; they were going to be famous. From a legal standpoint they are making very conflicting and haunting statements. From a casual reader’s standpoint the statements don’t make sense. What you have is a very confused article that is guaranteed to surface in the next claim or lawsuit over rafting. Rafting: Is it or is it not safe? Based on the definition of the word safe, whitewater rafting is not safe. But based on the definition, nothing is safe. You can put the risks in perspective but you cannot tell your customers that rafting is safe. But life can be a lot more fun if you are willing to undertake some risk.
Plaintiff claims website said raft trip was safe for beginners
Posted: August 7, 2008 Filed under: Commercial Outfitter, Rivers and Waterways, Whitewater Rafting Leave a comment »Jennifer Caffarella has filed a lawsuit against Laurel Highlands River Tours for injuries she received rafting on the Youghiogheny River. She was injured when her unguided raft flipped and she stood up in the water trapping her foot. She claims she suffered disfiguring injuries and brain damage.
The basis of her claim is the raft company misrepresented its claims that the raft trip was safe for beginners. The raft company claims they require all rafters to watch a safety video and take a 30 minute training course before they are permitted down the river. The company claims that the plaintiff was specifically told not to stand up in the river which she did causing the foot entrapment.
Press releases or interviews with the press by the defendants usually don’t talk about releases. They normally just respond to the questions which are usually based on what the reporter knows, so we don’t know if the outfitter has a release.
At the same time, a training course is a lot of information. Add a thirty minute training course and you would have to think there was some risk involved or you would not get that much information. Foot entrapment is also one of the issues covered in every pre-trip safety talk because people want to stand up in rivers. The higher your head is above the water the safe you feel. It is tough and not understood by the ill informed that keeping your body low in the river is the safest course of action.
At the same time, dimple rock, is a dangerous river section where several people have died. The state of Pennsylvania just completed a study where they determined that Dimple Rock was not going to be removed. The study was prompted because of the safety issues presented by the rock. See Dimple Rock will remain unchanged in lower Youghiogheny River.
For the complete article see: Injured woman sues rafting company
It might be better to create a purely rental operation. If a car rental company can rent someone the most dangerous machine we have invented, the automobile, then a raft rental is easy. However, the course of attempting to make the experience easy and “safer” has lead the outfitters out of the protection afforded by a rental program and into a guide program where the liabilities are much greater. For that same reason, you probably cannot go back.
Update on SBTW right to raft case
Posted: July 31, 2008 Filed under: Commercial Outfitter, Whitewater Rafting | Tags: Camp, Lawsuit, Pennsylvania, Recreation, Rock climbing, summer camp, Tribune Democrat 1 Comment »I reported in an early article Historical Use v. Money, Control & Power that a summer camp in Pennsylvania was suing the state to regain access to raft in a
Image via Wikipedia
state park. The Tribune Democrat is reporting that the summer camp, Summer’s Best Two Weeks lost their attempt to receive an injunction. The article, Raft trip runs aground in court states a three judge panel denied the injunction.
An injunction is as it sounds, an immediate court order requiring someone to do or not to do something.
The article is unclear and I have not seen pleadings to determine if the attempts by SBTW are over or they are continuing their suit. Many times you can be successful on the main litigation after you have lost the injunction motion.
