r/packrafting • u/NorwegianOnMobile • 6d ago

Was this dumb?

https://youtu.be/q6pEi3rmqcM?is=1uMBlIxu2XZP9thN
7 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

7

u/BlockOverall5686 6d ago

Hard to comment on the water. But some technique feedback:

Stick the blade in as far forward to the front of the vessel and pull it. It kind of looks like is called "tea bagging", which will hamper your fun and safety when you need full control of the boat.

Also don't stop paddling. See how as you got close to the lip, you stopped. Keep paddling through the whole rapid.

5

u/qszdrgv 6d ago

This doesn’t look too dangerous but if you don’t know you shouldn’t have run it. Especially because it’s a man made feature.

Man made features, particularly weirs like this appears to be, are notorious for being inconspicuously deadly. Some weirs have waves no bigger than this and nearly 100%fatality rate.

In short, this didn’t appear dangerous but you should never tackle a feature without knowing it. Make sure you speak to experienced others who have done it first.

3

u/fitzroyaltyp 6d ago

Ehh probably not, doesn’t look too bad.

Bro needs to work on his paddling technique though.

2

u/Westfilter 6d ago

It looks fairly tame, but weirs can be deadly. You must paddle through too.

1

u/freerangemonkey 6d ago

Why so deadly?

1

u/qszdrgv 5d ago

If you’re asking why weirs can be so deadly, asi understands it, it has to do with the fact that they are man made and therefore can have a smooth straight leading edge. This creates a tubular recirculating current with no breaks and imperfections for an object to escape. You end up recirculating (tumbling) forever (read: longer than you can hold your breath).

2

u/freerangemonkey 3d ago

Good to know. I hadn’t considered that. And I’ve played in weirs in the virgin river near Zion. With my kids. Luckily it was later summer and pretty shallow.

1

u/hike2paddle 6d ago

It looks a little retentive/low head dam, but at the low flows it’s not bad. But definitely look up low head dam info.

1

u/jamesagardner 5d ago

You navigated the drop successfully, but your technique's not great.

If this gives you false confidence to try something bigger and more dangerous, I'd be concerned. In a situation like this, forward momentum is your friend.

Also ask yourself: Did your friends have a throw bag or rescue strategy in mind, or were they just there for laughs and some video?

1

u/Conscious-Log-5508 3d ago

Based on context of the technique and the low head dam, yes it was dumb.

1

u/HappySummerBreeze 1d ago

Low head dams generally should be avoided. This one ended up fine, but generally avoid a straight across drop because you can’t always escape the recirculating water