How a simple serendipitous moment in Nepal changed safety on the Futaleufu.
The early 1990’s marked the beginning of commercial rafting on the Futaleufu. Our brochure listed the river as a serious class V expedition. Thorough guest vetting started in the office. Participants had to be in excellent physical condition and have had previous class V experience. Getting down the river took a week, as more time was spent scouting rapids than in the boats. There was no option to walk or be driven around class V sections and no time for additional multi-sport activities.
Once participants reached the river, they did a compulsory flip drill and a two-hour whitewater training session which ended with a mandatory swim test. Rather than float on their backs with their feet up in a defensive position, swimmers were instructed to swim on their stomachs and “self-rescue”. At the time safety kayaks, were the industry standard on class V rivers.
Safety Concerns
I was guiding the second raft on an early Futaleufu trip when the lead raft flipped in the first rapid in sheer walled Inferno Canyon. Watching from the scouting rock, the safety kayakers grabbed one swimmer at a time. By the time everyone was rescued, they were downstrream, out of sight. The sheer walls made it impossible for the kayakers to get back up to us to set safety, and attempting to evacuate my people up the cliffs was more dangerous than running the rapid without protection. With no choice, I reluctantly ran the rapid. This incident and the dilemma it presented preoccupied me, and I contemplated giving the Futaleufu up altogether.
An Incident that Transformed River Rafting Safety And Solved the Riddle Of The Futaleufu
Later that year I traveled to Nepal to do a trip on the recently opened Karnali River. An associate, Dave Allardice, whose company Ultimate Descents pioneered a number of rivers in Asia, invited me to join one of his expeditions. With a small army of local sherpas carrying the gear, we trekked three days through the Nepalese lowlands to the put-in. I brought an agile, stable two-pontoon cataraft to row from the U.S..
The trip was uneventful until the final day when a small two person paddle raft, entered a minor rapid on the wrong side of the river. By the time the guide realized the situation, the swift current was sweeping them into a cave hollowed out of the wall on a left bend. Their only recourse was to catch a small “pocket” eddy carved into the wall directly above the turn. The strong current made paddling out and back across without being swept under the wall impossible.
The rest of us pulled over on the other side to survey the situation. The cliff above them was too high to climb and there was no way to reach them with a rope. The only option was to send a safety kayaker into the eddy and one by one ferry them back across.
The kayaker caught the eddy. With the client in the water and holding on the back of the kayak, they pulled into the current with the client kicking to assist. There was too much drag and the current began sweeping them towards the undercut wall. The kayaker surrendered and retreated back into the eddy. This was years before the advent of the satellite phone and we were still days from civilization which ruled out a helicopter.
As a last resort, I volunteered to try with my cataraft. After catching the eddy, they abandoned the raft and climbed on to my two tubes. I instructed them to lay on their stomachs and raise their feet out of the water. Using a sharp upstream angle I charged into the current. Unlike the kayak, the cataraft easily maintained the upstream ferry angle and we pulled away from the undercut and crossed without losing any ground. In that serendipitous moment the “safety cat” was born.
Safety Catarafts introduced To The Futaleufu
When I returned home, I ordered two large catarafts and designed custom rowing frames with elevated ‘scoop’ decks at the front, positioned just a few inches above the water. With this setup up the “cats” could wait below a rapid and if there were swimmers they could be rowed upstream against the current and scoop them up. One cataraft was capable of rescuing multiple swimmers at a time and if necessary even negotiate a downstream rapid. In some cases the guide wouldn’t even have to let go of the oars.
The following Futaleufu season we entered Inferno Canyon with a charter group from Atlanta that had done the Bio Bio River with us the year before. The water seemed a little high. We were still trying to figure out safe water levels, but without gauges, high water cutoffs were a combination of educated guessing and intuition. The safety cats hadn’t been tested so I added two safety kayakers. I rowed one of the cats.
We entered Inferno Canyon. At the top of Purgatorio Rapid, we ran first and waited for the client rafts in the pool below. The sheer walls and swift current guarding the entrance made it impossible to scout the giant flipping center wave/hole. These days the guides have everyone get down and with the low center of gravity the rafts break though main wave without incident.
The guest boats entered “train style,” one after another, a practice we abandoned after this trip. One raft flipped and the other stood up and dumped half it’s occupants. Chaos ensued as we converged on the eight swimmers. I found myself yelling at the kayakers to get out of my way so I could reach the people. The other cataraft and I managed to collect everyone before the next rapid. The “Safety Cat” had been inaugurated.
Dedication To Safety
Earth River’s commitment to client safety didn’t begin or end with the invention of the safety cat. It’s something ingrained in our 35-year history and has been passed down to my sons, Cade and Teal, who guide every trip. If you join an Earth River trip, regardless of your age or ability, it will be evident in the first rapid that you’re in good hands.”
By Eric Hertz