Accident Database

Report ID# 1074

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Accident Description

 Two tubers (one male, one female) put in below the Boulder Garden on the Foxton run of the North Fork of the South Platte. They were both in cheap Wal-Mart tubes and neither was wearing a pfd or helmet (they wore no clothing for warmth, either, just swimsuits). In the high flowing, swift water they were unable to take out before the next set of rapids, like they had planned, and eventually were seperated from their tubes. The male swam to the side of the river by the road while the female swam to the opposite side, a bank on a steep and rocky mountainside.

After a successful run down Foxton, my group was driving up the road when we saw one tube floating down the river shortly followed by another tube caught in a recirculating hydraulic. Further up the road we encountered the tubers and the female's parents who were driving the shuttle. I have PR CPR/AED certification. Myself and two of the three people with me have Swiftwater Rescue Training. We are all at least class IV boaters. We put on our pfd's with knives and throwbags and one us swam across the river with a spare lifejacket for the girl. The girl climbed over some rocks to get to a better place where we could get here a throw bag. We got a rope across the river and pulled her across, after which the member of our group over there swam back across.

The only injuries to the male and female tubers were minor scrapes and bruises. After the rescue, we gave them a good lecture on safety equipment, helmet's, lifejackets, highwater, and knowledge of the river. The victim's mother tried to offer us cash but we would not accept.

Josh Mack Geordie Chambers: 303-408-3739 Tina Clark: 720-272-7970

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