| River: | Colorado |
| Section: | Gore Canyon |
| Location: | Gore Rapid |
| Water Level: | Medium |
| Difficulty: | V |
| Accident Code(s): | Unknown |
| Injury Code(s): | Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal |
| Age: | 34 |
| Experienced/Inexperienced: | Experienced |
| Private/Commercial: | Private |
| Boat Type: | Kayak - Unknown |
| Number of Occupants: | 1 |
| Number of Victims: | 1 |
| Initial Report: | The day after a fatality at Kirschbaum, a paddler died at Gore Rapid, a big Class V downstream of Kirschbaum. Postings made to Mountainbuzz.com, forwarded by AW Board Member Tim Kelly with his own observations, described the second accident. Christopher Delaney, 34, was a strong Class V paddler who had run this rapid many times. He flipped in the sneak route above Decision Rock. No one knows exactly what happened because his group was behind some big rocks and could not see him. He might have hit his head, or been recirculated in the hole behind Decision Rock. They saw him floating upside down in his boat and brought him am ashore a few hundred yards downstream. They tried CPR without success. While there was no evidence of a serious head injury, there is a rumor floating around that Delaney had received a concussion recently while mountain biking. If that’s the case, it would leave him very susceptible to a second injury. |
| Report Status: | Completed |
