The above is here to be included in this page about the history of Tuxedo Hydro.

Built in 1916-1917 by the Blue Ridge Power Company, and making power by 1918, above is an early photo of the dam at Lake Summit. Blue Ridge Power was sold to the Broad River Electric Company in 1926, and then later sold to Duke Power, which became Duke Energy. In 2018, one hundred years since it first generated electricity, Tuxedo Hydro was sold to Arizona based Northbrook Energy, which bought five older Duke plants mostly in western North Carolina. This 2011 article in the Tryon Daily Bulletin goes over some of the history of hydroelectric power in the area.

See Kevin Colburn's May 2018 article on the American Whitewater site about the sale to Northbrook and related discussions about maintaining a similar release schedule for recreational interests. Agreements to maintain a similar program were completed thanks to the work of AW and the property owners along Lake Summit. The sale to Northbrook was also covered in the local popular press to varying degrees; see this story in the Hendersonville Lightning, for example.

Below is from a brief snippet of an article with a couple photographs in the January-June 1921 edition of Engineering World, detailing some of the information about the then recently built dam and Tuxedo hydro plant.

Interestingly, in George Ladshaw's original (and never completed) 1906 plans for four dams along the Upper Green and the Narrows, he claimed his four smaller dams would have generated 12,730 horsepower vs. the 8000 horsepower said to be generated by the one dam in the article above. Less power = more fun.

Thanks to Christopher Stovall for finding the Engineering World article and photos, a couple more of which can be found here.

Handy information when running the Green River Dries. The table above shows the level in feet over the top of dam at Lake Summit, and corresponding flow rates in cfs. Note that the flow increases exponentially as the water rises. The Lake Summit dam, which feeds Tuxedo Hydro via tubular methods, is about 300' long, and very approximately 210' of that is the portion the water flows over. A more generalized table of water over a dam and flow rates can be found here, but neither of these tables show what happens beyond one foot over the top.

Thanks to Tim Bell for providing this.

Here's another one, dated 1906 and taken from this album, on a fine Summer day for a picnic:

Sweeping Historical Conjecture

This is likely just coincidental, but it was in June of 1906 that George Ladshaw was first hired to evaluate the hydro power potential of the Green River, and so he created a plan, blueprints, and a map to that end, which he then submitted on December 12th of that year. Those can be found on this page. Call it amusing guesswork and perhaps a reach too far, but what if this photograph above is of the Ladshaw family when George dragged them down there to look at his latest project?!?

Many thanks to Cindy Stephenson Tuttle, the chair of the Historic Saluda Committee, for her assistance with these photographs. Their Facebook page can be found here.

Stunning photo looking up the landslide that went for hundreds of feet starting near the top of the switchbacks heading down to Fishtop. For more on the 2018 Green River Flood, go here.

Great photo (including Bill Clipper) looking at the landslide that went for many many hundreds of feet starting near the top of the switchbacks and heading down to Fishtop. For more on the 2018 Green River Flood, go here.

Great photo looking down the landslide that went for hundreds of feet starting near the top of the switchbacks heading down to Fishtop. For more on the 2018 Green River Flood, go here.

Above is a photo of a very high water Groove Tube taken by Crom Carey on Saturday morning following the exceptional rains on Friday night, May 18th. This led to serious flooding in Polk and surrounding counties of western North Carolina. A ball-parked guess for the river level by those on site is around 45'. Tuxedo was releasing 200% and the lake was at 101' or close to it. How high the Green got overnight is unknown. In comparison, while the high water year of 2013 was astounding in its duration/intensity, it did not blow-up like this in a single event. Scroll down for more photos of the Green, and some landslide pics from the Switchbacks.

A Very Rare Event

For perspective, one inch of rain in one hour's time is very heavy rain, but not uncommon and happens more than once per year. To maintain one inch per hour for three hours is much more rare, and happens on average once every ten years. The pace of two inches of rain per hour is a frog strangler, and to keep it up for one full hour happens by probability once every five years. Maintaining that two inches per hour pace for three hours straight is what created the epic rinse-down which the rivers, creeks, roads, culverts, and homes, couldn't handle, and is so rare as to likely happen only once every two hundred years, if not longer. Including Friday night's massive rain, we received 10.12' of rain as a four-day total, an amount that should happen just once every one hundred years. So in review: we got hit with a two hundred year level mega dump embedded at the end of a one hundred year deluge. And that's why the shit hit the fan. To poke around at the data for this, go to this NOAA Precipitation Frequency Estimates page, and use 'precip depth' in the top left. It takes a bit to get a handle on it, and is a great resource (thanks Starr Metcalf for finding it). Push other buttons, see colored lines and graphs and things.

Rivers and creeks all across the area were well outside their banks, mobile homes were moved, roads, culverts and driveways washed out, landslides occurred on the switchbacks down to Fishtop, Interstate 26 was closed for a spell, and untold numbers of trees were down. Trails and footbridges on the Gamelands were wiped out entirely in places, and Saturday's Green River Games had to be canceled. People living in Green River Cove took a major beating, with considerable property damage, including to our friends at the Wilderness Cove Campground. One woman in Polk County was killed when part of her house collapsed on her due to a mudslide.

This graph below of the French Broad River at Asheville is reflective of what other rivers and creeks experienced to varying degrees.

Pencil Sharpener:

The Notch:

Hammer Factor (Rowan Stuart pic):

Three great Switchback Landslide pics from Bill Clipper:

Photo of The Notch from Crom Carey the day after some super intense high water and flooding. More information here.

Crom Carey's photo of Pencil Sharpener at a guesstimated 45', taken the day following the big rains on May 18th. More pics/info here.

Great pic from Rowan Stuart early Saturday morning May 19th following the four day rain-a-palooza in western North Carolina. The 45' level is a total guess here. For more information on the Green River Flood of 2108, go here.

You can read Wade Harrison's accident report here.

If further accident reports are written, I will link to them here in hopes of them being a learning experience or at the least a cautionary tale. There are a few other minor accounts on the Facebook. People feel pretty gutted about this all around, whether they knew Matt or not. Heavy hearts at the Green right now.

I will say that similar to the two other recent paddling deaths in WNC, Matt most decidedly had the skills to be where he was on the river, and surely he fought like hell, just as those on location gave it all they had during a most awful ordeal. There's no consolation from that. None. Just questions that may have no answers.. :(

(Currently I don't seem able to edit the date/place/level on this page, will add/adjust soon)

Ladshaw Day

Above is a tiny piece of one of the two large scale blueprints produced by George Ladshaw and his brother on December 12th, 1906. The creek in the bottom right of the blueprint is the micro-sized Johnson Branch, which joins the Green River immediately below the first drop below Frankenstein. Upstream to the left is one of the FOUR dams proposed by the Ladshaw brothers. Each of the four dams were to have accompanying penstock piping (the 'trunk line') going downstream to individual power houses, with roads, power-lines, and other infrastructure. Two dams were recommended for the Upper Green and two for the Narrows, as described in the three page Ladshaw proposal. The dam shown on the blueprint fragment above is about halfway between the Big Hungry confluence and Bride, and their curvature is off a bit too when one views the full print.

The Upper Green and the Narrows as we know them today would have ceased to exist had the Ladshaw brothers' plan been enacted. Somehow we wound up with just the one dam that we have, creating Lake Summit and piping down to Tuxedo Hydro, built in 1918. Although they were hired to make the engineering study and proposal (and were paid $4200 for it), no amount of searching or contacting historical societies has turned up any reasons or information about why the Ladshaw plan was not accepted, and I have all but given up that part of my quest.

Regardless, it adds up to December 12th being Ladshaw Day. A day to raise our glasses to this mythical George Ladshaw and celebrate our dumb luck which became fine fortune --- because it is only but for an unknown whim by the powers-that-be over 100 years ago that we have our precious Green River to frolic upon today. Without the Green surely thousands of lives would be altogether different now, a few wonderful local businesses wouldn't be here or would be in different form. Some love affairs and relationships might never have started, some might never have ended, and three people who died on the Green would be alive yet today. None of us would have the countless hours of zen experience under a full moon or late afternoon light with our fine companions as lifetime memories to cherish -- memories occasionally intermingled with simple embarrassment or sheer terror. There would be no Green Race, no Fishtop at noon, no icicles in the cold eddies of winter. Man's mysterious failure to 'advance' gifted to all of us a world class gem of a place, and one that's worth celebrating.

Arguably, mid-December is a tricky time to have another holiday. It's just a month-plus after the Green Race, hot on the heels of Thanksgiving, and tucked in there as people are putting up Festivus poles, having the Airing of Grievances, saying Happy Hanukkah, and whatever else one does during Saturnalia and Christmas proper. Nonetheless, whether spending the day by themselves, huddled in small groups for fellowship, or at elaborate and costumed dance parties, Green boaters the world over make time each December 12th to hold up their pints and speak aloud: 'To Ladshaw!!'.

State of North Carolina Recognition

The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources

has recognized the importance of Ladshaw Day and

selected December 12th, 2014 to mark the occasion with

the publication on their 'This Day in North Carolina

History' web page of this article.

Ladshaw and his dams were featured in a Blue Ridge

Outdoors article by Charli Kerns in October of 2016.

More Green River maps and stuff are found here: Page of Maps. Go to the American Whitewater Green Narrows page for additional information about the Green.

Reproduction of the blueprint above was done with the kindness, permission, and help of Helen Wykle, staff librarian in Special Collections at UNCA's Ramsey Library in Asheville. When I looked at all the Ladshaw materials in 2009, Helen scanned some small sections for me so I could have a few digital images -- although we weren't able to capture a good impression of the whole operation in any way. Looking at the two large blueprints laid out on a table is most impressive, and I highly recommend it. The map numbers you want are 143 and 156 from this page if you go.

(thankfully preserved) notes from 1991.

Want more? Page of Maps

In terms of the Green River, the Tuxedo hyrdro plant released water at 200% continuously once for 17 days straight ---- during the Summer. And even so there was water coming over the dam frequently for days on end. This is unheard of. From April through August the river levels were all over the map, but the baseline 'Summer Hundred' became 13' instead of most years when it's 7'. It got to be where even the mid-teens in inches were joked about as being 'boney' due to the extended days of 20+' levels. There were multiple days with well over 30 inches of flow that were paddled by the intrepid, and one occasion ( May 5th-6th) 50++ inches was estimated but not paddled nor verified. Anecdotal comments of near-empty parking lots on Summer weekends were not uncommon, as the high water kept mere mortals off the river. The Green's levels were even high enough, consistently enough over a long period of time, that Green Key sales actually took a dive during these months and special appeals had to be made to get the numbers right.

Obviously, creeks and rivers all across WNC charged at high levels on-and-off for most of the year, much to the delight of area paddlers. And although impressive, this graph below from the USGS of the French Broad River for 2013 needs an 'average by month' line through it or something for context. Common levels are more like 1000-2000cfs.

Matt Risch on-line and making the race line boof at Frankenstein. Although this picture makes the rapid look much longer than it is, it's a nice perspective from some folks up in Maine who made a journey south. Jeremy Cass the photographer, and it came outta this bloggie here. The level on the stick gauge was 8.5'.

The slot one enters for the race line is the narrow one center-right in the pic. The 'trad line' begins a bit out-of-frame to the right and enters the program just beyond the slot.

The next 'slot' to the left in the photo above gets used by paddlers who are off-line, or rarely at high water intentionally. That program generally leads to running the bottom drop on the left of the triangle rock, which can work out fine but has piton and pin potential that is real. Run that side fairly close to the rock with a tad of right angle, I believe, to make up for one's error.

right with an easy exit to shore --- immediately above the now defunct California Line (as described here).

Click here to see a larger version of this photo, taken 7/6/02 by Boris Glick (KHCC).

Here's Toby MacDermott below Groove Tube during the 18' Jerry's Baddle in 2013. Running the entire Green top-to-bottom by oneself at this level kept a few sensible mortals off the course, and perhaps 4-5 ran Gorilla if I recall correctly from a total of _______ paddlers.

Besides these photographs, the trees are also seen in two recent videos from Shane Benedict: the 20-incher, and the 22-incher.

June 20, 2013 update: Tree gone from Zwick's,,,,,,mysterious beavers at work.

December 17, 2015 update: Somebody cut the Rapid Transit tree out. Some pieces lodged in entrance to the Spout Boof (on the right side of Nutcracker).

See: this set of four pics.

See: this set of four pics.

See: this set of four pics.

Photo used with permission: Sam Drevo
Photography, http://www.enrgkayaking.com/.

Wanna see video of someone pinned in that hole on the right? Ok, then
Grab that bitch. Sorry, that's a dead link now...

Immediately below this rapid a small creek comes in from the right, called 'Johnson Branch' on the 1906 large-scale engineering maps found in the UNCA library. Several of us have taken to calling this drop and the little boogie below it Johnson Branch Rapid as a result.

The date listed is way wrong,,,,,,and the AW site auto-filled that by error at some point. The real date is more like 4-5 years prior but I dunno what it was anymore..

http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Photo/detail/photoid/882201/

She was 23 years old. A brief account can be found in this Washington Post piece. The race was canceled in Shannon's honor,

and a moving memorial service was held instead. Also, see this piece in Canoe and Kayak, as well as this tribute from

her employer, Confluence Watersports.

Written 10 weeks after the accident, a fine and thoughtful retrospective from Stever Fisher, on the scene at the time as a paddler

and film-maker, can be found here. Steve was working with producers from Showtime's '60-Minutes Sports' on a piece about the race,

coincidentally to include Shannon. This is the promo for that show. And finally, browsing through American Whitewater's Accident Database

makes for sobering reading anytime.....Shannon's report is no exception.

Much beloved by all who knew her, Shannon's passing leaves a hole in the paddling community's heart that can't be filled.

Memories of her ever-present-and-effervescent infectious smile, however, those will last and last.

If looking at this photo doesn't reveal the steepness of the Green in general terms, then I'm not sure what will. The numbers stack up too. Over its length of 2.88 miles the Green averages 178 ft../mile in elevation drop, with the steepest mile dropping 342 ft../mile. The bottom of Rapid Transit is near the end of the steepest half mile in the gorge ---- and according to Chris Bell's math, this half mile drops at 422 ft./mile. Not coincidentally, the pool at the base of Rapid Transit is also the finish line of the annual Green Race.

I don't know the level on the stick gauge this day, but the records show it was a 100% release......looks a bit splashier 'from here'.

From my eye, the last upstream patch of whitewater one sees is at Pencil Sharpener (or possibly the race line finishing zone of Zwick's?), with Gorilla out of sight altogether.

Finally, this photograph is very cool in that the little speck in Rapid Transit is a paddler. Doug saw him afterwards in the pool below and then realized he (or she) was actually in the photo.

The image above was created and is copyrighted by Chris Bell of boatingbeta.com. To see the Green compared to a few other common rivers in WNC, click here.

The image below is taken from this page of maps.

Another interesting photo of Pencil Sharpener can be found here -- photo taken by Alex Zendel.

http://shanesliquidlogic.blogspot.com/2012/03/green-river-at-16.html

One time I was the third in line charging through Hammer Factor at about this level, and the first guy was stuck getting worked in the hole. The second guy dropped in and pummeled the first guy, then after another 5 seconds or so I came through and skipped over his upturned boat a second time. After he finally clawed his way out to the pool below (still in his boat, a bit wide-eyed), he said he that knew what was coming ---- and was actually saying to himself, 'there goes Ben'....and then a longer pause and 'there goes Pilson'.

Mountain Traditions is published by the Times-News ( Blueridgenow.com), in Hendersonville, NC, which holds the copyright to this picture. Reproduced with permission.

Thanks to Christine Boush for the fine photo. Her article about the Green River Gamelands, 'Natures Playground', can be found by navigating to the Special Sections tab near the top of the page in the above link, and then beginning on page 36 of the Spring/Summer 2012 issue.

Sprinkle is a veteran of 8 Green Races to date, with an unprecedented SIX victories in a row in the Hand Paddling division (came in second in 2011). Not bad for a fella in his 50's, huh? More on the Green Race here: The Green Race Information Page.

More information can be found on the Operational Stickers page.

Photo used with permission: Sam Drevo
Photography, http://www.enrgkayaking.com/.

Some more of Lee Timmons' photo work can be found here: http://leetimmonsphotography.com/

Website for this very cool biathlon fundraiser: Jerry's Baddle

This shows the hole at the bottom left of Scream Machine at a normal 100%. It's hard to avoid this hole at higher water than in the photo --- even in a boat. The 200% line is to stay left and get up on the pillow on the back side of it. Photo courtesy of http://www.lithiumkayaking.com/.

Here is a link to the un-doctored version, and some other stuff.

from the 2010 Green Race in his large SmugMug Gallery, go here.

=======================================================

Ok fine.... tucked in here is a portion of how it really went down.

More of this can be found in the random galleries about the interweb. This pic was taken from Michael McSwain's.

The 2010 15th Annual Green Race Theme: Love Thyself

The Green Race Information Page

Other people tried out some fancy-pants paddling in this year's race as well. One good example captured on film would be Jeff Paine's attainment skills.

A couple more high water pics from that day can be found here.

click it

The Green Race Information Page

Sorry, Boatingbeta database is gone for good!! :(

(October 2018 -- and this page is well out of date)

The 23rd annual Green Race will be held on

Saturday, Nov. 3rd, 2018

Perhaps the single most famous, most respected, and most competitive creek race on the
planet, the annual Green Race remains a fabulous and homespun little affair held each Fall
on the steepest section of western North Carolina's Green River Narrows.
Local boaters train here for much of the year due to the reliable flows, and people come from literally around the world to compete. More than five hundred
friends and family members either hike or paddle in to watch and cheer on every
racer, scattering themselves along the river's boulders and bedrock near the photogenic
signature rapid called Gorilla -- a.k.a. 'The Monkey' -- heart and soul of the entire run.

Looming larger than life in any paddler's mind, the Green Race is -- save for a few individuals
-- largely not about winning. It's more about having clean lines and a safe run, making a
personal best time, beating (or losing to) a friend by a few seconds, and simply
participating in such a unique event and the fine community that surrounds it all. And yet
to date, in nineteen years, with perhaps several thousand people having navigated and
portaged themselves down the Green in total, only 598 people have entered the race.

Some of the well-known dangers found on the Narrows are mentioned in this waiver that all racers must
agree to and sign prior to entering. For example .... 'lacerations' .... 'impalement' ....
'extensive dental damage' .... and my personal favorite: 'I have been warned of the
stupidity of this activity'. So yeah, sure, Class V, but not just skills does it take;
rather, a sense of courage more than the rest of us have -- have we the skills or not.

The Green Race began in 1996 and has been scheduled to start at 12 noon on the first
Saturday in November ever since. Racers start from the river right side of the long pool
below Bride of Frankenstein and finish about five minutes and one half of a miracle mile
later on the river left side of the pool below Rapid Transit. The racers take off in one
minute intervals, starting with long boats (the 'open' division -- anything goes), then
short boats under 9', with the known racers seeded to keep passing to a minimum.

Initially born from a conversation between friends during a Gauley shuttle drive nineteen years ago, Leland Davis then organized the first Green Race, and kept them running through
2002. Jason Hale, also in from the beginning, took over in 2003 and has been the main
front-man since then. The race 'actually happens' because of a lot of people, chief among them being John Grace -- as well as a rotating cast of characters who help with timing, food, details, etc. Additionally, Chris Bell
has collected all the prior years' results into one clickable and sortable database (linked
above), and is now handling online registration on his boatingbeta site.

As an aside, please note that American Whitewater is in no way a sponsor, organizer, sanctioner, or anything
else related to the race -- save for most local AW members being pretty fired up about it. This page is just a collection of far-flung information pulled together into one place, designed to answer
the random Green Race trivia question and help you kill time until you're out paddling
again.

Hiking
Directions and Page of Maps

Green River Narrows Race John Grace's official Green Race page, featuring all the LVM archival footage, podcasts, updates, and more. Also, Facebook now has a Green Race page.

Race Reports from Blogs and Websites

• Leland Davis' website
  short report and results 1997

• Xacters.net (dead link)
  brief report on 2004

• Jackson
  Kayak report from Clay Wright, 2005

• The
  Green Race According to Hale Results and Tidbits, 2005

• Groundswell Project report from Clay Wright, 2005

• Jackson
  Kayak piece by Eric Jackson, 2005

• Downstream
  Movement report, Cooper Lambla, 2006

• Watergirls at Play
  account by Andria Baldovin, 2006

• Shred Ready comments by Tom Sherburne, 2006

• Team Dagger report on Pat
  Keller's race, 2006 (dead link)

• Team
  Eskimo report from Chan Jones, 2006

• Team
  Riot report from Nathan Silsbee, 2006

• Team Dagger
  second report, 2006 (dead link)

• Shane
  Benedict's Boofing into a Stadium fine report, 2007

• Team Dagger interview with
  Andrew Holcombe, 2007

• Atlantic Kayaker
  report from Kelsey Thompson, 2007

• Shane Benedict's write-up for
  Kayak Session, 2007

• Jeremy Lauck's report on Chasingrain.com, 2007

• Jackson
  Kayak report from Chris Bucksey, 2007

• Water Tribe
  blog report from Chan Jones, 2007

• ZoarOutdoor's blog from Fergus Coffey,
  2007

• Jackson
  Kayak report, Nick Troutman, 2007

• Matias Nunez's
  report, in Spanish, 2007

• Rob
  Tompkins' blog report & photos, LVM Giant Slalom, July 2008

• LVM-TV's race report, video,
  and results, Giant Slalom, July 2008

• Hannah Grace Cole's fine series of pics, Giant Slalom, July 2008

• Team
  Shred Ready report from Tom Sherburne, 2008

• Andrew
  Bentley's report on WorldKayakBlogs, 2008

• Anna
  Levesque's report on WaterGirlsAtPlay, 2008

• Matt Wallace's blog post on Southern Boof, 2008

• Team Werner report from Danny Mongno, 2008

• Team Riot report from Chris Gragtmans,
  2008

• Team Pyranha report from Chan Jones, 2008

• Nick
  Murphy's story about his 1st race, 2008

• Matias
  Nunez's chatter, in Spanish, 2008

• Shane
  Benedict's story, with party pics, 2009

• Matt Wallace's
  race story, 2009

• Shane Benedict's week of posts for Kayak Session, 2010

• Werner Blog write-up on Adriene's victory, 2010

• Mike Dawson's comments on his blog, 2010

• Nick Troutman's pre-race comments for Jackson, 2010

• Will Pruett's comments on Full Throttle, 2010

• Isaac Levinson's post following his 2nd place showing, 2010

Ross Herr's comments and pics, 2010

Jason Beakes' DC Kayaking Life, 2010

Newspaper and Magazine Articles

• AW
  Journal article by Leland Davis about the first race in 1996

• Hendersonville Times-News article about Al Gregory's victory in 2000

• Paddler
  Magazine (dead link) account in 2001

• Hendersonville Times-News pre-race article 2003

• CanoeKayak.com
  article about 2005 race

• Hendersonville Times-News pre-race article 2006

• Denver Post article about
  Dagger's role in 2006

• GoUpstate.com
  pre-race article 2007

• BlueRidgeNow.com pre-race article 2007

• BlueRidgeNow.com piece
  about Leland/Andria 2007

• Paddling Life (online
  magazine) article about 2007

• Outside Magazine
  article, in Portugese, 2007

• Paddling Life (online
  magazine) article 2008

• The Mountain
  Xpress' short piece, 2008

• Kanu Magazine article, in German, 2009

• Canoe and
  Kayak article, 2009

• Shane Benedict's post-race thoughts for KayakSession, 2010

• CanoeKayak.com's coverage, Greasing The Green, 2010

Asheville Citizen-Times little snippet with a video, 2010

Shane Benedict's fine article, KayakSession, 2010

Mtn. Xress pre-race on-line blurb and clip, 2010

• Christine Boush's pre-race article, Blue Ridge Outdoors, 2011

• Chris Gragtmans' article in Blue Ridge Outdoors, 2011

Photo Albums

• Chris Bell's photo
  archive on Boatingbeta.com 2001, 2002, 2003

• Randy Pegram's archive of
  undated early pics 2002, 2003

• Dallas Shaw's (dead link) collection on Lithiumkayaking.com 2005

• Ben
  Edson's collection on Downstreamphoto.com 2005

• Ryan Bednar's (dead link) collection on RyanBednar.com 2006

• Ben
  Edson's collection on Downstreamphoto.com 2006

• Shannon
  Taylor's set on micromission blog 2006

• Ben Edson's & Ben
  Wiggins' pics on Downstreamphoto.com 2007

• Thomas Oliver's & Glenn LaPlante's photos on
  Flicker 2007

• Mike
  Justus' slide show at BlueRidgeNow.com 2007

• Bryan Owen's
  shots at AstralBuoyancy.com 2007

• carolinatexas' gallery of stills
  on YouTube, 2007

• Karlshred's
  (??) photos on the Picassa 2007

• Judy Ranelli's
  gallery on Smugmug, 2007

• Phil Raber's gallery
  on Picassa 2007

• Jim Wei's
  gallery on Picassa 2007

• Randy Pegram's slideshow 2007

• Ben Edson's & Ben Wiggins' Gorilla
  pics, Downstreamphoto.com, 2008

• Patrick Elliot's
  pics from Gorilla and Go Left on Photobucket, 2008

• Thomas Oliver's & Glenn LaPlante's
  photographs on Flicker, 2008

• Chris Port's photos from Go Left, Riverlight Photography, 2008

• Valerie
  Blanchette's photos from Go Left on SmugMug, 2008

• Arlyn Agababian's photos
  from Go Left on Picassa, 2008

• teledave's ??
  photos on TetonGravityResearch, 2008

• Ben Gaston's
  Zwick's pics, Gradient Imagery, 2008

• John
  Blackshire's picture gallery on Flicker, 2008

• Randy Pegram's Gorilla slideshow
  pics, 2008

• Anthony
  Bellemare's gallery on Flicker, 2008

• Seth Richardson's
  photos on Picassa, 2008

• Mark Van Liere's mostly
  Gorilla shots, 2008

• Phillip
  Turner's mostly Gorilla shots, 2008

• Robert
  Hurst's fisheye lens shots, 2008

• Scott
  Sarrell's top hole at Zwick's pix, on Picassa, 2009

• Anthony Bellemare's gallery of
  black and whites, 2009

• Randy Pegram's slideshow, Gorilla
  close-ups, 2009

• Sam Silvey's
  gallery on LookOutdoorNews, 2009

• Adam Miles'
  Zwick's, Go Left, and Gorilla, 2009

• Jenni
  Miehle's collection on Photobucket, 2009

• Joey
  Jarrell's collection on Photobucket, 2009

• Chris Bell's large gallery on SmugMug, 2009

• Arlyn Agababian's
  gallery on Picassa, 2009

• Keith Crawford's
  gallery on Picassa, 2009

• BigJohn's collection on Smug-Mug, 2009

• Shane
  Benedict's Picassa Pics, 2009

Adam Miles' Go Left/Zwick's/Pencil Sharpener, Picassa, 2010

Michael McSwain's Gorilla-zone photos, Picassa, 2010

Shane Benedict's collection on the Picassa, 2010

Danielle Evans' pics from below Gorilla, 2010

Chris Bell's large gallery on SmugMug, 2010

• Wes Bobbitt's gallery on photoreflect, 2010

• Randy Pegram's Frankenstein pics, 2010

Crystal Gustin's gallery on Facebook, 2010

Tyler Boeing's Facebook photos, 2010

Lee Timmons' Facebook photos, 2010

Chris Pesce's Facebook photos, 2010

Bryan Owen's Facebook photos, 2010

Judy Ranelli's SmugMug gallery, 2010

Mike Nail's Facebook photos, 2010

Video Clips

• Ryan Scott/CRG
  Productions clip from 2004

• Clayton Gaar's (& N.
  Silsbee's) YouTube 2006

• Stephen
  Beeson's YouTube clip 2006

• AutoBoof Productions clip from 2006

• Ryan
  Richardson's YouTube clip (w/ Cooper) 2007

• Nick Troutman's clip for
  Jackson Kayak 2007

• Todd Johnson's YouTube short
  boats 2007

• Matt Alverson's YouTube clip
  from 2007

• Big Kahuna's YouTube clip 2007

• Shane
  Benedict's pre-race chatter clip, October 2008

• IceBurg
  Studioz' shredder Gorilla, YouTube, 2008

• Bottoms Up
  Kayaking's Monkey carnage, 2008

• Josh Dalton's mostly carnage video, 2008

• Virginia
  Balfour's Gorilla YouTube, 2008

• Peter
  Savage's Gorilla YouTube, 2008

• LVM's post-race
  quickie clip, 2008

• Stephanie Augras' Vimeo, Frenchman Eric Deguil, 2009

• brasconect's clip of Wes
  Gentry's OC1 ride, 2009

• Steve Krajewski's variety clip, on Vimeo, 2009

• Adam Secrest's
  short Gorilla montage, 2009

• Blaine Patrick's contribution, Vimeo, 2009

• Zach
  Heaton's clip, mostly Gorilla, 2009

• Mark Armistead's Vimeo piece, 2009

• Pilot Collective's highlights, Full Coverage, Amongst it TV, 2010

• Shane Benedicts' pre-race warm-ups and chitter-chatter, 2010

• Will Ritchie's A short Jason Beakes' Go Left gone awry, 2010

• Pilot Collective's The Chronicles of Gnarnia, carnage, 2010

• Pilot Collective's nice Gorilla carnage compilation, 2010

• Rapid Media's Clay Wright interview on race day, 2010

• Derek Rippe's GoPro on a paint roller YouTube, 2010

• Crystal Gustin's fine Notch video on YouTube, 2010

• Steve Krajewski's moving pictures, Vimeo, 2010

• Git Wet Productions video on YouTube, 2010

• 7 Finger Media's Everybody Shines, 2010

• M Neff's Gorilla clip on YouTube, 2010

• Ross Herr's three guys talking, 2010

• Josh Fitz's short at Gorilla, 2010

• kayakmb's short Coffey, 2010

'Class Five Certified'

The 94 Person Sub 5-minute Honor Roll:

Drew AustellNate ElliotDJ JacobsonBilly MurphyJoe BarkleyJohn GraceChan JonesJared SeilerJason BeakesKeegan GradyBilly JonesJesse ShimrockShane BenedictChris GragtmansPat KellerNathan SilsbeeGeoff CalhounAl GregoryBrian KirkPaul StamilioJules CampbellNik HaaseBrian KnightDaniel StewartRiley CathcartJason HaleIsaac LevinsonEric StrittmatterCaleb CoaplenChris HarjesAdriene LevknechtRob TompkinsFergus CoffeyAdam HerzogToby MacDermottNick TroutmanMike DawsonTommy HillekeDustin MarquartCorey VoltEric DeguilAndrew HolcombePablo McCandlessBo WallaceTad DennisEric HurdScott McCluskyClay WrightDrew DuvalDane JacksonMichael MontagneChris Young. . . . Louis GeltmanSeverin Haberling Mark TaylorJesse Wilensky Joel KowalskiDarren AlbrightVavrinec HradilekRyan DekayDave HermanDavid CohenChris StaffordGerd Serrasolses Hunt JenningsKyle HullKelly JordanJake GreenbaumKatrina Van WijkDave FusilliStephen McGradyWill RudisellBen FrakerMatt AngerJakub NemecBradley McMillanCooper SalladeJess AlbrightClay LucasGalen VolckhausenJordan PoffenbergerDerek DelBuonoWade HarrisonAndrew McKewanColin Hunt Cameron Thacker Alec Vorhees Michael WelchRobert WaldronAaron MannBernie EngelmanWyatt HyndmanRyan McAvoyTaylor Coffer . . (teach me to alphabetize this table, i'm a moron)

Full-length Films

• The Green Race Movie (2007) Chris
  Gallaway's fine film about the history and challenge of the Green Race, as well his own
  efforts to train and compete in 2006. Chris' movie won Best Whitewater Film at
  the 2008 Reel Paddling Film Festival, as well as Best Documentary and Best of
  Show at the 2008 National Paddling Film Festival.

LVM Back Issues Featuring the Green Race

Issued quarterly for years, Lunch Video Magazine was your Asheville-based source for the good shit worldwide. Often
filmed close to home, too, with plenty of Green Race footage through the years. Relevant
Back Issues: 1, 3, 7, 11, 14, 18, 21, 25, 29....? Some are still available in groups at Amongsit.com.

Other Video

• Playin' In The Backyard (2000) Leland Davis' full-length video devoted to the
  entire Narrows, including a rapid-by-rapid breakdown and a separate section about the
  Green Race. Most of the footage shot in 1997/98, and included in the extras is a Pat
  Keller helmet cam of the race course (fast run).

...hrrmph, those lines seem way too far apart now... :)

The 2017 Winners

Division

Paddler

Time

Open

Eric Deguil

Women

Adrienne Levknecht

Short Boat

--

--

Hand Paddles

--

--

C1

--

--

OC1

--

--

Ironman

--

--

Course Records

Division

Paddler

Time

Year

Open

Mike Dawson

4:10

2012

Women

Adrienne Levknecht

4:38

2015

Short Boat

Mike Dawson

4:30

2012

Hand Paddles

Bill Clipper

5:07

2011

C1

Ben Fraker

4:47

2013

OC1

Jordan Poffenberger

7:06

2012

Ironman

Mike Dawson

8:40

2012

Open Class Winners by Year

Year

Winner

Time

Boat

1996

Clay Wright

4:57

Pyrahna Mtn. 300

1997

Jason Hale

5:13

Prijon Tornado

1998

Jason Hale

5:04

Prijon Tornado

1999

Tommy Hilleke

5:03

Prijon Tornado

2000

Al Gregory

4:59

Pyranha Master

2001

Tommy Hilleke

4:42

Prijon Tornado

2002

Tommy Hilleke

4:49

Prijon Tornado

2003

Tommy HIlleke

4:42

Prijon Tornado

2004

Tommy Hilleke

4:35

Prijon Tornado

2005

Tommy Hilleke

4:34

Prijon Tornado

2006

Pat Keller

4:36

Dagger Green

2007

Andrew Holcombe

4:27

Dagger Green

2008

Pat Keller

4:31

Dagger Green

2009

Andrew Holcombe

4:18

Dagger Green

2010

Mike Dawson

4:26

LL Stinger

2011

Isaac Levinson

4:22

LL Stinger

2012

Mike Dawson

4:10

LL Stinger

2013

Pat Keller

4:14

Dagger Green

2014

Isaac Levinson

4:19

Jackson Karma Unlimited

2015

Dane Jackson, Eric Deguil (tie)

4:13

Karma Unlimited, Stinger

Participation by Year

Year

Total

Women

Ironmen

1996

16

1997

21

4

1998

25

1

1999

39

1

2000

37
1
2001

64

3

2002

65

5

2003

57

4

1

2004

8

2005

75

3

5

2006

116

6

9

2007

105

6

18

2008

92

3

9

2009

126

6

21

2010

136

6

22

2011

120

4

24

2012

153

5

32

2013

121

4

24

2014

164

7

canceled

2015

--

--

--

Green Race Fun Facts

• Most years raced: Jason Hale, 18, Tommy Hilleke, 17

• Oldest Green racer: Jerry Jascomb, 57, in 2011

• First Ironman: Glenn LaPlante (Long and Short boats), 11:40, 2003

• First Superman: Paul Stamilio (Long, Short, Handpaddles), 16:48, 2007

• Total number of racers in 19 years: 598

• Number of men who have raced: 566

• Number of women who have raced: 32

• Number of people sub 5 minutes: 94

• Total number of race runs: 1714

• Number of first-timers, past seven years: 35, 51, 45, 34, 54, 39, 60

• Avg. % of first-timers in past seven years of races: 34%

• Number of people who have raced 10 or more years: 13

• Fastest average time of the 10-year racers: John Grace, 4:49

• Release Levels: 100% .... ( '04 @ 250%, '07 @ drought special 2x60%, '08 @ low drought 100%, '12 @ 12', '15 @ 11' )

• Actual length of race: Real close to .55 miles

Messing About in Green Boats

A host of old school long boats were used over the years in attempts to win or place
well in the Green Race. Many are still paddled competitively. Since 2006 five separate limited edition boats have been designed
with the Green Race specifically in mind.

Prijon Tornado -- The workhorse of winning boats for years, having won 8 out of 19
races to date. Made from 1995-2000(?) and now out of production, coveted, and hard to
find --- with the aluminum mold lying in disrepair outside some German factory --- the
Tornado will become a
relic.

Dagger Green Boat -- Introduced in 2006 and a Pat Keller/Snowy Robertson design,
the Green Boat has now won five races and became available commercially in March 2008 -- leading to 32 of the
60 long boats in the 2008 race being Dagger Green Boats! (More on the Green Boat here and here).

Wavesport Momentum -- A Robert Peerson design in 2006...(more soon...a photo linkie perhaps?). Did not become commercially available.

Liquid Logic Remix 100 -- Local designer Shane Benedict's offering, out just in
time for the 2007 race. Here is his
description of the process he used to build it, some pictures
of the first runs, and one other nice
photo. Only about 8 of these boats were made.

Liquid Logic Remix Stinger -- Shane Benedict's speed machine, which debuted at
the 2009 race. Here's the story and some pics, an early production video and a post-race Stinger
stand-up. These crafts became available commercially in the Summer of 2013, and here's a nice October 2013 retrospective.

Jackson Karma Unlimited -- Jackson's new longboat, out in time for the Fall 2013 race season, including five boats showing at the Green. Dane Jackson, at Gorilla here, has two strong second place finishes in his ( here's a pre-race training video), and Isaac Levinson won the 2014 race in his. The Karma Unlimited may go in to commercial production (?).

....What? You're not a

member? How could you?

Sign up here.

The Ten Count

Thirteen people have

run the Green Race

for at least ten years:

Eric Chance

Caleb Coaplan

John Grace

Chris Gragtmans

Jason Hale

Eli Helbert

Tommy Hillike

Pat Keller

Keith Sprinkle

Bo Wallace

Jeff West

Clay Wright

Chris Young

More Green Stuff

• First Full Descent: Tom Visnius & John Kennedy, November 1988.

• Fastest Top-to-Bottom time: 27:45....at Jerry's Baddle, March 2007, Toby McDermott & Chris
  Gragtmans (tie). This was a year when the kayak portion ended at Fishtop, not at the campground like it does now.

• Most laps in a day: 11, (Zach Fraysier, Jeff West), August 2011, blog post, and 10 (West, Shanin, Bowman), July 2006, AW Journal.

• Early (1990) AW Journal 'Two-Gallon River' (Callaway, Koll).

• Most major rapids can be viewed here in a video promo for 'Locals Only', this one featuring Chris Gragtmans.

2013 pic from above the Monkey

This page was created in the Spring of 2007 by: John Pilson, Asheville, NC. To find me for additions or corrections: johnpilson at the gmail

An undated early map showing the Green Narrows. This is from the 'Speculation Lands' archive and can be found here.

An undated early map showing the Green Narrows. This is from the 'Speculation Lands' archive and can be found here.

Chris Roberts' May 6th, 2009 photo of a kinda dirty Toilet Bowl at 11' on the stick gauge, with Stephen Hughes coming through for a little scrub-a-dub. This is from a 100% release and a bunch of overnight rain. In this case a large share --- the lion's share? --- of the soil load came from Big Hungry Creek. Check a photo of the confluence from the same day.

The brown color flushing through represents likely tens of tons of sediment per day --- washing off of Henderson County developments, building projects, roads, farms, etc. --- and fast making its way to downstream lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. Disgusting.

After a series of emails with a USGS Sediment Specialist/Hydrologist, I have learned that an estimate of .01 ounces of soil being carried downstream per gallon of water would be well within the range of what one could expect -- and may even be on the conservative side by a small multiple. Data exists for much larger rivers (with considerably less gradient) that corroborates this estimate.

Hey, let's do some math: With .01 ounces of soil per gallon of water and what I'll call 600 cfs for streamflow (4,488 gallons/second), there would be over 120 tons of soil per day washing through the Green Narrows following modest rain events. To visualize this amount, 120 tons basically fills six large tandem-axle dump trucks. Six dump trucks over Gorilla. Could this possibly be correct? The math works out, the USGS fella backs the numbers, and all-in-all I think it stinks. The crayfish aren't happy, the trout and otters aren't happy, the paddlers, fishermen, and Gamelands staff aren't happy, the oysters far downstream aren't happy, etc.

To contact the proper soil conservation authorities about excessive erosion issues in any area, do it through the respective county's Soil and Water Conservation District offices. In Henderson County, the locale for much of the Green's watershed, you'd contact the Henderson County Soil and Water Conservation District. Arm yourself with a sense of professionalism, some maps and/or photos, and develop a relationship with the usually very sympathetic SWCD staffperson who handles whatever type of situation you are dealing with.

To get more involved locally with identifying erosion prone developments and working with area soil conservation personnel, consider becoming a Muddy Water Watch volunteer. Here's a link to some more information about Riverlink's local training program:
http://www.riverlink.org/muddywatch.asp. Green boaters Ted Cookson and Harrison Metzger have gone through the training and have helped identify issues in the Green watershed and worked with the local SWCD staff. More people are needed.

One final thought: During the very time this minor diatribe was being first-drafted here, the photographer and the paddler in the above photo were boofing themselves down Big Creek in the Smokies. Big Creek runs crystal clear following heavy rains of 2' and more --- the way it's 'supposed to be'. Where there's upstream development and roads, etc., one can't get to that level of water quality on our creeks, but we can do a whole lot better than we are doing, especially in a place like the Green. The current ethic surrounding erosion control practices in western North Carolina is, plain and simple, terrible. It can change slowly over time if more people get involved and call out bad behavior.

John Pilson

Nice angle of Sunshine from a spot on the portage route, taken during the Jerry's Baddle biathlon.

Shane Benedict's write-up of the 2009 Baddle, including some other photos and video, can be found here.

Click here for more information.

Available now by mail order from the Astral Factory store. Click here for more details...

Find me in person for the single calendar program. I'll always have them with me til they run out (and I had to buy so many they won't run out). On the vinyl portion there is the Gorilla logo and text that says 'Green River Access Fund' and 'Saluda, North Carolina'.

You need one of these on your dashboard. Thanks for supporting the Access Fund.

http://web.mac.com/hannahgracecole/PhotoBlog/PhotoBlog.HannahGraceCole.com/Entries/2008/7/26_Green_River_Slalom_Race.html

(October 2011.....hmmm......that appears to be a dead link now. Sorry.)

from Alex Harvey --- that shows a bunch of failed (and scary looking) attempts at the sneak line --- click here.

To Fishtop (the take-out) from Asheville:

26 East

Exit 59

Left off exit, and go 200 yards

Left on Green Cove Rd.

3 miles downhill

'Fishtop Access' lot on your left

To Put-in from Fishtop:

26 West

Exit 53....'Upward Road'

Right off exit and go 1.5 miles

Right on Big Hungry Road (after brick church)

first Left on Big Hungry Road

first Right on Big Hungry Road

first Right on Gallimore Road

Follow to bottom

'Keyholder Lot' on your right, trail on your left, .6 miles gentle downhill (first 2/3 on old roadbed).

To Pulliam Creek Trail (to hike in to the heart of the Narrows) from Asheville:

26 East

Exit 53....'Upward Road'

Left off exit and go 1.5 miles

Right on Big Hungry Road (after brick church)

first Left on Big Hungry Road

first Right on Big Hungry Road

DON'T TAKE first Right on Gallimore Road....

...But continue 3.1 more miles

Park in unmarked pull-off on right

Cross little log bridge

~1.5 miles of mellow downhill ...and some uphill after crossing Pulliam Creek

Don't take offshoot trails

Cross two log bridges after crossing creek

Drop off to the right after large bend around to the left, see flagging tape, ropes, trail.

This part is wicked steep, 200 yards tops,

Then jump across the creek, and you're at Groove Tube

Good trail leading upstream a couple hundred yards to Gorilla.

Google road map to Pulliam Creek trailhead.

Tips for those hiking in to watch the race: Allow an hour-plus for the crowded hike, and plan to get there well before 12 noon to look around and get situated. The trail will be stacked and slow-going on the steep part. Don't underestimate the time required. Also, you'll be in there for a few hours, and it's colder down in there so dress accordingly. If you're early, scamper even further upstream of Gorilla as there lots to see up there. Parking for the race is normally very tight, as only a few spots are technically 'off the road'. Some local residents out there have been upset in the past. Please use caution, don't break any laws, do the best you can, etc. The hike can take only 30 minutes if you're really stepping right along, but on race day it's a whole 'nother story. Finally, in terms of safety, not all dangers exist just for the paddlers. People hiking in to watch the race would be wise to read the cautionary article written by veteran Green Narrows racer Adam Herzog in the AW Journal, linked to in this photograph.

To go to a page of maps for the Green Narrows, click here.

To go to the AW Green Narrows page, click here.

To go to The Green Race Information Page, click here.

Sometimes people will gesture to the crowd when snagged by the Speed Trap.

See another high water photo set right here, taken by Arlyn Agababian on December 1st, 2010.

Some of that rescue action is viewable late in this Green Race Movie Trailer.

Not to belabor a common point, but it pays to have your throw rope ready if you're 'out and about'.

Somebody did for this guy, and he saved that swimmer's ass. Unquestionably, without a person with a

rope right there and ready to use it, the swimmer would have gone through The Notch and over Gorilla.

No two ways about it.

In 2011, two or three ropes were tossed to a guy in a similar predicament but further downstream towards

the inevitable. Too late, and he swam the Monkey, no doubt thinking at the time that his situation was becoming

highly suboptimal. Things worked out ok I'm assuming as I heard no reports to the contrary.

Here's a photo from the 2008 Green Race from the same angle and of the same guy (but this time his paddle didn't really come through with him as planned).

Green Race ends. Photo courtesy of http://www.lithiumkayaking.com/.

Goto http://filebox.vt.edu/users/cdgorman/index.html for more SE creeking videos

Goto http://filebox.vt.edu/users/cdgorman/index.html for more SE creeking videos

2003 was the year of the first 'Ironman' entry in the Green Race, and Glenn was the first and

only person to do it that year. This must be his second run in the Gus.

September 2004 Hurricane Trifecta (Francis, Ivan, and Jeanne), check this very cool loop-a-loop.

Color codes for that loop, and a bunch of other stuff, can be found on this USGS national map page.

The seal launch landing zone is just downstream of the bottom tree in the photo above.

You can see all the trees in place during this head-to-head period piece race clip from 2002.

Below is a photograph from the same date in 2003 which shows the longstanding tree below Nies' Pieces (about 15' out from

the bottom of 'SuperBoof'). This tree also washed away during the Fall '04 hurricanes...

Click here to see a larger version of this photo.

Click here to see a larger version of this photo.
Click here to see a larger version of this photo.
Click here to see a larger version of this photo.

Quite possibly, the classic boof of the
Narrows. I saw this while preparing
to run Groove Tube, and since then,
it's all cali for me. Courtesy
www.southernwilds.com

Editor's note: The 'California Line' was the right hand way to enter Groove Tube. It has been out of play since ~2004 due to a rock shifting and draining the pool.

Jeff was a much-loved and respected long-term fixture in southeast paddling, and died on approximately Sept. 10th, 2012, while attempting to solo paddle the Grand Canyon of the Stikine River in British Columbia. West was a veteran of Stikine, and you can read his write-up of an earlier trip here: Stikine In A Day. Much more about Jeff can be found on the web by a simple search, as well as looking at his AceKayaking blog. One fine tribute to Jeff, written by Kat Levitt, is found here, and a piece in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, here.

A veteran of a total of 12 Green Races ( link to his race history), he had a series of impressive paddling accomplishments --- including two marathon sessions on the Green Narrows. In 2006 he and some others completed 10 laps in a day, and in 2011 they completed a staggering 11 laps in one day.

In a most fitting tribute, the 2012 Green Race was dedicated to the life and times of Jeff West.

A memorial fund has been established to help pay expenses related to bringing him home from B.C., a memorial ceremony/party on October 13th, and to continue his Ace Kayak School..... Jeff West Memorial Fund.

=======================================================

I am unclear on the exact date (and photographer) of this picture, but saw mentioned elsewhere it was probably 1994. Please let me know if you'd like to fine tune any of this information. johnpilson and I'm at the gmail.

Jeff was a much-loved and respected long-term fixture in southeast paddling, and died on approximately Sept. 10th, 2012, while attempting to solo paddle the Stikine River in British Columbia. He was a veteran of Stikine, and you can read his write-up of an earlier trip here: Stikine In A Day. More about Jeff can be found on the web by a simple search, as well as looking at his AceKayaking blog.

A veteran of a total of 12 Green Races ( link to his race history), he had a series of impressive paddling accomplishments -- including two marathon runs on the Green. One time he and some others completed 10 laps in a day, and the other time they completed a staggering 11 laps in one day.

I am unclear on the date (and photographer) of this picture, but saw mentioned elsewhere it was 1994. Please let me know if you can help. johnpilson and I'm at the gmail.

(Also, dunno why but this pic is showing as 'huge' for me on my screen, but reverts to more normal if I click 'see full size'.....I wanna know how to fix this)

This is a shot of the MAMA helicopter landing at Groove Tube on July 15th, 1991 to airlift Slim Ray to Mission Hospital after his back injury at Sunshine. Flights into the Green are far too risky though, and this was a one-and-done. The MAMA helicopters will no longer land in the gorge and this flight was touch-and-go to say the least, apparently pruning branches both on the way in and on the way out --- so I was told. Contrary to some persistent rumors, the pilot, Dutch Fridd, a veteran of the Viet Nam war, was not fired for the daring rescue, and went on to later retire in 2015.

To read the accident report on AW for Slim Ray, click here.

Twenty-five years later, in October of 2016, a hiker with a broken ankle was airlifted out via helicopter from the same area, but the man was cabled up and the chopper didn't land.

Slim Ray, who was paralyzed from the waist down in his accident, published the well-known book River Rescue with co-author Les Bechtel the year before his accident (available from http://www.cfspress.com/). He has continued to serve as an impressive advocate and educator around safety issues in whitewater paddlesports, writing several more books and leading clinics on swiftwater rescue for first responders.

Backboards: A series of other major and minor injuries have occurred at Sunshine over the years, including another evacuation (from a broken back) in the Summer of 2009 which required a backboard to be brought into the gorge by local EMS personnel. The amount of time this took was frustrating to paddlers on the scene, and there is now a backboard designed and built by Green boaters located near Sunshine in the event of its use being necessary in the future. Green regulars should know where it's located....if you don't know, then ask someone. It is out of sight....on river right, below the pool below Rapid Transit. If you're doing the portage there, and do the first drop down on that loggie-log, then go ahead 30', from there it's uphill to your right on a shelf out of site, maybe 20' away. This backboard was used during the 2011 Green Race to carry out an intrepid first year racer with a punctured lung, and there was some initial confusion as to its whereabouts. Make sure you know where it is, and tell others about it.

There was for a time a second backboard located right at Gorilla on river left, but it was absconded with.

A lovely day in 1906 for a picnic at The Notch. Go to this page for further discussion.

2005 NPFF Best Paddling Image Winner ***
Photo by John Michael Cox***http://
www.surfbwa.org/npff

For a cool early photo of the seal launch from about 1996 --- in the snow --- click here. The pic is copyright Chris Bell

of boatingbeta.com and the subject is Teresa Gryder. Great shot!

The little thumbnail of the seal launch on the main page is a photo taken by Andrew Lazenby on 7/25/04, with the subject unknown. Here it is, full size.

To see a little video clip of the seal launch, click here.

check out www.michaelmcswain.com
check out www.michaelmcswain.com
check out www.michaelmcswain.com
check out www.michaelmcswain.com
check out www.michaelmcswain.com
check out www.michaelmcswain.com
check out www.michaelmcswain.com
check out www.michaelmcswain.com

Goto http://filebox.vt.edu/users/cdgorman/index.html for more SE creeking videos

More Green photos from Dallas Shaw can be found at www.lithiumkayaking.com.