Discussion: Holy s%$&

Makes you think about all the things I do on a week to week basis that could result in serious injury or death... that is terrible news.

The CBC article is a bit more in depth -
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/20...

Unfortunately they ended up in some tough conditions. Bob had some interesting comments on the Global news story (the video).

Wow....

the coverage says they didn't have lifejackets... nor wetsuits I presume.... just tragic

I didn't know Richard..

Denis we be missed.... I can't imagine what Cheryl's going through

Very sad news - they sound like a couple of awesome people. One of Bob's quotes from the video is highly relevant to us ARers, especially coming from someone with his experience: "It's always other people who get into trouble like this. Not us - we're big, tough guys. We do this all the time. How could *we* get into trouble like this? It just shows you that it could happen to anyone."

A couple of lessons I'm taking away from this tragedy. (I'm sure we've all been guilty of making similar errors, but we've been lucky enough to get away with it.):

- We might choose to race in minimal clothing and gear, but when we're training in the absence of the safety net (such as it is) provided by an organized event, we should be dressed and equipped in the same way that people normally are when doing that outdoor activity in those conditions. It'll slow us down, but we'll get some training benefit from the extra weight, if nothing else.

- If you're concerned about safety, don't be embarrassed to speak up to the entire group. It sounds like Bob was uncomfortable with the decision to paddle in those conditions (and possibly others were, too), but we all know how hard it is to be the first one to say, "I don't want to do it", especially in a crowd of adventure athletes. One of the rules of our sport is to keep going without complaining, even when it's tough and scary. We have to learn to give ourselves and each other permission to stop when it's too tough and scary.

I once spoke up about a safety issue, but got rebuffed, and didn't push back hard enough to stop a large group from heading out in snowy conditions at altitude (trekking up to 17,500' in the Himalayas). I'll always regret it. One man died, and several people lost appendages to frostbite. There was a period of time when we thought we wouldn't make it either. If you ever see my pack and wonder why it's twice as big as anyone else's, that's why.

I want to digest this a little before making any comments, but I can say that one of the hardest things I ever did was sit on 'the stand' as an expert witness for a coroner's inquest (when Rene Arsenault died in an AR in New Brunswick) and give my "expert testimony" while his poor mother sat sobbing not 10 meters in front of me....
it takes a lot of hugging your kids to feel better after that ;-(

I met Denis at the Mind Over Mountain Cumberland race a few Octobers ago. He was a great guy and will be missed. He was deeply involved in the Vancouver outdoor community and I am sure that there are many people grieving today.This is really terrible news and a loss to the outdoor community.

I think, from all the sources of information I've gotten, I understand the mechanics of what happened, but, as in the world of rafting guide accidents, I wasn't there so "no comment" (publicly).

I believe they did have lifejackets on, but they were in light clothing.

Experience will push you in such circumstances. I don't know the answer to this one other than if you're in a group, it is the group experience that needs to be weighed on. Revy, we need to do some rescue scenarios in the backcountry this year...

He will be sorely missed amongst the west coast crowd. I think there is a general level of "stunned" right now.

At least, if it is any consolation, it makes sense vs. dieing in a drive by shooting, brain aneurysm, bar fight, etc...

Several reports, including CBC, say that they had no lifejackets on, but like urthbuoy, I believe that people with that level of experience would have been wearing them. The Globe report says they did have lifejackets. It also mentions other kayakers who got into difficulty on the same day, so they weren't the only ones out there. It sounds like weather conditions deteriorated quickly:

"Marc Proulx, maritime co-ordinator of the Victoria Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre, said Sunday's nasty weather caused rescuers to come to the aid of three other kayakers who also got into difficulty.

'The weather conditions were forecasted. They were known. It was a poor choice on their part,' he said. 'They (the Anvil Island kayakers) wore life vests, but otherwise they were all poorly dressed for the conditions.'"

Sounds like they touched many lives.

CBC's website now has a correction statement below their article indicating that they indeed have lifejackets on, but no wetsuits.