RESCUE AT KANAWHA FALLS
There was a successful rescue at Kanawha Falls on September 19th. A group of three kayakers ran the drop in the early afternoon. The first person was safety, second was me leading a fist timer and setting safety after I dropped. The newbie flipped, swam, and was pushed right into the dangerous “pocket” which was the scene of a miraculous night rescue last Fall. Fortunately, Carson Wright had installed several bolts and a chain there to facilitate rescue. The swimmer was able to grab hold and wait for help.
The swimmer’s boat was pushed into that corner a few feet behind the chain and wedged in. After one or two attempts to ferry her out on the back of my boat we decided it wasn’t feasible and we would need to lift her out. I sent the other safety kayaker up top to help set up a z drag while I stayed with the swimmer.
Our first priority was the get her out of the water. The water was low that day, and the ledge was a foot or so above the water line and the bottom of the chain was barely in the water. It was impossible for her to pull herself up onto the ledge by herself. I couldn’t offer a lot of physical assistance because I was getting rocked in the corner trying not to get myself stuck too (I was more there for the swimmer’s comfort). A z drag was set up top using the anchors but we felt we didn’t have enough equipment to safely get her out.
I decided it would be a better idea to clip the working end to the chain and use it as a step to get the swimmer out of the water and on the ledge. Once there someone made a trip to the parking lot to get plenty of standard river rescue gear and climbing harness. After roping down the harness and a dry box with snacks we waited for the rest of the crew to finish setting up. We set up a z drag and a separate belay rope and anchor to catch a fall. Two people held onto each line with another man belayed off the tip of the rock with the 2 anchors close together. He was the go between for the people in the water and the people on land. I could see and talk to him so everyone was on the same page.
The climb out was pretty difficult for our swimmer. There were at least 2-3 times she slipped and was caught by the rope, and just as many times the z drag was used to pull her up a few feet to get a good hold on the rock. An issue we ran into was that the rope and knot kept getting stuck in a notch at the top of the rock. We remedied this by adding a vector from the rope to the single guy rappelled out on the edge of the rock. We finally pulled her over the edge of the drop.
Getting the boat out was much more difficult than the swimmer. I struggled a lot trying to unpin the boat and get it hooked to the rope. It probably took longer to do that than get the swimmer out.
Looking back, I think it was a really solid rescue. All of people out there, including the person rescued, are professional river guides and I am a swift water rescue instructor. The bolt and chain installation was incredibly helpful. Using the equipment we had on hand we got the swimmer out of the water to a safe spot, then we regrouped and safely get her out.
Tyler Thornton
