3 Survive Rapids Attempt With Wal-Mart Raft

DenverChannel.com ^ | 5/27/2006 | Staff

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

VAIL, Colo. -- Two 12-packs and a raft bought at Wal-Mart by three 19 and 20-year friends were no match for Class III rapids on the upper Colorado River between Radium and Rancho Del Rio.

One man, Thomas Williams, nearly drowned when the raft overturned last Sunday. He was rescued by a nearby rafting guide.

"I was under for so long I just blacked out," Williams told the Vail Daily. "I didn't realize I was being dragged along by the river."

Class III rapids, on a scale of 1 to 6, include a large continuous set of waves with small drops, ledges or waterfalls. Scouting is suggested for all but the most experienced rafter.

Williams described the trio's attempt without proper equipment or lifejackets as simple "stupidity."

His two friends managed to swim to shore, but not before they suffered scrapes from the knees down and were stripped of most of their clothes.

Williams suffered a hairline fracture on his ankle.

The adventure is nothing new to Williams, who said he also seeks thrills skateboarding, snowboarding and bungee jumping. "If I didn't do that stuff I'd be a lazy couch potato," he said.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

I think most of us were lucky to survive being a teenager and early twentysomething. I didn't shoot the rapids, but benign canoeing on a calm lake can become dangerous when you and your buddies have three 12-packs of beer.

[Eagles6]

Is he wearing body armor???

[ßuddaßudd]

Yes, lucky to be alive.

[djf]

One of the rivers near me has a sign, says something like: "Class 5 rapids - don't even think about it"

I think from there on it drops somethin like 600 feet in about a third of a mile stretch.

[Eagles6]

We were kayaking on the Rogue River in Oregon 30 yrs. ago and the same thing happenned. We rescued 2 guys and their girlfriends and 2 6' blue and yellow "bathtubs". We fished out beer and food for the next couple of miles. We were poor so their misfortune was our good fortune.

[Non-Sequitur]

3 Survive Rapids Attempt With Wal-Mart Raft

Soon to be followed by "3 File Lawsuit Against Wal-Mart Over Defective Raft".

[VanDeKoik]

I guess too many conservatives feel the need to shill for Wal-Mart any way they can. Its almost as annoying as the anti Wal-Mart shills.

[Fintan]

A case of beer, a Wal-Mart raft, and mountain river rapids. What could go wrong?

 

Well...it could've been worse.

[HereInTheHeartland]

The big question that one has asked, is of course; how did the 2 12 packs fare in this ordeal? Are they ok?

[Fruitbat]

A case of beer, a Wal-Mart raft, and mountain river rapids. What could go wrong?

LMAO!!

The adventure is nothing new to Williams, who said he also seeks thrills skateboarding, snowboarding and bungee jumping.

They forgot acting first and thinking second.

[TADSLOS]

Low, low prices, always (for a reason).

[dljordan]

"The raft was probably a Coleman brand!"

Made in China probably.

[Hardastarboard]

scrapes from the knees down and were stripped of most of their clothes.

Methinks there is a "Deliverance" story here that isn't being told.

[tubebender]

My friends, and you are my friends, please switch to a good cheap California Wine before you find yourselves in over your head like these younger lads...

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

I'm sure it would've worked out a lot better if the guys had bought the raft at Target or Shop-Ko (yeah right).

[Gabz]

Gratuitous WalMart reference PING.......

[stubernx98]

You are never to old. I ran the Colorado River, all 221 miles through the Grand Canyon, rowing my own boat in a private party. We had waited 9 years to get the permit.

I only flipped my boat once. It was a 18 footer, There they classify the rapids on a 1 - 10 scale. We went through a bunch of nines. Great trip. Oh yes, I was 67 at the time.

[dakine]

My point was to folks who were gonna reply that they were never young and stupid/foolish...

[KoRn]

In this case I doubt it matters where the raft was purchased. As a matter of fact I believe its irrelevant to the story. The writer of the story seems to just want to use the incident as an opportunity to take a cheap shot at Wal-Mart.

[poindexters brother]

I've done my share of river rafting as a guide and as an instructor. Those light PVC rafts fron Wal-Mart, et. al. are possibly - and I'm being generous here - suitable for a glass-smooth lake that is shallow enough to stand in when it springs a leak or otherwise dumps you in the water. Also, they typically aren't rigid enough to provide support if you need to torque hard on the paddles (or oars) to accelerate, slow down or turn rapidly.

Even though class 3 rapids aren't generally exceedingly complex, in this kind of raft the are equivalent to class 6 (impassable) in a "real" river raft.