Spore Posted December 21, 2009 Posted December 21, 2009 http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2009/dec/21/climbers-safe-after-boat-capsizes-on-wenatchee/ Quote
tomtom Posted December 21, 2009 Posted December 21, 2009 http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2009/dec/21/climbers-safe-after-boat-capsizes-on-wenatchee/ Climbers safe after boat capsizes on Wenatchee River By Christine Pratt World staff writer Monday, December 21, 2009 LEAVENWORTH — Four Seattle-area ice climbers are safe and dry after their overloaded raft capsized early Saturday in the icy Wenatchee River, forcing a swift-water rescue operation. The incident happened before 7 a.m. in Tumwater Canyon, about 2 miles west of The Alps candy store on Highway 2, Sgt. Andy Zimmerman, Chelan County Sheriff’s spokesman said Sunday. The climbers were Daniel Ericson, 40, of Kirkland; Jeremy Park, 31, Seattle; Alex Arawarik, 38, Bellevue; and Rafael Haroutninan, 47, Seattle. The men were headed across the river in a “blow-up raft” to climb ice-covered rock faces on the west side of the Wenatchee River in Tumwater Canyon, Zimmerman said. They put in calm water on the river’s east side, but drifted into rapids, where the small raft capsized, submerging Arawarik and Haroutninan. Arawarik climbed onto an ice-covered rock in mid-river, Zimmerman said. Haroutninan made it to the river’s west shore. The other two managed to make it back to the river’s east shore, along Highway 2, he said. The river’s depth around the capsized boat ranges from a shallow 1.5 feet to holes as deep as 6 feet or more, Zimmerman said. “They are very, very fortunate that nobody drowned,” Zimmerman said. The sheriff’s office dispatched its whitewater rescue team, which worked with Leavenworth company Osprey Rafting to launch a river raft and float close enough to the rock to throw Arawarik a rope. He then scrambled over an ice bridge and into the raft to safety, Zimmerman said. Rescuers then paddled to the west shore to pick up Haroutninan. The victims headed home after paramedics at the scene checked them for hypothermia, Zimmerman said. Christine Pratt: 665-1173 pratt@wenatcheeworld.com Quote
G-spotter Posted December 21, 2009 Posted December 21, 2009 Getting your name misspelled in the rescue news is a good trick to throw off the Googlebots... Quote
dbb Posted December 21, 2009 Posted December 21, 2009 Oh man that sucks! sorry to hear that you guys. Quote
dberdinka Posted December 21, 2009 Posted December 21, 2009 No offense to those involved (as I would have gladly jumped in the raft as well), but with this article as evidence it would be next to impossible to refute the general publics notion that climbers are friggin idiots. These packs we carry are going to get mighty heavy and bulky what with all the mandatory MLUs, survival suits and life jackets. Can't wait to see the comments on the sources website. Oh! And glad everyone's safe! Quote
G-spotter Posted December 21, 2009 Posted December 21, 2009 Strange things can happen with those blow-up rafts. On my inaugural Siwash Rock expedition the tide was in and we used a blow-up raft to cross the moat. While rapping back to the base we dislodged a huge rock which hit the raft and knocked it out to sea. Pat lost the ro-sham-beaux & had to swim 100 feet to retrieve it so that the rest of us could stay dry crossing a waist deep 10 foot wide channel. Quote
dan_e Posted December 21, 2009 Posted December 21, 2009 The "correct" story: LEAVENWORTH — Two Seattle-area ice climbers are safe and dry after their raft capsized early Saturday in the icy Wenatchee River, forcing a swift-water rescue operation. The incident happened before 7 a.m. in Tumwater Canyon, about 2 miles west of The Alps candy store on Highway 2, Sgt. Andy Zimmerman, Chelan County Sheriff’s spokesman, said Sunday. The climbers were Alex Krawarik, 38, of Bellevue and Rafael Haroutunian, 47, of Seattle. The men were headed across the river in an inflatable raft to climb ice-covered rock faces on the west side of the Wenatchee River in Tumwater Canyon, Zimmerman said. They put in in calm water on the river’s east side, but drifted into rapids, where the small raft capsized, submerging the two men. Krawarik climbed onto an ice-covered rock mid-river, Zimmerman said. Haroutunian made it to the river’s west shore. Two other climbers traveled with the victims and were planning to cross the river on their own raft. They were Dan Erickson, 40, and Jeremy Park, 31, both of Seattle. Reached this morning for comment, Erickson said he and Park tried unsuccessfully to use their own boat to rescue their two climbing partners, then returned to shore and called 911 from The Alps. The river’s depth around the capsized boat ranges from a shallow 1.5 feet to holes as deep as 6 feet or more, Zimmerman said. “They are very, very fortunate that nobody drowned,” Zimmerman said. The sheriff’s office dispatched its whitewater rescue team, which worked with Leavenworth company Osprey Rafting to launch a river raft and float close enough to the rock to throw Krawarik a rope. He then scrambled over an ice bridge and into the raft to safety, Zimmerman said. Rescuers then paddled to the west shore to pick up Haroutunian. The rescue operation ended around 9 a.m. Zimmerman said paramedics at the scene checked the climbers for hypothermia, but all were OK. Erickson said all four were experienced climbers and rafters. Krawarick is co-author of the book, “Washington Ice, a climbing guide.” “We all know what we’re doing, but in this situation, the river may have been moving at a higher volume than we realized,” Erickson said this morning. “When we put in it was totally dark. There’s an element of danger. We accept that.” Erickson said all four went out to breakfast after the incident and then headed home. Osprey Rafting owner Gary Planagan said he and Osprey employee Sergio Cuevas aided the rescue. “We were talking, concerned with the people having hypothermia,” Planagan said of his and Cuevas’ conversation on the way to the incident. “At the same time, the thought was, ‘Why are we going rafting in the Tumwater Canyon in December?’ It was kind of comical.” Andy Dappen, publisher of the Web site Wenatchee Outdoors, said Tumwater Canyon, west of the Wenatchee River, is popular with ice climbers. Climbing destinations there include Drury Falls, at the top of Falls Creek Canyon, Dappen said. Ice climbers use picks, ropes and spiked shoes to scale ice-covered rock faces. Quote
Doug_Hutchinson Posted December 21, 2009 Posted December 21, 2009 Falling in the Wenatchee is a rite of passage! The first half of the crossing is calm then you hit a strong current and things get really interesting fast. The part about starting in the dark is the crux - you can't see the current that will sink you. I am not a paddler and tried it once in a small kayak. Hit the current, got turned backward and decided to a do a wet exit in the rapid downstream. Amazing how warm the water can feel when it is 5 degrees out. Drury would have been a dangerous slush falls that day anyway. Quote
Cobra_Commander Posted December 21, 2009 Posted December 21, 2009 Way to go guys, you made that guy in the raft set aside his boilermaking business to come get your sorry asses. Quote
selkirk Posted December 21, 2009 Posted December 21, 2009 with this article as evidence it would be next to impossible to refute the general publics notion that climbers are friggin idiots. I think it's appropriate to seperate "climbers" from "ice climbers". Anyone who climbs Ice (especially in a place where the ice as bad as Washington) is a very special breed of friggin idiot Quote
Alpinfox Posted December 22, 2009 Author Posted December 22, 2009 Getting your name misspelled in the rescue news is a good trick to throw off the Googlebots... If I ever have to get rescued, my name is going to be "D___ B________". Quote
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