Mountain Insider - River Hazards

Rob:  Our rivers are flowing hard and fast and there are definitely some hazards in them that people have encountered over the last week or so.

Tanya: We’re in the high season for river flow right now. Our rivers are also pretty dynamic and they can change a lot from day to day or even year to year. That’s why public safety specialists caution that recreational floating is not on the Row River is not quite as straightforward as some people feel. On Monday, a couple of people in inflatable racks were swept into a log jam downstream of the Banff Springs Golf Course. One of them did get stuck underwater for about 15 seconds but managed to get to the surface.  Another incident saw a couple of kayakers the same day on Monday, south of Canmore, get swept into a log jam as well. Canmore Fire-Rescue and Kananaskis Public Safety came to their rescue, but there are a lot of really important messages. These two incidents didn’t have the worst outcome possible, which is death, and we have seen river users die in the past on the Bow River.

Rob: I think some people are under the misconception that, oh yeah, we can just float from Banff to Canmore, it’s a pretty easy thing. I’ve personally known people who’ve gotten into real trouble on that river. A lot of it had to do with lack of preparation or lack of knowledge of that river system and some of the hazards that are present there.

Tanya: I think people are going to be looking for things to do on Canada Day, and I think that some people might be thinking of float on the Bow or some outdoor watercraft adventure is in the works, and that’s great. But keep in mind, for example, a rubber dinghy and no paddles? That is not acceptable way to float down the river. Do not do that, please. I do not want to write about you.