I got some video clips of several kayakers going over the waterfalls at Great Falls.
I grew up right near GF in the 1960s. Nobody ran the falls in those days. Now they seem to attract kayakers like a moth to a flame.
Vertical drops always have a large reversal at the bottom. Most falls are not completely vertical so there is some action forward to wash out . Low head dams are perfect vertical drops and can have strong reversals that can keep your boat in them for long periods of time. There are often logs and woody debris in there pounding you and your boat at the same time.
I have have rescued people in rafts several times from dam reversals, and watched them quit the sport and walk out. Do not run vertical dams even if you are good at kayaking like the guys in this video.
Yeah… count me out on this. Momma didn’t raise no fool. Yikes!
nicely done again, liked how you framed up the shots with some of the falls showing above and below the paddlers to stress the vertical aspect. Hats off to the paddlers, calming executing a 4 or 5 foot boof located just above a falls and then paddling off the lip. Some were even getting a few strokes in during the fall and/or landing on a brace.
There was a fatality a few years ago involving an expert paddler who was practicing race lines for a great falls race. I think the risk is pretty obvious and accepted by those who partake. Having the skills, understanding the water levels, and the support/rescue skills of the other paddlers have evolved in the last few decades to make this type of paddling more common place.