ly a Little Lower, Will Ya?

In early June, a helicopter was seen flying upriver at Lava Falls, about 100 to 150 feet off the water. It wasn't a Park helicopter and it wasn't an emergency. It appeared to be a sightseeing helicopter, although we still aren't sure. The party that saw this helicopter got a photo and the id number, which is now under investigation. As a sightseeing venture, this is not only very uncool, it's illegal. If any of you out there see anything similar, please note the place, date and time, information about which direction they are going, the id number of the aircraft and a photo if at all possible. Even a bad photo is better than nothing. This is really important and we need everyone out there keeping watch. It's one thing if this was a one-time transgression, or if they were on a special mission, but if it is the beginning of a sightseeing trend, we need to know about it. Please send any information you get to us. We'd like to make note of it and we will forward it along to the Park. Thanks.

It¹s Lonely At The Top

Currently there is no one running for Vice President of gcrg. Why? A lot of folks I¹ve talked with lately tell me they don¹t have the time to get involved with gcrg let alone be on the board. What I hear alot is that if they can¹t give it 100% then they don¹t want to give it anything at all. That is a cop out and so then the job goes undone. Get involved, give a little time to what you believe in. Look, I understand at this time of year it is difficult to find the time to write a letter home to mom. It isn¹t always going to be July. Later when you can find the time, after you have written your mom, dedicate some time to what you believe in: the Canyon. There are a lot of good ideas out there, people are always telling me what I and/or the Board and/or gcrg should be or needs to do. If it¹s your idea, move on it, get involved with it.

Bob Grusy

Swimming­With Your Arms or Not?

The Park Service has a regulation that states there shall be no swimming in the rapids. For a blind stance on safety this seems like a great regulation. But I question it and would like to hear how you feel about this.

As a river guide I am required to get a boatman¹s license, so I am familiar with the regulations; do educational training, so I can teach geology, etc; learn about food handling, so I don¹t kill anyone in the kitchen; certify in wfr and cpr, so they come out somewhat alive; and learn Swift Water Rescue, so I can better deal with boats wrapped in Crystal. I¹m pretty trained in taking passengers down the river. My experience and training tells me that I must train passengers how to live safely while on this river trip. This training is essential for people with no experience on the river. I believe this regulation does not deal with today¹s idea of super training to avoid lawsuit and such. If I have a passenger fall out in a rapid, he or she will panic to some degree (some more than others). Especially if Dr. Whirlpool grabs them and takes them down into the land of big fish. They will come up with white faces and big eyeballs. Training guides to swim in big waves, strong currents and eddy lines is a part of Swiftwater Rescue classes.

When a boat flips this summer, does the Park Service want to say to passengers ³Surprise, this is what the Colorado River is really about². It seems to me we are trained to teach passengers what the canyon is about in a safe way. Guides can easily teach passengers to swim rapids in a safe controlled manner. They can easily practice swimming in eddy lines and around whirlpools in a controlled safe manner.

I believe that there are simple technique for teaching swimming, starting with tightening the life jacket and explaining breathing and swimming techniques. This means breathing between the waves; swimming when waves end; and swimming head first, keeping your body flat to avoid getting pulled under by eddy lines and whirlpools. Have swimmers jump out from the back of the boat, then signal them into position for a safe ride, and pick them up below. My hopes are the Park Service will look into changing this regulation.

Jon Hirsch