Whitewater Rafting Is Still Considered A Dangerous Sport By Some People

By Author: Bernie Fandrich
Total Articles: 11
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Statistics indicate that you are six times more likely to be injured on a fishing trip than during a BC whitewater rafting excursion
More than 10 million people participate in some form of whitewater rafting BC excursion in Canada and the USA every summer. That’s a lot of people.

Yet in the minds of many non-participants, whitewater rafting is a very dangerous activity. Why is this?

If you look at commercial river rafting BC statistics, it’s clear that if you ride, a mountain bike injury is fifteen times more likely to occur than if you are on a commercial whitewater rafting excursion. Everyone knows someone who skis yet when viewed statistically, skiers are much more likely to be injured than an enthusiast who is on a BC whitewater rafting activity with a professional rafting outfitter.

The perception of danger is probably the result of media coverage. It isn’t because many fatalities occur annually, because they don’t. However, a BC whitewater rafting incident makes a mesmerizing news clip on television or dramatic copy in a newspaper or online. The result is an impression of danger that ...
... is associated with whitewater rafting.

Twenty-five years ago (yes, that’s a quarter century ago), there was a serious accident on a remote river in British Columbia and several influential American corporate executives lost their lives. It was a very tragic event.

Around the world, major newspapers, television networks and magazines ran front page and lead stories about the accident for weeks.

The calamity and the resultant media attention directly and indirectly affected the rafting BC industry worldwide for a decade or more. Movies were made. A book was written. Risk management companies analysed the events. Courts laid blame. Lawyers made money - lots of it.

Eighteen years later, a reporter who covered the mishap in 1987, dredged up the story and wrote about the calamity again.

The outcome of the media frenzy was an unfortunate association in the minds of millions of people, between BC whitewater river rafting and death. This linkage persists today, to some degree.

It is an unfortunate association because rafting BC with a reputable river rafting outfitter can be safer than driving your car to the rendezvous location. Out of fear, many people are missing an exhilarating activity that provides quality, long-lasting benefits and paybacks.

There is nothing quite like floating a river: gazing at the scenery, enjoying an occasional jolt of adrenalin, meeting new people, sharing stories, and appreciating the camaraderie of friends.

Millions of enthusiasts float rivers in inflatable rafts with a commercial outfitter somewhere in the world every year.

Depending on the river and outfitter who operates the trip, risks are typically very low. If the excursion is on a remote class V whitewater river, the risk obviously is much higher than running a class 3 river close to a highway or community.

If the outfitter has years of experience running BC whitewater rafting, especially if they specialize in just several rivers, the risks are reduced even further.

British Columbia has pristine rivers and the most exciting BC whitewater rafting in the world. Outfitters like Kumsheen Rafting Resort have specialized on just two rivers, the Thompson River and the Fraser River, and have built an entire resort around whitewater rafting.

Since 1973, this company has shared whitewater with more than a quarter million enthusiasts on the Thompson River and Fraser River. Aficionados ranging from seven years to ninety-three years of age have enjoyed a whitewater rafting BC trip with Kumsheen, BC’s pioneering river rafting company.

Sure, there is always a risk associated with running whitewater. Nevertheless, put into proper perspective, whitewater rafting BC is a comparatively safe activity that almost anyone can enjoy.

AUTHOR:-

Bernie Fandrich is a pioneer of the whitewater river rafting BC industry in western Canada and founder of the Kumsheen Rafting Resort in Lytton, BC. He has been sharing his love of the river with the world since 1973. Bernie co-authored Rafting in British Columbia: Featuring the Lower Thompson River and is currently working on his latest project, a chronicle of river running and other events along the legendary Thompson River.