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Revamped rapid a safe, exciting asset

Statements made with bold authority are 50 percent more believable. I made that up, just as Michael Black did in stating “the risk level has increased” on the Animas River (Letters, Herald, June 28). He goes on to claim that pre-whitewater park, one had a 90 percent chance of not ending up in the water, but now those odds are 50/50. This, to quote the recent words of an esteemed Supreme Court justice, “is pure applesauce.”

Black also references the rapid “when it was natural.” Does he mean in the 1800s? Smelter Rapid, and indeed, much of the Animas River through town, has not been natural since that time.

In my opinion, the new whitewater park has improved Smelter Rapid and made it less likely for one to be injured when swimming. I have many dozens of runs in Smelter since the park was built two years ago, just as I have in my previous 33 years on the Animas – in commercial and private rafts, dories, kayaks, on paddleboards and in swimming. I find the channel to be more clear and straightforward, the bed to have less angular rock to bang against with a reduced risk of foot entrapment (which is highly dangerous) and the features to be more fun!

A “keeper hole” is one that recirculates a swimmer – there are no keeper holes in the park. We have a breaking wave at Top Drop, a fairly meaty hole at Corner Pocket (much as it was pre-park), a breaking wave at Ponderosa and a gentle hole at Clock Tower. None of these features will hold a swimmer. Yes, at more than 6,000 cubic feet per second, Smelter Rapid looks scary.

It always has been scary at those levels, and the improvements make the portage much easier. Today, and indeed for most of the boating season, the rapid is exciting for tourists, a blast for locals and pure joy for those playing the features as boaters around the state, and the country, are discovering. That the park secures a substantial water right for the city, in perpetuity, is the icing on the cake.

Thanks to the city of Durango for another great asset!

Andy Corra, co-owner 4Corners Riversports

Durango



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