NYSEG Ordered to Open Ausable Chasm to Paddling
by Mary Thill
Serious whitewater boaters are frothing at the prospect of access to a Class IV multidrop stretch of the Ausable River along Upper Ausable Chasm. Word on the Northeast Paddlers Message Board is that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has ordered New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) to develop a plan to enable kayakers to cross its land to reach the river for the period between Memorial Day and October 31.
But patience: paddlers are saying it’s doubtful NYSEG will be able to comply in time for this season.
The Adirondack Mountain Club and American Whitewater, a national organization, have battled for years for the right to use NYSEG's land to get to a 3.4-mile stretch of the Ausable, from the NYSEG powerhouse below Rainbow Falls Dam to the Route 9 bridge. “BOO YAH. That thing runs ALL SUMMER,” comments one paddler on the Northeast Paddlers Message Board, which has more information. The run is expected to draw boaters from around the Northeast because of its consistent water.
NYSEG and the Ausable Chasm Corporation, which operates a tourist attraction at the gorge, had argued against boating access because the steep and narrow canyon, 150 feet deep in places, makes rescue difficult. Ausable Chasm Co. also offers tubing and rafting for paying guests on the lower portion of the chasm. But ADK and American Whitewater countered that FERC had a duty to maintain public access to a public waterbody that had become obstructed by the power dam.
This YouTube video offers a preview of the drops and rapids.
4 Comments:
People are going to die kayaking that stretch of river. Then, rescuers will die trying to save them. This will result in the closing of Ausable Chasm which attacts thousands of tourist and employs dozens of people. Where are is John McHugh!?!?!?
John is paddling.
To me, safety is a relative term and absolute statements about safety are not appropriate. Safety is related to the skill of the paddler, the paddler's judgment, water levels, and river features. I ran the Chasm at about 600 cfs as part of a feasibility study. It was a Class 4 run at this level and no one had any problems with the run as far as I know. At 600 cfs the river is safe for competent Class 4 boaters. In my opinion, people with only Class 3 skills should not be on this section at this level, though could probably paddle it safely at lower flows. At some point the Chasm becomes too high. I've heard people guess that 500-800 cfs is a good range and at least one paddler (who is better than I am) has guessed that 1,000 cfs is all he would ever want to tackle. Many Class 4-5 paddlers have done harder runs than this and have been in remote gorges where it would be even more difficult to get someone out. At 600 cfs, the biggest hazard in the Chasm is man-made: a large I-beam above Mike's Hole. At higher water I suspect Mike's Hole would be a bigger hazard. Bottom line--I think this is a safe run for competent paddlers at moderate flows. Strong intermediates could probably do fine at minimal flows and more extreme paddlers could paddle it safely at higher flows, but it's up to them to decide what they can handle based on their skill and judgment.
If one were to compare the remoteness and difficulty of this run to other reaches controlled by power companies that have been opened, they would see how absurd this continued closure is. The arguments, such as the one above concerning rescuers and paddlers dying are purely speculative and have no basis in fact or evidence based historical data.
I would point to the Tallulah Gorge in Georgia as a prime example. To my knowledge there has not been an evacuation of a paddler from this stretch by any entity other than other boaters. Yes, there have been injuries, but all assistance that has been needed has come from other paddlers. The difficulty, remoteness and risk of Ausable Chasm pales in comparison to that of the Tallulah Gorge.
This brings up the point that whitewater paddlers are the ultimate experts when making decisions and executing river rescues. Even a novice paddler posesses more whitewater safety knowledge than almost all EMS personnel who possess piece of paper stating that they have completed training in swiftwater rescue. It is purely a matter of experience and time spent in a whitewater environment.
The opinion that such safety concerns are a valid reason for the continuance of the flawed policy of closing the Chasm to whitewater paddling is, at best, extremely myopic and self serving. One needs only to look at the many other hydroproject related whitewater runs to garner an accurate assessment of the universal success and positive economic impact that these have in common:
Gauley River, WV
Moose River, NY
Kennebec River, ME
Dead River, ME
Rapid River, ME
Tallulah Gorge, GA
Russell Fork, VA
Youghiogheny River, MD
Youghiogheny River, PA
Savage River, MD
Beaver River, NY
Deerfield River, MA
Housatonic River, CT
Raquette River, NY
Green River, NC
This is an abbreviated list, with only a minority of reaches mentioned. One needs only to perform a modicum of research to understand the reality of the success of these whitewater resources.
By restricting access to the Ausable Chasm, The Ausable Chasm Company is robbing the local business environment of potential income.
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