Class 9 Lava Falls Colorado River May 7th 2023

[@roboticz6317]

To all the people who don’t know, the Grand Canyon has its own scaling system from 1 - 10 this is a 9, or on the normal scale a 5

[@kenaipeninsulawhitewater5650]

Lava Falls is not class V on the normal scale, at least not at normal flows. By modern standards class IV or maybe even IV- seems much more accurate. Compare this to the Zambezi or the Stikine or the Indus, the modern yardsticks for big water, and Lava looks super moderate. By the way, I love the Grand Canyon, it is arguably the greatest river trip in the world for many reasons. I cherish my experiences down there. The rapids are big and fun but mostly playful. Even a flip down there usually results in no protracted hardships. The whitewater scale is not just a difficulty scale but a danger scale that factors in consequences and the consequences for most Grand Rapids just arent that severe by modern class V standards. Anyway, who really cares about the ratings in the end. But I think most experienced modern boaters would have a really hard time giving Lava class V

[@erictrenbeath9680]

@@kenaipeninsulawhitewater5650 I agree. The whitewater in GC is class III or IV on the standard scale although it is very big. As you note, swims/flips are rarely a big deal. There is always a pool at the bottom. That said, it's great fun and it still has a high pucker factor cuz it's huge!

[@roboticz6317]

Edit: I don’t know what I was thinking originally writing this: I recently had a my first Grand Canyon trip and exaggerated the difficulty due to other factors one the trip. One of those would be 110 degree heat every day. Anyway, I agree with you. Lava falls is at highest a 4. It’s doesn’t have enough rocks or really just dangerous spots to put it any higher. The only big danger possibility is the cheese grader rock, as it is undercut.

[@dgaydos]

Uh......ok. I'll invent a new class system for something.....lemme think.

[@dickfitswell8813]

I hit a class 45 one time

[@bpm5403]

I went thru Lava Falls in a wooden dory (Grand Canyon Dories) way back in the early 1980's and it was intense. As you ride into Lava, the drop off is so steep you can't actually see the rapids, just the river way downstream. But oh boy, you can hear the rapids and the pucker-factor is off the charts. Biggest adrenaline rush I've ever had.

[@aaronghysels6991]

So this was my group. I’m rowing the first boat. The two from the second boat that flipped were picked up and were all good. We put on April 24th 2023. CFS was 40000. Lava was down to 20,000 CFS in this video. Where did the author get this video?

[@gng007]

Really?!

[@MR-MR-ud5oo]

Appreciate the update; didn't see the second rider surface, so I **NEEDED** to know this info.

[@JeremyGoodwin]

thanks for telling us that person was OK.

[@Pontoonian]

Your line through that was 👀 Awesome stuff.

[@agwhitewater]

@@Pontoonian20000 CFS was incredible! Got lucky, but 🙏🏼

[@davidwelch1981]

I paddled this in a 12ft. canoe long ago. Well, I paddled part of it - swam the rest. The swim was actually pretty benign. It's big and scary looking but boating smaller mountain rives is often much more dangerous. That evening, I was talking to the guy who rowed our big gear boat and had done over 100 trips through the canyon. I asked him "After all these trips is Lava just another day at the office?" He replied "It's the biggest rush you'll ever get"

[@larryk5541]

Did the GC in the 80s with Grand Canyon Dories. At that time, Crystal Rapids was the big one and they made up walk around it but we were able to ride through Lava Falls. What a roller coaster! We had a perfect trip. No rain. No boat flips. All the passengers were cool and the boatmen and women were the absolute best.

[@Michael65429]

Good times, those were...😊

[@KensGarage1]

Wow that's pretty intense. Hope the second person in the last boat is OK.

[@stevent425]

That is exactly what I was thinking!!!

[@liljermdg]

@@stevent425 Dead is my guess, so easy to get pinned against something under the water in that current.

[@tylerthurston2161]

@@liljermdg One of the people in this video commented here that they are fine.

[@PixelBanger]

Yo! In 2008 I did a full 14-day trip and remember Lava Falls clearly. Our guides had us all psyched-up for it beforehand. I was in a paddle boat for this rapid and we got completely swallowed by the V-Wave! Had a fun party that night on the shores below!

[@eckosters]

I rafted Grand Canyon in May 1993 for 8 days. Unforgettable, incl Lava Falls. Also because it’s the last big Falls of the trip.

[@jimmoses6617]

Here's a thought. Flip the boat over before Lava and ride it down that way.

[@rillawhat8142]

😂👍🏾

[@riggitydoo5116]

Or ride it that way until it flips upright then climb in.

[@jpscharged]

Outfitter: "What have you boated before? Class IV, class V?" Dax Shepard: "Try class forty-five!!" Outfitter: "Fine lie to me. I don't care. I'm not the one that's going to drown."

[@Danjocross]

The guy at the oars of the first boat is such a pro! Amazing how he/she is in total control the whole time!

[@Scott-fy7fm]

Haha maintained the appearance of control, the waves were clearly in charge

[@Roys_Drones]

he or she? lol.. I wonder who you vote for... lol

[@mountainman5292]

The sea was angry that day, my friends. Like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.

[@ReginaRedding]

🖤

[@larryslemp9698]

The 'sea'??

[@mountainman5292]

Seinfeld allusion.

[@johnmcguire5594]

Well, I’m impressed class nine that’s amazing young man. I never heard of anybody doing that God bless stay safe.

[@ASTHECROWFLIESHIKING]

Wow! Now that is a serious rapid. Great video. New follower here. Crow✌️

[@elizastar1973]

1st raft ride cost 500.00, 2nd raft was a 150.00, third raft was 35.00.

[@tubesockets120v]

I didn't know river rapids classes went up that high. I've only ever done class 5.

[@knaz7468]

The Grand Canyon (and a couple other river sections in the world) have their own rating system. For GC it is 1-10. In general, you can just divide the number by 2. So this is a class 4.5 (or 4+). However, it is BIG water. Normally 10k cfs, but in this video that looks to be a solid 20k cfs for this section because the final rock "cheese grater" is mostly under water. So the water gets much more chaotic and hard to predict, and it is deep with lots of crazy eddies and whirlpools that make life fun. the hard thing to understand with these videos is that these rafts are 18 foot long and weigh up to 2000 pounds, and yet get tossed around like toys.

[@boathemian7694]

Where did you run class 5?

[@mtundu2223]

I agree. Class 9? that doesn't look more than a class 4 rapid at that level.

[@boathemian7694]

I’ve never run the Grand but I have run Cataract canyon at interesting water levels before. These desert rivers can be hard for guides who learned to row on pool drop mountain rivers. The perspective is weird and the holes are monstrous lol. Loads of fun though.

[@ArtifactRescues]

@@boathemian7694 Upper Yough has Class V, I did that quite a few years ago.

[@trnrbrnr]

Lava got me where boat #3 went over.

[@juanverde7444]

where did the white helmet go?

[@vanceduke5196]

I know! WTH that dude okay or what.

[@Wogger46]

It blows me away that people go in sideways and are not pushing hard.

[@treydogg77]

White Helmet ended up in the Rio Grande and is being used a flotation device.

[@reidellis1988]

The Colorado and Rio Grande are on opposite sides of the Continental Divide. So that's not happening.

[@jimmoses6617]

@@reidellis1988 I don't think you realize how big that rapid is!!! :)

[@reidellis1988]

@@jimmoses6617 I don't think you realize that the Rio Grande drains into the Gulf of Mexico and the Colorado drains into the Gulf of California. Do you know what the Continental Divide is?

[@reidellis1988]

@@jimmoses6617 I have floated the Green and Colorado Rivers.

[@jimmoses6617]

@@reidellis1988 I was joking...

[@pmczapczara5332]

The first one made it look so easy. The next two showed it wasn't nearly as easy as it seemed.

[@kenaipeninsulawhitewater5650]

The first boat was the only one that pivoted before hitting the V-wave so that they squared up to the right-side lateral. That simple move makes all the difference

[@bheser4842]

Agreed after missing the initial carnage they didn't square up on anything or touch the oars. Second boat made it through luckily but easily could have flipped.

[@boblatkey7160]

I did that and when they pulled me back onto the boat after it flipped my shoes were gone! And people asked me if the water was cold and I said I don't remember!

[@Reshmasaudmajhi]

Wow beautiful place

[@spencerthomason6558]

Amazing to think of John Wesley Powell and Co hitting these for the first time is wodden boats in the 1870's. Completely uncharted waters at the time, and while attempting these rapids might kill them, getting through the canyon was their only chance of survival.

[@richstex4736]

I was fortunate to visit Separation Canyon, where three men left the expedition after despairing of a successful conclusion to their journey. They were never seen again.

[@spencerthomason6558]

@@richstex4736 So cool. They bailed at the last rapid. In the book, "Beyond the Hundredth Meridian" it says that the three were killed by Paiutes 1 day away from St George.

[@eliseott]

@@spencerthomason6558there’s actually a high possibility they may have been killed by Mormons, who then blamed it on the Paiutes. I recommend checking out “under the banner of Heaven” by Jon Krakauer, he talks about it in the book.

[@CurtisHikes]

Powell portaged around every rapid

[@ntnsty]

@@CurtisHikesno not every

[@시커먼선생Mr.Blackman]

❤This is a very nice video view.

[@Cocora22]

And it looks like in the raft that flipped at least one person ca,e up, I guess the second one is lost.

[@techshabby0001]

I love white water rafting. It is the most fun I ever had.

[@williammahaffy4642]

Try Ottawa Whitewater Leaders on the Big Ottawa in Ontario. Awesome river, technical paddling, and a great ride in water way warmer than the Colorado.

[@stevefrazier2214]

First guy, was a smooth operator…

[@oldfarmer9004]

Seems like there is probably a bunch of camping gear down stream in that stretch of the river. But the first couple of contestants did good!

[@jameslynch7988]

Love the smell of the water

[@richprice482]

Do the oars actually have any effect whatsoever against such powerful water?

[@schuyler67]

No, they do not. But they affect from what direction, and angle, a raft enters a rapid, which can make the difference between staying in the boat and swimming.

[@DRWFJ40]

If you watch the first raft as he enters, he's using a back ferry where you are rowing upstream at an angle, You've got more power pulling than pushing & going backwards does slow you a little (but only above, which gives you a little more time to study your line or soil your shorts) and the angle make you ferry sideways so essentially you use the oars above to position yourself as to where you enter, once you're in there, you're using the oars to keep your angle where you want it, generally, squaring up perpendicular with waves but as you can see with that kind of volume, you get batted around pretty hard.

[@user-fw6vu3kz6l]

Knarly

[@jimmcgregor4598]

Yes. If you know how to use them, and certainly if you are rowing a dory.

[@erichudnall6841]

Looks like a shorter version of Iron Ring on The Gauley River WV

[@Michael65429]

Nope, Lava's a lot longer than Iron Ring, about 10 times as much water at this level, and a whole lot bigger. Iron Ring is a one drop and flush out at the bottom rapids.

[@erichudnall6841]

@@Michael65429 Thanks for the info, I really need to get out West. Ive done most of the big ones out east, The Kennebec, The Youghiogheny (i think i spelled that right) and Ive done The Gauley hundreds of times (originally from about 30 min away). Id like to take a couple of weeks and hit The Salmon and The Colorado

[@markmacintyre3422]

PRO TIP: “TAKE THE TONGUE!”

[@Dantanalicious]

So…. Class 9 in the GC = class 4 elsewhere (if even that)?

[@ThePanamaCollection1-lv5po]

How was the fishing................. ha

[@scottc3165]

where did the passenger go after the flip over?

[@cliffanderson7544]

That's funny! I wonder why the lakes down stream have no water?

[@kenaipeninsulawhitewater5650]

Because they siphon off huge amounts of it for agricultural use

[@myauctionaddictionestatesa7451]

A safer move is to row like mad after you pass the last boulder on the right, cut across the bottom of the ledge hole toward the middle. Seconds later you are through with out any drama.

[@Michael65429]

That's no fun though!

[@scottjohnson9225]

When did they invent class 9?

[@berrycrawford5579]

Grand Canyon has its own 1 to 10 scale.

[@Michael-kj5cn]

It looks fun from the distance, but when your on the boat, Oh shit

[@terryshutt1044]

HEY, where is the PERSON IN THE FRONT OF THE THIRD BOAT,They never come up in the video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@chrisgarty]

@trendingtigers said they are “holding onto the raft on the downstream side” 😅 Respect! 💪👏

[@timothyjones1906]

😊

[@Paintbl99]

She gone

[@x.noybic7007]

Dead

[@TimCBuilders]

Just try to forget abt them. 😮

[@DogTrekker]

Where's the second guy who was in the raft that overturned?

[@lloydswartz7354]

Hammering the oars after the laat big boulder as you cross the bottom of the ledge hole makes for a safer run

[@johnprendergast1338]

I've been down Lava Falls on a 4 day trip in the 80's ...2 days after I went 2 people were killed ....I wouldn't do it again ..one of the dangerous stretches...

[@itsg66]

And people died on the way to work today but you still went 🤔

[@Michael65429]

​@@itsg66😂😂

[@MrFg1980]

Looks like plenty of water. Big diagonal guarding cheese grater.😀

[@randydewees7338]

Went through in 78, Crystal was BIG, but smooth. Lava had a big nar spitting hole.

[@TB-tj4tn]

The rapids in the Grand Canyon are not rated by the usual 1-5 scale. They have a 1-10 scale.

[@halwentz554]

In Kansas, rivers are rated on a scale of 1.

[@gretchenrhodes288]

Western watercuses a scale of 1 to 10. Eastern 1 to 5. Western water is bigger water, eastern tend to be more technical

[@JustinShaw-z6b]

the grand is one of the only rivers that uses 1-10 not "western rivers"@@gretchenrhodes288

[@brandoncramer9012]

Class V is it. Class VI is Niagara Falls

[@moonlightalkemist]

I've been trapped in a class IV and almost died. It was a far more intense and heavy river with far less recovery areas. Main Salmon in Idaho. This looked like a difficult class III at high water but otherwise a lot of fun!

[@greggreg2263]

That’s some pretty spooky water conditions doesn’t look that fun to me😮

[@MonthlyFailsContentResearch]

Hey Rob, do you have an email address we can use to contact you regarding this video? I'd love to discuss a license to use this if possible! Cheers, Felix

[@SebastianGylander]

The Colorado river I think runs through the Grand Canyon

[@drAgonflysix2]

There is & would be very little controlling the rafts in Colorado river rapids, the raft is completely at the mercy of the current the mighty Colorado is a difficult river to traverse in any vessel much less an inflatable raft .

[@salvor1]

everyone is making such 'didn't watch the video' questions. HOW ABOUT, where is the second guy in the third boat????

[@burnsraps7884]

❤❤❤

[@HeritageStacking]

Class 3.5 out of 5 or a weak 4.

[@cotteeskid]

Cuts the video short just short of finding out that she is ok, but ends it with him celebrating her death.

[@sdufg]

1:50 seems easier to float down with the raft upside down; why are these fools trying to row normally then?

[@robgrey6183]

First guy squared up to every lateral, kept his oars in the water. Nice to watch. Third guy, not so much. First lateral set him up, next one flipped him like a pancake.

[@jimmcgregor4598]

I imagine most people commenting are simple too young to know of the old Grand Canyon rating scale.

[@forestc6014]

White helmet was Kevin bacon. Rip.

[@KowalskiVanishing_Point]

That's some good raft paddling even if last boat did wipe out.

[@johndemeen5575]

I can’t think of anything that would get me to do that. Nope, nothing.

[@allenkinter4088]

Why did they want to go through the rapid upside down?

[@TokyoNightGirlLofi]

Nice💜💜💜💜💜

[@wolverine3217]

White helmet drowned?

[@Lea99Jones]

Not likely

[@Lemmon714_]

She floated into Mexico and was captured by a cartel member. She was forced into prostitution until either she earns $200,000 or her family comes up with the money. Hopefully they will get her back.

[@randylindberg77]

😂

[@user-tb2jy9lu3d]

0:25 That left side doesn't look so fun.

[@CanyoneeringUSA]

Rowdy!!!

[@markstevens2888]

Always above Lava

[@Austeeeno]

Ok but why soooo much gear?!?

[@Michael65429]

Cause it's a long trip...

[@svenwalker5955]

That's a class IV+ rapid. 99% of whitewater rafters and boaters use the international rapid classification system so that one can compare apples to apples.

[@Twobarpsi]

Looks like a burbling mogul field 😮

[@joeleader6551]

So class 9 is about class 3+ on another river?

[@goji059]

pretty much

[@jimmoses6617]

4+

[@joeleader6551]

@@jimmoses6617 4+ how? Giant tounge, no particular move to make just some big waves which as the video shows you don't even need to hit particularly straight. 4+ would normally involve some manouvrering at the very least

[@kenaipeninsulawhitewater5650]

I like IV- for Lava. Video is deceptive but Lava is rather straightforward. The tongue is not as giant as you think, current pulls hard into the V-wave which, as shown, can easily flip a large raft. Any flip is a big deal when loaded with 3 weeks of gear. Definitely not class V by modern standards, not with rivers like the Stikine or Zambezi routinely being run. All of that to me justifies a low-end IV rating

[@markstafford5992]

I have rowed through that rapid. I thought the first boat going down sideways was foolish until that wave front on river right came into view. He was prepping to meet that wave front nose first. Second boat was not lined up to impact that river right wave front and nearly swamped and rolled. The last boat got what they deserved by impacting that river right wave front sideways. By the time you reach Lava Falls from Lee’s Ferry you should know how to approach a wave. For my money Crystal Rapid is much more technical than Lava Falls.

[@ScottStutsman]

I thought Crystal was much more intense too. HUGE waves when I went through there back in about 93

[@dbedazzling1]

Yikes. I did class 2 rapids definitely not doing this. He should not be the ONLY one rowing

[@c_kennmusic5737]

Animals are so much smarter than humans

[@todddaugherty110]

You HAVE to stay active with your oars in Lava.

[@boblecrup7700]

How is that a class 9 ? There's no such classification !

[@zachramseyphoto]

It’s not class 9. It’s level 9. The grand has its own rating system. The uploader either doesn’t know this, or is trying to hype it up more with the caption.

[@knaz7468]

It's 4.5 (or 4+ or IV+). See my comment above. It's as zach just said ... different rating system.

[@Benny2Shoez]

Not a single person squared up to that 3rd lateral. The only person with a decent line was the 1st dude

[@robgrey6183]

White helmet? Under the raft? Dude, don't leave us hanging.

[@trendingtigers]

She is holding onto the raft blocked from view on the downstream side.

[@42WasTheAnswer]

Read every single comment to find out the answer to that question. Whew!

[@garymeyer4243]

This is more of an extreme class 5, and class 6 is considered impassible, I wouldnt call this even a class 6 when 2 out of 3 made it through. We did a class 5 on the Gauley in WV, the guide went flying over us from the back and landed in the water in front of us when we hit a standing wave, we fished him out and kept going.

[@schuyler67]

By Eastern standards, I'd call this only a class 4.

[@kenaipeninsulawhitewater5650]

@@schuyler67 Agreed. Lava is class IV by all modern standards except maybe at extreme high water. However, the Grand does have its own scale. It's how the rapids are rated in almost all Grand guidebooks. It's 1-10 and is only useful for comparing Grand Canyon rapids against each other (i.e. 10= hardest rapid in the Grand Canyon).

[@kevinbuda7087]

all that water becomes a trickle for poor mexico.

[@gleneverett9728]

I guess that's why they call them reactionary waves

[@marcf9622]

Umm, would you like to put your oars in the water? Oh, never mind 😂

[@CarlMarvin]

They've gone plaid!

[@marco21falcon]

I understand why people do this. But me......i detest it. My youth church group thought this was the best thing to ever go do. I hated it everytime! Until i finally told my parents how bad. I was never asked/ forced to do it again

[@rlowle1228]

Whoptie doo.

[@СергейАцута-ю9в]

Ожидаемо. Боком идти

[@daverupes7022]

They didn't have any control. That was clearly not safe to run. That one person never came up though! Tf

[@kentphillips2960]

Big water class 3 to 4. Easy lines in a kayak. Just real big

[@mark2885]

🤣 Easy lines sure, you can't even see anything from river level. This rapid is massive. But yeah class 3. Grand Canyon words to live by, "Even the little stuff is huge in the Grand"

[@eddievanlingen1935]

Those paddles aren't worth a shit in those conditions water will take them wherever it wants, and not a damn thing you can do about it!!

[@jameskesler1930]

Class 9??????? Didn't even swamp a boat......

[@frankanddanasnyder3272]

Class V rapid..

[@mrmrmr4776]

A class 9 or 10 rapid on the Colorado river is better than a class V, this way they charge more for a more thrilling ride. They have to justify their increasing rates somehow. They are already working on a new nomenclature for next year, they will have a class XV (15). They learned this from Spinal Tap.

[@Paintbl99]

That’s gonna be a hard no for me

[@donmealing912]

Class 9 ?? This is rated Class 5.

[@robburgoyne4044]

www.riversandoceans.com/lava-falls-rapid/#:~:text=Lava%20Falls%2C%20Grand%20Canyon%20National%20Park&text=Difficulty%20rating%20of%20a%20Class,whitewater%20rapid%20in%20the%20world.

[@consentofthegoverned5145]

There is a word for this: NOPE.

[@elmerrivera8336]

Not even if I was crazy would I get in there

[@kdh3706]

Thats not a class 9

[@dgaydos]

Sorry, ain't no such a thing as class IX....that's definitely Class V or VI though!

[@robburgoyne4044]

www.riversandoceans.com/grand-canyon-rafting/grand-canyon-rapids/ Colorado river has its own class system, this is the conversion.

[@urbanelectricstreetfighter6630]

Sissy water😂