Virgin River Runners Coalition

The Zion Narrows was closed Apr 27, 2009 due to a large number of parties requiring rescue. The closure was made to assess the conditions that led to 4 of 5 parties putting on Apr 26-27 requiring assistance. Park officials expect the closure to be temporary.

Well, our little secret is out, so let's do a little review about the Narrows for those contemplating a trip there:

150 cfs is minimum flow required by Zion NP (North Fork Virgin River nr Springdale, UT streamgage). Up to 300 is low flow, above 600 is high flow. Daily fluctuations in April have been running 200 to 600. You will encounter the higher flows during your run.

It is a long day. The first 6 or so miles are pretty much a walk. There will be only rare years when this section is floatable in April or May. Bring solid footwear. An early start is paramount.

It is Class III in a Class V setting. Argue the ratings, it doesn't change the difficlty. Don't bring inexperienced boaters down here, they will only be a liability if something goes wrong. Quoting from one of last weekend's rescue kayakers "The most important thing... is the ever changing pickup stix logjams. There are blind drops where you just don't know, and I've had a few moments in there when there it was, out of nowhere, perfectly at larynx height, these ponderosa war clubs spiked with shattered limbs."

Your party should be capable of self rescue, or waiting 3 days for help. It may take longer if flow and weather conditions are wrong. That means having something along other than board shorts and a dry top (what the 2 lads who climbed out and needed heli-rescue were reported to be wearing when picked up. Having an IK along allows a boater with a lost or broken boat to get out. Split boats, lost boats, trashed spray skirt, blown out shoulder... etc are only a few of the potential deal breakers. WR Grace Snow and Ice Shield (a bitumen-based roofing material, see your construction buds for a small piece of this). a roofing product, will actually stick to the outside of a plastic boat, seal a crack, and stay on for the rest of the season if need be. 4of 5 parties last weekend came through with cracked boats.

Of course, there will be those who think no one in their party will ever have a major equipment loss or be injured. Don't complain if you go unprepared....

Zion National Park is reviewing the details of last weekend's ordeal. If you seriously want to continue boating the Narrows, it would help to write a letter to: Superintendent, Zion National Park, Springdale, UT expressing your desire to continue to have this special resource be available.

See some great high-flow Cataract Canyon videos from the NPS.

Get all the main stem Virgin River flows on one web page. Click Virgin River flows for 7 stations on one page. This link is also available on the River Flows page.

Check out some of the features of our web-site.

River Runners info:

• Conservation--Virgin River basin management documents, endangered and threatened species listings and documents; some found nowhere else on the web.
• River Flows--Direct links to USGS, BuRec, river Commisioner' sites
• Snowpack--Direct links to Snotell daily update pages, and region-wide summaries and summary maps.
• Weather--Help plan your trip with these links to National Weather Service forecast office homepages, GOES satellite images radar, more.
• Permits--Addresses (virtual AND real), phone numbers to permitting offices.
• River Organizations--Links to organizations that fight hard for access and conservation issues.

The Virgin River Runners' Coalition is a dedicated group of river runners commited to defending, maintaining, and enhancing river runners' access and boating rights throughout the Intermountain West.

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