Erik Boomer Runs 100-ft. Magnan Falls

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Written by Virginia Friday, 14 May 2010 00:00

Features - Category: River People

Magnan_photoPatCamblin.trib

How many kayakers does it take to run a manky, 100-foot chute as safely as possible...and capture the feat on film with Stanley Kubrick thoroughness? Erik Boomer was well looked after with a support crew of 13, but things still turned ugly.


Boomer and crew took a few hours to scout the potential first descent of Quebec's Chutes de Magnan, then slept on the decision. Once made, plans were carefully drawn up to position the team for greatest effectiveness, and Boomer headed to his kayak.

What happened next, as Rush Sturges writes on his blog, "was one of the craziest things I have ever seen go down. I can't believe Boomer survived and came away unscathed. Basically, everything we talked about going wrong went wrong..."

A rooster near the top of the drop threw Boomer sideways, sending him ragdolling down the remaining 90 feet of rushing water and jagged rock. Crew members were certain that Boomer would be unconscious or concussed, but he popped up with fists pumping the air and only a small cut on his hand.
boomer_magnan_falls
Sturges, veteran of such drops as 107-foot Alexandra Falls, rates Magnan for "sheer 'buck up and huck' factor" as "one of the gnarliest things ever run in a kayak. Palouse, Sunset and many others are different and all crazy in their own right, but Magnan is truly something beastly."

Footage of Boomer's line will be featured in Sturge's next film, Frontier.

Top Photo Credit Patrick Camblin/Triberiders.ca; bottom photo courtesy River-roots.com


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