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Colorado River Upset Rapid
Photo by Elias Butler
This is how a river story begins on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon: a missed entry, loss of control and perhaps a lucky run despite the mistakes. Upset Rapid (at Mile 150) in the "Muav Gorge" of the Canyon was named by Ellsworth Kolb, one of the famous Kolb brothers who established the first photography studio at Grand Canyon in 1901. The name refers to the Kolb brothers' upset in this rapid in 1911. Upset is rated at "8" on the Grand Canyon scale of 1-10, meaning that it will make your palms sweaty as you glissade down the rapid's smooth tongue and into its initial waves. I shot this photo at 1/15 second to capture the frantic movements of the boatman as he struggled to regain control and turn his boat bow-first in the middle of the rapid. What I did not expect to see was the muscular looking "whitewater man" who appears to be lifting the boat by the force of his hydraulic power. The boatman came away unscathed, through no fault of his own. (www.eliasbutler.com)
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