High Water Anticipation, 2019
High water! Various government agencies keep a close watch on snowfall, and the depth and density of snow that accumulates on the ground, throughout the winter. With this information, they can predict the amount of run-off (water from snow melt) that will likely occur. The run-off prediction is of paramount concern to farmers and cities, who obtain their supply of irrigation and drinking water from snowmelt. It is of paramount concern, also, to river runners. Here in the arid west, all water users agree that more water is always better than less water. The agencies issue reports that detail the snowpack in the various watersheds of a state. The watersheds that are of interest to us New Mexico river runners are, firstly, the upper Rio Grande, in Colorado, and secondly, the Rio Chama in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. And the Rio Grande is at 142% of average.
Based on past experience, we expect that the run-off from this amount of snow will provide exciting levels of water in our two rivers. Weather, of course, will determine the exact nature of the run-off. Cooler weather slows it down, and hotter weather speeds it up. But we are supposing that the peak of the run-off will exceed 4000 cubic feet a second. What does this mean? A box 12″ on a side is a cubic foot. So imagine that, in a second’s time, 4000 such box fulls of water are passing by as you stand on the bank of the river. How much might it exceed 4000 cfs? It could go to 7000 cfs. Or not.
Rafting High Water
Rafting very high water, such as 4000 cfs or higher in the Rio Grande, pushes the rating of the normally Class IV+ Taos Box to Class V. And it pushes the Class III rating of the Racecourse to Class IV, with one rapid, Souse Hole, going to Class V. The higher ratings reflect the fact that the more powerful river has bigger waves and holes, which are more capable of flipping rafts or “dump trucking” paddlers into the river. And the river moves faster and the water is colder than normal. For the Racecourse, this requires that we raise the minimum age of kids from 6 to 9 or 12. This is the year and time of year for whitewater fans to go rafting!
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