Stookesberry’s Top Ten: 100+ foot Falls run by kayak.

Since running my first water fall in a kayak on Oh-be-Joyful Creek in Colorado in the late Spring of 1999 I have been somewhat obsessed with free fall in a kayak.  But it’s much more than just gravity.  Thousands of gallons of water change the equation from an unsurvivable, rock hard flat pool landing from a 100 + foot free fall into a one of a kind scenario for the Big Drop specialist.

 

Lately there has been alot of action on this front including Rafa Ortiz’s repeat of the world record descent.  What’s even more striking is that after three descents in the last month by Pat Keller (Ozone Falls), Pedro Oliva (Rainbow Falls), and Chris Korbulic (Rainbow Falls), for the first time in the history of our sport there are 10 well documented 100 + foot water falls that have now been survived by kayak.

 

Below I am listing the falls in order of height, my knowledge of the method of measure, and the time of freefall given by the equation H = (1/2)A*T^2  where H = is the height of the falls, A is the acceleration of gravity, and T is the time of free fall.  Of course this neglects wind resistance and considers initial downward velocity zero which are both fair assumptions in the waterfall environment.  From their I have also given you the velocity at impact based on the time of free fall.

 

Note and Disclaimer: I am basing this list on credible evidence to the best of my knowledge where the attempt was survived. Be aware that you can brake your back off a bad landing of from a 20 foot drop and that many other variables can make falls less than 5 feet high lethal.

 

1 Palouse Falls – Height = 180 feet + or – 5 feet as surveyed by Whitman University.  Time of Free fall = 3.54 seconds.  Velocity on impact = 77 mph

First descent Tyler Bradt with a subsequent descent by Rafa Ortiz.

3. Big Banana Falls (Veracruz, Mexico) – Height = 128.6 feet with on sight line measurement by team.  Time of Free fall = 2.98 seconds

First descent by Rafa Ortiz with subsequent descents by Aniol Serrasolses and Galen Volckausen.  Velocity on impact = 65 mph

3. Salto Belo (Mato Grosso, Brazil) – Height = 128 feet with on sight line measurement by team.  Time of Free fall = 2.98 seconds. Velocity on impact = 65 mph

First and only Descent by Pedro Oliva

4. Rainbow Falls (Big Island, Hawaii) – 120 feet with on sight line measurement by team.  Time of Free fall = 2.88 seconds.  Velocity on impact = 63 mph

First Descent by Pedro Oliva with a subsequent descent by Chris Korbulic.

5. Cascade Falls (Costal BC, Canada) – 112 feet (including 4 feet of slide at the top) measured by geo tech survey.   Time of Free fall = 2.79 seconds.  Velocity on impact = 61 mph

First and only Descent by Paul Gamache

6. Natural Bridge Falls (Boulder River, Montana) – 105 Feet as measured by team.  Time of Freefall 2.7 seconds.  Velocity on impact 59 mph.  First and only descent by Ian Garcia.

7. Alexandria Falls (North West Territory, Canada) – 104.4 feet measured by line measurement by team.  Time of Free fall = 2.69 seconds. Velocity on impact = 58.7 mph

First Descent by Ed Lucero with Subsequent descents by Tyler Bradt and Rush Sturges

 

8. Anaconda Falls (Goiais, Brazil) – 102 Rough estimate by line measurement and photo analysis.  Time of Free fall = 2.66 seconds. Velocity on Impact = 58 mph

First Descent by Ben Stookesberry with a subsequent and much more successful descent by Rafa Ortiz

9. Ozone Falls (Cumberland County, Tennessee, USA) – 100+ feet Method of measurement unknown. Time of Free Fall = 2.61 seconds

First and only Descent by Pat Keller

10 . Puma Falls (Lake District, Chile) – 100 feet Method of measurement unknown. Time of Free Fall = 2.61 seconds

First and only descent by Aniol Serrasolses

11. Ram Falls (Alberta, Canada) – 100 feet Method of measurement unknown. Time of Free Fall = 2.61 seconds. Velocity on impact 57 mph

First Descent by Perter Thompson, Dylan Thompson, and Ryan Lucas.