Quartzite's Fall: A Wilderness Tale

Whitewater rafting is a terrifying, exhilarating sport. It's also dangerous; some 20 thrill-seekers die every year when their rafts overturn on America's wildest rivers. Quartzite Falls on the Upper Salt River in Arizona was once one of the most treacherous stretches of river in the United States, as the waters roiling over the narrow falls created a hydraulic “keeper hole” that caught and recycled rafts and people. As a result, wise guides portaged or passed empty rafts over the falls on ropes. Nonetheless, in 1993 two adventurers drowned at Quartzite, and shortly thereafter, eight men illegally set explosives and blew up the rocks at the falls, turning it from a Class 5+ to an exciting but navigable Class 3 rapid; two of the men were imprisoned for one and three-plus years respectively. Filmmaker Kristin Atwell's beautifully filmed documentary tells this story effectively (if a bit overdramatically--the eerie Indian chanting and sometimes overheated narration, read by Peter Coyote, can be irritating), clearly sympathizing with the outraged raft guides and environmentalists who lament this desecration of a federally protected wilderness area, but also presenting the other side of the argument--that the explosions merely removed a hazardous stretch of the river to promote safe rafting. Sure to spark lively discussions about adventure, wilderness, and man's role in shaping and protecting it, this is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (M. Pendergrast)