Kayaker killed on Nisqually

Chris Ringsven yearned to live and work in the mountains.

Coming from the relative flatness of Minnesota, he was lured to Washington state in August by the outdoor opportunities here and the challenges of whitewater kayaking, his family said.

"The last couple of years, he was making an effort to move to the mountains," his brother, Craig, said by phone from Minnetonka, Minn., yesterday. "He got there in mid-August and took a teaching job."

But the 27-year-old Cle Elum schoolteacher's dream was cut short Saturday on the Nisqually River near Alder Lake in Pierce County.

Ringsven died while kayaking the river during one of two annual releases of water from LaGrande Dam. His body was pulled from the river downstream from the dam, according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. Exactly how and why he died is still being determined by the Pierce County medical examiner.

His family says Ringsven had six to seven years of kayaking experience. "He was an experienced kayaker," his brother said. "He was really good and super cautious."

Ringsven had been kayaking with a group of some 20 people who were taking advantage of a recreational opportunity that comes only a couple of times each year on the Nisqually, according to Sue Veseth of Tacoma Power.

As part of its dam-licensing agreement to provide recreational opportunities, Tacoma Power agreed to release water from LaGrande Dam to provide a Class IV whitewater opportunity--Class V is considered the most difficult--to river runners.

Kayakers must use ropes to lower themselves down a 200-foot canyon to the water. Once there, they ride the water released from the dam for a wild, but short-lived whitewater thrill.

The obvious dangers of such endeavors led the power company to require those who sign up to be experienced kayakers and be at least 18 years old. They also must sign releases to assume personal responsibility if anything happens.

"Just getting in (to the canyon) is treacherous," Veseth said. "We've had grave reservations about doing this from a public-safety standpoint."

Brad Farris, who works at a kayak shop in Portland, said he rode the dam-release water last year. "It's an upper-end Class IV run," Farris said. "It's not supremely difficult, though."

Last year, it took the 41 people who made the run more than three hours just to rappel or scramble down the canyon, Farris said.

Ringsven lived in Snoqualmie and commuted over Snoqualmie Pass to teach music in the Cle Elum schools.

"He was a fine, fine young man, a wonderful person," Cle Elum School Supt. Evelyn Nelson said yesterday. "He was just beginning his career. We were all impressed with him and the enthusiasm he brought here."

Ringsven taught vocal and instrumental music at both the middle school and high school in the 1,000-student district. Ringsven grew up in Minnetonka, Minn., and went to undergraduate school at Williams College in Massachusetts. He attended graduate school and received his teaching degree from the University of Minnesota.

His primary instrument was the piano, his brother said.