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Kayaker’s death raises questions about safety of taking on Idaho’s whitewater

The recent death of 61-year-old Bill Studebaker, an Idaho poet and teacher, has raised questions about the wisdom of kayaking on the state’s dangerous whitewater, reports this morning’s Idaho Statesman.

Judy Studebaker has heard the talk: Her husband had a death wish.

How else to explain a 61-year-old poet and retired English professor jumping in his new kayak on one of the most challenging stretches of Idaho whitewater and winding up dead?

But Bill Studebaker’s July 4 drowning wasn’t prompted by self-destructiveness, said Judy Studebaker. Rather, he was on a Salmon River tributary to cherish nature, thrill at testing his skills and find calm in the challenge of running expert whitewater.

He was, like thousands of Idahoans who love adventure sports, focused on living well.

“Bill wasn’t out to kill himself,” said Judy Studebaker. “The river quieted his mind.”

Posted by Noelle Crombie, The Oregonian July 13, 2008 07:00AM