The Pit Falls Release
Originally produced for Teton Gravity Research
Pit Falls is the stuff of legend. Just one of the many secrets stashed in the fabled State of Jefferson, the Pit River has become one of the West Coast’s premier paddling traditions. Only running for two weekends a year in October, people from all over flock to the Pit to take advantage of some of the best Class IV boating around.
Draining a massive volcanic plateau between Shasta and Lassen, the Pit is tucked into the far reaches of Northern California. The area, squarely off the beaten track, is notorious for hippies and rednecks (hickies), prodigious cannabis cultivation, the region’s back-to-the-land philosophy, and perhaps most importantly — the high concentration of epic rivers.
Beginning in the early 1920’s, PG&E began damning the Pit River to quench the energy needs of the population centers to the south. Ever since, generations of paddlers have whispered about the Pit, trading myths of California’s lost whitewater. For a long time, only a few had boated this rugged basalt canyon — until recently.
In 2011, a deal was brokered between American Whitewater and the FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) to allow annual releases for recreational opportunities — meaning that nowadays, every October
the Pit River goes off…
THE ROTOR COLLECTIVE
Rotor Collective’s UAV primed and ready for flight. Kyle Lancaster Photo.
For several years now, I’ve hit the Pit release along with friends from the Southwest Summit crew. We’ve always wanted to see someone make a worthy video that would give testament and show the magnitude of this amazing natural feature.
So, this year, we pulled the trigger and invited Rotor Collective.
Founded a few years back by Ryan Fitzhenry and Kyle Lancaster, Rotor Collective has been kicking ass and taking names during the current wild west era of aerial cinematography. Flying what many call a drone, the guys at Rotor Collective prefer to call their equipment by the industry standard — Multi-rotor and/or UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle). By utilizing high precision equipment, Rotor Collective can get shots that ten years ago we’re all but impossible. “Before, you actually had to bring in a hundred-foot boom or something…Now you can just take off and fly the move — it’s a perspective that wasn’t possible before at the price point.” cinematographer Ryan Fitzhenry notes during an interview.
BEFORE, YOU ACTUALLY HAD TO BRING IN A HUNDRED-FOOT BOOM OR SOMETHING…NOW YOU CAN JUST TAKE OFF AND FLY THE MOVE — IT’S A PERSPECTIVE THAT WASN’T POSSIBLE BEFORE AT THE PRICE POINT.
When it’s time to shoot, the guys use a hecta-copter (six blades) to get most of their goals accomplished. The magic happens by means of a Panasonic GH4 mounted with a three-axis gimbal. Maybe the coolest part of their rig, the gimbal allows the UAV to bank and maneuver while maintaining a perfectly level horizon. The heavier lifting capacity of their multi-rotor enables it to carry a heftier payload, leading to enhanced image quality than most intro-level platforms, such as those designed for GoPro’s, etc.
Actively escaping the corporate grind, both Ryan and Kyle approach Rotor Collective as a rewarding journey, not a means to an end. Ryan explains their ethos well. “Success to us is not having it be a job so much as just going out on some of these shoots. Yeah, we’re getting paid, yeah we’re having fun, but it’s taking it (UAV) to really cool places and meeting a lot of different people.”
THE MAIN CHALLENGE IS TIMING. ONCE THAT PERSON HAS DROPPED IN, WE CAN’T REALLY TELL HIM TO STOP. IT’S SOMETHING WHERE WE HAVE TO REALIZE HOW LONG IT TAKES US TO GET IN THE AIR, HOW LONG IT TAKES US TO GET OVER TO WHERE THE BOATER IS GOING TO BE. IT’S A DELICATE ORCHESTRA OF TIMING AND COMMUNICATING TO GET THESE SHOTS.
Unbeknownst to many, an operation like Rotor Collective does a meticulous amount of coordination to get each and every shot. Kyle Lancaster, formerly an engineer, pilots the UAV while Fitzhenry operates a completely separate interface to do the filming and photo work. This separate control system of flight and photography mandates that both operators have to be 100% on the same page.
In an action-sports context, such as in Pit Falls Release, Ryan explains, “The main challenge is timing. Once that person has dropped in, we can’t really tell him to stop. It’s something where we have to realize how long it takes us to get in the air, how long it takes us to get over to where the boater is going to be. It’s a delicate orchestra of timing and communicating to get these shots.”
ADVERSITY
The trickiest hurdle Rotor Collective faced in shooting the footage for Pit Falls Release was getting their gear down into the canyon. Early on, they opted to boat their equipment in, stowing their gear in a double-XL Pelican Case.
On the first day, while crushing numerous class IV’s with thousands of dollars of gear on the line, disaster struck. Not a mile above Pit Falls, one of the rafts in our party floated over a nasty basalt fang — tearing a huge gash into the rubber. A popped boat is never an easy thing to deal with, especially on the side of the river, but when you throw into the recipe a time-sensitive objective, something’s gonna have to give.
We eddied out above the falls as the last rays of light shot over the canyon, our chances of shooting footage waning with the sun. We were all stoked to do the drops, but everyone in our team knew that we’d lost our day’s window to film.
On almost any other river section, this would be no big deal. Pack-it-up — we’ll come back next week…Not the Pit. This river would run for just one more day, and then an entire year would pass before Rotor Collective’s next opportunity.
It was time to regroup…
That night at camp, Ryan and Kyle huddled over Google Earth, trying to assess their options. After the defeat of their first attempt, Rotor Collective didn’t want to chance another approach by means of the river, so they decided to hike their UAV into the canyon instead.
On the map, there seemed to be a game trail, possibly just a relief in the topographic lines; either way, there appeared to be a way down. It was a gamble, but the sight of the falls during that day’s exploits had made them convinced — they had to go for it…
THERE WAS A WAY TO GET DOWN. WE TOOK OUR COPTER, OUR REMOTES, OUR BATTERIES, TOOL KIT — EVERYTHING WE NEEDED TO SHOOT — AND WE BROKE IT ALL DOWN INTO THE SMALLEST PIECES WE COULD. THEN WE WRAPPED IT INTO TOWELS AND BLANKETS. WE WERE ABLE TO CRAM EVERYTHING INTO TWO BACKPACKS AND A DUFFEL BAG.
After the decision was made to push forward the following day, the boys got to work, “There was a way to get down. We took our copter, our remotes, our batteries, tool kit — everything we needed to shoot — and we broke it all down into the smallest pieces we could. Then we wrapped it into towels and blankets.” Ryan remembers during one of our conversations, “We were able to cram everything into two backpacks and a duffel bag.”
PERSEVERANCE
On Sunday morning, the final day of the release for 2014, the guys got after it early. After putting the finishing touches on their ghetto-rigged UAV packs, Ryan and Kyle set off to find a way down into the Canyon to film the elusive Pit Falls.
Following a mostly forgotten ATV trail for a couple miles, they hit their GPS targets, and then started breaking trail down-canyon. Highly exposed, Rotor Collective pushed downward until they came to a precipice overlooking the falls below. From the cliff’s edge they spied a steep goat path that would be sketchy, but doable.
After a terrifying down-climb, accented by the strain of hauling their multi-rotor kits, Ryan and Kyle stood directly above Pit Falls, ready to put the hammer down.
I THINK THIS EXPERIENCE WAS A TESTAMENT TO A REALLY UNIQUE SET OF PROBLEMS — GETTING THIS EQUIPMENT DOWN INTO THE CANYON TO FILM A BUNCH OF BOATERS. BUT WITH SOME DUCT TAPE AND ZIP TIES, SOME BACKPACKS AND TOWELS, WE WERE ABLE TO RIG UP A SOLUTION AND MAKE IT HAPPEN…THAT’S WHAT FILMMAKING’S ALL ABOUT.
Right as they started assembling their UAV, the first boaters came into view. Taking in the full picture, the two were able to mentally storyboard their shots, accounting for where the kayakers were setting up, and where they’d be dropping.
Over the next three hours they did six flights, every one of which capturing some elements of bad-assery. The two partners of Rotor Collective knew that the shots they’d gotten had justified the hardships involved.
“At the end of the first day we weren’t sure if we were gonna be able to have any good footage or bring any stuff back. After day two, we were super stoked!” Fitzhenry explained, “I think this experience was a testament to a really unique set of problems — getting this equipment down into the canyon to film a bunch of boaters. But with some duct tape and zip ties, some backpacks and towels, we were able to rig up a solution and make it happen…that’s what filmmaking’s all about.”
