Tag Archives: rescue

Southern Sierras: Sierra Rescue Expands presence

Sierra Rescue now has a stronger presence in the Southern Sierras. Sierra Rescue’s Zach Byars recently moved from Northern California and now is based in Ventura, California. This move has opened the door for more rescue trainings on southern sierra rivers such as the Kern and the Kawhea. Combined with the fact that both of those drainages hold running water this year, the southern training grounds are prime. Los angeles based Uber adventures has sent numerous participants to the Kern for whitewater rescue training this spring where participants hone techniques for descending Whitewater Class-C canyons. In addition to canyoneers and other outdoor enthusiasts, Southern California rescue agencies are sending personnel to the Kern for training that is a little closer to home.

The Kern provides an excellent and diverse training location with more than 60 miles of accessible terrain. Whitewater rapids ranging from class 2 through class 5+ affords the right challenge for any adventure seeker. The diverse nature of the river corridor is perfect for the wide ranges of classes that we teach. Between the upper Kern and Lower Kern is the town of Kernville, which serves a jumping off point, and base camp for all sorts of outdoor recreation. We are pleased to maintain a more consistent presence the southern sierras and strive to provide the best possible training courses for our students. Find a class and come train!

souther sierras swiftwater rescue- Kern River

Southern Sierras swiftwater rescue- Kern River

Swiftwater Rescue in Redwood National Park

As instructors of swiftwater rescue, we have the opportunity to train in some amazing environments with some very talented groups of people. From military special forces to recreational boaters, swiftwater rescue is applicable to a diverse cross section of the population. The National Park Service continues to be one of our favorite groups to work with. We have taught swiftwater rescue and whitewater rescue with the National Park Service in locations such as Grand Canyon, Grad Teton, Yosemite, Big Bend, Lassen, and Olympic national parks. Recently we had a training on the Smith River with Park Rangers in Redwood National Park. In the northern California park, some rangers lead scenic floats through the redwood groves, while others respond to distress calls on the river. Several Rivers crisscross through the park and they attract lots of attention from park visitors.

photo courtesy of Del Norte Triplicate / Bryan Anderson

The Del Norte Triplicate sent reporters to attend parts of course. After training and practice with some rescue techniques, instructors challenged the rangers with realistic water rescue scenarios. It’s always a learning experience says Sierra Rescue instructor Zach Byars, “even when the rescue goes wrong, there’s a lot to be learned. Thats why its called training.” The students made good progress throughout the course and left better prepared for water incidents that may happen in the future.

For more information on the Smith River training visit http://www.triplicate.com/News/Local-News/Learning-the-Ropes-Swift-water-rescue-training to read the full write-up.

swiftwater entry by Sierra Rescue instructor Zach Byars with Redwood National Park river rescue training

photo courtesy of Del Norte Triplicate / Bryan Anderson

Swiftwater Entry: Swim Smarter not Harder

A swiftwater entry doesn’t have to be graceful, it just has to gets the job done. A good swiftwater entry can make or break your swiftwater swim. Part superman, part belly flop, it involves extending yourself into the current and can give you the jump start you need to make your target. In our swiftwater rescue courses we tell students that its much easier to swim through air than it is in current. Though none of us is able to fly, the swiftwater entry maximizes your start, and minimizes the time you have to fight the force of the water. In essence, you hit the ground running, or in this case swimming. Start as low to the water surface as possible and jump out not up, making sure to keep you head up, not down like a dive. The higher above the water level you start the deeper you will drop upon entry, and the less propulsion your jump will provide.

Before any entry into swiftwater ensure proper PPE and set safety downstream. A thorough size-up of the water environment and the potential hazards is critical when considering to put personnel in the water. With practice and training, a good swiftwater entry can give you a leg up in challenging swiftwater swims.

Hawaii Swiftwater Rescue Course

Don Lester, an Instructor Trainer for Sierra Rescue and Rescue 3 International, is currently teaching an SRT Unit 1, and SRTA and a Water Instructor Course.

Swiftwater Training and Swiftwater Instructing in HI

Swiftwater Rescue and Swiftwater Rescue Instructor Course, Hilo, HI

Although we are experiencing low water flows in California, Hilo, Hawaii is expecting a Category 2 storm tomorrow. Upon checking in with Instructor Trainer , Don Lester yesterday, I could hear the rain pouring down on the other side of the line. This is an amazing opportunity for Hilo and Kona Firefighters to train in realistic conditions. Don is introducing them to Kokatat PFD’s, as well. Hopefully, any rescues they may need to do during the course are easy access rescues necessary because the helicopters can not fly. Folks have been warned as a precaution, and all seem to be taking the warnings to heart, and staying away from the flooded and swollen streams.

Swiftwater and Technical Rope Rescue combined training

New Instructors: The 2014 Rescue 3 Instructor Course

Group shot from the 2014 instructor course.

Recap of the 2014 Instructor Course

Another successful instructor course complete. This year’s course was located on the lower Stanislaus river in Knights Ferry, CA. Thanks to the fish, flows were bumped up to an impressive 1200 cfs. At that level the training site at Russian rapid really becomes ideal. It provides great locations for shallow water access and entrapments and lower down, facilities swimming and throwbagging.

The highlight is the 200′ tension diagonal through the middle of the rapid. The course involved 5 days of water-focused training to get these instructor candidates up to speed. This is what co-owner Julie Munger had to say about the 7 guys that just completed the instructor course:

2014 instructor course group photo. congrats!

“WOW! What GREAT Instructors! Dave and Jeff from Wet Planet, Bhupi from INDIA!, Chris and Justin from Brea and Fullerton Fire, James from Adventures Unlimited in Colorado, Jeremiah from ZODIAC, Britt from ROW in Northern Idaho. Don Lester and I had the pleasure of joining these amazing guys!”

Britt surfing the boat on tether.

These guys are to be commended; the instructor path is no easy task. The prerequisites are a hefty undertaking themselves and mastery of the skills taught in the SRT, SRT-A, WRT, RRC, and RRC-Pro is not light work. These guys proved their diligence and focus and combined to make an awesome course. Good luck out there gentlemen.

Grand Adventure: Riverboarding the Colorado

Riverboarding isn’t all hard work…

Our riverboard trip this year was a combination of past participants, friends, and parts of one of the oldest river running families running in Grand Canyon, the Smiths’. Michael Bronstein Smith grew up as part of a river family, and swamped occasionally for his cousin, Latimer. Mike motivated the friends he played water polo with in College, a few of their friends, and his Mom and Dad to join the trip.

The fitness level of all the participants made it possible to have an active, fun, adventure filled trip. We did long hikes almost every day, and ran all the big lines that the Canyon has to offer. The incredible thing about riverboarding is the learning curve for folks that are fit, and comfortable in the water. Learning to read little features in the river, identify obstacles, and run really big waves comes quickly and easily to folks with a commitment. By the time we ran the gorge, making it to the “duck pond” at Hance, hitting the waves in Sockdolager, and choosing lines through Horn Creek and Crystal were done by individuals on their own. With the amazing professionalism of Harlan Taney as the safety kayaker, Abigail and I were able to keep folks on line and in the fun water. With a little direction, everyone was able to stay on line in Lava Falls, and have a great time.

The most amazing part about riverboarding is the ability to truly feel the river is such an intimate way. There is no rubber or plastic separating you from feeling the swirl of the eddies and the action of the waves. In my opinion, it not only creates a more intimate way to share the river, but also a deeper bond with the other folks in the water.

It is still such a unique experience that so few people have had the opportunity to try. It has the aura of a “radical” or “extreme” sport; but it is truly most suited for big Class 3-4 rivers like the Colorado. As a Swiftwater Rescue Instructor for the past 25 years, I also truly believe that for a fit person, it is one of, if not the, safest ways to enjoy the river. The riverboards have 160 pounds of flotation, and there is no gear! Only you, your friends, and the river. With a full wetsuit, helmet and PFD, the protection is complete.

Riverboarding Lava Falls

As with any Grand Canyon trip, the stories and friendships will last for a lifetime. Thank you fellow riverboarders for being adventurous enough to take the plunge in a unique and wonderful way!

Zach’s EMT Course. Front-Country vs. Backcountry Medicine

This past fall, I took my first EMT course. It was a fast-paced intensive class that took place in Fremont, California and was offered through Unitek College. I loved it. I found that my background and experience as an instructor of wilderness medicine with Sierra Rescue gave me an upper hand in some of the BLS and patient assessment aspects of the course. Other arenas I was pushed to the max to find space to cram lots of new information.

My favorite part of the entire 3-week course was ‘trauma Sundays.’ On these 3 days, we ran mass casualty incident (MCI) scenarios all day long –12 hours worth. The instructors brought on additional proctors and lots of volunteer patients. It was an exhausting marathon of triage, treatment, and transport.

Staged and ready for Trauma Sunday. EMT training

One of the Trauma Sundays featured a crane moving cars for motor vehicle accident (MVA) scenarios, ALS and BLS ambulances arriving on scene for transport, and a surprise arrival of Stanford’s Helicopter. I haven’t spent much time operating with helicopters and it was impressive to see how chaotic the scene can become when the ALS ship arrived.

staging the first scene of Trauma Sunday. Unitek Education EMT course

Throughout the course I kept trying to draw ties to the ‘wilderness’ component which pertains more to my life and the courses that I teach. It was interesting to see firsthand how much front-country medicine relies on two things: diesel and oxygen. If it’s serious you ‘load and go,’ and you almost always give oxygen. These two mainstays of front country medicine are almost never available to us in the wilderness. Transport is hardly ever “rapid” and the best “oxygen supply” we typically carry is in the air we breathe. Given these parameters, when faced with a serious incident in the backcountry. the importance of getting the help you need early in the is paramount, as is the ability to provide treatment and keep your patient as stable as possible.

Overall, it was an awesome course. It gave me some good perspective, provided me with some additional teaching tools, and allowed for my first experiences as a ride-along on the ambulance. It peaked my interest in continuing down a medical path and the possibility of paramedic school. I’m looking forward to teaching my next Wilderness First Responder course this fall.

Post by: Zach Byars, Instructor

Swiftwater Hazards: Strainer Face

Strainer Face: Up Close and Personal

This past spring our strainer swim self-rescue drill (aptly named ‘Strainer Face’) became a prominent feature in our social media and photo posting. For those of you that have been on the upstream side of the log in the training you can speak from experience. For those of you that haven’t, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” #strainerface gets lots of hype and from a teaching standpoint, is a great way to demonstrate the power of water and the extreme danger strainers present to the unsuspecting swimmer. Avoid anything that acts like a strainer at all costs, and know where the potential strainers locations are on the rivers you run. Here are some standout Strainer Face photos. We have several more albums up on our facebook page and you can come participate in the strainer drill by taking one of our many swiftwater rescue courses. We’d love to see you out there. -ZB 7/2014

We hope you enjoyed the above Strainer Face photos. Strainer Face strives to capture the impact moment of the swimmer and the log and the expression that accompanies that precise moment. Strainer Face is typically captured during the first phase of the strainer drill where students float into the strainer in a feet-first defensive position letting their legs sweep under the strainer. From there they attempt to get up and over the strainer. This segment usually provides exceptional photos of anguish and grimace while the student gives all he or she has to try and defeat the strainer. It truly is and eye-oppening experience. See you on the water!

Perfect Practice

As a child, I found myself surrounded by incredible whitewater paddlers and slalom athletes. Richard Fox, 5 Time Slalom Kayak Champion, once told me that most people had it all wrong. *insert mild British accent here*

“Its not practice that makes perfect, its perfect practice that makes perfect.”

For some reason that piece of advice has always stayed with me especially when it applies to rescue training, instruction, and practice. It can be as simple as ALWAYS making sure a carabiner is up facing the next load, making sure you wrap your prussiks the same way every time, tying knots properly, pulling out enough tail in your throw bag for a margin of error, or putting yourself on the correct side of a bight for a belay. The time it takes to deliberately follow good habits is the time it takes to ingrain those habits in your muscle memory so that when you need to use them you can expect your body to preform. Even now while teaching I if I clip in a carabiner to a rope, I will take it off and change it to attach it properly not just for my student’s benefit of always seeing it done right, but also to continue to practice those perfect habits.

So the next time you have your Z-Drag practice in your backyard, during lunch, or waiting for the shuttle make sure you practice perfect!

Post by: Tren Long, Instructor

River Rescue: Access

If we were to look at the total time spent in a river rescue, then divide the amount of time spent of each part of the rescue: Locate, Access, Stabilize, Transport we would find that a majority of time spent in a rescue is in the access phase.

Access is one of the most limiting factors that affect rescues. If you cannot access the victim you will be incapable of giving any aid. Having knowledge and practice of the various types of access is one of the fundamental pillars of an efficient rescue team. What is most important is understanding what your team is capable of and what equipment needs those capabilites may dictate. A group of rafters’ rescue equipment needs and and space available to store them likely will be larger than a small group of kayakers. On the flip side, a professional rescue team (EMS) will have much more equipment/hardware but a lot less practice and experience in the water. Every group has its challenges and limitations to being able to access a victim, but each group also has its benefits and special skills that can help. The key is practicing scenarios to discover what your group’s deficiencies and special skills are, then working out a plan to overcome them.

Locate, Access, Stabilize, Transport

What can you specifically practice?

Boat access: can you get out of your kayak onto a rock from the eddy behind it if you cant touch the bottom of the river? Could you catch that same eddy if you were in a raft, or could you swim to access that eddy if you didn’t have a boat at all?

Downstream safety/rescuer reset: do you have the tools in place to retrieve your swimmer/kayaker/rafter if they miss that rock and reset the rescue for a second attempt?

Preplan/plan B: can you implement or plan a secondary plan of action in case your initial access plan fails?

Taking the time as a paddling group or as a department to learn and discover skills, abilities, and limitations in the water can go a LONG way to causing a successful rescue.

Post by: Tren Long, Instructor

Recap of the 2014 Instructor Course

Strainer Face: Up Close and Personal

Sierra Rescue Courses