Tag Archives: swiftwater rescue

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

To Scout or Not to Scout: How to Make the Call

When the discussion of a rapid scout comes up, Students in our courses frequently ask for clarification, hoping to better understand the judgement behind the call to stop and scout, or to run an upcoming rapid. The question usually goes like, “How do you know when to scout and when not to? Its not like you can scout EVERYTHING you run every time…”

While scouting every rapid every time is an impossibility, experienced paddlers will regularly stop and scout some rapids, while just jumping into others. The decision is not always an easy one, but here are five thought paths to consider when making the call to stop and scout or to go for it:

1) When was the last time you were down the run? Do you know the rapids? How do they compare to your skill level and the skills of the other paddlers you are with? Can you self-rescue or help others in case of emergency?

2) Is there any reason to believe things may have changed since the last time you were down? Has there been high water, low water or any recent changes you know of? Is there potential for wood, debris or other river hazards to have accumulated in a particular “hazard” spot?

3) Do you know of others who have been running the river recently? Have those boaters reported changes or new hazards? Did they have “clean” runs? Or did they report new hazards or unexpected challenges?

4) Can you see the rapid from top to bottom and visualize a clear line or is the view obstructed and you cannot see past the first move? Can you see an eddy partway down where you can visually inspect further downstream? Does that eddy have “an out” if you determine from there that the rest of the rapid is too big/ dangerous/ full of hazards/ a portage?

5) Is this a river or rapid that has a known hazard spot or tendency to change with different flows/ levels? Are you prepared to manage those hazards in case of the unexpected? How well do you know the river or rapids at the level you are running it on that day?

Bottom line: When in doubt, it is best to get out and scout! It is always better to scout and wish you had not, than to be in the middle of a rapid wishing you had scouted. Happy padding and play safe from Sierra Rescue!!

Train Hard. Stay Safe. Kayak Specific River Rescue

Clearly we are proponents of swiftwater rescue, not only because it is our livelihood, but because we believe that a well-trained boaters correspond to safer boaters, and safer boaters are less likely to need rescue. See the cycle? We are avid proponents of prevention. The best rescue is the one that never has to happen. Stay on top of your swiftwater skills, and better than than that, train with the people you paddle with.

At Sierra Rescue we offer custom courses just for you and your boating group. Our River Rescue Certification (RRC) has had great success in the last 5 years and we have taken it a step further to offer the RRC-K; River Rescue Certification – Kayak Specific. In the course we take the basic RRC format and put a kayaker’s spin on it. It involves the same hands on scenario-based training, but emphasizes boat-based rescue and self rescue for a kayaker, advanced pins and entrapments, and rope techniques using the gear in a personal pin kit. Running scenarios with the people who have your back on the water not only helps prepare the group for those “what ifs,” but lets you problem solve with one another and see each others rescue abilities.

Last year we taught numerous RRC-K with great response. Students really seemed to enjoy responding to scenarios from their boats, and and being able use the benefits of a kayak in a rescue. This article, written by CCK instructor Bryant Burkhadt, touches on the progression of swiftwater rescue training and the importance of continued training while discussing the benefits of a kayaker-specific course for boaters.

http://playak.com/news.php?idd=2337568845922

Thanks Bryant, see you on the water.

Post by: Zach Byars, Instructor

Wilderness First Aid and Swiftwater Rescue with the Hoopa tribe

The USCG recommended passenger load may have been exceeded for this group shot! All 20 students atop the raft, on day two after a really fun day of swiftwater training. The Trinity River was flowing around 1100 CFS and made Hawkins Bar an ideal training site. Some fun features, and good challenging cross-river swims!

We had yet another great week of Wilderness First Aid and Swiftwater Rescue training up on the Trinity River with the TCCC of the Hoopa Tribe. We at Sierra Rescue have been doing a combination Wilderness First Aid / Survival and Swiftwater Rescue Course up in Hoopa for over 10 years now. Day one was all first-aid focused and the wounds lab and splinting lab were highlights as usual. Fun to see the students improvising in the wilderness setting. We spent the evening of the first day building survival shelters and running hands on wilderness first aid scenarios. It was great to watch the students thinking through the variety of problems we threw at them.

wilderness first aid; upper extremity splint

Wilderness First Aid Arts and Crafts: splint building. Building a splint in the wilderness environment takes a little practice. Remember to make your splint, functional, and comfortable.

Some much needed springtime rain fell on our second day and boosted the river flows on the Trinity, contributing to 3 great days of swiftwater rescue training. It took a little encouragement to get everyone in the water, but all rose to the occasion and demonstrated some great rescue skills. This was a high energy group who learned a lot and had fun doing it. Highlights were running the rapid at Hawkins Bar and shallow water crossing the entire Trinity River using the 10 person wedge technique.

Student prepares a stabilization line for entrapped victim. Willow Creek provided an excellent training site for entrapments

It was great to get back up to the Trinity River and spend some time training with the Hoopa TCCC. They have a great program going up there and we at Sierra Rescue are happy to continue working with the members of the Hoopa Tribe and TCCC. I’m bound for Arizona next to teach a Wilderness Advanced First Aid class in Peach Springs, Arizona. –ZB 2.29.14

Webbing: It’s More Than Just a Flip Line

“If you don’t have what you need, improvise and make do.” River guide ingenuity, (RGI) is a beautiful thing, and has helped many a guide out of a tight spot or two by making do with whatever he or she can find. In the guiding and swiftwater world the “flip line” is one of those utility tools with many uses. Under some circumstances the flip line is good for re-righting boats, (as long as it’s long enough) but beyond that it has numerous ways to assist river guides and the problems they face. Your utility piece of webbing is the the swiftwater multi-tool. Check out these 30 things you can do with your utility piece of webbing other than flip rafts. Can you think of more?

1. re-right a flipped raft

2. use it like a throw rope, help someone to shore

3. clip to a tension diagonal and ride across (upstream arm, opposite the direction of travel)

4. drag your kayak to put-in (wear out plastic not your back)

5. make a quick anchor (3-bight or girth hitch)

6. make a NFPA anchor (wrap 3 pull 2)

7. create an improvised harness (swiss seat or other)

8. build a multi-point anchor on a raft or kayak

9. quick girth hitch of a thwart for a bomber anchor

10. tie a klemheist to attach to another rope

11. extend your reach from shore: attach one end to something / someone and hold the other

end while out in current

12. aid in climbing back in a boat

13. pre rig a bow to stern flip line on the bottom of a raft

14. improvise a kayak tow tether in a pinch

15. extract someone’s entrapped foot

16. be the human sea anchor to move a pinned boat: clip to a D-ring and jump in

17. create internal MA via the vector pull to taco a pinned boat (change shape so it comes free)

18. in-boat directional pull for pinned raft (clip to a D-ring and pull)

19. add a bow line to a boat

20. use the interlocking double clove hitch to secure someone or something

21. have fun around camp: jump rope, tug-o war, blazo, slack-line

22. hanging line for drying gear

23. hammock anchor

24. bear hoist

25. dish line

26. line for tarp / shelter

27. a belt

28. splinting material

29. improvised litter for patient carry-out

30. attach gear to a tension diagonal and zip it across

Just so we’re all on the same page, the swiftwater multi-tool mentioned above, formerly known as a “flip line” is nothing more than a length of webbing between 15 ft and 30 ft tied together with a water knot and connected with a locking or auto lock carabiner. The water knot can be untied to double your working length.

I typically wear my webbing loop around my waist tucked up and under my drysuit sprayskirt tunnel. Start with the webbing loop in front of you, wrap it in opposite directions around your waist until the two ends (bights) come to meet in the front. Clip your carabiner to attach the two ends. Be sure to keep it tight so it doesn’t hang loose or become an entrapment hazard. Adjust the water knot so the ‘belt’ fits snug. And there you have it, river guide’s multi-tool. What else can you do with it?

Post by: Zach Byars, Instructor

River Knives: On the Cutting Edge

So here’s the deal with river knives . You need one. We’ll discuss what kind and how to wear it later. Inevitably at some point in your career in and around swiftwater you will need to use your river knife. I don’t mean to cut fruit at lunch or spread pb on sandwich. I mean need your knife. Rope entrapment and under-the-raft pins are two of the more severe scenarios in which I have seen the quick and efficient use of a river knife save lives.

In our newly developed RRC-professional curriculum, one of the new ‘skills’ adapted from the Kiwi rescue realm centers on getting to and using a knife to self rescue under stressful conditions. The drill involves putting your foot in a loop of rope, and lowering into the current. Once “entrapped,’ you have to reach your knife and cut your foot free. Don’t worry we wont have you cut yourself free of a raft floor, but as extreme as it sounds, doing exactly that should be considered as an option if someone is heads down under a pinned / wrapped raft. Remember it’s all about airway airway airway.

River knives, like a lot of gear we chose to use or wear in swiftwater comes down to personal preference. You should choose a knife that:

1) Stays attached and secure when you don’t need it. Remember this is 90+% of the time. Nothing worse than needing your knife only to realize that it fell off…

2) Doesn’t get in your way. We coil and stuff throwbags over the shoulder, and countless times I’ve seen rope get stuck around a knife handle. How about raft self-rescue with an exterior front-mounted upward facing fixed blade river knife? It will either pop off ($40 down the drink) or make your already challenging climb back in your boat much harder.

3) Has a tether? This one I can see this one both ways. If you’re really using your knife you don’t want to drop it, but you certainly want to make sure that your ‘tether’ doesn’t become an entrapment.

Over the years I’ve had varied success with several brands of river knife. Its less about the knife itself and more about where you put it. I like an exterior mounted knife because I know where it i and it is quick to access. I have also gone to adding an additional folding lock-blade knife in the front pocket of my pfd with lightweight tether. Taking steps to secure your exterior mounted knife makes a big difference. I’ve seen velcro modifications, rubber bands, and tape used to keep the knives in place when you don’t want them out.

Keep in mind that you’re knife is a life-saving tool and needs to reserved for that use. Of course it can serve other purposes, but have one, and know where it is, because you never know when you’ll need it most.

Post by: Zach Byars, Instructor

NEW!! River Rescue Certification for the Professional

What is the River Rescue Certification-Pro (RRC-Pro)?

RRC-Pro: An Internationally recognized water rescue certification that is written for Professional BOATERS, by Professional BOATERS. It is a fast paced, scenario based rescue course designed to develop the ability to choose good actions when a river rescue is necessary. This curriculum is for river guides and kayakers that spend a good portion of their lives on the river in a professional capacity, and therefore have a solid base of boating and basic rescue skills already. This energetic, and physical curriculum will be challenging and focused on quick reaction time with a thorough understanding of options and resources. The rescue skills testing component will emphasize knowing your own limits, skill level, knowledge of basic rope skills and the ability to execute a rescue as part of a team. The challenges of responding at night are highlighted in the night op. The task book at the end lays out easy ways to keep your water rescue certification current with continuing education and testing day options. This three day, intensive and comprehensive course takes professional rescue certification for the professional boater to a whole new level.

How does it differ from the River Rescue Certification?

RRC: A DYNAMIC water rescue course specifically written and designed for private boaters,

kayakers and non-profit organizations! Basic river skills are a prerequisite! Emphasis is on identifying hazards and on RESCUE itself; both of self and others. Thinking through rescues is also emphasized. This is the class you want as a boater to stay safe and know what to do if something goes wrong. Although this course meets agency Swiftwater Rescue certification requirements for river guides and kayakers; its pace allows for thorough integration of knowledge and practice of the skills that matter. The two day format makes the course more affordable and accessible. This course should be a prerequisite to anyone boating on any river anywhere! The course addresses the river rescue needs of rafters, cat boaters, kayakers, pack rafters, canoeists, riverboarders and SUP paddlers.

Who:

This curriculum is owned and developed by Sierra Rescue and is also certified and accredited by Rescue 3 International. While Sierra Rescue writes and updates the workbook, all Instructors contribute to its writing and maintenance.

Mission:

To provide a professional river rescue certification program that is engaging, exciting, challenging, fun and affordable for all participants, with a strong emphasis on safety and prevention of accidents; as well as appropriate response to a whitewater rescue emergency.

To be the best river rescue certification course available to professional river guides and kayakers world wide.

How:

All Instructors are well respected river professionals, as well as certified Rescue 3 International Water Instructors. The background in working with Agencies will assist in the interaction between the river rescuers on scene and the Agency personnel that may be needed to assist if medical attention is needed, or the river runners are unsuccessful in the rescue.

What is different from the RRC?

• The pace and intensity of the exercises. Everything in this rescue class will be designed to challenge folks that spend a good percentage of their time on the river. The physical exertion in the class will be much higher.

• Three days instead of Two days

• The addition of a night operation. It is important for river professionals on overnight trips to be able to respond in the dark. Understanding the challenges, and how to organize for success is critical, as well as knowing what extra items need to be on hand. This evolution may be a search, a swim, or both. It will be up to the Instructor based on the location of the rescue course, the weather, and the river flows.

• The addition of skills and performance evaluation. The objective here is to gain an assessment of a students ability to actually “perform” rescue skills. These include good access and assessment skills, as well as the ability to stabilize a scene and evacuate a patient. Emphasis is on both the actual skill set, and the students ability to know their own strengths and weaknesses; as this is what will be crucial in a water rescue.

This section will include swimming, self rescue into a boat, throw bagging, basic rope skills and the ability to operate as part of a team.

• The addition of a task book for re-certification and continuing education. The addition of the task book allows for constant re-certification through a variety of options including some on-line training, workshops, and yearly one day updates and refreshers. This will be very clearly defined in the rescue course and in the back of the workbook.

Who teaches it?

The Instructor requirements are extremely tough and require many years experience in both commercial and private boating, as well as professional rescue instruction. The following organizations are currently the only authorized providers:

Sierra Rescue – California, Nevada, Arizona: Julie Munger, Abigail Polsby, Don Lester and Zach Byars

Great Northern – Montana: Carl Motes-Connors

Mad River Boat Trips – Wyoming: KC Bess

Cascade Raft and Kayak – Idaho: Tren Long

Wet Planet – Washington and Oregon: Jonathan Blum

Jonathan Blum Rescue: Jonathan Blum

Nantahala Outdoor Center: Will Norris and Stephan Hart

Mather Rescue: Mike Mather

Rescue 3 Southeast: Todd Sanders

Raven Rescue – Canada: Ron Morrison & Jim Coffey

U.S.A.F Pararescue Squadron SRT/SRT-1

I look forward to these classes very much. The PJs are an adventurous group of young men faced with active duty deployment Search and Rescue missions for the United States Air Force all over the world as well as Search and Rescue Missions in the US. I have the utmost respect for these guys and the job they do. This group was no exception. With 6-days for river rescue training we had ample time to cover the course material as well as fill it in with everything thing I could come up with. Trust me when I say that I really have to work hard to keep challenging them. But we did it, and had a great SRT-1 /SRT-A combination course. From High-lines to canals, low-heads to Class-IV whitewater, we did it all… and then some. Talk about efficient. Thanks for a good week gentlemen. -ZB 6.2013

: river rescue training on the south fork of the American River

Swiftwater Rescue Training with FDNY

Sierra Rescue/Rescue 3 West had the extreme honor of training some of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) guys.

We had tons of fun in Coloma and Lotus on the South Fork American, Middle Fork of the American and North Fork of the American Rivers. They had traveled so far, so we did the full tour of the Americans. We also had fluctuating water levels during the time they came out and we wanted to maximize their experience.

We had two amazing groups of 24, one in Febuary and one in March. They all participated in a 5-day Swiftwater Rescue Technician Unit 1 and Swiftwater Rescue Technician Advanced combo course (SRT1/SRTA). We had mostly sunny skies and tried to give them a good show of what a California early spring can offer.

We brought in the big guns on this one and had an all-star instructor line up with Tren Long, Mike Mather, Don Lester and John Rogers. I was able to join in with the second group in March and taught with Mike Mather and Don Lester and can’t even begin to express how much fun I had with these men. They were so far out of their normal element but had such great attitudes about trying new things and just going for it.

The week was filled with big smiles and plenty of laughs. Thanks again to all of them for their energy and enthusiasm. A special thanks to John Abplanalp and the logistics coordinators for making everything flow smoothly. We hope to see you all again someday, you’re always welcome back!!! We had so many photos from the course, it is hard to just pick out a few for our blog.

To see more pictures, check out our Facebook album on the Sierra Rescue fan page.

Thanks again and huge hugs,

Abi