Teaching River Rescue since 1989.
$440.00
Duration: 3 days
Equipment: Equipment and dry suits
Dates:
The course teaches basic rescue skills, including swimming/self-rescue, throw ropes, and boat based rescue.
Our years of experience, guiding nationally and internationally, plus, our extensive variety of training makes our rescue program one the best and most comprehensive in North America. We teach the ACA program for river runners, a 2 1/2 day program, for $440.00 CAD. We teach the Rescue Canada program for people who need IRIA and NFPA certification for $595.00 CAD. This is a 3-day course.
In 1989, we took our first River Rescue training from CRCA, Canadian Recreation Canoe Association.
In 1991, we brought Les Bechdel, author of 2 River Rescue books and producer of the first River Rescue video, to Whitehorse, Yukon. It was a great way to further our training.
In 1992,we trained with Rocky Mountain Rescue based out of Calgary, Alberta.
In 1995, we trained and became Instructors for Rescue 3 International, a company based in California.
In 2010, we joined Rescue Canada, http://www.rescuecanada.com/
Our Instructor Trainer, Jim Lavalley, is a wealth of Ice and river rescue information. We are proud to teach for Rescue Canada.
In 2011, we joined ACA, American Canoe Association, and became ACA River Rescue instructors. http://www.americancanoe.org/
Our Instructor Trainer, Justin Padgett, taught us the latest techniques for river runners: http://www.landmarklearning.org/
Feel free to read the following article about River Rescue:
Sweepers, strainers, widow makers, logjams, sieve, undercuts, have all the same effects; the water goes through, the spaghetti doesn’t. You are the spaghetti; problem is, if you get pinned underwater, it is bad, really bad. Logs jams and sweepers are made of wood; easier to see, while others are made of stone, like undercut walls or rocks and rock sieves; they blend in the river and are a lot harder to notice.
When moving water hits an object and cannot go through it bounces back, creating what we call a pillow; white foamy water in front of the obstacle. Pillows are soft and friendly, it is almost impossible to get pinned on a pillow and the river usually moves you around the obstacle. Pillows are obvious, easy to see. Under-cuts and rock sieves are not easy to see and are often missed even by the most experienced boaters, because there is no pillow, just flat moving water hitting an obstacle.
In the world of canoeing, kayaking and rafting these river hazards, sweepers, undercuts, are responsible for approximately 30% of fatalities; no wonder they have become a focus of training and river rescue techniques.
Over the years training and rescue techniques have evolved to meet the challenges presented by these obstacles. River rescue is fairly new, (early 1980’s), and over the last few years we have come to realize that techniques we taught in the early days are dangerous or misleading. The classic sweeper swims have students turning on their stomach, swimming aggressively towards a sweeper, usually made of ABS pipe, hitting the pipe at your waist and climbing over. The instructor would ask you if you have felt the force of the river on your leg; probably the only good part of this exercise. If you make this exercise easy and have great success, your students will believe that it is the way to attack a sweeper and go over successfully. It is far from the truth. Sweepers are deadly and should be avoided like the plague.
Having had the benefits of many years of paddling and taking many different rescue courses from various agencies, we have evolved towards more practical and safer techniques. We make our classic, front attach, sweeper swims harder, less than one fit jock will be successful. We show the feet first technique of approaching sweepers and on the same sweeper we will have maybe a 50% success. We also show the feet first, arch your back to go deep under the potential tree branches.
The realities are: If you are swimming you are already out of control; we may never have the chance to switch to aggressive swimming. When you are swimming your visibility is greatly reduced and may not even see the sweeper. It is good for the students to practise this swim. We want them to come out with the same fear we have of sweepers, undercuts and any potential entrapments. The only 100 % success rate we have doing this swim is when we tell students to keep swimming away; don’t give up, don’t look up, keep swimming away as fast and far as you can.
Most sweepers can be avoided by staying on the inside of corners. Don’t go around blind corners until you can see. Know your rivers for potential hazards, some rivers like the Kathleen, Wheaton, Big and Little Salmon are famous for sweepers. If you hit a sweeper or undercut rock, lean hard on the obstacle and take care of yourself first; boats are replaceable. If you are not sure; don’t go first. Go with experienced paddlers. When leading a group don’t go past deadly river obstacles until the rest of your group has cleared it. Don’t swim for canyon walls for fear of undercuts; it is also hard to rescue people near canyon walls. Swim in the middle until it is safer to swim for shore. Scout if not sure.
Don’t forget: wear your life jacket.
Custom courses can be scheduled upon request, with flexibility in choosing dates that suit your group of six or more participants.
River Name | River Class | Distance (Km) | River Days |
---|---|---|---|
Blackstone River | II (class III-IV sections) | 568 km or shorter | 14 – 21 days (shorter length requires float plane exit) |
Bonnet Plume | class III-IV (+ portages around class V rapids) | 570 km or shorter | 14 – 21 days (longer version only requires one flight) |
Hart River | class III (plus long portage around class VI canyon) | 628 km | 16 – 24 days (shorter version requires 2 flights) |
Bell & Porcupine River | class I-II | 333 km | 12 – 16 days (To Old Crow) |
Snake River | class III+ | 305 – 552 km | 12 – 18 days (shorter version requires 2 flights) |
Wind River | class II | 295 – 519 km | 14 – 20 days (shorter version requires 2 flights) |
River Name | River Class | Distance (Km) | River Days |
---|---|---|---|
Ross River | class III | 159 – 219 km | 6 – 9 days |
Hess River | class III-IV | 495 km | 15 – 20 days |
South Macmillan River | class III ( in the upper potions) | 503 km | 12 – 16 days |
Upper Stewart (Beaver River) | class II | 350 km | 12 – 14 days |
Pelly River | class II (large sections of class I) | 290 – 355 km | 8 – 12 days |
McQuesten River | class I | 123 km | 3 – 5 days |
Big Salmon River | class I-II (sweepers) | 355 km | 8 – 10 days |
River Name | River Class | Distance (Km) | River Days |
---|---|---|---|
Wheaton River | class II-III (log jams, sweepers, braided) | 41 km | 3 days (can get wind-bound on Bennett Lake) |
Watson River | II-III (mostly class I with one rapid) | 18 km | 1 day |
Nisutlin River | class I | 192 km | 5 – 7 days |
McNeil River | class III-IV | 161 km | 5-7 days |
Yukon River | class I | 320 – 740 km | 8 – 20 days (2 sections) |
Teslin River | class I | 370 – 786 km | 8 – 20 days (2 sections) |
River Name | River Class | Distance (Km) | River Days |
---|---|---|---|
Dezadeash River | class I (sweepers) | 152 km | 4 – 7 days |
Kathleen River | II (+class five canyon-sweepers) | 43 km | 1 – 2 days |
White River | class II (sweepers) | 323 km | 7 – 9 days |
Donjek River | class II (sweepers) | 448 km | 9 – 12 days |
Kluane River | II-III (at the beginning, the class II and then ending class I | 498 km | 9 – 12 days |
River Name | River Class | Distance (Km) | River Days |
---|---|---|---|
Frances River | class III (mostly class I) | 230 km | 6 – 9 days |
Wolf River | class II-III (portages around class IV) | 142 km | 5 – 7 days |
Hyland River | class III sections (with lots of class I) | 224 km | 6 – 9 days |
Beaver River | class II (with portages of class IV) | 350 km | 10 – 14 days |
Upper Liard River | class I-II | 255 km | 8 – 12 days |
Coal River | class III-IV | 121 km | 4 – 6 days |
Jennings River | class II-III | 112 – 155 km | 3 – 8 days (if hiking added) |
River Name | River Class | Distance (Km) | River Days |
---|---|---|---|
Southern Lakes District | class I (but big waves are common) | 0 – 300 km | 1 – 20 days |
River Name | River Class | Distance (Km) | River Days |
---|---|---|---|
Bonnet Plume | class III-IV (+ portages around class V rapids) | 570 km or shorter | 14 – 21 days (longer version only requires one flight) |
Hart River | class III (plus long portage around class VI canyon) | 628 km | 16 – 24 days (shorter version requires 2 flights) |
Bell & Porcupine River | class I-II | 333 km | 12 – 16 days (To Old Crow) |
Snake River | class III+ | 305 – 552 km | 12 – 18 days (shorter version requires 2 flights) |
Wind River | class II | 295 – 519 km | 14 – 20 days (shorter version requires 2 flights) |
Hess River | class III-IV | 495 km | 15 – 20 days |
Wolf River | class II-III (portages around class IV) | 142 km | 5 – 7 days |
Beaver River | class II (with portages of class IV ) | 350 km | 10 – 14 days |
Upper Liard River | class I-II | 255 km | 8 – 12 days |
Coal River | class III-IV | 121 km | 4 – 6 days |
Jennings River | class II-III | 112-155 km | 3 – 8 days (if hiking added) |
Upper Stewart (Beaver River) | class II | 350 km | 12 – 14 days |
McNeil River | class III-IV | 161 km | 5 – 7 days |
Please Note: Information provided in this chart is for comparative purposes only for potential clients of Tatshenshini Expediting Ltd. considering paying for the services of a professionally guided trip and is not intended to provide definitive information to third-parties regarding the challenges or risks associated with travelling on any of the listed rivers. Please do no paddle any of these rivers based on the river classification system indicated here without doing your own exhaustive information gathering, studying of maps, detailed route research and careful evaluation as to whether you group has the skills to paddle this river. Tatshenshini Expediting will not be held liable for any events which may occur to third parties using this information to plan their own canoe trips. All recommendations for appropriate skill level below assume that paddlers are being guided by a professional river guide and are not applicable to groups travelling without guidance of an expert.
The table above is courtesy of Dustin Davis / The Bistro on Bennett.