River Rescue

Teaching River Rescue since 1989.

$440.00

Duration: 3 days

Equipment: Equipment and dry suits

Dates:

  • 1st course: May 12-14 in Whitehorse
  • 2nd course: May 20-22 in Whitehorse
  • 3rd course: June 2-4 in Whitehorse
  • 4th course: June 11-12 evenings in Whitehorse and June 14-15 on the Tatshenshini River
  • 5th course: June 23-25 in Whitehorse

Course includes:

The course teaches basic rescue skills, including swimming/self-rescue, throw ropes, and boat based rescue.

  • Practice skills during multiple scenarios
  • Refine and extend critical judgment through multiple scenarios
  • Develop and practice more advanced rope-based and in-water skills

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.

Rescue History

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:

From the Rescue Professional
Bob Daffe

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.

Customize Your Course Dates

Custom courses can be scheduled upon request, with flexibility in choosing dates that suit your group of six or more participants.

River Rescue - Tatshenshini Expediting

River NameRiver ClassDistance (Km)River Days
Blackstone RiverII (class III-IV sections)568 km or shorter14 – 21 days (shorter length requires float plane exit)
Bonnet Plumeclass III-IV (+ portages around class V rapids)570 km or shorter14 – 21 days (longer version only requires one flight)
Hart Riverclass III (plus long portage around class VI canyon)628 km16 – 24 days (shorter version requires 2 flights)
Bell & Porcupine Riverclass I-II333 km12 – 16 days (To Old Crow)
Snake Riverclass III+305 – 552 km12 – 18 days (shorter version requires 2 flights)
Wind Riverclass II295 – 519 km14 – 20 days (shorter version requires 2 flights)

River NameRiver ClassDistance (Km)River Days
Ross Riverclass III159 – 219 km6 – 9 days
Hess Riverclass III-IV495 km15 – 20 days
South Macmillan Riverclass III ( in the upper potions)503 km12 –  16 days
Upper Stewart (Beaver River)class II350 km12 – 14 days
Pelly Riverclass II (large sections of class I)290 – 355 km8 – 12 days
McQuesten Riverclass I123 km3 – 5 days
Big Salmon Riverclass I-II (sweepers)355 km8 – 10 days

River NameRiver ClassDistance (Km)River Days
Wheaton Riverclass II-III (log jams, sweepers, braided)41 km3 days (can get wind-bound on Bennett Lake)
Watson RiverII-III (mostly class I with one rapid)18 km1 day
Nisutlin Riverclass I192 km5 – 7 days
McNeil Riverclass III-IV161 km5-7 days
Yukon Riverclass I320 – 740 km8 – 20 days (2 sections)
Teslin Riverclass I370 – 786 km8 – 20 days (2 sections)

River NameRiver ClassDistance (Km)River Days
Dezadeash Riverclass I (sweepers)152 km4 – 7 days
Kathleen RiverII (+class five canyon-sweepers)43 km1 – 2 days
White Riverclass II (sweepers)323 km7 – 9 days
Donjek Riverclass II (sweepers)448 km9 – 12 days
Kluane RiverII-III (at the beginning, the class II and then ending class I498 km9 – 12 days

River NameRiver ClassDistance (Km)River Days
Frances Riverclass III (mostly class I)230 km6 – 9 days
Wolf Riverclass II-III (portages around class IV)142 km5 – 7 days
Hyland Riverclass III  sections (with lots of class I)224 km6 – 9 days
Beaver Riverclass II (with portages of class IV)350 km10 – 14 days
Upper Liard Riverclass I-II255 km8 – 12 days
Coal Riverclass III-IV121 km4 – 6 days
Jennings Riverclass II-III112 – 155 km3 – 8 days (if hiking added)

River NameRiver ClassDistance (Km)River Days
Southern Lakes Districtclass I (but big waves are common)0 – 300 km1 – 20 days

River NameRiver ClassDistance (Km)River Days
Bonnet Plumeclass III-IV (+ portages around class V rapids)570 km or shorter14 – 21 days (longer version only requires one flight)
Hart Riverclass III (plus long portage around class VI canyon)628 km16 – 24 days (shorter version requires 2 flights)
Bell & Porcupine Riverclass I-II333 km12 – 16 days (To Old Crow)
Snake Riverclass III+305 – 552 km12 – 18 days (shorter version requires 2 flights)
Wind Riverclass II295 – 519 km14 – 20 days (shorter version requires 2 flights)
Hess Riverclass III-IV495 km15 – 20 days
Wolf Riverclass II-III (portages around class IV)142 km5 – 7 days
Beaver Riverclass II (with portages of class IV )350 km10 – 14 days
Upper Liard Riverclass I-II255 km8 – 12 days
Coal Riverclass III-IV121 km4 – 6 days
Jennings Riverclass II-III112-155 km3 – 8 days (if hiking added)
Upper Stewart (Beaver River)class II350 km12 – 14 days
McNeil Riverclass III-IV161 km5 – 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.

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