Packraft-Specific Rescue Training Durango, CO May 16 – 18, 2025
COURSE DETAILS
A leader in the packraft industry, SSI has been offering packraft-specific training for over a decade. While others race to figure out how to best teach this evolving skill, we have years of experience and refinement with regard to our tailored curriculum.
Space is limited to 6 students and will be taught by SSI lead instructor, Jeff Creamer.
ONLINE COMPONENT: Yes – required.
COURSE FORMAT: 3-day field course with 2 hours of online training and three 8-hour in-field training days. Total class length: 26hrs.
WHEN: May 16 – 18, 2025
WHERE: Durango, CO
FIELD SITE: Animas River
COURSE COSTS: $475
PREREQUISITES:
1. A desire to learn
2. Packraft, paddle, and all associated boating gear necessary to travel downstream
3. Proficient swimmer
4. Physically capable
5. All of the listed PPE
6. Meet all Essential Eligibility Criteria
GEAR FOR THIS COURSE:
The welcome packet details the gear you will need for this course. As an SSI student, you get access to student pricing in the SSI Gear Shop! Once you register you’ll have access to the shop through your SSI account.
ABOUT THIS COURSE:
Using the SSI 3-day SRT PRO-I as a platform and incorporating packrafts, this course
teaches techniques and principles with regard to limited resources in a wilderness setting using
a packraft as a rescue craft, or a means of either primary or secondary travel. This course will
meet the needs of professionals who find themselves using packrafts as a means of downriver
travel or to access gear or personnel in difficult situations. This course is designed for
commercial packraft guides, backcountry rangers, U.S. border patrol, and special operations
teams that may find themselves in remote areas where risk management is critical. Recreational
enthusiasts are also welcome.
Topics include equipment, swimming and self-rescue, boat control, hydrology, throw ropes,
entrapment, safety boats, knots, anchors, and rope systems. An effort is made to cover each
topic but water levels, weather, and other elements may make some skills unworkable.