Tips from SSI Instructor Dan Thurber for staying safe during this season’s high water run-off
Recreation managers, rafting companies, and paddling enthusiasts are bracing for a river season in the Western US unlike anything we’ve seen in a decade. The rivers in the intermountain west are generally dependent on snowmelt for flow, and the volume of snow waiting to feed some of these watersheds is breaking records in many places. This volume of water – measured as Snow-Water Equivalent (SWE) – doesn’t tell the whole story but is a harbinger of two expected generalizations about river conditions many have come to expect: high flows will sustain for longer periods of time and rivers throughout the summer will likely be higher and colder than in prior years.
With that in mind, and an exciting river season looming on the horizon, we can start thinking about a couple of swiftwater safety tips to set ourselves up for success later. Anyone planning to get on the water this year, whether it’s a multi-day river trip or your local after work run, should be thinking about how the high water will impact their trips. There are a number of steps Swiftwater Safety Institute recommends in order to keep yourself safe when running whitewater:
Whether you’re whitewater kayaking, packrafting or rafting, you’ll need to move your boat with powerful strokes and be prepared for long river swims. This level of fitness required for whitewater makes off-the-couch challenges a recipe for disaster. Spending time at the gym, yoga studio, bike path or skin track can set you up for that first week of big whitewater.2. Choose competent teammates.
There is a time and place for mentoring new paddlers, but early season is not it. If you’re approaching a challenging day of running whitewater, ask yourself: “Does the team I’m signing up with have a history of supporting each other and me?”
3. Have the right kit for running whitewater.
Your drysuit won’t repair itself, and you likely won’t repair it either. Send it in yesterday if you need new gaskets or patches. You don’t even have one?!?! Change that (SSI students get special pricing on NRS gear in our shop). Replace the NRS straps that have been on the river in the sun for 6 or more years. Dial in your kayak outfitting and put float bags in your bow. Patch your packraft and assess your rigging to make sure there’s not extra line that could create an entrapment hazard. Ask yourself how long you’ve had your PFD – the floatation of your PFD is less than the day you bought it. Assemble an emergency kit, including a CPR mask, fire starters, and extra layers.
4. Start the day with a safety talk.
It’s a conversation, not a lecture. Pose some questions to yourself and your group: What hand signals do we plan on using? How many river days do we each have so far this season? What are our most likely exposures to risk? Which rapids do we plan to scout? What’s the plan if someone swims?
5. Don’t let memory and tradition plan your trips.
Your phone and Facebook will remind you of that fun river trip three years ago over July 4th. Conditions may be different this year. Check river flows and water temperature, but also compare them to the flows and temps from that memorable trip. They may not match up and so plan accordingly!
6. Dress for the swim, and for the take-out.
Starting a five-hour river float at 2pm, bear in mind that the heat you feel in the parking lot will disappear once you start floating and the sun may have set behind canyon walls an hour or more before you reach the take out. It’s easy to cool your body down if you overdress, but cold water shock can immediately rob you of motor skills.
7. Splash yourself in the face before big rapids.
Sudden immersion in cold water can trigger an uncontrolled gasp reflex and lead to drowning. This physiological response can be avoided by proactive and controlled exposure of cold water to skin.
8. Practice self-rescue.
Rafters: go out with some friends and flip your boat in a deep, calm section. Packrafters: intentionally get flipped in a big wave, hold onto your boat/paddle and practice wet re-entry. Then practice it again. Self-rescue is a fundamental packrafting skill. Kayakers: go playboating and do cartwheels to get some roll practice and ice cream headaches. Swim a rapid on purpose and catch an eddy.
9. Revisit training.
When was the last time you took a swiftwater training course? How about your river partners? And encourage them to take a course too. Everyone can benefit from a few days of intentional training and practice in swiftwater environments. Find an instructor with experience in your river discipline and sign up for a course with them this spring. Starting the season with a mindset towards swiftwater safety is sure to make 2023 a great river season from start to end.