Dangerous work. Good on you. Some years ago I watch some rescuers try to free a woman who got to close to a bridge pier in her canoe, and got trapped by the swift water.She was pinned upright against the concrete pier, with the plastic canoe in the water, open side to the current.the force was so great the canoe bent into a vee , pinning her in the slightly less confined pocket of the bend. Terrible situation. They broke a 5/8" poly line trying to drag the canoe off her. Very dangerous as any movement of the canoe could have forced her head under water. Eventually they got her out, IIRC they used a winch from the bridge deck. Took a few hours, she must have been badly hypothermic by then.
Yes, the best I could do was advise her help was on the way. The rescue guys were good, doing river rescues several times a summer, but the force of the water was so great it was a close thing. Sure taught me a lesson about river obstacles.
I almost got wrapped on a rock in a river once, north of the Brooks range in Alaska. High water, stuck on a raft in the middle of the rapids. Upstream tube was about 6" from going under, and that would have been that. Five people standing on a four foot rock in the middle of river 200 miles from anywhere. Scared the crap out of me, and I don't think any of the others realized what the potential was.. Sure taught me a lesson about river obstacles. The day before was worse.
Anytime there is swift water, no matter how visibly innocuous, there is danger. Like electricity, or gravity, it is there just waiting to bite.
So far our class of eleven is down to eight. This was one of the hardest days I’ve ever had, and tomorrow morning at eight there’s another. So far I’m still in contention as a Swift water technician, but I’ve already met the requirements to be a Swift water operator who can do parts on the shore and some things on boats. It won’t have been a waste.
That said, I did dominate the water martial arts portion of the class. It’s a serious portion because of the danger that a drowning person might attack you in panic.
Me: “We’ve all learned something today.”
Michael: “Yes, you learned that you still knows how to fight in the water. And WE learned that you are a very effective fighter in the water.”
Josh (in his backwoods NC accent): “I learnt not.to.fight him in the water.”
Very cool . Which river are you training on? I'm going to guess the Nantahala River. The Tuckaseegee and Oconoluftee Rivers always seemed kinda tame to me, for white water sports.
Yeah, Nantahala Gorge. Patton Run is class three, good for training purposes.
Everyone who survived day one of hell weekend remains in contention after day two. We have a couple of night classes and then a final exam to finish the course.
"The night class is on the water, to be clear. Not in a classroom. In boats. "
Yikes. Sounds like the training has a good bit of danger involved.
Seems like one of the main, if not THE main difference of water rescue as opposed to wilderness rescue, would be the time element for survival is so much more compressed. I suspect a lot of river work is not rescue, but recovery.
Right on both points, the last sadly. There can be time-sensitive wilderness rescues not involving water if it's cold -- you can die of exposure quickly -- but for the most part you have a lot bigger window. Swift water rescue can have a window of only seconds.
As a result, a lot of the work can entail searching the most dangerous features of the river or flood for bodies. But that, at least, is not urgent. It's important. Not urgent. You can take your time to do it as safely as possible.
Dangerous work. Good on you.
ReplyDeleteSome years ago I watch some rescuers try to free a woman who got to close to a bridge pier in her canoe, and got trapped by the swift water.She was pinned upright against the concrete pier, with the plastic canoe in the water, open side to the current.the force was so great the canoe bent into a vee , pinning her in the slightly less confined pocket of the bend. Terrible situation. They broke a 5/8" poly line trying to drag the canoe off her. Very dangerous as any movement of the canoe could have forced her head under water. Eventually they got her out, IIRC they used a winch from the bridge deck. Took a few hours, she must have been badly hypothermic by then.
Cool. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteraven, that sounds like a horrible situation.
Yes, the best I could do was advise her help was on the way. The rescue guys were good, doing river rescues several times a summer, but the force of the water was so great it was a close thing. Sure taught me a lesson about river obstacles.
ReplyDeleteI almost got wrapped on a rock in a river once, north of the Brooks range in Alaska. High water, stuck on a raft in the middle of the rapids. Upstream tube was about 6" from going under, and that would have been that. Five people standing on a four foot rock in the middle of river 200 miles from anywhere. Scared the crap out of me, and I don't think any of the others realized what the potential was.. Sure taught me a lesson about river obstacles. The day before was worse.
Anytime there is swift water, no matter how visibly innocuous, there is danger. Like electricity, or gravity, it is there just waiting to bite.
So far our class of eleven is down to eight. This was one of the hardest days I’ve ever had, and tomorrow morning at eight there’s another. So far I’m still in contention as a Swift water technician, but I’ve already met the requirements to be a Swift water operator who can do parts on the shore and some things on boats. It won’t have been a waste.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I did dominate the water martial arts portion of the class. It’s a serious portion because of the danger that a drowning person might attack you in panic.
Me: “We’ve all learned something today.”
Michael: “Yes, you learned that you still knows how to fight in the water. And WE learned that you are a very effective fighter in the water.”
Josh (in his backwoods NC accent): “I learnt not.to.fight him in the water.”
That's funny! Good work!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to hearing about tomorrow.
Very cool . Which river are you training on? I'm going to guess the Nantahala River. The Tuckaseegee and Oconoluftee Rivers always seemed kinda tame to me, for white water sports.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Nantahala Gorge. Patton Run is class three, good for training purposes.
ReplyDeleteEveryone who survived day one of hell weekend remains in contention after day two. We have a couple of night classes and then a final exam to finish the course.
The night class is on the water, to be clear. Not in a classroom. In boats.
ReplyDelete"The night class is on the water, to be clear. Not in a classroom. In boats. "
ReplyDeleteYikes. Sounds like the training has a good bit of danger involved.
Seems like one of the main, if not THE main difference of water rescue as opposed to wilderness rescue, would be the time element for survival is so much more compressed. I suspect a lot of river work is not rescue, but recovery.
Right on both points, the last sadly. There can be time-sensitive wilderness rescues not involving water if it's cold -- you can die of exposure quickly -- but for the most part you have a lot bigger window. Swift water rescue can have a window of only seconds.
ReplyDeleteAs a result, a lot of the work can entail searching the most dangerous features of the river or flood for bodies. But that, at least, is not urgent. It's important. Not urgent. You can take your time to do it as safely as possible.