Josh St John Private SWR

Service Description

Taught on up to class III whitewater. SWR teaches recognition and avoidance of common river hazards, execution of self-rescue techniques and rescues of paddlers in distress. Emphasis is placed both on personal safety and on simple, commonly used access skills like swimming, wading and throw bagging. Fundamental techniques for dealing with hazards that carry greater risks for both victim and rescuer, such as entrapments, pins and mechanical advantage haul systems are also are taught. This course takes place on the Rogue River near Galice at Almeda Campground and NNWW will supply a raft and IKs as needed. Participants may bring their own watercraft. Participants are encouraged to bring all their own PPE, watercraft of your choice and any equipment that you regularly carry downstream with you like a pin kit and first aid. CUSTOM ACA Curriculum "Level 4: Swiftwater Rescue" Skills Course ( custom course for Josh St John) • Welcome, introductions, paperwork • Student and Instructor course expectations and limitations • Course itinerary and site logistics • Review waiver, assumption of risk, challenge by choice, medical disclosure • Personal equipment (reviewed by instructor) Personal Rescue Equipment (PRE) • Tubular webbing • Locking carabiners • Throw rope • Pulleys • Prusik loops • Survival Equipment • Quick Release Harness System (QRHS) ◦ Parts, applications, advantages, disadvantages, and hazards ◦ Common causes of QRHS failure and prevention strategies ◦ Threading options for tri-glide ◦ Buddy checks for QRHS • Rescue tethers: parts, applications, advantages, disadvantages, and hazards ◦ Strategies to prevent entrapment: proper stow points & acceptable attachment options for carabiners Rescue Strategy • Communication: hand/paddle and whistle signals • C.L.A.P. - Communication, Line of Sight, Avoidance, Position of maximum usefulness • Incident timeline • Rescue priorities • Phases of rescue: ◦ S.T.O.P - Stop, Think, Observe, Plan ◦ L.A.S.T - Location, Assess/Access, Stabilize, Transport • Rescue management: leadership, safety, rescuers, subject (stable and unstable) • Establishing acceptable level of risk: Can I [do this]? Should I [do this]? • Rescue strategies for common river