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| http://demshitz.com/kayaker-saved-just-before-swimming-over-a-60-foot-waterfall/ |
This summer saw two riveting creeking rescue segments. The shorter (‘rescue 1’,4mins, undercut) from Washington, above (click on the image to view) and the longer (‘rescue 2’, 40mins, entrapment in boat) from Colorado point to some key lessons:
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| http://vimeo.com/68476394 |
1.
Paddlers
need to carry two ropes: a throw bag and a separate rescue line
2.
Your throw
bag should only have as much line in it as you can throw. Kayakers especially
carry small diameter mini bags, which make the rope essentially impossible to
hold onto. Swimmers will almost always slide down to the bag. Another 10 feet
of rope in the bag would have created some issues in rescue 1.
3.
Paddle teams
need to carry a long line. With Dyneema and a list of other high tech ultra
thin, ultra strong cords, it is possible to carry 100m of high strength line,
with little weight penalty and takes up as much room as a pin kit. It doesn’t
throw, though. This could have provided more options in rescue 2, and has use
in canyons for lowers or line across.
4.
Its great to
see the rescuers in both clips acting decisively. We have matured past the
original Les Bechtal days of methodical rescue, and need to get in the water
and make contact as soon as possible.
5.
3 feet is a
long way to go in river rescue. Rescue 2 shows how difficult it can be to get
to a place right in front of you. Paddle hooks are not too common anymore, but
could be used in this instance.
6.
Rescue 2 is
the more interesting of the two, as it shows repeated attempts and well as a
tiring rescue team. After reading the write up – which I suggest you do (here) –
we learn that the paddler was trapped in his boat, and contact with a rescuer
would not have necessarily changed anything. The paddler’s ankle was somehow wrapped.
It was the boat that needed to come out, not just the paddler. There was no way
for the rescuers to know that.
7.
River rescue
has a large element of randomness. In the end, in rescue 2, the boat came out on
its own. The 40 minutes of rescue attempts apparently had no effect on this –
the boat came out randomly. Luckily the rescuers were still in the water to
catch the still entrapped paddler.
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