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Questions to Provoke Discussion on River Safety

Address these topics for the entire group prior to embarking on the river.  There are many correct answers; the trick is to have your boatmen and participants all on the same page.  A pre-trip safety meeting with boatmen and the trip leader will help you arrive at a consensus on the answers of the following questions.  A thorough pre-trip prep will improve your chances of dealing successfully with the unexpected and reduce your personal liability.

  • People fall out of the boat when least expected. 

    • How do you pull someone back into a raft? 

    • How can you get back in by yourself?

  • If you can’t get back in the raft immediately, what is the proper way to swim rapids? 

    • When can you breathe? 

    • When is it reasonable to swim to shore?

  • If you are out of the raft and being washed toward an obvious hazard, what can you do?

  • What can the passengers do if the boatman falls overboard?

  • What should the passengers do if the boatman loses or breaks an oar?

  • When can you take off your life jacket?

  • How can passengers help keep a raft from flipping over?

  • If a raft flips upside down, how can you get up on the bottom of the raft? 

    • What are your other options?

  • What do you do if you surface underneath the raft?

  • How do you get an overturned raft to shore? 

    • How do you flip it right side up?

  • How do you use a throw bag?

  • How do you get a raft unstuck from a mid-river rock? 

    • Who on your trip has the most river rescue experience? 

    • Who will lead in a rescue attempt? 

    • Who is second in charge?

  • Where are the first aid kits? 

  • Where is the satellite phone?

  • Who are the lead and sweep boatmen?

  • Who has first aid skills? 

    • Who has first aid experience?

  • Who will take charge in a medical situation? 

    • Who is second in charge?

  • What are your options if you have to get out of the Canyon?

  • Who has medical considerations such as diabetes, allergies, asthma, or a heart condition? 

    • What are the warning signs?

    •  Where is their medication?

  • How much water should you be drinking? 

  • How do you know if you are drinking enough?

  • What is hyponutremia? 

    • What are the symptoms?

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