Safety and rescue
Whitewater rescue is complex and dangerous. This website cannot train you how to be a whitewater rescuer. Even the smallest things, like throwing a bag of rope at someone, need real experience and training. This section provides you with a bit of the theory and video examples before learning the techniques on the river.
Rescue training
The reason this section is mostly embedded videos from other organizations is that you should learn these techniques from trained professionals and if you're not taking a swiftwater rescue course, the next best thing is to learn it from a certified rescuer in a video. We've selected videos from organizations with certified rescue technicians demonstrating the skills needed to save your pals.
This section also shares information on how to be rescued yourself. How to receive a throw bag, how to swim in whitewater, and how to avoid foot entrapment. All things that will need to be covered again on the river, but with this, the theory part can be front-loaded before hitting the river.
Throw bags
The basic idea behind a throwbag is, as expected, a bag of rope that you throw to help someone in a river. One of your paddle buddies fell in and is floating down a rapid where it's hard to get to shore and maybe there's danger they're about to float into. You toss a throwbag, they grab it, you hold on, and they pendulum into the shore. In application, however, it's quite a bit more tricky. This will need some practice on the river, but these videos will help you understand the concept and how to throw it before trying it yourself.
Here's how to throw a throw bag after you screwed up your first throw. You can also use this to rescue two people at the same time.
Don't take shortcuts and do this right.
Foot entrapment and defensive swimming
Foot entrapment is one of the scariest things in whitewater. It's also pretty easily avoided. Keep your feet away from the bottom of the river when in rapids. Float it out.