ACA LEVEL 4

Length: 3 days, 24 contact hrs

River difficulty: Class II/III

Who this is for: Experienced recreational packrafters or outdoor professionals requiring swiftwater rescue training & certification

DESCRIPTION

This 3 day course is for seasoned recreational whitewater packrafters & outdoor professionals.  Open to the public, it’s designed for guides/outdoor educators seeking professional level swiftwater rescue training focusing on gear & techniques specific for packrafting.  It’s ideal for those requiring certification as a term of employment in a professional capacity.

Our 3 day courses meet the needs of professional river guides as well as many positions with state & federal outdoor field related employment contracts; upon successful completion graduates receive an Alaska Packraft School & American Canoe Association Certificate of Completion, valid for 3 years.

This swiftwater course teaches basic & intermediate rescue techniques with regard to limited remote travel & packraft specific resources in a variety of class II & III river settings.

All courses focus on personal safety, decision making, risk reduction & hazard management strategies- self & group rescue, hazard avoidance & recognition are key components in any swiftwater course.  In addition to the “entry level” 2 day curriculum, our 3 day courses introduce & integrate more complex problem solving with other team members having limited rescue resources or communication with outside parties- ie: self-supported & remote rescue scenarios in more challenging or demanding river environments.

This course is designed to meet varying student skill levels for anyone using water travel for work or who might benefit from learning & practicing more advanced swiftwater safety skills or is responsible for group safety & scenario management.   Professional guides, paddlesports instructors & seasonal contractors will benefit from the “big picture, small picture” concepts & rescue techniques explored in this course.  Additionally, this course is open to highly seasoned recreational river users wishing to train with those who have swiftwater experience/feel the recreational level courses won’t suffice their needs.

COURSE CONTENT & DELIVERY

Expect a judgement free experiential learning environment co-created by students & instructors.

Each morning starts with a classroom session answering questions & discussing that day’s learning objectives. All 3 days will be spent in the water working & refining safety skills, rescue concepts & both an individual as well as an active participant in group scenarios/drills.  Assessment is on-going, with more skills “check offs” occurring on the final day.  The last day instructors will “check off” student comprehension with ongoing individual skills assessments & group participation: ability to identify, distribute & share leadership and/or active participant rescue roles are essential in successful & timely rescues.

For a certificate of completion, we require students to understand key rescue components & by the end of the course be capable of either the Level 3 or Level 4 ACA course certification criteria.  (see attached PDF’s for L3 & L4 skills assessment criteria)

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Whitewater Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

• Appropriate packraft gear & rescue essentials

• Group communication & river signals

• Hazard identification & avoidance

• Risk assessment & harm reduction

• River swimming techniques: defensive & offensive

• Wet re-entry methods & swimming with gear

• Rescue priorities (self & others)

• Self & group rescue techniques

• Gear retrieval: runaway boats, paddles, etc

• Human retrieval: contact “in water” rescue strategies

• Tethered Rescues

• Throw bag techniques & drills

• Foot entrapment extrication

• River wading & crossing techniques

• Knots for rescue

• Anchors

• Mechanical advantage (3:1 & other systems)

• Basic (horizontal) technical rope systems & vector pulls

• Tensioned diagonals

• Boat pins / flips

• Problem solving & remote rescue with limited gear/resources

• Overall emergency assessment

• Incident command (IC) systems

• Post incident de-brief

ACA Level 4 Swiftwater Rescue Equipment & Gear List:

ACA Level 4 Swiftwater Rescue Equipment & Gear List

Course Outline: 

ACA Swiftwater Rescue Course Outline

Alaska Packraft School Terms & Conditions