ACA LEVEL 2

Length: 2 days, 16 hrs

River Difficulty: Class II

Who this is for: Beginner & entry level recreational packrafters

DESCRIPTION

Our Intro to Swiftwater Safety course is designed primarily for beginner & entry level packrafters or anyone with the desire to gain more experience & “situational awareness” within class II moving water environments. Recreational course curriculums are framed around individual participant needs as well as group desires & requests for safety practice & rescue scenarios they are most likely to find themselves in.

As a beginner, you “don’t know what you don’t know.”  This 2 day course is ideal for anyone who has had little or no formal river safety training, taking students from ‘start to finish’ through the process of risk management, decision making & realistic rescue scenarios in class II swiftwater settings.

These courses expose you & shed the light of awareness on what could go wrong, ideally avoiding it in the first place, while also aiming to strengthen actual rescue skills while practicing what to do when things don’t go as planned.  This is not a paddle skills course, but a 2 day workshop focusing on hazard assessment, risk management & increasing your self & group rescue tool box & safety techniques.

This class is tempered for recreational packrafts, sit on top & whitewater kayak enthusiasts who want to be a team player & active participant in their personal river pursuits & trip planning.  We discuss & explore several different topics of importance to private boaters traveling within remote & cold Alaskan waterways.

If you are a recreational boater with substantial experience - or have previously taken a swiftwater rescue course, our next level 3 day Swiftwater Rescue Certification ACA Level 4 course, where more advanced rescue skills, mechanical advantage techniques & rope systems are introduced & practiced.

COURSE CONTENT & DELIVERY

Beginner/Intro courses are delivered in a 2 day, 16 hr total format (9am-6pm w/ 1 hour lunch break) Instructors begin each day with a classroom session, discussing the day's learning objectives & rescue methodology concepts.  Expect a judgement free experiential learning environment co-created by students & instructors. Practice makes perfect, but we don’t always master these skills immediately, it takes years of refinement & training.

As we do not need to check specific certification boxes for this training, students have a lot of say regarding learning outcomes with guidance & support from a professional instructor team.

Day 2 is framed around participant desires & personal requests for training. Building on the previous day’s curriculum, we’ll do scenarios & drills taking all levels through the process of hazard identification, risk management & decision making in class II scenarios.

This course is suitable for a wide range of skill sets & backgrounds- essential training & rescue practice opportunities for anyone looking to get out & explore fast & cold AK rivers.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for river environments

• Appropriate packraft gear & rescue essentials

• Group communication & river signals

• Hazard identification & avoidance

• Risk assessment & harm reduction

• River wading & crossing techniques

• River swimming techniques: defensive & offensive

• Wet re-entry methods & swimming with gear

• Rescue priorities (self & others)

• Self & group rescue techniques

• Throw bag techniques & drills

• Vector pull as mechanical advantage

• Gear Retrieval: runaway boats, paddles, etc

• Contact swimming rescues

• Foot entrapment extrication

• Basic knots

• Problem solving with limited gear & resources

• Overall emergency assessment

• Post incident de-briefs

NOT COVERED

**As student requests & desires to learn steer the curriculum of this course, it’s possible these topics will be touched on (ie: demonstrated by instructor), but not covered in depth, as time is limited. If the following topics interest you, consider a 3 day training**

• Tethered rescues (AKA “Live Bait”)

• Intermediate knots for rescue

• Anchors

• Mechanical advantage (3:1 & other systems)

• Basic (horizontal) technical rope systems

• Tensioned diagonals

Prerequisites

• Be able to independently participate in all individual skills and activities listed in the course outline while also maintaining an appropriate and safe body position

• Ability to hold breath while underwater while wearing a properly fitted rescue PFD

• Ability to independently turn from a face down to a face up position keeping their head above water

• Be able to effectively communicate with the instructor and other course participants

• Be able to manage all personal care independently, or with assistance of a companion

• Be able to manage all personal mobility independently, or with assistance of a companion

• Comfort in class II whitewater (recommended, but if you’re 100% new to river environments, that’s okay- just let us know so we can help you best prepare)

Alaska Packraft School Terms & Conditions