River Rafting in Washington

Perhaps this river rafting rescue in the Grand Canyon required the use of helicopters, motorized Zodiacs and 14 Park Rangers, but there is a chance it did not. The best place to learn how to deal with river rescue scenarios is by taking a white water river rafting rescue course with one of the dozens of commercial outfitters who offer training courses. ( http://orionexp.com/river_ rescue_and_guide_training_ course.html ) Our company, Orion Expeditions, offers an outstanding course each spring but I would also recommend Whitewater Voyages ( http://www.whitewatervoyages. com/schools/wwschools.html ) --- their owner, Bill McGinnis, wrote the books on Whitewater Rafting, and OARS ( http://www.oars.com/ california/californiabootcamp. html ), a well-respected river company that has been on the water for decades. Accidents, like the one related in this post, happen. Much of the time, however, with the right training, a simple rescue, without the technology, will suffice. in reference to: ...

When I am promoting my river rafting business, I prefer to avoid the use of hyberbole like referring to my employees as "the most experienced guides." I prefer something a little more understated as in "friendly, personable and professional" http://orionexp.com/ Or as Leavenworth Outfitters describes their employees on this same page, as "enthusiastic and licensed". Hyperbole is for selling soft drinks and useless products no one really needs. I would be wary of anyone in the river rafting adventure travel industry making unsupportable claims and utilizing qualifiers such as 'best', 'most' and "rated #1". in reference to: "Raft the best rivers around with the most experienced guides." - Allred Escape Vacation Rental Condo ( view on Google Sidewiki )

Cold water is the bane of white water rafting in Washington and Alaska. It is the reason we wear wetsuits through June, and have our customers wear them nearly all of the time. It is the reason some guides and outfitters swear by drysuits, even when the air temperature is climbing into the 90s. It is remarkable Washington's white water outfitters and guides have as good of track record as they do. The state's records of water-related fatalities show that nearly one hundred per cent of the victims were either a) not wearing a lifejacket b) improperly wearing a lifejacket c) inebriated or had alcohol in their system or d) both. The fact that commercial outfitters in the state have their customers wear life jackets all of the time and do not encourage on river drinking and provide neoprene goes a very long way toward stacking the odds in our favor. Not wearing a lifejacket on moving water, especially in moving water where there is the opportunity for an unscheduled swim, is in...

NAVIGATION RIGHTS In the state of Colorado, the issue of whether a landowner who owns the land adjacent to a river can prevent boaters from floating a river continues to be a flash point. Apparently, in Colorado, property owners believe they hold the rights all the way out to midstream. This, in spite of a Colorado law, clearly stating that river users have the right to navigate a stream as long as they don't trespass by stepping on the bank. Even so, some landowners have erected fences across waterways or strung neck-high wires, hired lawyers and, in some extreme cases, brandished weapons threatening river users who ignore the 'boundaries'. A Colorado representative has introduced legislation that would amend the existing law to allow boaters to not only navigate waterways without fear of reprisal but step on the bank if necessary for safety reasons or utilitarian reasons. River runners everywhere should be interested in the development of this story because, it is co...

When John Wesley Powell launched his stolid but, ultimately, fragile boats down the unknown of the Colorado River system in the late 1800's. The title was a common refrain amongst his hardy adventurers. The same phrase could be muttered about the future of river rafting . In the few decades I have been floating rivers , inflatable rafts have not changed substantially from the military-issue models that I rafted the Green and Colorado Rivers with Prescott College in 1974. The military gave you the option of black, black or black. Self-bailing models arrived in the late '80s and our Project RAFT Orion team was sponsored by Maravia to the use of a hot-pink Williwaw I during the competitive events at Nantahala Outdoor Center. Inflatable manufacturers have experimented with boat designs --- diminishing bow and sterns rather than symmetrical or asymmetrical, building boats with internal bladders as AIRE does and making rafts out of polymers (the movie The Graduate warned us in...

The internet has been a boon and, of course, a bane. Like all inventions, the internet cannot dodge the Law of Unintended Consequences. The convenience of using the internet is unparalleled --- for banking, ticket reservations, research (Do Encyclopedia Britannica salesmen exist anymore?) and delivering entertainment content. Simultaneously, it has never been simpler to be bombarded by unwanted solicitation, it has never been easier for crooks to steal your identification and smut has become ubiquitous online. Who needs a pornography stash anymore? Well, former President Bush's "internets" have certainly been a boon to the acquisition of river rafting permits. No longer do you have to submit paperwork by mail and jump through hoops that sometimes were not obvious. No longer do you have to deal with voice mail hell, or even, humans. No longer do you have to coordinate a snail mail response by a group of your friends or family which is only slightly easier than herdi...

Before the collapse of the Soviet Union and the crumbling of the Berlin Wall, a group of American boaters ventured into the wilds of Siberia and discovered Soviet citizens, using home-made rafts, launching themselves down torrents of whitewater that would give the boldest river rafters pause. Late in the '80s, a reconstituted group of the same American rafting enthusiasts returned to the Soviet Union to compete in the whitewater competitions that Soviet clubs organized. Out of these encounters emerged the idea for a non-profit dubbed Project RAFT which stood for Russians and Americans for Teamwork. The idea was to bring teams of Soviets together with teams of Americans for a semi-annual whitewater river rafting competition and environmental festival. It was fleshed out to include teams from any nation in the world capable of fielding a river rafting team of 6 to 7 individuals. The first official Project RAFT gathering happened early in the spring of 1990 and was hosted by the Na...