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Swiftwater River Rescue Course Press Release - June 5, 2006 |  |
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Whitewater Rafting and Kayaking in Oregon and Washington - the Columbia River GorgeWet
Planet Whitewater – center for rafting & kayaking in the
Columbia River Gorge. Date: Monday June 5, 2006
Wet Planet completes another successful Whitewater Rescue Course. This past weekend visitors to the White Salmon River were treated to an unusual site … a group of people dressed in whitewater gear jumping into the White Salmon River and intentionally swimming through the rapids. Wet Planet Rafting and Kayaking owner Todd Collins and Wet Planet Trip Leader Jason Luker were teaching Wet Planet’s annual Whitewater Rescue Technician course, and the group, a mix of area guides, local paddlers, and members of the Klickitat County Search and Rescue team, was practicing whitewater rescue skills in a real life setting. Wet Planet holds these three-day courses in Oregon and Washington annually to train area whitewater professionals and paddlers in swiftwater rescue techniques. Both Collins and Luker are instructors for the internationally recognized organization Rescue3, and students completing the course received certification from Rescue3 as Whitewater Rescue Technicians. While Wet Planet is the only company licensed and permitted to offer certified Rescue3 swiftwater rescue courses on the popular White Salmon River, the company does open the course to whitewater professionals from other companies and organizations as well as to recreational whitewater paddlers. Says Collins, “It is not possible to over-value formal swiftwater rescue training, and the more people we have out on the rivers with this training the better it is for all of us.” All 17 members of the core Wet Planet river staff have completed swiftwater rescue courses at the WRT level or higher. This weekend’s course was special in
that it brought members of the river community together with members
of the Klickitat County’s EMS Search and Rescue team. Collins
said, “It was really exciting to see our guides and members
of EMS out there together on the river practicing for rescues and
sharing knowledge.” Todd Collins from Wet Planet, Peter Garland
from the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Department, Nicholas Puff
from Skyline Hospital, and Jeff King from Klickitat County Search
and Rescue are currently in the preliminary stages of formalizing
a technical Swiftwater Search & Rescue Team for Klickitat County.
Any experienced kayaker or rafter interested in learning more about
this is welcome to visit the information table at the White Salmon
RiverFest & Symposium, which will be held this Wednesday June
7th at the Wind River Cellars. If you are unable to attend and wish
to learn more about how you can participate with the creation of
an area swiftwater rescue team, you can also contact Wet Planet
at 800-306-1673. |
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