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Three river runners get a real feel for the increased stability afforded by crossing a strong current in the Pine River as a group. (Submitted photo/John Unger)

Three river runners get a real feel for the increased stability afforded by crossing a strong current in the Pine River as a group. (Submitted photo/John Unger)

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The frigid 42-degree water in the Pine River had just left the spillway at Vallecito Reservoir some minutes earlier. Even in a rented drysuit, that water was cold.

Now it was generating masses of churning, frothy whitewater rapids among the boulders, among an occasional flat pool of water the area of a large bedsheet.

Shouting to be heard above the roar, the instructor was giving us ten students directions on how to enter such a river for to effect a rescue, if the “Reach, Throw, or Row” options had first been considered and then ruled out. Only at that point, of course, should the “Go” option be considered.

Each of us would wait for his signal that the previous student was clear, while standing on the small flat boulder, its surface barely above the water. When he would raise that straight arm and fist overhead as the “Go” signal, we would first acknowledge his message by putting our own arm overhead.

Then, against years of training to not lead with one’s head into water whose depths are not visible, the next student would launch themself off the wet boulder, forearms bent and flattened to protect the face, and would bellyflop into that small flat pool.

Time to fight the rapids in a hurry to get head up and feet downstream.

This WRT (Whitewater Rescue Technician) certification class was expertly and effectively taught by Aaron Ball of Southwest Rescue, under the auspices of Rescue3 International.

It is critical to repeat that it is usually unwise to leave the shore in attempting to rescue a victim. Never should this be done by sudden impulse, or gut-level reflex reaction, or without a quick plan.

I recognize how difficult it can be to follow this advice. In years past I impulsively bolted into Molas Lake at high altitude when I witnessed a canoe overturning and dumping two adults and two children into very cold water. All five of us came out of the experience with nothing more than a brush with hypothermia. But that instantaneous rescue impulse was almost irresistible.

“Reach, Throw, Row, Go” is the phrase taught for rescue, and in that order for good reason. Can the victim be “reached” with a paddle first? If not, there had better be a handy “throw” bag full of rope , and a bystander who has recently practiced throwing it. Instantly dumping out the contents of the ever-present drink cooler and throwing that to the victim counts, too.

If not, to “row” is next, although somebody on a kayak or SUP (Stand Up Paddleboard) may easily be dumped themselves into the too-cold water by a frantic, desperate victim.

That would immediately double the number of victims needing rescue from the river.

Recent studies published in professional peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals have shown that two out of three drownings in flatwater or whitewater are actually deaths of bystander rescuers.

This topic is far from being just an exercise in some unlikely “what-ifs”. The spate of news reports of drowning deaths from Colorado in just the past five weeks shows that our choices and skills regarding even flatwater recreation can mean life or death.

The Colorado River within Grand Junction city limits, the Roaring Fork River, the Arkansas River in the Royal Gorge, Lake Pueblo, Chatfield Reservoir, and Confluence Lake in Delta each had one or more drowning deaths, before the first day of Summer 2022.

Many of these tragic deaths were associated with victims who were not wearing a PFD (Personal Flotation Device), formerly known as a life jacket.

In addition to all of the valid and often repeated reasons to wear a PFD even when in calm flat water, I now realize another reason, which gets very little attention. In that cold Pine River in the WRT workshops, as we practiced rescuing victims (both compliant and combative ones), that reason suddenly became obvious on a gut-level.

That is the realization that, if the victim is wearing a PFD, both the victim and the bystander rescuer are much more likely to survive. In the rare event that the victim must be physically grabbed to get them to shore, the shoulder straps of their PFD allow that to happen with less risk of them drowning together.

This column began with a question: when to bellyflop into rapids? The short answer is “when you otherwise cannot help the victim via Reach, Throw, or Row; and when you have had training, have considered risks and have a plan.”

An additional appropriate answer is “when you have agreed to participate in a rescue exercise,and you see the trusted instructor vertically raise their extended arm and fist to give you the GO signal.”

Remember to first return the signal.

Then expect an intense, cold, physically exhilarating experience.

John T. Unger is a Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians, and in 2022 achieved the credential of Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine. He wishes that more members of more river trips would experience WRT training and certification. Your feedback and ideas for future columns are welcomed at www.sportsdocunger.com.

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