River Dog Rescue & Medical Training
River Dog Outfitters is offering River Rescue and Wilderness First Aid certification courses through Sierra Rescue International.
One of the best things about teaching Sierra Rescue’s curriculum is our ability to cater to various groups. The River Rescue Course (RRC) isn’t like typical Swiftwater Rescue classes hosted by fire departments, we give hands on training for river users to be resourceful and effective with their equipment. Whether whitewater kayakers, fishing guides in a drift boat, or surveyors wading, we will apply the training to your most likely scenarios. Same goes for our Wilderness First Aid courses. Not only will you receive foundational skills in basic first aid and CPR, you will also learn strategies to deal with scenarios your group is most likely to come across in a wilderness setting.
River Rescue Courses for Guides, Kayakers and Private Boaters
Price: 315 per student
A detailed course outline can be seen here: https://sierrarescue.com/coursepdf/RRC.pdf
Or read below for our description.
River Rescue Certification (RRC):
Training designed for all river users, whether commercial guides or private boaters in kayaks, rafts, SUPs, pack rafts, drift boats, you name it! With an emphasis on rescue skill development we get very hands on and train in the river using equipment related to each groups discipline. We role play through realistic scenarios and discuss not only the rescue itself, but also hazard identification and good risk assessment.
The wonderful thing about this course compared to other swiftwater rescue classes is that if you are, for example, a kayaker we will train using your skills with a kayak as an effective rescue tool. We avoid complex and unfamiliar techniques used by fire departments or other professionals responders who may or may not know what (not who) an eddy is like river users do. Why consider a Tyrolean traverse when we can have skills to simply wade, paddle, or swim where we need to go? In this class we will be practicing our skills and applying them to real world scenarios, expect lots of swimming!
There are NFPA and FEMA aligned courses offered through Sierra Rescue, but this is for any boater on any river and should be considered necessary skills. The only prerequisite is basic river skills, you should feel comfortable in class 2 whitewater and be prepared to spend a large amount of time immersed in the river over our two day course (16 hours total). Completion of this course comes with a three year certification.
What to bring:
Plan to bring standard personal protective equipment (PPE) and any rescue equipment you typically carry.
Wetsuit or Drysuit – Drysuits are always recommended as weather and water temperatures are variable.
Thermal insulation – Non-cotton thermal layers such as wool or polypropylene will help keep you warm when wet. Bring more than you think you need, we spend a lot of time in the water and rarely hear anyone say they are too hot (even in the summer). For example: I wear light wool base layers (top and bottom) with wool socks, a medium weight fleece “union suit” (fleece onsie), and a fleece vest on top of all that under my drysuit. I also wear a neoprene skull cap under my helmet (makes a huge difference in warmth).
Personal Flotation Device (PFD) – Type III or V with whistle and knife (optional). Feel free to bring a rescue PFD if you have one as we will use this in the course!
Helmet – Helmets designed for river running are lightweight and non absorbent, climbing helmet also works.
Hard soled shoes – wetsuit boots or athletic/ outdoor shoes with wool socks work great!
Wetsuit gloves (optional)
Personal fins (optional)
Extra warm clothing – can’t stress this enough, and a dry change for the end of the day.
And of course feel free to bring your craft of choice, even if you are a down river stand up paddle boarder, we’ll show you that it’s a very effective rescue tool!
Next available courses seen on our online store, click “Reserve”
Wilderness Medical Courses
Price: 255 per student
A detailed course outline can be seen here: https://sierrarescue.com/coursepdf/WFA16hr.pdf
Or read below for our description.
Wilderness First Aid & CPR (WFA):
This is a 2 day (16 hours) WFA certification course. The focus will be on good basic life support techniques as well as environmental issues that arise in the wilderness. The class is mostly hands on skills with the use of scenarios and labs.
Students completing the course will receive a 16hr SRI Wilderness First Aid (WFA) Card (valid for three years) and an OSHA Approved CPR Card (valid for two years). This meets or exceeds the minimum requirement for most CPR/ First Aid training needs.
Next available courses seen on our online store, click “Reserve”
Government Agencies
Many groups can benefit from our River Recreation Certification listed above, with a majority of the skills being universal in application. But a fisheries team for example is less likely to be involved in a large group rescue on a whitewater section of river. More than likely you are in small teams walking/wading in swift currents and sometimes navigating rivers in rafts or drift boats. One of your bigger concerns might simply be slipping while wading resulting in a swim. Do your waders fill with water and drag you down? We practice this exact scenario!
We offer curriculum that focuses on practical application of skills to address your specific workplace safety concerns. Check out Sierra Rescues’s website to see the courses offered and brows through the course outlines. All of which can be adjusted and tailored to meet your agencies requirements. For example, a common course for a fisheries team can be the “River and Stream Safety” which is offered in a one day workshop to give everyone a basic framework for hazard recognition and best practices in and around rivers, or a two day certification giving a lot of focus on self rescue and rescue of partners. And if your group uses boats to access the river it is highly recommended to extend this course into a three day certification to address the complexities of navigation and recovery.
Courses can be combined into all inclusive training; river safety/rescue, first aid, cpr, and rowing instruction.
Please inquire below to get a conversation going about your teams needs and how we can meet them!
Private Class Inquries
Looking to host a course for your group? Lets chat! If you have a group of six or more that would like to learn together we can accommodate to your specific needs with focused curriculum, times, and location catered for you. Example, have a Grand Canyon trip coming up and want everyone on your trip prepared with rescue and medical skills? We can set you up with a combo RRC and WFA with a river running focus. Or maybe you’re a group of guides needing basic first aid and CPR to fulfill the state requirement. Fill out the form below and we can begin a conversation.