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A rapid to scout
Proper Personal Protective Equipment for the river
Water and a snack
Scouting Safely
Route finding in a rapid
Efficient scouting techniques
Creating a solid foundation for advanced scouting techniques in the future
In this lesson, Nathan and Trevor are going to be discussing several scouting theory principals to help make your scouts faster and more efficient as well as tips on how to scout safely and what to look for as you are scouting rapids. We will be looking at the following skills in detail:
Safety
CORC Principal
Landmarks
Lines and Review
Making sure you are safe while scouting is paramount since one of the major mechanisms for injury is slips and falls on rock outside of the raft. We always recommend taking the following precautions on every scout:
Wear your helmet - Head injuries are a very real possibility when you are climbing around on wet rocks. it doesn’t take much for you to break traction and tumble down on the rock. If you impact your head and become knocked unconscious now your team is in a situation of dealing with a challenging rapid and dealing with an injury on the water.
Wear your PFD - Wearing a PFD is serves a critical purpose, if you slip and fall into the river you will have some flotation and be ready to handle an unexpected swim. Additionally if you fell and became knocked unconscious it would help keep you buoyant in the water. There is no situation during a scout where having your PFD on will be drawback for you.
Carry a throwbag - Having a throwbag on you is always a good idea since you will be ready for a rescue if the situation unexpectedly arises. One of your team may fall in the river, or during a scout you may see some unexpected swimmers. Having your throwbag means you will be in a position to assist if the need arises. Additionally, if you are in a boat that is going to set safety for another raft running first, you won’t have to run back up to your boat and get your bag.
Wear good footwear - Slips an falls are a major hazard on scouts, so having appropriate footwear is critical to avoiding injury on the water. Making sure you have a solid shoe with good traction will go a long way in preventing injuries. For more advice on this topic check out our shoe selection guide here.
Take water and a snack - Taking a scout is a good time to replenish your energy levels and make sure you are ready for what’s next. Bringing water and a snack can help re-fuel your body and keep you hydrated. If you end up setting safety for other rafts you may end up on a hot rock in the sun for an extended period of time.
The basic technique behind scouting revolves around the acronym CORC:
Current
Obstacles
Route
Contingencies
Current - This principal deals with where the water is moving. You want to look for things like downstream “V”s and where the bulk of the water is heading. recognizing where the water is moving will give you a good basis for where your boat will naturally want to end up
Obstacles - The next thing you will want to do is identify anything that will impede your downstream movement. This includes rocks, Holes, large waves which stand out more than the rest of the rapid, logs, bridge piers, bushes, and anything else which might get in your way as you head down river.
Route - At this point you will need to identify a route through the rapid. This route will generally take you through where the bulk of the water is flowing and ideally around any obstacles that might be impeding your downstream progress. This is often called “the line” because if you were to look at a picture of the rapid and you can draw a line through the route you have selected.
Contingencies - Also known as options, these are back up plans that you want prepare for incase things go wrong. When you are deciding upon your routes through rapids the next step is to determine what the plan is incase you run into an obstacle. Planning in this step also includes discussing what is most likely to happen if thigs go bad and planning your swim accordingly.
Once you have moved through the CORC process you need to begin selecting landmarks to key off of. These land marks help you understand where the obstacles are and help you stick to your ideal route. When you get into the rapid things will look a whole lot different at river level than they do up high, and you may not be able to see the obstacles and you travel down river. Selecting specific rocks, trees on the bank, and cliffed out walls can all be good land marks to help you remember where you need to be. If there is a small red rock on the shore next to the big hole, you will be able to use this as a marker to gauge how close you are to that feature as you move through the rapid.
Once you have selected you route, or preferred line you will want to run it back and forth from the top to the bottom and from the bottom to the top of the rapid. Use your hand and imagine your hand is the raft. How is your raft likely to move through your line in your head? Next you want to discuss the rapid again with your crew to make sure you are all in agreement on what the plan is. Finally, as you walk back to the raft make sure you are taking a few final looks at the rapid since changing your angle will often times change your perspective and reveal some hidden details that you may need to be aware of.
