07 September 2006

Life saved by White Water Rafting Guide

Some can only imagine what a brush with death must feel like- Kathryne Chang sure knows. She was white water rafting on the Deerfield River when her raft turned over.

Chang fought to stay with a group who also fell in, but the current pulled her under, wedging her in an underwater rock crevice.

"Next thing I know," she said, "I was on my back, looking up at the sky."

She was lucky that a couple of guides form Zoar outdoor were rafting down the river and got her out of the water. Whitewater rafting trips have the potential to be hazardous, but usually safe guides and alert employees keep things under control.

Most states have different requirements and expectations when it comes to white water rafting training and safety. CNN ran a report recently about safety issues as it relates to deaths on the river.

The question is, should your company provide it's own certification and safety training, or rely on state mandates to give you your guidelines?



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Personally I would prefer to rely on the guides! These are the people that have the experience, & know how. Just another episode of the government sticking their noses where they don't belong!

Anonymous said...

Its important to have state regulation; otherwise, you have no idea what kind of training your guide gets. Straight from a guide: the company's safety standards should go above and beyond what the state requires. You should never raft with a company that just barely meets state mandates. I have been on rescues with other companies where the guides know nothing. Do your research before rafting and know what kind of people the company hires and what kind of training each guide goes through.