Staying Safe With White Water Rafting
♫ Tuesday, May 17th, 2011White water rafting is a challenging sport that involves paddling a raft along or across open water or rivers and navigating the raft to calmer areas. The degree of roughness of the water varies greatly and the sole purpose of the sport is only for the adrenaline rush that rafters experience. If you are new to white water rafting, it is best to participate in an organized tour. The leader will instruct you on how to handle yourself and the raft in the water, and will advise you on safety measures that must be taken.
There are several different companies throughout the country that offer white water rafting tours for a reasonable amount of money. They will not only take you out for your day of white water rafting, they often also provide lunch and sometimes dinner for your group. These guides will advise you on what level rafting to begin with, this is described in terms of “class”. The higher the class rapids, the more difficult the trip will be. When you are starting out, you will want to stick with one of the lower class. In this type of rafting, the water will be less tumultuous and there will be a lesser chance of you being injured.
There are a few things that you can do in order to stay safe in the water. The first is to always wear a life jacket. You may think that because you are in the raft, you are safe and will never end up in the water. This is not necessarily true. The water you will be rafting in is extremely rough and can toss you around your raft like a rag doll. It is not uncommon for a white water rafter to be thrown out of the boat, in which case, a life jacket will come in handy. Don’t panic if you end up in the water, just stay calm and point your feet downstream while you wait for your buddies to get you back into the raft. This will protect your head from hitting rocks as the flow of water propels you downstream.
On the off chance that you or one of your friends is injured, you should have a first aid kit with you in the raft. When choosing a first aid kit, look for one that can float. Your first aid kit should have plenty of anti-bacterial ointment and bandages in case you cut yourself on one of the jagged rocks.
Book a white water rafting trip in Colorado with Arkansas Valley Adventures. Colorado river rafting trips from mild to wild on the Arkansas, Colorado, Clear Creek and Eagle Rivers, all ages and abilities. They have river rafting trips for all ages and abilities, so make your white water rafting plans today.
