Here are some photos of our SRTA in Yosemite! Some of these poor folks are on Day 12 with me! Rod Tremblay, a river manager from Canada, Dan Horton, a Firefighter from Oak Harbor, WA and a retired USAF PJ, James Reinheimer, a Lifeguard from Long Beach, CA, and Kyle Kekic from Oakley, CA participated in the TRR, the SRT and the SRTA! Two weeks of training together creates some great bonds! They also happen to pick one of the most beautiful places in the world to train!
After temperatures in the high 80’s, the temperatures continued to drop while we were in Yosemite and we got snow on Monday during class! It was fascinating to watch the river go from around 3000 cfs to 1000 cfs in the course of a few days. This allowed us to use some new sites, and with North Dome in the background, we worked on the High Line with the Boat on a Tether, and were able to do a strainer and hazard assessment for the Park which took us down the river from below North Pines, all the way to the base of El Capitan! We were able to identify around 50 strainers, both on the shores, and on the bottom of the river; and map them with a GPS for the Park. It was 100% our pleasure to be able to work and gather data on this incredible section of river.
I had the pleasure of being joined by Jason Shook and Alan Schimberg from Sedona Fire. Jason was keeping his Independent Status current and Alan was doing his final sign-off for Independent Status. They were a huge help and a welcome addition to the class! Congratulations to Alan for his new Independent Status as a Rescue 3 West/International Instructor!
These pictures speak for themselves! Our trainings with YOSAR are an amazing opportunity for folks from all over the Country and World to work together, share ideas and gain knowledge. The Merced River as it flows through Yosemite provides Class 1-VI water within a 6 mile stretch of river. It is a training paradise both for the variety in the whitewater and the world class scenary. This is our 5th year doing joint trainings with YOSAR and we look forward to continuing the relationship well into the future. Thank you YOSAR and Yosemite National Park!
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- Rescue in the park with YOSAR!
