Pangaea Safety Standards &
Guide Qualifications

Pangaea's Safety Policy

Washington State Guide Certification Standards
All Pangaea guides meet these standards
Ccompleted a minimum of fifty hours on a whitewater river. Courses cover equipment preparation and boat rigging, reading river characteristics including currents, eddies, rapids, and hazards, learned and practiced methods of scouting and running rapids, learned river rescue techniques, including emergency procedures and equipment recovery and learned communications with clients, including paddling and safety instruction. Pangaea guides meet or exceed Washington and Montana’s guide training regulations. Participants are trained and certified by a qualified Guide Instructor that met or exceeded Washington and/or Montana’s whitewater river guide qualifications.

Please click on the this link for the full Revised Code of Washington documentation: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=79A.60

Guides Equipment (carried by each guide)
PFD
Flip Line
2 carabineers
Throw Rope
Whistle
Personal Dry Bag
Watch
Cell phone
First Aid Kit

Employee Safety Documentation
Copy of Guide Certification
Copy of CPR first aid
Copy of signed whitewater guide requirements
Montana FWP Guide Licenses (if applicable)
Request for driving record
Copy of driver's license
Employment Application

Boat Safety Equipment
First Aid Kit
Patch repair kit
Spare pump
Spare paddle
Spare oars
Frame tools
Pre Trip Inspection… boat inflation, rope securement, gear securement, dangerous trash removal, frame securement, foot holds
Extra layers for hypothermia
Throw bag
Dry bag
Extra frame equipment on extended trips (oar pins, oars, oar locks, oar rights, etc.)

Safety Talk (topics covered before each trip - Rafting is Dangerous)
Introduce guides
Rafting is dangerous
Please tell your guide if you have any allergies or health conditions
Explain current conditions, river description, and river classification
Life jackets must fit and be tight
Explain components of paddle and how to keep them from hurting someone else
Explain boat features (perimeter line, d rings, where to sit, handles)
Paddle commands
Falling out of the boat
(don’t panic, hold onto your paddle, hold onto the boat, reach for paddle, swim to boat, float on back with feet downstream, swim away from danger, face strainers and pull yourself over if you can’t swim away from it, don’t stand up (foot entrapment), don’t swim to shore (Clark Fork and Spokane only), turn your head and breath in wave trough, if you stay in the raft listen to the guide, reach your paddle to swimmer, don’t panic
Getting back into the raft
Flipping a raft
(don’t panic, stay with boat, swim to the ends of the boat, look for everyone else, don’t stay underneath the boat, listen to guide, avoid being hit by raft when it’s flipped back over, once you are pulled into raft help someone else or get ready to paddle)
High-side
Hypothermia
Hand Signals
Whistle
Throw rope
Squirt guns
Trash on River (cigarette butts, food, etc)
Using the bathroom on the river

Waivers (all guests must sign their own waiver and our kept on file for seven years)

Hydration
Make sure you and your clients get plenty to drink before, during and after the trip

Pre-trip check lists
Vehicle and Equipment checklists are filled-out before every trip

Guests showing up Drunk
Consult with other guides, especially lead guide, take guest aside and discuss the situation in a friendly manner DO NOT BE COMBATIVE. Our policy is not to take a guest who is determined to be too impaired to raft.