RIVER Crossing Techniques

[Gris]

OK, since i have now twice been "swept off my feet" literally, once in Patagonia and more recently in the Whites, I must be doing something wrong. Is there a proper RIVER (not stream) crossing technique and if so what is it? THANKS!

 

[Waumbek]

There was a long and good thread on this recently that you'll probably find under a "Gale River" search as it occurred in the context of that bridge washout. The different positions were articulated clearly, with new info (for me) from "Freedom of the Hills" as well as peoples' personal experiences.

 

[Gris]

Found referenced discussion under "Gale River Trail to Galehead Hut" thread. There is discussion of rope use, but not much on actual technique crossing rushing high water (knee to waist+)w/o rope.

 

[redsock]

Don't look down

When crossing fast moving water solo, don't look down. If you look down you will become dizzy which could cause you to fall (don't know why this happens, maybe an inner ear thing). I realize that sometimes it is hard not to look down because you want to see where you are stepping.
I have made this mistake a couple of times. The first time it happened is when I was crossing a river and someone said not to look down, I of course proceeded to look down. The best thing to do is look up stream as you are crossing.

 

[Peakbagr]

Gris,

As a wading fisherman and hiker here are some ideas.
For small, slow moving streams where you don't want to take the socks and boots on and off, use 2 plastic garbage bags with the yellow straps. Use the straps to hold them up and shuffle across with no wasted boot changing time.

For larger streams it is ALWAYS preferable to cross with your body sideways to the current. It presents the hydraulic pressure of the water less of your body to push against and you use your downstream leg to brace yourself. I always look at the runout as well. If you get swept off your feet, where will the current take you? Have you loosened your pack straps and waist belt?
You can always use a hiking stick to help brace you and feel ahead for slippery rocks and holes in the stream bottom.

Hope this helps a little.

PB

 

[Gris]

For larger streams it is ALWAYS preferable to cross with your body sideways to the current. It presents the hydraulic pressure of the water less of your body to push against and you use your downstream leg to brace yourself. I always look at the runout as well. If you get swept off your feet, where will the current take you? Have you loosened your pack straps and waist belt?

yes, this is the kind of detailed info i am looking for. i am also wondering if there is some critical combination of water level/speed/body mass that dictates when rope must be used. i am going to google this issue...

 

[Peakbagr]

If there are 2 or more, the first over can wear a rope around their waist. If they lose their footing, those on the shore haul them back in. If they make it across OK, they can belay those that follow.
An alternative is a whitewater "throw bag" with the shore person downstream ready to toss the throw bag rope to the hiker floating by.

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

I agree with Peakbagr that one should ALWAYS cross raging streams and rivers with your body SIDEWAYS to the flow. I have crossed wide and waste-deep glacier meltwater streams on Baffin Island using this technique, where if I had not been weighted down with a heavy pack I probably would have been too light to keep my feet planted on the stream bottom.

For these kinds of crossings I strip down to skivies, wear a pair of old beat-up rag socks inside an old pair of running shoes to protect my feet from the cold and tumbling bedload, and carry the boots tied together around my neck (if you can hear the rocks in the bedload banging against one another, you might consider wearing your boots for protection).

A pair of trekking poles maxed out in length are useful for not only balance but also probing the next step. If more than waste deep, and some times even mid-thigh if the flow is particularly fast, it is time to turn around and try another place. I agree that you should plan ahead your escape route via swimming should you be swept, which usually also means jettisoning your pack, hence the reason for keeping the waste belt loose, but not too loose as you do not want to lose your balance because of a tippy pack.

I think that use of a rope, even with a group, is more controversial than noted by Peakbagr. In trying to pull someone ashore with a rope, you can pull the person under, leading to drowning. However, if the most intrepid person in the group can get across with a rope, then the rope can be held on both sides of the stream to be used as a handrail by the less intrepid. For one occasion on Baffin, we were able to rig a tyrolean traverse, which took the better part of a day and a place with huge boulders on opposite sides of the stream.

Have ready a dry towel, along with dry pants and socks to put on, as soon as you reach the other side, especially after wide stream crossings, as your feet and toes are likely to be numb with cold. When attempting to cross some glacier meltwater streams, some times you will need to set up camp and wait until early in the morning, say around 4 to 5 am, when the flow is at its lowest. Late afternoon to early evening are the worst times to cross these streams because peak discharges are forced by daytime solar radiation melting the snow and ice.

It has been said that traveling mountain highways by bus or jeep and crossing glacier meltwater streams are more dangerous than the actual climbing of big mountains, such as those in Alaska and the Himalaya.

 

[SherpaKroto]

Gris: As you know , I stand sideways to the current, and won't move until I have both of my poles firmly on the bottom. Takes a bit of patience to get them planted as they want to go downstream, but worth it when you slip. I then shuffle my feet, feeling the bottom as I slowly move across. I've had a lot of practice wading the Androscoggin's greased cannonballs, filling my waders on more than one occasion (THAT is dangerous!)

Take heart in knowing that it was a tough crossing on Saturday after a long day.

 

[rhihn]

I agree with Peakbagr that one should ALWAYS cross raging streams and rivers with your body SIDEWAYS to the flow. I have crossed wide and waste-deep glacier meltwater streams on Baffin Island using this technique, where if I had not been weighted down with a heavy pack I probably would have been too light to keep my feet planted on the stream bottom.

We must have crossed a hundred such streams in the Yukon (actually ribbons of a single, much larger river), though nothing quite that deep (boot to mid-calf high). facing sideways worked, as did poles and at times joining hands.

For these kinds of crossings I strip down to skivies, wear a pair of old beat-up rag socks inside an old pair of running shoes to protect my feet from the cold and tumbling bedload, and carry the boots tied together around my neck (if you can hear the rocks in the bedload banging against one another, you might consider wearing your boots for protection).

We sometimes heard and saw large boulders making that sound, and figured that anything that swift would have done us in for sure, so we looked elsewhere.

 

[Gris]

Take heart in knowing that it was a tough crossing on Saturday after a long day.

Perhaps that is/was the biggest problem - remembering to THINK when very tired...

 

[Johnnycakes]

If there are two or more people crossing the river at the same time, crossing together while holding shoulders/arms can be very effective. The key is that one person remains downstream of the other(s). The result is that the upstream person shelters the downstream person from some of the current. It might seem as though only the downstream person would benefit, but that is not the case because the downstream person is now in a more stable position and is able to assist the upstream person as he/she moves. The trick is to move slowly, so that the downstream person is always in the sheltered zone created by the upstream individual.

Trekking poles can also be very helpful. Just make sure you lock them down as tight as you can before crossing.

Teathering oneself to a rope in moving water is extremely dangerous. It would be best to find another way to get the rope across. That being said, using throw bags on the shoreline can be very effective.

Lastly, if you are swept off your feet in rapidly moving water, you should never try to stand up in the current. It is best to "swim" the rapids in what is called the "safe swimmer position" (feet downstream in front of you, toes breaking the surface of the water, lying back like you're in a recliner). Once you reach a calm spot, or the water is very shallow, you can either swim for shore or stand up. The reason is that you risk foot entrapment if you try to stand up in strong current. It might sound benign, but it will likely be fatal. If your foot becomes stuck between two rocks, the current will push on your torso and eventually pin you to the bottom of the river, probably breaking your ankle/leg/knee in the process.

John

 

[DougPaul]

if you can hear the rocks in the bedload banging against one another, you might consider wearing your boots for protection.

If you can hear the rocks banging against each other, you might consider crossing elsewhere. If a rock shifts into you, you can be trapped or crushed.

Doug

 

[Grumpy]

As a wading fisherman and hiker here are some ideas.

For small, slow moving streams where you don't want to take the socks and boots on and off, use 2 plastic garbage bags with the yellow straps. Use the straps to hold them up and shuffle across with no wasted boot changing time.

For larger streams it is ALWAYS preferable to cross with your body sideways to the current. It presents the hydraulic pressure of the water less of your body to push against and you use your downstream leg to brace yourself. I always look at the runout as well. If you get swept off your feet, where will the current take you? Have you loosened your pack straps and waist belt?

You can always use a hiking stick to help brace you and feel ahead for slippery rocks and holes in the stream bottom.

I thought this advice was right on the money, especially regarding larger, deeper, faster moving streams. Hikers who contemplate crossing streams by wading can learn a good deal about technique and safety from fishermen who wade as a matter of course in their recreation. You have to love that kind of cross-fertilization when it comes to lore, which at one time seemed to be a lot more common than it is this days. (I am becoming an old soak.)

G.

 

[Jaytrek57]

T-Lines can add that little extra psychological "boost". It is amazing how even the most hesitant person is that much more confident if they are holding on to something. They can also be used effectively to run backpacks (w/biners).

If solo and rope is available. Try tying off (release) to something on the shore you are crossing. Did this once myself in a pretty high run-off and again more psychological, but hey whatever works.

If going with the "strip" method, be sure the river doesn't "appear" again further up/down the trail. My wife and I learned this very fast on a braided river in Denali.

Happy Crossings.

 

[Jay H]

With a party of two or more (and if you have rope), you would also have to gauge the benefits/disadvantages of a roped traverse .

Echelon format with the strongest person in the lead will break the current if ever so slightly. Kind of like a paceline in a cycling race during crosswinds.

Don't forget the basic tenet to unstrap the pack waist belt so you can release in an emergency. Obviously reading the stream/river is important, sometimes the narrowest of crossing isn't the best, as it means all the upwater is funneled through a small area which means fast current. A wider area can mean gentler current and easier crossing.

Jay

 

[Double Bow]

Thanks everyone for sharing! Learn something new everyday...

 

[Peakbagr]

Everyone should listen to Johnnycakes, he really knows what he's talking about. I'm sure he won't mind me telling folks that besides being a great hiker, he is also a whitewater guide.

I always knew about floating downstream on your back, but never knew what John said about trying to regain your footing too quickly. Years and years of crossing streams and fishing, and I just learned another good thing.
We're lucky to have someone like John who posts here.

 

[1ADAM12]

I love the garbage bag idea for those shallower stream crossings where you cannot rock hop

 

[nartreb]

In Denali Park a couple of years ago we got the crash course in river crossings.
Some of the earliest replies have already mentioned some important points: use poles, cross in groups (a line with one person breaking the current and everyone else in his "shadow" is best) and support each other by linking arms or grasping shoulders, turn sideways to the current, wear shoes. Proceed very slowly, taking small steps and always making certain of your footing (and your poles). Don't look at the water rushing by; look at the shore you're aiming for, or the person next to you. Don't fight the current, try to proceed across but plan on drifting downstream. (Leave room for this, don't cross just upstream of rapids.)
Before stepping into the water, unbuckle the waistband of your backpack and loosen the shoulder straps - if you do lose your footing, a heavy pack can drown you quickly even in shallow water. If you do fall, remember the earlier advice about riding in "safe" position versus trying to stand up too quickly.

A further skill is choosing the best spot to cross. You don't want the narrowest spot, you want the shallowest and slowest, which is usually also the widest. You can tell deep spots, strong currents, and big rocks by their effects on the surface ripples - it's hard to describe but not difficult. You can also predict current based on the shape of the river and its bank. For example, a sharp bend will be almost always accompanied by a strong and deep current along the outside bank, and that bank will be steep or even overhung.

If the water is cold, put on a jacket and a hat before you step into the water. Once you're in the stream, forget about the cold and just concentrate on getting safely across.

PS as you proceed, test the depth with your hiking pole. Depending on current strength and slipperiness of bottom, waist-deep is probably the upper limit for safety. Anything deeper and you had better be prepared to swim (NOT recommended in the presence of current and rocks)! (See picture below: barely knee-deep and we're having some difficulty.)

PPS Using poles is much more difficult than you might think, because the current pulls at the pole too. But they're tremendously useful for keeping your balance.