How Risk Management Creates Safer Paddle Boarding Experiences

Risk management is something I have been passionate about for years now. It is not just about the management of risk ,it is about situational awareness. Being present in the moment so you can act when there is a moment of crisis. When you spend enough time doing anything, it is bound to happen.

At home, risk management plays a big role in daily life, whether it is riding bikes with no helmets or deciding to go out on the water with 70 km winds and 4 ft swells because it sounds fun. Sometimes the risk is worth it. Other times it is not.

As I am currently heading into doing a Level 1 and 2 instructor course for the river, I think back on a time where a fellow paddler and I decided to do the Upper Red Deer River.

The Upper Red Deer is a very technical paddle, with lots of boulders to navigate, freezing cold water, and the occasional sweeper and strainer. There are a couple of Class 2–3 rapids on the smaller side. There is also a section that hugs the road coming in, with a steep climb back up to it.

Only about 45 minutes into the paddle, my friend misjudged the location of a rock, and his board went one way while he went the other, ending with a fractured forearm. That meant an exit up the side of the riverbank, back to his car, and a trip to the hospital.

I ended up finishing the paddle despite that happening right at the start. Thankfully there were 4 kayakers present that knew the river well. There is a section on the river that is almost impassable for paddle boards — a place called Jimbo’s Stairs. It is a 40-foot-long, 4-foot drop with a hydraulic running almost the whole way, except for a 3-foot gap you can make it down through. I ended up walking around the stairs.

We finished the paddle with nothing noteworthy happening after the arm incident, but this is an example of how risk management becomes involved in the things you choose to play in.