Safety on the River -Tons River Rafting Trips India

Safety on the River

White-water sports like any other adventure sport comes with inherent risks. Hazard to life and limb is always present. But what is adventure, if not for the risk element? If it was as easy as taking a walk in the park it would cease to be adventure!

Having said that, we take the utmost precautions to ensure nothing goes wrong in the wild waters and on the entire trip. All our efforts are sincere and complete to make the whole voyage safe and enjoyable.

Safety at Rimo

Rafting can be done by anybody (except for those with serious medical problems) - young and old alike. No previous experience is required; in fact most of our guests have never rafted before. You need not be a swimmer to experience the thrills of this sport. Every raft has a first aid kit.

Our river guides are professionals and have rafted through many Himalayan rivers guiding innumerable trips all year round. They carry with them years of experience of maneuvering through rough waters. Besides, our guides have conducted several training camps for the Indian Army Rafting Expeditions - so, you are in experienced hands. Our guides are also proficient to deal with any minor first aid problems should that occur.

The quality of trips and safety are our primary concern and safety measures are strictly followed. Our experienced guides will thoroughly instruct you on all aspects of rafting and river safety at the start of each trip. No consumption of alcohol on the raft. You will be required to sign an assumption of risk form at the beginning of each trip.

We run our trips with total respect for the environment and expect our guests to do the same. Placing service above all, we devote ourselves wholeheartedly to making every trip the finest possible with that personal touch!

Whitewater Grading

The International Scale of River Difficulty is a standardized scale used to rate the safety of a stretch of river, or a single rapid. The grade reflects the technical difficulty and skill level required associated with the section of river. There are six levels each referred to as "Grade" or "Class" and then a number. The scale is not linear, nor is it fixed. For instance, there can be hard grade twos, easy grade threes, and so on. The grade of a river may change with the level of flow. Often a river or rapid will be given a numerical grade, and then a plus (+) or minus (-) to indicate if it is in the higher or lower end of the difficulty level. Also note that while a river section may be given an overall grading, it may contain sections above that grade, often noted as features, or conversely, it may contain sections of lower graded water as well.

Class I	Easy. Waves small; passages clear; no serious obstacles.
Class II	Medium. Rapids of moderate difficulty with passages clear. Requires experience plus suitable outfit and boat.
Class III	Difficult. Waves numerous, high, irregular; rocks; eddies; rapids with passages clear though narrow, requiring expertise in maneuvering; scouting usually needed. Requires good operator and boat.
Class IV	Very difficult. Long rapids; waves high, irregular; dangerous rocks; boiling eddies; best passages difficult to scout; scouting mandatory first time; powerful and precise maneuvering required. Demands expert boatman and excellent boat and good quality equipment.
Class V	Extremely difficult. Exceedingly difficult, long and violent rapids, following each other almost without interruption; riverbed extremely obstructed; big drops; violent current; very steep gradient; close study essential but often difficult. Requires best person, boat, and outfit suited to the situation. All possible precautions must be taken.
Class VI (or U) Unrunnable	The grade of a river or rapid is likely to change along with the level of the water. High water usually makes rapids more difficult and dangerous, although some rapids may be easier at high flows, because features are covered or "washed-out". At flood stage (spate), even rapids which are usually easy can contain lethal and unpredictable hazards. Conversely, some rapids may be easier with lower water levels when dangerous hydraulics become easier to manage.

Also, some rivers with high volumes of fast moving water may require little maneuvering, but will pose serious risk of injury or death in the event of a capsize. Additionally, the application of this classification can vary enormously, depending on the skill level, experience, bravery or foolhardiness of the paddlers who rated the river. Ratings can also differ somewhat from country to country.

For more info and country to country classification of white-water grading click here.

Equipment we use

At Rimo, we have on use some of the best equipment available in the world today for whitewater sports. We equip you with all the essentials and more on each of our expeditions. The following are some of the equipment brands we use: