CFR Courses (Canyon First Responder)

Dave Black has been hard at work developing a new wilderness first responder course and a wilderness first aid course, both specific to canyoneering. Both courses will be offered through the ACA.

1. The Canyon First Responder is a unique wilderness first responder program designed to: A. provide essential first responder training as outlined in the First Responder: National Standard Curriculum of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. B. provide additional training in general areas of backcountry emergency and extended care. C. provide detailed training in emergency & extended management of canyon-specific injuries/illnesses.

2. Essential information regarding illnesses and injuries in the canyon environment, based on a 2002 ACA survey conducted by Dr. Steven Stephanides: A. Canyoneers tend to have low levels of first aid training, and prefer short seminar-style first aid training or information in the form of reference material. B. Minor injuries seen in the canyoning/canyoneering environment are primarily: sprains & strains, skin wounds, and flora injuries. C. Of the major injuries: orthopedic injuries are most common, immersion injury and heat/cold illness are "somewhat" common.

3. To address these findings as well as the international aspects of canyoning and canyoneering, the Canyon First Responder course will: A. use the National Standard Curriculum as the training model, with additional extended care and canyon-specific training added where appropriate. B. use preprinted lesson notes (handouts) and a simple, comprehensive principle text that can be placed in a first aid kit. While there are several on the market, the ACA recommends Backcountry First Aid and Extended Care, 4th Ed by Buck Tilton (Globe Pequot Press, 2002). C. provide an international view of backcountry and canyon-specific illness and injury risks and management. D. use instructors and assistant instructors who are expert canyoneers with extensive training and field experience in pre- hospital emergency care & extended response.

4. The ACA Canyon First Responder certification is good for three years and recertification can be accomplished by taking the Canyon First Aid course or any recert program of 14 or more hours by another FR or FA training provider, and by maintaining AHA (American Heart Association) or ARC (American Red Cross) CPR certification.

There is still space available in the 2-day Canyon First Aid course, Nov 15-16, here in Cedar City. Zion Adventure Company will be hosting a Canyon First Responder course in Springdale, Jan 8-18. Another is being planned in Boulder, UT in early December or late January.

Contact me directly at rcwild@canyoneering.net for additional information or to register.

Rich