in a dangerous current,

one technique can be a lifesaver.

Students: Go, go, go, go, go!

[water splashing]

Narrator: These swiftwater-rescue students

are conducting a raft-flipping scenario

on the Colorado River near Moab, Utah.

Many of these students

are professional whitewater-rafting guides

who are completing their mandatory

swiftwater-rescue certification.

On this section of the Colorado River,

waves can ramp up to 20 feet high,

causing even the most experienced raft guides to capsize.

All it takes is a hidden boulder

or a particularly violent rapid

to disrupt the raft's momentum

and send its passengers overboard.

There are some rivers, it's a daily occurrence.

Sometimes multiple times a day.

It's real important that you can keep yourself safe

and then safely help out others.

Narrator: This 16-foot raft weighs 180 pounds,

so flipping it while it's being tossed around

by intense rapids is no easy feat.

Training begins when the students evacuate the raft

and flip it upside down to simulate an emergency scenario.

Students use the T-shaped grip at the end of their paddles

to hook the gig line on top of the raft's inflated tubes

and pull back to flip the raft.

[cheering]

They use the force supplied by

the downstream current of the river

as an extra tool in this scenario.

The current pushes the raft forward

while the rescuers use the bottom tube

as a fulcrum to rotate the raft around

as they pull the gig line in the opposite direction.

Three or four rescuers then climb

on top of the flipped raft.

Student: Paddle!

Narrator: And they use the same strategy

to flip it upright.

Other students tread water

at a safe distance from the raft

to create a clear space for it to land.

Instructor: Hey, remember guys, try to flop on your backs

more than putting your feet down.

Narrator: Putting your feet straight down in moving water

is one of the most dangerous things you can do.

Your foot can get stuck in between rocks,

and then you've got a second emergency.

Instructor: To get back in the boat,

the key is to have your legs out flat behind you.

That's the way to get in,

not pulling yourself straight up.

Pull towards that boat and up at the same time.

And it's a pain in the ass.

Narrator: This student attempted

climbing in the raft leg-first

and got tangled in the gig line.

Luckily, his classmates were able to untangle him,

but this could have quickly become a real emergency.

Rescuers grab any remaining people

by their PFD, or personal flotation device,

and haul them back on the raft.

Occasionally, the current pulls people

downstream away from the raft,

and they're unable to swim against the current.

Student: Right here, guys!

Paddle towards me!

Well, you can get separated from your craft very quickly.

The river just doesn't stop.

It's relentless.

Narrator: After pulling in as many

nearby rafters as possible,

the team then paddled down to assist this student,

who had drifted away from the group.

Students: One, two, three, go!

Eric: It's a pretty chaotic situation,

so we want to just kind of

make that a little bit more static

and make some of those decisions easier

and give them somewhat of a format to follow

while they're flipping this boat.

Give them some things to think about

while they're going through that process.

Scott: For a lot of people that are new to guiding,

this is a new experience,

and so this kind of gives them a little bit

of comfort level for when the time does come.