How to ford a river safely

[Eppo]

CHeck out this video of how to cross a river safely

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XbRRD6zewk

[beeman]

It looked good to me, I bet his legs were numb when he was done, though.
I agree that much shallower water could be potentially enough to cause you to slip and fall if the current is swift enough, even mid calf!

[7Sisters]

It's definitely an important skill to have. Thanks for sending the link - no need to post in multiple places. I deleted the other posts.

As Beeman said, he looked mighty cold!!!

Peace

[dakotarose]

There really was a lot of good advice there!

[Eppo]

Thanks for watching my video and posting comments. I did the crossing in February and it was cold. In fact you are watching my third crossing. I had to cross back and forth in order to convince the cameraman that I wasn't going to fall in the river and destroy his $500 wireless microphone.

Most of the year that river is not possible to ford. You'd be swimming much of the year. I produced this video in 2005 with the help of a professional filmmaker. I wanted to see if you could use video to really teach an outdoor skill as if you were getting a lesson from a guide right alongside you. Instead of tacky background music we made the decision to add the sound effects of breaking branches, the river, and me walking on the rocks. A technique more common in a feature film rather then an instructional video. Although it's not perfect and could be tightened up somewhat I was pretty happy with the result. I haven't seen anything better on TV or online. Cheers..

[rambler]

Nicely done with a steady flow of useful commentary. One question: I had learned to take a slightly up stream angle, stepping slightly into the current. You suggest a slightly down stream angle. Does it make any difference? Is going slightly with the current easier than going against it?

One thing that makes crossing tricky in a strong current is when you lift a foot to take a step, the current will push it down stream, so taking low short strides are often preferable. It's easier to plant that leading foot just where you want.