Surface Ice Field Safety

Safety

Private

No public dates available

Consider a private booking

Private Courses

Overview

This 2-day Surface Ice Field Safety course is designed specifically for personnel who venture onto surface ice to perform work.

Field personnel performing work on frozen surfaces face unique challenges. Some of the complexities include the need to identify hazards, working in small teams, and limited access to rescue resources.

Participants will develop their ability to determine ice strength, in part by learning about ice formation. Ice testing procedures will be practiced. Hazard identification skills will be sharpened, and personnel will learn to perform self-rescues and rescues of co-workers. Participants will be familiarized with Raven’s Ice Safety Plan, a document which satisfies provincial requirements for documented pre-planning.

Note: If you work on frozen rivers that are large volume and have open leads surrounded by ice mantles, you should consider our Ice Rescue Technician – Advanced course.

Surface Ice Field Safety Course Details

Duration

2 days

Format

1 day classroom, 1 day on the ice

Participants

Minimum 10. Maximum 12.

Prerequisites

18+ years of age
Basic swimming ability
In good physical condition

Price

$409

Recertification

Repeat the entire course at a 15% discount every three years

Annual Training Maintenance

Click here to read about the options available for annual guided practice

Required Equipment

Drysuit, survival suit, or thick (5mm+) wetsuit*
Personal Flotation Device (Type III or V)*
Water-sport helmet*

*Rental equipment available

FAQ

Click here for more details on what to expect and how to prepare

Surface Ice Field Safety Course Details

Classroom

Rescue Philosophy
Training Standards
Risk Management and Rescuer Safety
Ice Properties, Formation, Types
Ice Hazards
Basic Swiftwater Hydrology
Personal Protective Equipment
Technical and Team Equipment
Management and Preplanning
Incident Management and Site Control
Medical Considerations
Knots, hitches and special rope considerations
Anchorage Options and Techniques

On Ice

Tensioning Systems and Mechanical Advantage
Ice Testing Procedures
Walking On Ice
Self Rescue Techniques
Conditional Rescues
Contact (True) Rescues
Co-worker Rescues (Single Rescuer Techniques)
Rope-assisted Self Rescue/Belay Techniques
Rescue Scenario

Takeaways & Documentation

Surface Ice Safety & Rescue Field Guide
Raven’s Ice Safety Plan
Personalized skill sheet signed by the instructor
Wallet card with personal Rescue 3 registration number
Registration in Rescue 3 International’s database
Certificate of completion

We only offer this as a private course

Our private training courses ensure personalized hands-on training through human-based scenarios

Private Courses

Training Maintenance

If you have a group that would like to review their training together, the training maintenance program may be right for you.

Your group pays the instructor’s daily teaching fee and travel costs associated with bringing the instructor to your training location, along with an annual fee to be part of the maintenance program. This is generally a pretty reasonable approach for training departments because:

it allows us to deliver the training in small chunks every year, rather than in one big chunk every three years
it gives department members more annual hands-on time with their skills
new members can integrate into maintenance programs by jumping on an open course from our public schedule

We track your members, and their status on course content completion within a three year cycle, which mirrors a traditional three year recertification cycle. It’s an excellent value for the cost, and allows you to review your skills in your own backyard.

The training maintenance program replaces the need to recertifiy your training on a traditional three year recertification cycle.

Sorry – there’s no individual audit program available for this course.