Emergency Preparedness and Grand Canyon Evacuations
Arizona Raft Adventures (AzRA) is a Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) licensed commercial outfitter and follows the required emergency procedures, equipment and regulations mandated by the National Park Service.
Rafting adventures thorough Grand Canyon are statistically far safer than automotive travel and most sports. Still, a rafting expedition and the hiking offered on your adventure are not without some risks. Every year there are medical Grand Canyon evacuations, (due to illness or injury) on rafting expeditions. Many trips will have at least a few minor scrapes/bruises and/or illnesses. AzRA spares no effort to provide as safe of an adventure as possible. We are equipped to handle emergencies and Grand Canyon evacuations should your guides determine evacuation is necessary.
A key component of emergency preparedness on a Grand Canyon rafting adventure is your guides’ skills and training. Our guides are certified in Wilderness First Aid courses, and are experienced outdoor professionals. All of our expeditions have a major first aid, trauma kit and backboard on the trip. Each raft carries a minor first aid kit and first aid kits are carried on the side hikes. In camp, there is always an extensive 1st Aid kit available that you can access.
All of our rafting adventures carry emergency communication devices. Each trip carries a satellite phone for direct 2 way communication. As back up, each trip also carries a ground to air radio/signal panels. The satellite radio may be used to communicate about illness or injury with management and health professionals to assist in determining best treatment or request an evacuation. To learn more about medical evacuation read here. The cost of specialized means of evacuation, such as helicopters and medical care beyond first aid are the financial responsibility of the ill or injured person. Because of this, we encourage purchasing trip insurance.