Fording rivers - Ropes vs Linked Arms

Brian Wilkins has written a very interesting article on river fording. He looks at the various fording techniques and analyses some accident reports. Brian concludes that ropes are a safer way of providing mutual support than the commonly used method of linking arms behind the back.

One of the Brians points that struck home with me was about how rope support allows people to freely move around obstacles which is very important in a bouldery river bed. I've found that to be a major difficulty with linked arms.

Brian also advocates the use of "two hands on a stick" as a way to provide additional support. This can be used with the rope method or when crossing alone.

Chris Owen of the NZ Mountain Safety Council has responded to Brians article. Chris still supports the linked arm method quoting Ray Goldring 

“It was concluded that ropes can give people a false impression of their abilities, and can tempt people to try unsafe conditions,"

“Using a rope as a crossing aid in rivers can be dangerous. Few people are sufficiently skilled to use them safely,"

It's an interesting debate but it's also important that you try to minimise the temptation to cross a dangerous river. Carrying some sort of shelter and possibly a mountain radio are good ways to reduce the temptation. Portable shelter allows you to wait for the river to come down with greater comfort and safety. A mountain radio allows you to call for help or let people know you're going to be late back. Personal locator beacons will also allow you get help.