Three Lines through Nantahala Falls

The Big Jump

Part of the fun of kayaking is the challenge. Nothing feels better than running a hard rapid successfully. It doesn't really matter if "hard" is class three or class five for you - the joy (and relief) of styling a hard rapid is universally shared by all boaters.
It is our contention that on the five scale rapid rating system, the jump between class 2 and 3 is the largest. Class one and two rapids are very similar and often difficult to differentiate. Think about paddling the Nantahala - most of the time you're not thinking about whether that rapid you paddled was class 1 or class 2 - they're pretty similar. When you get to class 3 Nantahala Falls though it's pretty easy to tell that the rapid is much bigger/harder than everything else you've paddled. For beginners, the jump from class 1/2 to class 3 is often a very big one. This is primarily because they're now facing a larger rapid with more serious consequences. Not to say that there aren't consequences to messing up a class 1/2 rapid, but the consequences are much greater to messing up a class 3 rapid. Deciding to run a class three rapid for the beginner therefore is often a difficult decision because they must factor the consequences into their decision making process- something they haven't really had to do on class 1/2.

Once a boater gains experience though factoring the consequences aspect into the decision-making process it becomes easier to make future decisions, for instance stepping up from class 3 to class 4 rapids. We have plenty of boaters in our beginning clinics agonize over the decision to run or walk Nantahala Falls. We then see those same boaters in our intermediate clinics spend only a fraction of the time agonizing over the decision to run a class 4 rapid. The same boater that spent 20 minutes deciding to run their first class 3 rapid now often spends less than five deciding to run their first class 3+/4.

This is not to say that the decision to step up from class 3 to 4 should be a cursory one. We are merely saying that it's often easier for paddlers to decide to run their first class 4 rapid than it is to run their first class 3 rapid. This can be attributed primarily to the fact that a boater has very little experience when he/she makes a decision to run that first class 3 rapid, and much more experience when they decide to run their first class 4 rapid.

The same applies to the jump between class 4 and class 5.0. Class 5 is certainly harder than class four and entails greater consequences, but the jump comparatively isn't as great as the leap from class 2 to class 3. There's a much bigger gap between running Surfer's and Nantahala Falls than there is between running Bride of Frankenstein and Frankenstein. (The jump between class 4 and 5.2, well, that might be another story.)

The long and short of it is, if you're a beginner, it's ok to take your time deciding to run a class three rapid - it is indeed a big step up. For the advanced boater paddling with beginners, be aware of this. Don't downplay a class 3 rapid because it's "only class three". For the beginner, deciding to run a class three rapid is a big step because for the first time they're factoring in consequences to making a mistake. They should be given all the time they need to make this decision.

False Lips and Delayed Boofs

Scouting waterfalls is a little different than scouting a traditional rapid. Determing a waterfall’s difficulty depends on four factors – the approach, the lip, the height, and the landing. Baby Falls on the Tellico is a good example of an easy waterfall to run. It’s got a fairly easy approach, a 90 degree lip, it’s not too high, and it lands in a pool. Gorilla on the Green is a more difficult waterfall. The approach is through a narrow slot, you paddle over a wave to get to the lip, it’s fairly high, and has a narrow, shallow landing with a hole downstream.

In this video we focus on the second factor, waterfall lips. There are two types of waterfall lips, the traditional lip and the false lip. With the traditional lip water will flow towards the lip and then fall straight down at a ninety degree angle. A traditional lip has one horizon line. A false lip on the other hand has two horizon lines. Water flows towards the first horizon line, slopes off for a bit, and then falls over the actual lip. The key to running a water fall with a false lip is to use a delayed boof stroke (assuming it’s not a really big drop). Don’t throw the boof stroke until after you’ve gone over the first horizon line (the false lip) and reached the true lip.

Whitewater Creeking Instruction: False Lips from Christopher Port on Vimeo.

Turn less, not more

In our advanced level instruction we spend a lot of time “re-teaching” people to paddle. Most of these guests are great paddlers who learned to kayak in Dancers, RPMs, etc and have now transitioned to the planning hull boats or shorter playboats. This transition is not always smooth for the simple reason that these smaller boats do not paddle the same way as the longer ones.

The longer boats are more difficult to turn and thus a paddler may need a combination of strokes to turn the boat. For example, to catch an eddy in a longer boat the paddler might utilize a forward sweep into a stern draw into a bow draw. Using that stroke combination in the smaller boats is unnecessary – it will in all likelihood spin you in a 720 degree circle down the eddy line. If this doesn’t make sense think of it this way – in the longer boats you focus your energy on turning the boat aggressively whereas in the smaller boats you focus your energy on preventing the boat from turning too aggressively.

In the 1990’s, we taught peel-outs with the “speed-angle-lean” concept. You have probably heard this at some point in your paddling career. Accelerate towards the top of the eddy, set a thirty degree angle, and then lean downstream as your boat peels out. This worked well because the longer boats carried the speed you built up in the eddy across the eddy line and into the current. This does not work as well in the shorter planning hull boats because they’re not very fast. If you try and use “speed, angle, lean” in a short boat you’ll find that often you don’t have the speed to bust through the eddy line into the current and you simply spin on the eddy line which is not very stable.

Instead of focusing on speed, focus on preventing the boat from turning too soon. As you hit the eddy line, that planning hull boat wants to spin. Don’t let it. Use a forward stroke on the downstream side to accelerate the boat onto the eddy line, and then link it to a slow stern draw on the same side, to prevent the boat from turning downstream. (Or if the current is slow, just a stern draw) You’re not so-much peeling out of the eddy as ferrying across the eddy line with a two-stroke combo. You are now in control of the boat – you can continue the ferry, do a peel out, or return to the eddy you came from. With “speed, angle, lean” you’re not really in control of the boat – the water is. It dictates when and how quickly you turn.

The same applies for catching an eddy. Of course you will need a little speed to cross the eddy line, but you will also need a stroke or two (now on the upstream side) to keep the boat from spinning too quickly and preventing you from driving deep into the eddy. As you cross the eddy line plant a forward stroke in the eddy water to pull you across the eddy line, and then use a stern draw on the same side to keep the bow of the boat from turning upstream too quickly.

1.

2.

3.

4.

For precision boat control in the newer boats you need to use stroke combinations to limit the boat’s turning ability, not stroke combinations to turn it more.

Pulling the Trigger

The other day I was reminded of my first trip to the Nantahala Cascades in 2001. The water was a little high and a large crowd had gathered at the first drop and was watching the boaters go over the waterfall. I watched my friends make two or three runs and then I decided that I wanted to give it a try. I had brought my gear up to the put-in and borrowed a boat (which I’d never paddled), but was unsure if I had the skills to navigate this section of whitewater. Finally, as it was getting dark, I worked up the nerve to give it a try and yelled to one of my friends to wait for me as he was about to put on for the last run. I’ll never forget his response – “No, Jeremy, you will die”. And then he got in his boat and paddled off. Very rarely are you confronted with such honesty.


Thankfully, stories like this aren’t that common. Very rarely are you told whether or not you’re ready to run a rapid. Most of the time you have to make that decision for yourself. This is one of the great aspects of kayaking, but also the most frustrating. How do you know if you’re ready to pull the trigger when you’ve never run that rapid before? Because no two rapids are identical it’s difficult to even compare one rapid to another. Just because you can navigate one class three rapid successfully, doesn’t necessarily mean you could navigate another one of entirely different character. If you find yourself struggling with indecision about running a rapid try thinking of the who, what, where, when, and why.

Who: Who are you paddling with? Are these people you trust, and do they have good safety/decision making abilities? Or are these people you just met at the put-in or are maybe lesser paddlers than yourself? You will certainly be more relaxed if you have confidence in your fellow paddlers to either show you a good line, or help you out if you blow the line.

What: What are the moves required of me in this rapid? Can you execute the moves required to run the rapid successfully? Are those moves in your wheelhouse? I have run very difficult class five rapids because the moves required were strengths of mine. I have also walked class four rapids because the moves required did not play to my strengths.

Where: Where are you? Are you on an unfamiliar river? Are you near civilization? The risks you might take on a rapid on a roadside run may not be the same risks you should take on a rapid in a remote canyon. This where could also apply to where you are on the actual river. For instance, the last rapid of the Middle Cullasaja is certainly a fun one. It ends in a small, but nice pool. Unfortunately there’s a two-hundred foot waterfall on the other end of that pool. That adds something to the equation. (A similar example might be Corkscrew into Crack in the Rock on the Chattooga.)

When: When is the right time to run this rapid? Do I feel good? Is my energy level high? Do I have butterflies or am I really nervous? Does today seem like the right time or should I wait for another time? In my example above at the Cascades, I was nervous, I was using a borrowed boat, and it was almost dark. It was not the right time - I would have failed the when criteria three times over.

Why: Why do you want to run this rapid? There is only one answer to this question – “It looks fun, I like the challenge, and I feel confident making the moves”. My friends and I often talk about a fun-factor to a rapid. If the rapid doesn’t look fun we won’t run it even if we know we can make the moves. (This is pretty subjective. Sometimes what looks like fun to someone, doesn’t look like fun to another.) You should never run a rapid because everybody else is doing it and you don’t want to lose face. You should never run a rapid to impress a girl (or boy). You should never run a rapid because someone is holding a camera. You should never run a rapid because you don’t feel like walking it. (I have proof from the Transylvania Community Hospital that laziness is not a good reason to run a rapid.)

I’m not saying that you have to answer in the positive to all these questions to run a rapid. Some, such as the what, may be more important than others, for example, the where. Making the decision to run a rapid is a lot like making a decision in any other aspect of life – you take a bunch of imperfect information and try and combine it to make the most well-informed choice.



Lastly, in this day and age of paddling videos, guidebooks, and the internet, chances are you know what rapids you’re going to encounter on a run. Don’t make up your mind about running a rapid beforehand. For instance, everybody knows that Bull Sluice is at the end of section three of the Chattooga. Don’t make up your mind whether to run it or not in the Food Mart parking lot in Clayton. Don’t make up your mind until you get to the rapid. This will allow you to enjoy the rest of the river relatively worry-free instead of worrying all day about one rapid at the end of the run.

In closing, if you’re looking at a rapid and you can’t decide whether to run it or not, don’t – chances are there’s a reason you feel so indecisive, even if you can’t articulate why.

Getting though holes and moving on

Second Ledge, Chattooga River
photo: Jon Clark

Holes suck - both literally and figuratively. In the last article I discussed ways of increasing comfort (assuaging fear) with regards to holes. I remembered a story recently that demonstrates what it means to be comfortable in a hole. So if you don't mind the digression...
I found myself paddling Yellowcreek near the Cheoah five or six years ago with Eric Slover and Team D member Andrew Holcomb. I always really enjoy paddling with boaters that are better than myself and that I can learn from. Without going into too much detail though, Eric "forgot" about the seemingly innocuous looking rapid below us. To make a long story short, Eric peeled out and disappeared over the horizon line, then Andrew, and lastly me. When I reached the lip of the drop I saw that Eric was stuck against a rock and Andrew was below me in this nasty little hole. As I approached the lip Andrew looked up and saw me, our eyes met, and as I boofed he flipped intentionally. I landed on his hull and skirted into an eddy. Downstream of this hole was an unpleasant looking sieve/undercut. Andrew rolled up (after I had boofed onto him), looked at me calmly, and without a hint of panic in his voice asked politely, "Could you please get me a rope"? He was being worked in a hole, just had another boater land on him, faced a sieve immediately downstream, and still thought to use the word please. That's being comfortable in a hole.

Cascades, Low water
photo: Chris Port

Assuming most of us aren't pro paddlers though, and aren't that relaxed while a hydraulic is peeling our eyelids back, we should think carefully about our strategy for punching holes to avoid these unpleasant situations.

Many beginner and intermediate paddlers believe that the most important key to success for punching a hole is the strokes you do when you hit the hole. Others conversely believe that its simply a matter of "paddling hard",and building up speed before you get to the hole. (For more on "paddling hard" click here.) While there are some elements of truth to these beliefs, they are not the most important keys to success. The primary key to success is boat angle.

Lower Wacas, Rio Pacuare, Costa Rica

I was taught, as I imagine many were taught, to hit holes perpendicular, or "dead-on" as the common phrase goes. This approach does often work, but usually only because the hole you were punching wasn't that sticky to begin with, or you executed a well-timed stroke to lift the bow onto the foam pile. The reason it often doesn't work is due to the factors which create a hole in the first place- namely a quick change in elevation and water recirculating upstream. Because you are travelling from a point of higher elevation to lower(the hole itself) your bow will naturally point downward, even if only a little bit. If you hit the hole perpendicular, your bow has no choice but to submerge, or partially submerge under water (or the biggest part of the foam pile) which kills your speed. You now are either stuck in the hole, about to get backendered, or paddling aggressively to exit it.

Rob Barham punching holes in Panama

A better approach is to hit the hole with slight angle. (Slight being the key word here - too much angle and you get to practice sidesurfing and windowshades) With a little angle, the brunt of the hole hits your boat around your knee bump (which unlike the bow is difficult to submerge), allowing the bow to clear the hole and not killing all your downstream momentum.

About to get worked at the bottom of Oceana, Tallulah
photo: Rob Barham

As far as the strokes go, think about using only two strokes to punch a hole. The first stroke is a boof stroke, designed to lift the bow, and generate a little speed. (If you don't feel comfortable doing a boof stroke, do a forward stroke). When you hit the hole, your next stroke should be a reaching, SLOW, forward stroke somewhere around, and preferably past, the foam pile. If that stroke didn't work you're probably in trouble - more strokes, bracing, and sweet sidesurfing will be necessary.

Anne smoothing her way past some holes, Rio Reventazon, Costa Rica

For consistent success think about where you're hitting the hole as well. If possible hit the corner of the hole and not the center, as many holes are weakest at the corners. (There's also eddies many times on the corners of holes). The type of hole will dictate where you hit it. Sometimes you've got no choice but to hit the meat. In any case, think about boat angle the next time you see yourself facing down a hole. Good boat angle is guaranteed to cut down on the times you look at the boater in the nearest eddy and politely ask, "Could you please get me a rope?"

Facing down a big one on the Rio Futaleufu, Chile
photo: Jon Clark

Herm

Bad hydraulics are like bad relationships

Have you ever noticed that holes are never placed in a very fortuitous position in a rapid? Very rarely are they situated up against the bank on the opposite side of the river, safely isolated from where you’re trying to navigate and cordoned off with yellow police tape. No, most of the time they’re positioned somewhere in your direct line of travel, transforming a relatively easy line into some sort obstacle course, which by the time you’ve safely completed, leaves you with a feeling of vertigo as you’ve just utilized fourteen strokes to turn eight times in a rapid that’s only twenty yards long - all for the sake of avoiding holes.

It is my contention that of all the hazards one may find on a river, it is a hole which gives the common paddler the greatest concern. In scouting a rapid we might see an undercut, a pin rock, a strainer, a hole, and al-Qaeda on the bank (scary rapid indeed) – yet it is the hole that we will focus on the most. The reason for this is that most paddlers have experience with the unpleasantries of holes, and very little experience with the other aforementioned hazards. We know exactly what will happen if we get stuck in that hole, because it has happened before – we flip, we struggle to roll, we get windowshaded again, we pop the skirt, get recirculated a bit, and end up swimming through the rest of the shallow, crummy rapid while everything inside of our boat becomes flotsam in the froth. It is our brain’s evolutionary duty to remind us of these past experiences, in hopes of persuading us to not make the same life-threatening mistake again. We are therefore victims of past experience.

In this aspect, bad kayaking experiences are similar to bad relationship experiences. Kayak carnage stories share all the same themes of relationship carnage stories – you didn’t see it coming, you were taking it all for granted, not paying attention, couldn’t find the surface, were fighting for your life, and left the encounter with fewer positions than you started with. In both kayaking and relationships, sometimes you just need to pull the skirt and swim for it. The problem is that after a bad experience in a hole or in a relationship we become gun-shy and don’t want to have anything to do with either for a long time. And while we may be able to avoid dating for a while, we certainly can’t avoid holes for any extended length of time, unless we want to give up boating all together.

I could tell you to get back on the horse but that’s a dumb analogy. There’s a reason you just got your lunch handed to you in that hole – it was mean, it was tough, and it didn’t like you. Don’t go back in that same hole right away. Seek out smaller holes in safe areas of the river, preferably with some flat water behind them. Try sidesurfing. Try flipping. Try rolling very slowly and relaxed. Try only paddling on the downstream side. Try to fix your vision on a downstream point. Try leaning forward, engaging the abs and obliques to hold the boat on edge instead of your paddle (you need that to dig your way out).

This last point is something you can practice without a hole. Put the boat on edge and lean all the way forward until your head touches the deck. Without using your paddle slowly sit up. Where does it feel like you have the most control of the edge? Where can you hold the boat on edge without it wobbling? (It’s probably half-way between all the way forward and sitting up straight. This is the position you should be in when in a hole. It’s also a position conducive to shoulder safety.)

Why is it that we feel perfectly comfortable executing a forward stroke but not swimming out of holes? Is it because we practice one but not the other? Probably. Practice swimming out of mild holes. The Devil’s Dip is a popular play spot on the Tuck. On my last ride of the day I’ll always flip and swim intentionally in the hole to practice such things as tucking, “balling up”, holding on to my paddle, and swimming my gear to shore. We are quick to tell beginners the importance of learning to wet-exit and swim in whitewater, yet we often forget to apply that lesson to ourselves.

The bottom line is that if you want to be more comfortable in holes you’ve got to spend more time in them – both in and out of your boat. Yes, this is scary. But it is also extremely rewarding as you come to the realization that the majority of holes (unlike my first girlfriend) aren’t man-eaters and you don’t need to fixate on them or always avoid them.

Part 1 of 2. Next week: How to punch through holes.

River Awareness: The Big Picture

Part one of a three part series.

NOC Instructor training on Wilson Creek
Photo: Jon Clark

Whitewater paddling is a sport with a curious mix of personal and group elements that makes it very dynamic on many levels. On the one hand you are captain of your own kayak, making decisions and executing maneuvers based on your experience and ability while on the other your paddling mates are looking out for you encase you have any problems. Looking out for your paddling buddies is just part of a larger awareness that we call river awareness.

One extremely important concept about good river awareness is being able to take in the big picture while still being able stay focused on what you are doing and what is happening to you. What I want to focus on in this first article is the big picture that surrounds good river awareness. A great way to start is to remember that having good river awareness does not begin when you put on your spray skirt; it begins about the same time that a decision is made to go and paddle the river. There are many things that need to be thought over before committing to running a river, including, thinking not only about yourself and your personal skills, but how do these relate to the group you are paddling with and the run you are thinking of doing. Rather than start with the decision about whether you are ready for a run, ask yourself about the other people who are paddling that run; Is a typical group on this particular run super strong or super weak? Then think about your own particular group and their strengths and weaknesses. Is your group going to be one of the strongest out there and benefit the rest of the paddling community or are you going to be a disaster waiting to happen? After you feel confident about these decisions, ask yourself how you feel about the run. By joining this group are you going to make it stronger or weaker? When all of these factors have been considered, only then can you begin to make a wise decision about your upcoming river trip.

NOC Kids Camp learning about good communication
Photo: Jon Clark

Thankfully the sport of whitewater paddling is a very dynamic sport that is constantly changing and keeps us thinking very progressively. Unfortunately, this makes it very hard to make a statement that is inclusive enough to relate to the entire community and that will endure for any length of time. The above process will always have to be modified slightly to fit your personal situation but as a base line starting point it helps to keep the big picture in a much more easy to understand perspective.

There is nothing like having good backup on the river!
photo: Jon Clark

Another very important skill that is mandatory for creating good river awareness is effective communication within the group, both on and off the river. Again, good communication starts long before you arrive at the put-in, it starts from day one as a group is being formed. Communication sometimes can become awkward when factors like self-image, peer pressure, self-imposed goals, and community standards begin to have an effect on ones ego. It is important that each individual within a group of paddlers feels comfortable talking with each and every other member of the group about anything they need. This lets EVERYONE'S thoughts and ideas flow smoothly through the group so that when a decision has to be made, it is done effectively and concerns the entire group. Before a hard run I always ask my group members a few standard questions: How is everyone feeling today? Is anyone excessively tired or sore? Who has a throw rope and what other gear do they have? If you are on a more remote run or there are very few people around, ask, who has the car keys and where are they located? If anyone is feeling a little nervous, I ask him or her if they want to follow me for a while until they are feeling more comfortable. This needs to be done so that the entire group can hear what is being said. Good pre-trip communication can have a huge affect on the outcome of an incident.

There are so many factors that go into having a well-planned, safe day out there on the river but even the smallest detail will sometimes save a life. There are handfuls of other very important skills not mentioned here, but good group awareness and communication are two examples of skills that we ALL need to strive for excellence in.


Coming soon! River Awareness: Tools for Assessment

The Slow Roll

Rolling is undoubtedly the most difficult skill for the novice kayaker to master – and also the one they invariably want to master the most. Consequently, the roll is the second hard-skill attempted (after the wet-exit) for many beginner boaters. They hop in a kayak, do a couple of wet-exits and then proceed immediately into learning the roll, often with mixed results. Learning to roll is not something that can be rushed, or forced, and it is our opinion that it is much easier to learn to roll if you spend some time (a day or two) learning the other fundamentals and hard skills before attempting it.


People will often say that the most important part of the roll is the hip-snap, or keeping the head down, or arching or sweeping properly. While certainly these are important factors to success they are not the most important factor to success. The determining factor to achieving success in rolling is comfort in the boat, and under water. Rolling is not an aggressive maneuver built off brute-strength – it is a fluid maneuver built off relaxed, slow, and coordinated movements.


So many people though when learning to roll are not completely comfortable hanging upside down in the water and hence, they tense their muscles, they rush their steps, they have difficulty concentrating on more than one process, they do not feel how the boat reacts to their movements – all because they are on some level still nervous about getting out of the boat, running out of oxygen, hitting their head on rocks, etc.

We actually see quite a few intermediate paddlers in our instructional clinics who suffer from this fear and either have not admitted it to themselves are, or as is more often the case, are unaware that this fear is even present. When this fear is present, even if it is buried within the subconscious, it has an adverse effect on rolling because the paddler is not as relaxed as he/she should be. Because they are tense they often pull too aggressively on the paddle, engage both knees against the thigh hooks, don’t come fully out of the tuck, and have a difficult time relaxing their body into the arch/sweep position.

There are various methods to help alleviate this fear and become more comfortable in the inverted, under-water roll position. You can practice wet-exits, try to swim upside down while still in the boat, or just test the possible ranges of motion upside down by stretching forward, backwards, and side-to-side, and then either wet-exiting or having someone give you a bow-rescue. Often when we see someone struggling with a roll and we suspect it is because they are too tense/nervous we will ask them to take their air bags out, fill their boat completely with water, and then put their sprayskirt back on. If you’ve never done this I highly recommend it the next time you’re at the lake or pool. If you do this and feel nervous than to some extent you are probably still anxious about being upside down in the boat which adversely affects your roll.


The interesting thing is that it is far, far easier to roll your boat full of water than it is empty as normal. The roll unfolds much slower which gives you time to relax and focus on one step at a time. Because it is slower you will also be able to self-diagnose the weaker parts of your roll. For example, when you hipsnapped, did your upper body stay in the water, allowing the boat to re-right itself first, or did your upper body come up first? Is your paddle diving into the water by your knees, or is it sweeping across the surface towards the stern of the boat? The advantage to practicing a roll with water in the boat is that you can actually feel the mechanics of the roll and how your body moves in relationship to the boat.


If you’re struggling to learn the back deck roll, off-side roll, or a hand roll, filling the boat with water is also a valuable tool. Relax and feel how the boat slowly responds to your mechanics and body position. Regardless what roll you’re learning, once you’ve played around with a full boat, empty it out again and try a normal roll. I bet it feels much stronger and more confident.

The next step in your paddling career…add breadth as well as depth

Sheena enters Nantahala Falls

As our students leave a clinic or a day of private instruction we are often asked, “How do I keep improving?” This is an obvious and appropriate question and I suspect that most of our instructors answer in much the same way. We say something about “Paddle as often as you can.” This is the obvious and appropriate answer. I would like to add a little more detail to that response.

I believe the competitive urge and the natural upward progression implied by the class 1 through class 6 scale of difficulty leads most people to seek to move onto more and more difficult rivers. I call this progression “seeking depth.” The new paddler believes that experience with more difficult rapids will translate directly into developing greater skill. While there is truth to this expectation I don’t think this is the only path to greater skill.

Lines up for the drop

If you want to increase your paddling skills consider seeking “breadth.” There is value in paddling many different rivers of similar difficulty. For example, many of you have run both Big Pillow on the French Broad and Nantahala Falls. These are both class 3 rapids but they teach very different lessons. Big Pillow offers the paddler a line that is pretty open but filled with very fast current and large waves. The line demands balance and comfort moving around in big waves. The class 3 portion of Nantahala Falls is really a quick precise move between two ledges that demands exact control and acceleration across the flat between the ledges. Two rapids of the same difficulty teach two very different lessons.

Takes a stroke through the hole

Yes, moving ever upward in difficulty will teach many of these same lessons but the learning occurs in an environment with an ever smaller margin for error. Consider the value of paddling many very different rapids, all within your comfort zone. You will cope with different eddy lines, different sizes and types of waves, and different maneuvering demands. Each run can be a lesson broadening your skill set.

Success!

If you live in a place with few paddling options then look forward to paddling your home river at many different levels. Remember, though the higher levels appeal to our “Yeehaw” instincts, those runs when the river is a bit low can teach lessons too.

Windy Gordon

On Fear Management

Let me start out by saying that Laura hates this picture and I thank her for letting me use it in this post. The one thing this picture illustrates really well is that special blend of fear and euphoria that comes with whitewater paddling. Mitigating fear is a skill, and like any other skill it can be learned and managed. No matter your skill level, there are practical tools that will help increase your enjoyment and success in the sport of whitewater kayaking.

Novice paddlers are aided tremendously by exposure to the basics of kayaking in very controlled environments. The skills that usually generate the most anxiety for beginners are flipping and swimming. Once they are practiced in the lake and river they become a lot less anxious about them. Novice kayakers can also address some of their imagined fears about kayaking with a basic understanding of the principals of paddling and knowledge of river hazards and features. Beginners learn quickly that the reality is often a lot less scary then what they once believed.

For Intermediate paddlers one way to reduce fear is by building on small successes. One example of this is to challenge your skills by finding the hardest or most complex route through a rapid that you are already comfortable in. The Falls on the Nantahala are a great example: being able to catch eight eddies through the Falls takes a lot more skill than just paddling through them. This practice of catching eddies through rapids not only builds self confidence but also teaches a critical river running strategy that helps alleviate the stress of running unfamiliar rapids. Breaking down rapids this way and taking it "one move at a time" is one of the best ways to control anxiety while paddling a rapid.

Advanced paddlers often develop personal routines that help them manage anxiety before running difficult drops. My personal mantra is PREP, short for Posture, Rotation, Vision and Positive Mental attitude. This simple acronym is my way of reminding myself of the very basics of paddling and revving the engine so to speak. Reciting my mantra takes just a second but it is key in helping me focus on the here and now and creates a positive mental environment that allows for optimum performance. In the upper levels of paddling, deciding whether or not to run a rapid is less about fear management and more about risk assessment than anything else. Underlying that risk assessment takes experience and knowledge about whitewater factored with the personal skills and limitations of the individual paddler. One more important aspect regarding fear is its affect within a group. It is important to realize that within the confines of a group, fear is contagious. If several members of your paddling group are nervous about a rapid that you are thinking about running, there seems to be a tendency for your personal tension to increase. It also can work the other way around with the group being very confident and the individual paddler feeling pressure to run a rapid he or she would otherwise walk.

Ultimately it takes courage to kayak, but courage is not defined as the absence of fear - it is defined as the ability to act in spite of fear. Acting in spite of fear is an integral part of kayaking and whatever skills you use to deal with it, being able to focus that energy in a positive, productive and fun direction is liberating.

All photos courtesy of Jon Clark

Here is a link to another great article about fear written by Chris Joose, click here.

Rethinking our thinking

There are two phrases in kayaking that make me cringe every time I hear them. The first is: “Always lean downstream”. The second is, “Just paddle hard”. While there is an element of truth in both these phrases, I can’t help but wonder if this advice often does more harm than good.

“Always lean downstream”
The reasoning behind the phrase: When sideways in a rapid (especially one with big waves) if the paddler is not edging the boat downstream their upstream edge can catch and they’ll flip upstream. This is also an applicable adage for peelouts or if you're about to broadside a rock or strainer.

“Kayaking” and “always” are not two words that go together very often. Paddlers can often lean upstream in a rapid, even when they’re completely sideways. There are many times where leaning upstream in a rapid is even desirable, ie. center line at Oceana, at least until you reach the pillow. The point of the matter is that you only need to edge the boat when there is a change of speed or a change in direction. Catching eddies is a good example of both – you’re changing direction (making a turn) and changing speed (faster water to slower water). If you’re moving at the same speed as the current though and not trying to make any turns then it often doesn’t matter which way you’re leaning. In fact, I’d guess that the majority of the time you’re in a rapid floating sideways, you’re not leaning upstream or downstream – the boat is probably flat. You can experiment with this and see if it’s true for you. The next time you’re in the middle of a rapid and have turned your boat sideways in preparation to accelerate towards an eddy, see which way you’re leaning as you’re paddling towards the eddy. I bet your boat is flat, at least until you reach the eddyline.

“Just paddle hard”
The reasoning behind the phrase: By paddling aggressively you one, get good purchase on the water which acts as a brace, and two, gain speed to punch through holes and/or waves.

Imagine you are on a bike on the top of a mountain about to descend down. When you get to the steepest part of the descent, do you peddle more to increase your speed? No, most people would probably reach for the brakes. In kayaking though, we tell so many beginners to “peddle” faster when they reach the steep parts. Very seldom do we need a lot of speed to punch holes or make it through big rapids. We would be better off paddling slowly, waiting on that one well-timed stroke to carry us through. Most of us aren’t running the Zambezi or White Nile; we don’t need the speed – we need the control and placement. When we’re paddling fast we build up speed which makes corrections and turns difficult to execute. Think about Broken Nose on the Ocoee. You could take slow controlled strokes, and give yourself the option to either run left or wait on the final boof stroke. Or you could “just paddle hard” as soon as you enter the rapid, kung-foo fighting your way through the ledges and holes. Next time you’re watching a paddling video pay close attention to the pros. Very seldom are they paddling furiously – most of the time they look to be floating on a bow draw, or waiting for one good stroke at the crux – and they’re encountering holes and waves much bigger than the ones we usually see.

Secondly, when we paddle fast we often don’t bury the blades completely in the water. Thus, we’re expending energy on strokes that aren’t doing a whole lot for us. Also, when we paddle hard our muscles tense, our hips lock-up, and our knees (and feet) engage the thighhooks. The boat now loses the ability to rock in the water and we flip.

Photos courtesy of Jon Clark