Not long ago I posted about how Rush Sturges’s swim on Upper Cherry Creek really set the standard for “hanging in there,” but I think that award now goes to Ellie Wheat – just check out the sequence starting at around six minutes into the video (orange boat, blue helmet).

(Just a heads up, there are one or two F-bombs dropped somewhere in the background at one point, in case you’re watching this at work – not that any kayaker would ever do that. )

Ernie’s Canyon is one of the most difficult whitewater kayaking runs in Washington state.  The Bennett book has this to say:

“You can slice every one of ‘em (the rapids) and walk away thinking this river’s just another challenging Class V trip, or you can miss your line by two feet and get permanently stuffed into an undercut.”

When you read the river description you’ll notice the word “sieve” come up frequently, and I was just recently listening to two good Class V boaters talk about it, one in terms of “I don’t feel the need to ever do that run again,” and the other describing it as “constantly paddling away from sieves in a Class V environment.”  Not for everyone, in other words.

But obviously some people love it, and this is a gorgeous video.  There are a few little clips after the ending credits, just so you know.

What really struck a chord with me though was what she says starting at around 4:20 mins into the video, when she’s talking about her approach to doing something this difficult:

“The key to climbing outside is just looking at a line and thinking that it looks fun and going for it – not having to have a grade correlate with your ambition to try something.”

Substitute “kayaking” for climbing and “class” for grade, and I think it’s something most boaters can relate to, both in terms of maybe not forcing yourself to do something just because it’s rated as difficult, and also not being afraid to try something just because it is – and, not to mention, remembering to have fun.  (Granted, climbers are roped in whereas boaters will always be dealing with that pesky inability to breathe underwater thing, so I still think we have more to deal with – but there’s a good point here.)

Not only does he get stuck in that hydraulic with a broken paddle and still manage to get out of it and roll up, he also boofs that one ledge hand paddling, does a whole bunch of hand rolls, goes over several ledges, and the reversal he finally swims out of is obviously super sticky – his boat stays in there a really long time.

I like this video because any one of those circumstances is enough to make most people swim, never mind putting them all back to back.  So it kind of sets the bar for what’s possible and hanging in there.

Oh, almost forgot to mention – he then also manages to get out right away instead of swimming the next seven miles, like I usually do.

Anyway, this is an example of how I’d love to be able to boat.

Craig Kleckner is part of the Team Pyranha band that comes out here every year, for some reason I’ve only posted about them once, the first time they were here in 2009, but they are an awesome group and we always have a good turnout when they come through.  Craig gave me some really good advice about how to practice holding your boat on edge, which I think about frequently and sometimes even actually do.

The CC Stilly is a fun, short IV/V run that’s easy to do laps on.  I did it a couple of times a year and half ago at around 5.2, which is on the low side and I don’t think anything was harder than technical IV, but that first ledge can really hand out beatdowns.

By the way, thumbs up to Todd for doing Boulder Drop the other day at around 6200 cfs in a playboat, only two years after starting kayaking!  I was super happy that things worked out in the Project 45 for me, especially after swimming after the Picket Fence at 2,000 cfs a couple of weeks ago - agh!  Todd and I both did the Needle – you won’t catch me near Ned’s at 6200 cfs, at least not until I become inducted into the Boofing Hall of Fame.  And next time I plan to not sneak the entrance.  Baby steps.

The great thing about whitewater kayaking, though, is that once you get the gear it’s basically a free sport except for the gas to get to the river.

Here are some whitewater kayaking gear buying tips based on my experience so far.  Keep in mind that a lot of it boils down to personal preference (except for the parts where I’m just completely right ) so ultimately, choose what you think will work best for the way you paddle.  Buying boats is such a huge topic that I’m not going to talk about it here – I did do some reviews on the Jackson 2Fun and the Wavesport Fuse 48 a while ago though.

Whitewater Kayaking Drysuit:

I recommend getting a drysuit that has the booties built into the suit, not a suit with ankle gaskets (you’ll see the booties listed as “dry socks”).  You’ll also want one that has a sprayskirt tunnel.  Some people wear bib style drypants with a drytop, but after reading a big Professor Paddle thread about the relative safety of that style versus a drysuit I’d say it’s better to go with the drysuit.

I like the Kokatat Goretex drysuits, and they make a Tropos line that is significantly lower in price than the regular.  My first drysuit was a Tropos, I got it for like $480-something at Kayak Academy and it worked great to get me out on the water in the middle of winter.

I’m not a big fan of drysuits that zip across the back shoulders – unless you’re a regular performer at Cirque du Soleil you pretty much always need someone else to help you with those.  That being said, a lot of good boaters use those.

Women’s Drysuits:

A lot of women like the drysuits with the drop bottom that opens with a zipper in the back.  I’d say definitely sit in a boat with one of those on before getting one, they’re really popular but when I wore one in a boat the zipper was getting crushed into my hips - it was actually painful enough I would not have been able to paddle with it.  My drysuit has a front zipper which I’ve never used and hope I never have to, but at least it’s there and I’m not sitting on it.

When In Doubt, Go Big:

Whether it’s a drysuit or a drytop, remember that at some times during the year you might be piling on seven layers of clothing underneath it (especially if it’s a drysuit – you probably wouldn’t use just a drytop if it were that cold out), so I recommend going up rather than down a size when in doubt.  I am regular size but use a large women’s Kokatat drytop and a medium women’s Kokatat drysuit (both with small neck gaskets) – it’s just no fun having to fight your way in and out of gear, and I’ve never felt like they were too bulky.  It also gives me the freedom to boat on really cold days, when I seriously do put on seven layers.  (Shortly after the photo above was taken I felt compelled to test my seven-layer theory by swimming most of The Wall on Tumwater.  Happy to report I stayed warm. )

Whitewater Kayaking Paddle:

Two big things to consider when buying a paddle are length and degree of feather.  You can get charts online that tell you about how long your paddle should be for your height.  For example, I’m 5’4″ and I think my paddle is around 189 cm, which is on the short side - but again, a lot of that boils down to personal preference.  Here’s the Werner paddle sizing chart for reference (on the left side of the linked-to page).

Paddle feather is something I see a lot of people give themselves trouble with, in my opinion.  Just to be clear, paddle feather is the degree to which the individual blades are angled away from each other.  A paddle with zero degrees of feather has blades that are exactly parallel to each other, whereas one with 45 degrees of feather has the blades offset by 45 degrees.  (I know, it’s not rocket science. :))  Feathered paddles are supposed to relieve stress on the wrists while paddling.  The paddle below has 90 degrees of feather, to give you an idea.

A moment of quiet contemplation in Boulder Drop. Photo courtesy of Jeff Dwyer and Renee Paradis.

Beginner kayakers often end up with paddles that have 45 degree feather, but I recommend getting one that has 30 degrees of feather or less - my paddle right now has 15 degrees of feather and I love it.  Not having much feather makes it easier to do moves on both sides, for example, with my paddle I’m able to do an offside back deck roll, which a lot of boaters who are way better than I am can’t do.

I should mention that “beginner” kayaker Charlie Matlock, who I paddled with at Wet Planet’s creekboating clinic this weekend, does an offside back deck roll with a 30 degree paddle, I guess just because he doesn’t know it’s supposed to be virtually impossible.  (When we had to list our “Three most difficult runs” for Wet Planet’s skills evaluation sheet he was like, “Well, I’ve only ever done three runs.”  And they were all Class III’s with IV sections – too funny.)

Anyway, there are some world-class playboaters, like Ken Whiting, who use a paddle with almost no feather, and some of my friends have switched to zero or very low feather in order to be able to do moves on both sides more easily, so while I’m sure some people will disagree with me, I’m a huge fan of the 15 degree paddle feather.  My first paddle had 30 degree feather, which was fine too.  I really think 45 degree would have made offside stuff more complicated for me though.  However, for the record, there are some incredibly good boaters using paddles with a high degree of feather too.

Rob McKibbin did a first descent of Pinnacle rapid on that run, according to JP’s post on Professor Paddle it was a lot harder than it looks in the video.  I talked with Rob the other day and he said it was not as hard as running Landslide rapid on Robe Canyon at 5’9″, which he did last week for the second time – Landslide being a much longer rapid that for most mortal beings is a portage, especially at that level.

I don’t know everyone in this video but definitely saw Fish, Ellie Wheat, Dave Moroles, Rob McKibbin, and it looked like Joe Howard.  I give Ellie thumbs up for doing this in a small Burn, it’s what I have and we’ve both been checking out creekboat volumes recently – the small is only 63 gallons, that’s 11 gallons less than the medium Burn and it makes a big difference when you’re running beefy drops.

According to the YouTube comments on the poster’s channel and also a Canoe and Kayak article, the paddlers included Walt Blackadar, Darwon Stoneman, and Mike Huges, and the film was made by Barney Griffith.

Apparently this run was in part a response to a proposed dam project on the Susitna, which was abandoned in the 1980′s.  Ironically, in checking around for this post I saw that there’s now a new proposal for a Susitnu dam, which the Coalition for Susitna Dam Alternatives says has the potential to be “destructive on a massive scale” to salmon runs and caribou habitat – no big surprise.  But Governor Parnell appears to be gung-ho, and according to the papers plans are moving forward fast.  This would be the 8th tallest dam on earth, but according to that article, would generate only 280 to 300 megawatts of electricity per year.

I also saw that there’s a biography of Walt Blackadar’s life called “Never Turn Back” which is supposed to be really good, I’m going to check it out.

The Boof from Whitewater Instruction on Vimeo.

LINK TO THE PAGE WITH DETAILS ON THE BOOF.

"Into the eddy" Boof from Whitewater Instruction on Vimeo.

LINK TO THE PAGE WITH DETAILS ON THE EDDY BOOF.

The Straight and Fader Boofs from Whitewater Instruction on Vimeo.

LINK TO THE PAGE WITH DETAILS ON THE STRAIGHT AND FADER BOOFS.

If you’re new to whitewater kayaking, boofing is a way to get your kayak over some obstacle, usually a ledge of some sort, in a way that keeps the bow up so that you clear what is usually a reversal at the bottom and land in control, centered over your boat and without sinking the bow.  You’ll notice he breaks it down into three parts: the approach, the paddle stroke, and body position.

I am by no means an expert on boofing, by the way – as I’ve said before, most of my boofs require scuba gear.   But I think these videos have given me a much better idea of what to work on.