I always tell people to join the Washington Kayak Club too, because even if you don’t see runs at your level on their events calendar you’ll end up getting on some big email lists with people organizing all kinds of runs, often in the II+ and III range.  For some odd reason people often don’t take my advice (a recurring and disturbing theme – but I digress), so now this thread should at least make it somewhat easier on the Professor Paddle side.

Speaking of beginner runs, this is a great season (August to September) to get used to running Boulder Drop on the Skykomish River, it’s much less pushy under 2,000 cfs and we run it all the way down to 500 cfs.  Just a heads up that it’s much less fun to swim at lower levels, especially that last drop after House Rocks.  But it’s always a simple portage too.

This one talks about boofing in general:

Here’s one that talks about how to boof into an eddy:

There’s more on their Vimeo page, here’s a link to all of the Whitewater Instruction videos on Vimeo.

Classes start you out on friendly Class II whitewater.

(Don’t be like me and then do a total of three river runs over the next eight years before you actually get into it – oh, the time I’ve squandered!)

There are four courses coming up, in April, June, July, and August 2010 – here’s the link to their course calendar page.  It’s an easy-to-take class, with four evening classes and a total of two river days on separate weekends.

One thing I love about how Herbie, one of the NWOC owners, teaches this class is that I think they do a really good job of teaching the Eskimo roll.  I got mine during the class, and years later when I hadn’t gotten into a boat for a few years and suddenly realized I had lost my roll (trying it alone in my friend’s pool – in hindsight, not too smart ) I went back for a roll class at NWOC and Herbie fixed it.   Notably, this was right after an instructor at another company’s roll session had told me I needed a different boat (even though I had learned to roll in that boat!) and then even one of Herbie’s own instructors was having trouble fixing it during their roll class.  Herbie waded over, said “Oh, you need to adjust your elbow angle by like 12 degrees”, and bam, I was rolling again.

So if you’re working on the roll, just remember you might get mixed advice, and it’s not a strength move at all.  I highly recommend Eric Jackson’s Rolling and Bracing DVD, which shows beginner moves and then advanced moves that help you transition into rolling up in any kind of water.  I’ve obsessed on the roll for the past year and a half and have a really strong one now, but even just watching that video a couple of months ago taught me some stuff that has helped me transition into not having to do a traditional setup for every roll.

Anyway, I wanted to also mention that the Washington Kayak Club also has whitewater kayaking classes, I don’t think they have as many as NWOC and the difference is that you’ll need to come up with your own gear, but I know that Charles at AquaSports in Redmond has some kind of special deal for you if you’re taking the WKC class.  I couldn’t find a link to the class on their site, but you can contact them through their website, www.washingtonkayakclub.org.

After the class... look at you, you rock star!

Update:  I checked my WKC newsletter and their class is halfway through already, so go ahead and check with Northwest Outdoor Center about their classes.  (Tell Herbie I said ‘Hi’ – just be warned that he may have no idea who you’re talking about.)

Here’s the link to the Nantahala water boof blog post and video.

Update:  After I posted this Claire told me that not only is this the video that taught her the boof, but when she does this boof now the song from the video actually plays in her head.  Too funny.

Update 2011:  Unfortunately that cool video on the NOC site is no longer working, but the post is still there and worth reading.  In the meantime I’ve posted some more good boofing videos on this site.

Here’s what JP had to say about going from Class IV to Class V:

“I would find the hardest class IV run you’ve done that is closest to where you live, preferably within 2hrs, but the closer the better. Hopefully it runs frequently throughout the year. Get out and paddle that run religiously until you know it like the back of your hand, at the widest range of flows.”

“You should know it so intimately that you are comfortable paddling it at the higher end of its flow range. Paddle it all other water levels. Then paddle it some more. If you get bored you aren’t using your imagination, so find all of the out of the way routes. Don’t just paddle all the normal lines, paddle this run really hard. I said paddle. Don’t float it. There should be moves you can hit to make the run harder for yourself: difficult boofs, pillow moves, slots between rocks ect. You want to be able to link moves together in a flowing way. Paddle smooth. You’ll need a richly diverse repertoire to be comfortable in class V. Comfort is what you’re after. You want to be able to go in and enjoy the experience, not just survive it.”

“In the meantime, frequently paddle new class IV+ runs (you should be seeking out every class IV run in the guidebook).”

“Occasionally go run an easier class V- run, but only with people you trust who are familiar with the run. If these will be challenging for you, make sure you do your homework on the run beforehand so you know what you’re getting into. There are lots of available resources; This site, AW, the Bennett Book, etc.”

“Also, from time to time, lead some trips on class III+/VI- runs that you’ve never done before with paddlers of equal or lesser abilities than your own. But generally if you’re leading trips this way, I emphasize that you should be leading runs easier than your skill level.”

“Keep in mind that leading whitewater trips will greatly advance your skill, but you also have to undertake the responsibility of looking out for the people following you. If you can’t do this you shouldn’t progress to class V. This may sound boring, but it shouldn’t be. It’s more challenging than it seems on the face of it, if you are paying attention. Not only do you need skills before you go hog-wild on class V, but you need experience as well. Lots of people these days have good boating skills but prematurely venture into class V without experience. Skill and experience are two entirely different things, and they go hand in hand.”

“Anytime you paddle through class II to get to the take out, you should be PADDLING if you want to run class V.”

“Encourage your friends to do the same.Too many people float instead. A refined forward stroke is the most important skill to have in your toolbox, but because it isn’t as glamorous as a boof stroke or a double pump, people generally don’t master it. That’s why 80% of the paddlers out there have sh*tty stroke technique. The forward stroke is where all kayaking begins and ends. It should be a form of moving meditation. The prevailing trend is to float. Remember: Logs float, sh*t floats, but YOU are a WHITEWATER PADDLER.”

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Words of wisdom from JP, who I should mention is (obviously) a really good paddler, and also famous for swimming Boulder Drop on the Skykomish River at 60,000 cfs, flood level, after his paddle got ripped out of his hands in a hole.  I would quote his full name, but I don’t know it!  Which is ridiculous, because I’ve paddled with him a bunch of times.  Anyway, I hope this helps someone out down the line.

(Also, if you haven’t been on Professor Paddle I encourage you to check it out, there’s lots of good advice on there – along with what I can only describe as the usual allotment of man-fluff – plus it’s a great way to connect with good boaters paddling Northwest rivers.)

Last weekend I took one of the most fun kayaking trips ever, on the Wenatchee River by Leavenworth.  It was running around 4900 cfs, so not enormous, but the waves are definitely a lot bigger than what I’ve seen on Class IIIs on this side.

Anyway, something happened on the one rapid, Snowblind, that was a) funny, b) a really good lesson – and OK, let’s not forget c) something we’ll probably be able to hold over Jeromy Adams’s head for a long time.

I’m terrible at remembering rapids, so as we approached Snowblind I asked Jeromy what the line was.  He had originally said something about a big hole on the left and on the right, but at this point he simply said (with an air of complete certainty) “Just follow my line.”

So it was Jeromy, then me, then Greg Nicoll.  Greg (who may be turning out to be the brains of the bunch) immediately realized something was up when he watched Jeromy go over a drop, then saw the front end of his kayak flip up and his paddle start flailing around.

I, on the other hand, had put my brain on standby when I decided to follow someone else’s line (key concept here) so I just followed him like a big, disaster-attracting sheep.  As I flipped over and got sucked into this big whooshing hole I remember thinking “This isn’t going to be good”, then my helmet got whacked several times so hard on the way in I couldn’t believe it.

The good news is I stayed in my boat, got spat out of the hole and made my roll afterwards.  And it was worth it just to hear Greg’s first words as he bobbed out of the rapid – “Nice LINE, (insert expletive here).”  (Greg and Jeromy are always two of the funniest people on the river.)

In hindsight, though, I actually learned a couple of really good lessons, one being:

Don’t stop reading the river just because you’re following someone else’s line.

Yes it’s great to have people help you through rapids, but anyone can make a mistake, and ultimately we’re all responsible for using our own brains. 

And speaking of brains, wow!  Those are actual gashes in my helmet, and the scrapes start on the edge of the front brim.  If my head had been tilted just a bit farther back things might have been a lot different, so the other big reminder to me is:

Tuck as quickly as possible when setting up for a roll!

Not that I hang out down there, but being reminded that big massive rocks are waiting to smash your teeth in sure provides an incentive for speed.

Anyway, it was an awesome day, made even more awesome by my Sweet Protection helmet.