Minor league advice for major fun
Minor league advice for major fun – How to hit a home run on class II
by Pat Yarnell
Canoeists are a hard bunch to satisfy. We always want to know what's around the next bend. When it comes to whitewater, many of us keep a wish list of runs that are just beyond our comfort level. So, how do you get ready for that next river on your list?
There are basically two approaches:
1. Raise your skill level, or
2. Lower your safety margin
Well I'm sure there are plenty of whitewater enthusiasts who swear by #2, the "fullgnarlz" model, and have passed with flying colors (mostly black & blue) from the School of Hard Rocks, let's focus on approach #1: What can you do to make sure your skills "are there" when you want to have a go at stiffer eddy lines?
The most obvious way to raise your skill level is to take a course, and, if you can't travel to Ontario, Tennessee or Mexico (see May newsletter), we're very fortunate to have good instructors in the club. However, instruction teaches you how to do something, like a ferry; once you leave the course, it's up to you where to ferry! On any given run, you can catch 10 eddies, or you can catch 100. Once you have the basic skills, where you choose to make your moves is the biggest factor for how quickly you improve. With the club's Nicola trip canceled on May long-weekend and lots of people looking for private trips down the local rapids, which were at great levels, there was some discussion about when keen novices might be ready to "graduate" from the Lower Seymour, in favor of more difficult runs on the Upper Seymour or Capilano. Based on that recent head-scratching, here are a dozen things you should be doing on a class II run before you step it up:
Catch every eddy. Don't just stop in the big "collector eddies". Find your own eddies, especially mid-stream. Catch eddies on your onside and offside. Start looking for eddies above the drops instead of below them! This can be a real key to paddling/scouting harder runs.
Surf every wave. Surfing gives a good benchmark of how you're controlling your boat. The regular surf spots are often popular as much for their eddies as their surfiness, and they may be better suited to experienced surfers. So, always be on the lookout for the waves that suit you. Don't be shy – start trying to surf while you'll struggle to catch a wave, and then your successes will be all the sweeter! Plus, a swim doesn't count if you were surfing!
Don't follow everybody. As above, there's more to the river than the obvious features that the group will use, so find your own groove between group stops. Even where the group does gather, maybe there's an alternative eddy above them or across the river?
Follow somebody. Not sure what eddies and waves you could catch? Pick another boat to watch and try following their lines. Get a friend to play
follow-the-leader with you, and take turns leading each other on creative lines.
Swim less. Develop a good low-brace, you'll love it!
Swim more. Go for those eddies, ferries and waves that just might flip you, that's part of learning. Self-rescue is an important skill to develop too!
Make a plan. River reading is a huge part of improving. Never leave an eddy without identifying options for your next moves. Look 5 meters downstream for ferries or s-turns, not just 50 meters downstream for the next big eddy. If you don't know where you were trying to go, how will you know if you're getting there??
Go upstream. When leaving an eddy, don't just look downstream; look across the river, and even up the river, to see if there are any features you could get to. Throw in a ferry or a surf before you turn downstream. Leaving an eddy to ferry above an obstacle is a great way to put a bit of pressure on yourself, so ask yourself whether you can make it above that rock and over to that next channel!
Know your river. When you pass a little eddy or wave that maybe you could've gotten, remember it for next time. Make your home river a different run every time. Find spots like a recognizable cross-river ferry that you can use as a measuring stick to test your progress – try it every time you go by, and see how it feels as you improve. Getting to know a few spots like this will also help you recognize what the river does at different water levels and how to use micro-currents.
Scout. Scouting can help on the rivers you are doing – take a 2nd look at the rapids and search out gutsy new lines. And scouting can help on the rivers you want to be doing – if you're not sure what the rapids are like on a new-to-you run, go for a drive, ride or hike and check them out for yourself.
Pick your spots. Not just on the river, but with your group. A first run on a harder river isn't just about the river, also give some thought to water levels, weather conditions, and especially who is in the group and how they'll be paddling. It'll be most comfortable with a leader who knows you and vice verse (so get to know lots of trip leaders!), and on a day where there's a good supply of experience and patience.
Know thyself. The best indicator of being ready for a new run is when you're at the point of relying on your own judgment in place of advice from others, something akin to: "if you have to ask the price of a menu item, you probably can't afford it". When a trusted instructor, leader, mentor or peer advises that you're not ready and need to sit this one out (we've all been there, and it beats walking out from the middle of a run!), and you find yourself confident in your disagreement with their assessment, then you're probably getting there! So, it doesn't matter how often you've paddled the introductory runs, it's more important how you've paddled them. If you're not going here-there-and-everywhere on the class IIs – catching eddies above drops and ferrying above obstacles then you should take another look at those runs, and find yourself some new moves to make along the way. Get to know some of little mid-river rocks and their eddies. Spend more time facing upstream. If you are making the most of the class IIs, you may find that you'll be invited on a harder run before you even ask if
you're ready!
The goal of paddling a new run shouldn't just be to survive it for the sake of saying you've done it, you should have the skills to enjoy paddling it. Granted, it can be easier-said-than-done to find that balance, but luckily Rivers Week gives us a great opportunity to follow other boaters and to focus on hitting eddies high and trying a few extra ferries and surfs (not to mention rescues!). Finding the class III moves on class II runs is the best way to get ready to safely step up a class.
So, what my coach told me about catching a baseball also applies to whitewater canoeing: make the easy ones look hard, and make the hard ones look easy.