ThePADDLER 32
Well , Joe does not have a grade 6 skill set . So he should be nowhere near that river . But let ’ s say Joe is a comfortable and accomplished grade 4 paddler . He ’ s not a technical grade 5 paddler , but he can comfortably pull off grade 4 runs with little problem . Let ’ s place this rapid in a river run that is otherwise littered with 3 / 3B and 4 / 3B rapids . This is certainly somewhere he would be comfortable . It would be a fun and challenging day and probably very rewarding .
But halfway down is one 4 / 6B , in a ‘ must-run ’ canyon . Should he go ?
This is , of course , a personal decision that only Joe can make . If you say there is a ‘ must-run ’ grade 6 halfway down the river , then Joe is not going to that river . He doesn ’ t have the skills to technically navigate a grade 6 rapid . But if you say there is one rapid that is well within his skill set , a grade 4 , but it is very dangerous , he might decide to go .
Technically , he can run it . He has run harder . Now he knows what he ’ s getting into before he goes because there is one rapid that he must run . Under any circumstances , he cannot make a mistake : he can make a good decision based on sound judgment , relying on useful information to make it .
So what is Niagara Falls ? Any fool can paddle over it , but your chances of survival are slim . On the flip side , help is right there . That ’ s a nice little 2 / 6A .
Above : Toilet Bowl on the Kern at 3000cfs - class 5 maneuvering , but essentially not dangerous - 5 / 4B
Right : Looking Glass falls . A class 2 paddle off the edge , resulting in a broken back doe to the shallow flat landing . Class 2 / 5A
HOW ABOUT THE LACHINES IN MONTREAL ?
Massive volume with stuff coming at you from all sides , exploding , crashing wave holes , swirly eddylines , all dumping into a massive pool at the bottom . It takes solid class 4 skills to paddle down that successfully , but if you fail and swim , you roll onto your back and float down until you come out the bottom . That ’ s a class 4 / 2A . There are similar rapids on the Grand Canyon that would be 4 / 2B .
Today I wonder how that conversation back in 1985 with Jerome would have gone , sitting on the side of the river , the wise sage and the young whippersnapper , if we ’ d had this system . Would we have better understood what we were getting into ? Would it have changed our decision ? Because in the end , we both ran the drop without issue and carried on down the river . Until we got to the big falls and Jerome wouldn ’ t let me run it . As the adult in charge of someone else ’ s son , he said it was a class 5 , too dangerous , and we were not running it .
Three years later , a Durban lifeguard and kayaker , Marco Begin , intentionally swam off the lip on a boogie board .
Change is not easily adopted , especially in something so entrenched as the grading system is in paddlesports . But like with anything , if we want to progress , we need to make that effort to let go of the past and embrace ideas that will , collectively , help our wonderful sport progress . Is this one of those things ? Well , you decide . If you like it , start using it . Please explain it to your friends when you do so they understand what you ’ re on about , and above all , stay safe out there .