Whitewater Kayaking Made Easy (Classroom)

Location:

REI - Santa Fe

500 Market Street, Ste 100

Santa Fe, NM, 87501

Start Time:

Thursday, May 5, 2011 - 5:30pm - 7:30pm

"Whitewater 101 - Getting Started in Whitewater Kayaking"

Whitewater Kayaking is a strategic game that anyone can play -- once they learn the rules. This FREE 2hr class will introduce you to the types of equipment, maneuvers and concepts to help you be more successful whitewater kayaking.

Do you love skiing, climbing or mountain biking, and want a fun activity to round out your seasons? Do you find yourself traveling to Taos, Durango, Moab or Colorado for weekend adventures and want to experience these fun locations in a new way? Have you ever been whitewater rafting and seen the kayakers having all the fun? If so, you may love whitewater kayaking and not know it yet.

Whitewater kayaking is a strategic game that anyone can play, once they learn the rules. It has nothing to do with age, adrenaline, appetite for adventure, physique or endurance, and more to do with understanding a few simple laws of physics, that help you read the river, paddle your boat efficiently and time the placement of your strokes for speed, power and stability.

This FREE 2 hour course starts off with an overview of the American Whitewater Safety Code and the International Scale of River Difficulty to frame the types of boats you'll need to use to be successful in whitewater kayaking, the hydraulic features you'll find on whitewater rivers and how you'll work with them, as well as the maneuvers needed at each level for class 1, 2 and 3 rapids.

When you think about it, the river is full of energy; every ripple, wave, hole or current is a form of energy we can use to our advantage. Even rocks can be used to carry speed through a turn ('deflection'), allow us to pause mid-stream, and perform fun river-play "tricks" as we paddle downriver. By applying a few simple laws of physics, you can easily break complex rapids down into a series of easy moves.

Price:

$0.00 Before Tax

I like the emphasis on kayaking as a positive experience. After taking the classes, you realize that you can have a very fun time, even before mastering the roll. Other classes I've taken make the roll seem like a necessity, and learning to roll (or not), becomes the focus, which eclipses the fun of kayaking.

Betsy Glenn

Kelly is a great instructor. He starts with the basics and keeps building on from there. We started in a pool of calm water on the river, as we became comfortable with that we moved closer to the moving water, then into the main current working on peel outs, ferrying and edging, then down the Rio Grande. The second day starts by talking about the first day then on to paddle placement and timing in different aspects of the river. Back on the river we fine tuned our peel outs, ferrying, edging and worked on paddle placement as we go into and through the rapids. I could not belive my improvement from day one to day two! I highly recommed this class if you want to feel comfortable with negotiating class II and III rapids. You may not end up an expert but will have the tools to become one.

Mark Nissen

Frequently Asked Questions

I'm a novice kayaker and really want to learn. Where is the best place to begin?

The Intro to Kayak clinic is the foundation for everything I teach. It's a required prerequisite for the 2-day Whitewater Weekend clinics and the 2-day Touring Kayak Weekend clinics. The Kayak Roll is a good next step after the Intro to Kayak clinic, although not a requirement for the Whitewater or Touring Kayak Weekend clinics.

While learning to roll is a good skill, it's not the best place to start. Rolling is a defensive measure. Good boat control, judgement and an accurate assessment of your skills will keep you from rolling most of the time.

You'll learn boat control in the Intro to Kayak and subsequent clinics. Those who complete the Intro to Kayak class have a much higher success rate in the Kayak Roll clinic. A few hours in the boat learning to do smooth and controlled wet exits from a skirted kayak will be money well spent. If you've spent little or no time in a decked kayak, your mind will simply be too distracted by flipping over and getting out to learn the Kayak Roll.

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