Tips from the River Rats:

Technique

From back issues of the WrapAround. Click on the photos to see larger images.

“Most people think of whitewater paddling as getting down rapids in control. Yet paddling up rapids, or attaining, can be equally exciting and challenging. Attaining requires more precision than paddling downstream, since being a few inches off line can mean the difference between climbing a drop and getting rejected. Attaining is not as strength-dependent as it might seem. In fact, precise technique often wins out over strength. Climbing a rapid makes you aware of every feature, no matter how subtle, since it is often the minor advantage you gain from using a small eddy or wave that makes it possible to attain a drop. Attaining also helps you develop a can-do attitude. Seeing someone paddle up a steep vertical drop tends to open your mind to new possibilities.”*

Here are some hints to help you in attaining:

• To climb a rapid, look for weak (i.e. slack current) spots
• Be alert to areas of still water - they can exist where there are no apparent eddies
• Conserve your energy by reading the water carefully and taking advantage of river features that can help you
• The upstream current behind a small pour over can be used to accelerate the upstream momentum of your boat.
• You may be able to use the dead water directly upstream of a rock as a place to “hide” from the current at the top of a difficult attainment.
• “A standing wave that angles up a drop can often be the key to climbing an otherwise unattainable rapid.”*
• Try to ferry from the top of one eddy to the tail of the next eddy upstream
• When ferrying upstream, keep your eyes focused on your desired goal, not on the place you don’t want to go!
• The angle of departure from an eddy is critical; any error in departure is exceedingly difficult to correct in the current. Take the time and effort to execute the departure angle you need.
• “Carrying the momentum you gain in an eddy into the current is crucial”*
• “Vary the rhythm of your strokes by paddling easily up the eddies, then taking a few quick, hard strokes just as you are about to enter the current again”*
• “If you slow down or stop near the top of an eddy [frequently required when you are off your intended line] don’t try to regain speed from that position. Instead, drop back so, you have room to take at least a few strokes before entering the current.”*
• There is nothing wrong with pushing off rocks with your paddle or hand; in fact, the more you can take advantage of opportunities to push off, the more effective your paddling will be. Perfect your skill in pushing off and simultaneously maintaining your boat angle.
• Use forward and backward boat leans to your advantage.
• Leaning back at the moment you begin to climb a drop helps your bow to rise over the oncoming current.
• “Once you have crested the lip of a drop, leaning slightly forward again helps bring your boat back into a level position, from which it maintains speed better than with the stern low in the water”*
• “You may find yourself in limbo for a moment at the crest of the drop. If you have gotten this far, you can often pull it off by continuing to paddle with quick, powerful strokes. To hesitate at this point is to guarantee defeat. It may not feel like you are going anywhere, but a little perseverance can often get you over the drop.”*
• As always, torso rotation strokes are the most efficient, allowing you to conserve valuable energy or to achieve maximum power from your strokes

* AMC Whitewater Handbook, Third Edition, Bruce Lessels, 1994

Torso Rotation Skills
To improve your torso rotation skills, practice paddling with your grip arm held straight and the grip slightly above eye level. Practice this several times on flatwater, then incorporate it in your whitewater repertoire. Bill Lowman, 4/98

Stroke Efficiency 
We often hear that executing a stroke in a certain manner is more "efficient," but why is that important? Certainly most of us have enough energy to complete our trips. The benefit of efficiency is it allows you to transmit [your] maximum available power into an effective stroke, thus giving you better control over your boat when you need it. Bill Lowman, 4/98

Completing Difficult Moves
When you have a difficult move to make, keep your focus on where you want the boat to go. Do not look at the places you don't want to go! Bill Lowman, 4/98

The Cross-Forward Stroke
Most solo paddlers don't fully exploit the cross-forward stroke. Oh, we know how to do it, and we throw one in every now and then, but do we trust our crossforward enough to use it when it counts? Here are some indicators. If you have difficulty getting on a surfing wave, establishing your desired ferry angle, or placing the boat in the right place for a clean eddy turn, the reason is likely to be a crossforward stroke you don't trust. The result is that instead of using the crossforward to correct your boat angle while maintaining forward speed, you resort to a series of forward strokes and reverse sweeps. Every reverse sweep kills the momentum started by your forward stroke, and your boat ends up drifting. In big water, this will set you up for a swim when the going gets tough -- take it from me, I have plenty of first hand experience. To save yourself from my experience, practice, practice, practice the crossforward. Do it on flatwater. Use it on ferries. Use it when it's needed, even though you are nervous. Bruce Lessels once told me, "You might as well use your crossforward, because when it's needed, anything else you try is going to put you in worse shape." I have followed that advice since, and I can tell you he was right. Bill Lowman, 4/98

Hold Throw Rope to Get you to Shore
By Tom Todd

When being rescued by a throw rope one gets taught to stay one your back with feet downstream with the rope held over your shoulder.

Ever think which shoulder?

It is best to put the rope over the shoulder away from the shore to which you are being pulled. You can think of it as having the rope corral you to shore. Why?

As in the diagram below, putting the rope over your shoulder angles your body to the current. As the water rushes past, your body acts as a rudder, moving you to the side. If rope is on the shore side of your body, your body is angled so as to move you away from shore. If the rope is on the far shoulder, your body is angled toward shore and you are dragged into shore more easily and quickly.

With the Rope over the far shoulder from shore, the body is angled so the current pushes you to shore. The other advantage of putting the rope over your far shoulder is that it is easier to hang onto it.

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