RAPIDS!! Ahhh, they can be so much FUN!!! But you don’t want to just jump into it – moving forward prepared and aware is best! Otherwise you may end up at the hospital instead of grabbing pizzas. Staying safe, knowing the route one will be paddling is smart, and classification of rapids helps with this understanding.
Classifications for varying rapids helps in reading the water ways! Before we get into that though, we would like to state: Most of our set guided routes are cozy calm, with a side of peaceful, and sprinkled with awesomeness.
Before we define the different classes review this insightful picture below:
As you can see, starting with Class 1 being the calmest, we follow the flow of the river and see the class levels rise as the water gets rougher and more hazards present themselves.
To get a more in-depth understanding of rapids check out the outlined definitions here:
These classifications are great for understanding any water way! If this is your first time looking at this, no worries! It is simply another way of understanding and clearly communicating water flow.
Share this with your kayaking friends and stay safe out there!