Head Instructor: Roger Huff

Email: roger.s.huff@lmco.com

Beginning whitewater kayak classes use boats that are very maneuverable but unstable and require a spray skirt to keep water out of the cockpit. We start on a lake where I teach how to get out of a capsized kayak safely (wet exits), how to balance and control a kayak with the legs and torso, using the "hip snap" technique, how to use the paddle to turn the kayak and make it go straight and how to return a kayak to an upright position using braces and the Eskimo roll. We then go to a class II whitewater river where I teach how to "read" water and use the techniques learned on the lake to run rapids and control the kayak in whitewater. You will learn how to stop by doing U-turns into calm spots behind rocks and next to the bank (eddy turns); get back into the current from an eddy (peel outs) ; and cross a current without getting pushed downstream (ferry). I have a variety of whitewater kayaks and will outfit you with one appropriate to your height, weight and foot size. We can teach kayaking using whitewater design boats at either level 3 (class I - II(-) rapids) or level 4 (class II - III(-) rapids) depending on how much you want to challenge yourself.