by Craig Parks and the ERA Team Ok folks, we have to talk. There has been some over enthusiastic stroke marketing with the bow draw. Because it is a cool looking stroke, instructors sometimes like to pull it out as soon as possible, like on day one of...
Kayak Technique / Skill Development
Instruction and Guide Service on the Chattooga River
NANTAHAHALA GORGE, Jan. 15, 2015 – Endless River Adventures (ERA) is one of two outfitters to be allocated a newly released hard boat permit on the Chattooga River. The US Forest Service permit allows ERA to provide outfitter and guide services --including...
Kayaking Fitness: 5 Steps
by Sam Ovett Why get fit for Kayaking? All you are doing is sitting on your butt floating downstream, not much effort involved in that now is there? The answer is "no" there is not much effort in just sitting on your butt and floating downstream, but then there is...
Fall Kayaking Fitness: 5 Steps
by Sam Ovett Why get fit for Kayaking? All you are doing is sitting on your butt floating downstream, not much effort involved in that now is there? The answer is "no" there is not much effort in just sitting on your butt and floating downstream, but then there is...
Test Your Creeking Skills on a Slalom Course
The million dollar question in kayaking: “how do I know my skills are solid enough to start creek boating?” You can go over the checklist in your head: Boat Control Angle Management Stroke Timing But how to put those three to a “test” to see if you have the skills to...
Another lesson in slalom: The Mess Up Factor
Slalom for Messing Up on the River In river running there are times when we mess up: we flip, miss an eddy, blow a line. It is not that it happened that determines whether we are good boaters or not, but how we handle the situation. The well-known slang phrase “shit...
Slalom and the Mess Up Factor
I flipped while kayaking. Must admit that does not happen very often on an accidental basis, so it surprised me as much as it did folks watching. Besides just the “having to roll,” was the fact that it happened in Class II whitewater. In front of an audience. About...
The Lars Holbeck Zen of Walking a Rapid
Zeta Rapid on the Futaleafu. Even to the unitiated the rapid looks crazy. Take 5,000 – 25,000 cfs and stuff all that volume into a z-shaped mini canyon only about 20 feet wide. For the kayaker scouting the rapid, it takes only a few minutes to note the over-hanging...
Slalom Pivot Turns and Broken Nose – breaking things down
Breaking Things Down: Slalom Pivot Turns and Difficult Rapids Heading into slalom gates can create the same problems that running a more difficult rapid presents: it is too easy to just try and tackle the whole course (aka: rapid) and never understand how to break it...
Slalom into Creek Boating: the Principles Parallel
Kayak Slalom and Creek Boating: the Parallels When the recreational whitewater kayaker thinks about slalom, the first impression is that it is all about speed. What wins a slalom competition is indeed the fastest time, but there is so much more to it than that.In...
I Ain’t Skerd to Kayak!!
that's how we say it here in the south... the vision behind our I Ain't Skerd program is differentiating between "fear" and "anxiety." Fear is what keeps us from doing something that is way out of our ability, or just really stupid. Anxiety is what keeps us from doing...
Transition from Playboat to Creekboat
So you can't paddle your creek boat like you do your play boat... maybe it's not the boat! Check out this boatertalk article on why you may be having trouble with the transition between boats... It Must Be the Boat Here you've been paddling all summer in your play...
So You Want to be a Creek Boater
Early spring forecasts of rain are a good indicator that rain-dependent creeks will run! And suddenly you want to be a creek boater. Unfortunately, your timing is off if you wait until the creeks run to "be" a creek boater. There is prep work to be done with boating...
Slalom and Creeking by Mary Mills
By Mary Mills Editing by Haley Popp When Would I Ever Need Slalom Skills? This year is my first winter running creeks after being introduced to slalom by Juliet during an Endless River Adventures Private Instruction class in the summer. I admit I was skeptical when...
Honing Your Skills Between Gates
by Joe Ravenna Downhill skiing and whitewater kayaking have a great deal in common and it is not surprising to learn that some of the world's best skiers and kayakers honed their skills between gates. As a verb, slalom means to move in a winding or zigzag fashion;...
Risk and Kayaking, Part III: The Human Touch
“I’m smart, I’m funny, And dog gone it, People like me.” -Stuart Smalley, Saturday Night Live ca. 1995 We all want to have friends, lots of friends, friends that are fun and friends that are reliable—friends we can count on to blow off work and go kayaking. ...
ERA Instruction Goes Slalom
ERA INSTRUCTION PROGRAM GOES SLALOM. Not quite true - we love our whitewater boats!! But our 2010 program is setting new focus on bringing the best of slalom to improving down river paddling skills. Instruction guests will have the chance to work on the flat water...
Risk And Kayaking: Three Part Series
RISK AND KAYAKING: Sometimes it's the Little Things by Brian Snyder and Juliet Jacobsen Kastorff This is a three part series detailing out some of the planning that should go into preparing for a day on the river. Kayaking is a sport with inherent risk. All...
Risk and Kayaking- Sometimes it’s the Little Things, Part I
Risk and Kayaking: Sometimes It's the Little Things Part I: Mandatory Rescue Gear by Brian Snyder and Juliet Jacobsen Kastorff Over the years we as guides have found that often it is the little things that play the biggest parts in minimizing the risk of future...
Boat Angle Management: Gates vs. Whitewater
Presetting angles relative to where you are going next is a concept that does not seem to sink in for the whitewater kayaker immediately. Initially it may have something to do with the “paddle! Paddle Paddle!” mentality which trains a beginner paddler to just take...