Many of us who learned to kayak on the Potomac River got our first taste of whitewater paddling through Calleva’s Zero to Hero series. We imagined the thrill of paddling through fast-moving water and mastering the skills needed for an unforgettable adventure. As we worked through our first stroke classes, learned to roll, and took a few runs on the Potomac. We were all eager to challenge ourselves on more difficult sections of the river.
For me, the progression was a bit slower. My strokes were decent, and my roll was adequate. But the real challenge was learning to position my kayak in faster currents. Because of that, I wasn’t enjoying the experience as much as some of the others I paddled with. While they moved confidently through the rapids, I found myself struggling to keep up.
Edgeless at S-turn
I remember my first big trip to Mather Gorge when the river was a foot higher than during my Zero to Hero class. I was unsettled by the river at 3.6’. The sage guidance I received from my instructor above S-turn was, “Just ferry over to that eddy in the middle of the current and turn downstream. Stay away from the wall. Use your edges.”
Perhaps you know what happened next because it has happened to you, or you have seen it happen to others. About six inches into the current at S-turn, the current flow caught my bow, turned me downstream, and flipped my kayak. That was one of three swims in Mather Gorge that day. Thank you to Calleva’s Lane Kurkjian for all three rescues.
This triumvirate of swims was the start of a trend that year of kayaking. In complaining about my lack of progress, I received the suggestion to take some winter slalom classes. “It’s really good for improving your strokes and getting a feel for your edges,” was a frequent comment. I thought my stroke technique was fine. Clearly, I had no idea where I would find those edges on my trusty Remix.
Seeing the Line
We certainly worked on stroke techniques over and over. In winter slalom, you spend about an hour with Ian Hamilton working on your stroke. Then, he takes you up to the slalom gates. Something I did not realize at first was that all this time working on our forward sweeps and bow draws meant I was thinking less about my strokes when we ran the slalom courses.
My steering strokes started to happen when they needed to and almost without effort. That gave me more time to look ahead to the next gate and plot my line. This wasn’t just happening on the slalom course. Runs down Mather Gorge started to be fun. Because now I was placing the kayak where it needed to be in heavy current and with much less effort.
I have gone to winter slalom for two years now and noticed a significant difference. That improvement is not limited to stroke technique, but also how I see the river. I have started to learn how to break down the sequence of slalom gates into individual moves. Even more, I have begun to develop a sense of how to combine those moves to efficiently run a slalom course.
Every Rapid is an Adventure
This might sound like a story about winter slalom, but it is actually about river running. Earlier this year, in a Cheat Light class on Stoneycreek, Lane Kurkjian, who hopefully gets paid overtime by now for having me as a student, asked me if slalom classes have helped me with river running. I shouted back a big yes! “It’s like I can get anywhere on the river now. I can just see how the current works with the different features and use that to my advantage!” While that day on Stoneycreek was a fun adventure, all those previous hours of slalom helped me find the adventure within the adventure.
The stroke work in slalom training and all those runs through the gates have given me the confidence to put my kayak anywhere on the river. That’s from the combination of stroke skill and seeing a good line.
Increased Confidence
This became more apparent during advanced skills class this past summer on the Lower Yough supported by Calleva. I was planning to take the regular line through Double Hydro, but one of our instructors, “Rolo” Arrieta, was demonstrating to a few students a more challenging line between the two hydraulics.
After starting downstream, I spotted an eddy above Double Hydro that I had never seen before. It’s like that eddy had been there on every other trip down Lower Yough, but now I had the ability to see it. Stopping in the eddy, I looked down at Rolo between the two hydraulics and could see a straightforward line. I paddled over to him easily and shouted a big “Wahoo!” The biggest adventure of that whole weekend was doing that challenging line at Double Hydro.
Greater Control = Rewarding Experience
I have more than improved my stroke technique, which I attribute to taking slalom classes. My boat control, my sense of the kayak’s edges, and my ability to quickly turn have all gone to another level. Also, my vision of the river and its flow has improved. My confidence has increased because I am quicker to react to my kayak being out of position. And trust me, my endurance is so much better. Those 90-second runs through the gates are a great way to build cardio fitness.
Where I was timid at S-turn a few years ago, now I enjoy paddling out into the current and taking on the next challenge. I love to dive bomb into the top of eddies and come to an immediate stop with just a little pivot turn. I no longer struggle to keep up with the other paddlers, that is, unless I get distracted by playing in the current. That is because, more than anything, slalom has taught me how to make an adventure out of any section of the river.
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