Nicely done. I don't remember THAT level of traffic back in the '80s . I remember a lot of boats, but "a lot" then was more like two parties out of that LA style traffic jam. Wow.
Great video and analysis. I want to add a couple of bits regarding lines: 1. National - While Bobby's description of the line is straightforward, it is very easy for the paddler to overestimate how much left to right angle is needed, especially when the paddler sets up starting far right in the main current. I like to use the breaking wave at 17:01 and the V wave at 17:05 as my reference points for where the boat needs to be. For the first wave, I line up my boat center right on the green breaking part of the wave with a smidge of right angle (1 o'clock at the absolute most relative to center of the channel). This and a few powerful and efficient forward strokes sets me up for the second wave, where I opt to place the boat just to the right of the peak of the green tongue. By that point, I can straighten the boat just before the boof with a left draw and then transition that draw stroke straight into a boof stroke to sail right through without getting eddied out or caught in the boil point of the hole. Relative to your line in this video, my preferred line is around one boat width further left. Keith's line was similar to my preference, but he was a few inches too far in the main current and really had to fight to get back to the right side. All of this said, there is nothing wrong with catching the eddy below the boof in and of itself - it is an excellent technical exercise after all. However, with how crowded the Upper gets on release days, especially at National, learning how to fly through the boof without complications in the landing is a great idea in order to minimize the chances of somebody running you over if they follow too close, which is something that happens all the time. This is also why I always use the staging eddy on river left when running the boof and try to wait at a minimum of five seconds (preferably ten) after the last boat has disappeared over the horizon line before paddling down, and I try to hold my crews to similar standards. Even better would be getting an all clear signal from somebody standing on shore before paddling down, and there's usually at least one person on shore cognizant enough to recognize when somebody is looking for a clear signal. 2. Zinger - Your mistake at Zinger is an incredibly common one for first-timers on the Upper Yough to make. That's a deceptively unforgiving spot and, for what it's worth, consistently ranks as my least favorite spot on the entire river. I'm 50+ laps into running the Upper Yough by this point and I still make that mistake sometimes. I would recommend starting out a little further river left at the top of the initial slide and set up the follow through with a smidge more right angle so the boat can drive across that sketchy diagonal wave at the pinch as opposed to falling into it parallel like you did. That's definitely a spot to have nailed down before running the Upper in a half or full slice boat. Overall, while you still have work to do on your boat control (I think we all do no matter how good we think we are), the fact you only flipped twice and didn't swim on your PFD tells me that you're more than ready for the Upper and beginning to learn everything about it inside and out. And don't worry too much about dry hairing it - it took me 12 laps to achieve a proper dry hair run and I have a strong slalom background as the foundation for my technique. As for thoughts on the responsibilities of experienced Class IV-V boaters showing new Class IV boaters down a river like the Upper Yough, I would argue that they need these things: 1) an intimate knowledge of the river, 2) swiftwater rescue training, and 3) either a strong knowledge of or the ability to quickly observe and learn the strengths and weaknesses of the paddlers they are showing down the river. The Upper Yough is not a river where I tend to show new Class IV boaters down who I don't already paddle with regularly on Class III/III+. There have been a couple of exceptions to that rule; however, in order to make those exceptions, I need to already know in one way or another that the paddler(s) are Class IV capable or better. Having all of that knowledge beforehand allows me to be flexible over what lines I choose to take when showing people down a river for the first time, especially in the case of the Upper Yough where almost every single rapid has a minimum of three distinct lines, and oftentimes far more.
I can’t thank you enough for this feedback, it is the single best comment I’ve ever gotten on a video. If it were efficient to do so I would recut the video and add this in. I would love to run the UY with you at some point, you make these points very clearly and I bet you’re great to paddle with!
Good work, brother. I just started on this run last year (sadly, I don't paddle much) and feel kind of like you appeared, which is to say, we belong out there but are also excited in feeling as though there's a ton more to clean up and learn. Not to be "that guy," but even in extended circles, I don't hear people calling the UY class 5. But that's not to downplay it because most will refer to that mile as "real class 4" as opposed to an inflated rating. Pretty much everyone I know says it's the regional training ground for developing the skills to go run almost anything else around the county.
Totally fair! I know there’s a lot of flexibility in rapid classification, so I just share what I see reported in American Whitewater. I figure it’s the most common source of truth for a random paddler on the web.
@@potomacbeater So let's point out where I'm wrong. I'm only talking about typical release levels at 1.9-2.5. At 3-4', it is a totally different animal, which AW is accounting for. Watch some videos around 4ft (very few exist) and class 5 is totally warranted!
@@4JudgeSmails so AFAIK this is covered in annotation - if a rapid is of a higher classification at a higher flow, it’s indicated in parentheses, like IV(V). On AW, they write that Charlie’s Choice is V. My interest here is purely how to communicate about this in my videos. I wonder if AW grades things a bit higher than the community does as a matter of reputation or safety. Being a public web resource for the sport, maybe they don’t want newer boaters checking the site and getting in over their heads? Curious what you think!
Some very solid boat control throughout. Such a great progression since your early videos. Great paddling by all of the Calleva crew. The traffic on this day was a serious factor, like it wasn’t difficult enough already. Snappy roll at Zinger. Your comments were spot on, adequate without being instructional as your skills should be solidly instinctual to attempt this. I’ve got a ways to go. Who were all the Calleva instructors leading? I heard some of them.
Just did my PFD of this yesterday. I wish I had your video before I went 😂. I went down it in my Firecracker rather than a Creeker and had a tough time (many flips) but had a super fun time nevertheless
