Whitewater Rafting: Rapid Classes Demystified

Class I? Class II? III, IV, V?! What does it all mean?
Rapid ratings don't seem simple, because they really aren't. The American system of whitewater rapid ratings is subjective (for example, a class-V rapid on one river can be totally different from a class-V on another) and leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Further complicating things, a rapid's rating DOES NOT vary by water level, even though water-level changes can have DRASTIC effects on the objective difficulty and hazards of a rapid.
Well don't fret! In just a little more than a single minute, we're going to show you a typical example of each rapid rating from West Virginia's New and Gauley Rivers, and explain why it's rated that way. (Just keep that whole water-level thing in mind though, okay?)

Пікірлер: 63

  • @chicklechives
    @chicklechives2 жыл бұрын

    Class 1 - nothing to worry about Class 2 - move around the river for comfort not safety Class 3 - there are things you want to avoid Class 4 - there is a route you want to take Class 5 - there is a very specific route you want to take and doing so requires significant skills on the water and reading the water

  • @ryanclark4231

    @ryanclark4231

    Жыл бұрын

    Two factors: Difficulty to navigate and consequences for messing up.

  • @italiancountryball3712

    @italiancountryball3712

    Жыл бұрын

    what about a class 6?

  • @meienthing8856

    @meienthing8856

    Жыл бұрын

    class 6 - fuck that's a waterfall

  • @chicklechives

    @chicklechives

    Жыл бұрын

    Class 6 - at specific levels with specific kit and specific preparation the highest skilled can paddle specific bits. Never run and read, never long sections.

  • @williamnewton5556

    @williamnewton5556

    10 ай бұрын

    @@chicklechivesclass 6 means unrunnable

  • @dillonjones1198
    @dillonjones1198 Жыл бұрын

    went through some class 5 rapids one time. flipped my raft at the top of 5 or 6 drops. was some of the best fun I've ever had

  • @gs6810
    @gs6810 Жыл бұрын

    My toxic trait is thinking I can solo kayak class 5 after watching this video.

  • @joec2371

    @joec2371

    19 күн бұрын

    I've learned that the easier a KZread video makes something look, the harder it really is. I'm mostly watching woodworking videos, but the principle applies to most things.

  • @BL-zi9wb
    @BL-zi9wb2 жыл бұрын

    Just ran some class 5 rapids this weekend in Alaska, it was my first rafting trip in ten years. Loved every minute of it, even the butt clenching ones!

  • @robertduenas777
    @robertduenas77711 ай бұрын

    Started with a class 3 for the first time in Costa Rica. Thought I was bad ass and did a class IV a day later. I was super exhausted half way through and couldn’t paddle right the 2nd half lol. Needless to say it was amazing

  • @callahanbryer5523
    @callahanbryer5523 Жыл бұрын

    Still remember running Class III rapids up on the Upper Kennebec River in Maine. Great spot

  • @addi.q
    @addi.q4 ай бұрын

    I went with my youth group 2023. It was so fun I loved it!!

  • @ancocephala2447
    @ancocephala244711 ай бұрын

    Just did my first class 5 rapid, Clavey Falls on the Tuolemne, at near 3000 cfs Had a great guide who scouted it thoroughly and it was an absolute blast

  • @AlpineRR26

    @AlpineRR26

    11 ай бұрын

    I just did my first class 5 in a river with high volume. Its in maine and it normally runs 5k cfs but it was at 8 so it was crazy. We did surfing and almost flipped but stayed safe. There was i think 5 class 5s and 8 class 4s it was pretty fun and crazy. The captain had amazing control of the boat and us and he had only done it for 3 years

  • @nunzioification
    @nunzioification2 жыл бұрын

    Yeah I don't remember if the Wenatchee goes through Index but I was on a 2 man inflatable while rapidly deflating in class 4, smashed up shins but what a blast

  • @mrexists5400
    @mrexists54002 жыл бұрын

    highest i've been on was technically a class 4, most of it was class 3 or lower, but there was one part right before a turn that was considered class 4 where there was a whirlpool where a water fall would pour into during a heavy rain. for the life of me i can't remember the name of the river it was on

  • @bryceeckman4294

    @bryceeckman4294

    Жыл бұрын

    which state was it

  • @mrexists5400

    @mrexists5400

    Жыл бұрын

    @@bryceeckman4294 it was in Colorado

  • @joshpwnsnoobs
    @joshpwnsnoobs2 жыл бұрын

    love me some class 2's. feels safe, but still adventersome.. but that was in my canoe. ive recently got a kayak...class 3's here i come

  • @Zatoka.
    @Zatoka.24 күн бұрын

    I'm going on a trip with my troop in a few weeks and we're doing class 3. Super nervous amd excited! I'll update this once I go.

  • @Zatoka.

    @Zatoka.

    10 күн бұрын

    Sitting in my tent rn, leaving at 11

  • @moralbarodriguez5763
    @moralbarodriguez5763 Жыл бұрын

    Como me puedo inscribir????

  • @michellebutrick1224
    @michellebutrick122410 ай бұрын

    Where is the gorge, where is this company, how do I contact them? These are things I needs to know

  • @nunzioification
    @nunzioification2 жыл бұрын

    It's a bit unethical but I'd like to see how class 2 kayaks handle class 3 rapids, because the occasional mishap is important to prepare for, I have a kayak with 1 drain in the stern mire for off shore, wonder what'd happen

  • @garrettklein2147

    @garrettklein2147

    Жыл бұрын

    They would be okay, some kooks take pool floaties down class 3 rapids, it really comes down to the competence of the paddler!

  • @Raumance
    @Raumance2 жыл бұрын

    The more experience I gain the less sense the classifications make.

  • @haydenshores4800

    @haydenshores4800

    Жыл бұрын

    So true

  • @SraTacoMal
    @SraTacoMal Жыл бұрын

    Me, not falling out over the course of class -X rapids: "I'm basically a pro."

  • @cruzloera4931
    @cruzloera4931 Жыл бұрын

    I did level 2 and even that I’ll never do again

  • @stevestones7083
    @stevestones70836 күн бұрын

    Class 6 in noagera falls

  • @gundamgunpla4685
    @gundamgunpla4685 Жыл бұрын

    Do you guide Class 6 at all?

  • @MrJaccdem

    @MrJaccdem

    Ай бұрын

    unnavigable

  • @Oject
    @Oject2 жыл бұрын

    The first ever time I went canoeing I went on a grade 3 rapid lol

  • @ScientificEndevourOfTheMind
    @ScientificEndevourOfTheMindАй бұрын

    No class VI??

  • @lilayork6410
    @lilayork64105 ай бұрын

    The class five looks like the s bend at marblemount ❤

  • @Fuckstupidlibtards
    @Fuckstupidlibtards Жыл бұрын

    Class V aka FULL SEND

  • @TheYarcob
    @TheYarcob2 жыл бұрын

    I love me some class III's, but after that I stay away from it.

  • @nocrit_9004

    @nocrit_9004

    2 жыл бұрын

    Just went on a what i guess was a class 4 rapid 2 people got flug out of our boat and 5 on another, definitely more extreme then i was expecting

  • @moralbarodriguez5763
    @moralbarodriguez5763 Жыл бұрын

    Por qué está todo en ingles???

  • @RaftingayungInfinityubud
    @RaftingayungInfinityubud6 ай бұрын

    🤩🤩

  • @berrycrawford5579
    @berrycrawford5579 Жыл бұрын

    What is that last rapid?

  • @AdventuresOnTheGorge

    @AdventuresOnTheGorge

    Жыл бұрын

    Second Drop of Lost Paddle on the Upper Gauley.

  • @pablocifuentesespinoza
    @pablocifuentesespinoza2 ай бұрын

    here in Chile your Class V is a class III 😁

  • @BeatLUX_official
    @BeatLUX_official9 ай бұрын

    im class V

  • @TheChanpants
    @TheChanpants2 жыл бұрын

    Lol your class IV and V rapids are actually class III rapids

  • @ryanclark4231

    @ryanclark4231

    Жыл бұрын

    yes, this video has an off-by-one bug. 🙂

  • @AdventuresOnTheGorge

    @AdventuresOnTheGorge

    Жыл бұрын

    Middle Keeney on the New River is widely regarded as class IV, but I suppose you could make a case that it's III-ish at some levels. The V is Second Drop of Lost Paddle on the Gauley. I don't think you'd find many people who agree that it's only IV. Of course, the primary issue with the entire grading system is its subjectivity. I suppose on some river, someplace, Lost Paddle might be considered IV-ish, but in no universe is it a class-III rapid.

  • @TheChanpants

    @TheChanpants

    Жыл бұрын

    @@AdventuresOnTheGorge it’d be called a III+ at best over here in the PNW. I’ve ran stuff on the Lochsa and the Chilli that are way rowdier than anything shown in this video

  • @jayyoung4857

    @jayyoung4857

    Жыл бұрын

    @@TheChanpants Have you run this section of the Gauley?

  • @SalandFindles
    @SalandFindles2 жыл бұрын

    No, thanks. Almost died 4/20/2009. Bad trip. Got injured. Learned my lesson. My brain is helping me survive and stay alive.

  • @broadcasttttable

    @broadcasttttable

    2 жыл бұрын

    I'm curious...in retrospect what would you have done differently? Take more lessons? Did you overestimate your abilities? Are you a kayaker? If so, did you have a solid roll on both sides?

  • @SalandFindles

    @SalandFindles

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@broadcasttttable Here's what happened. It was a private trip, like so private that no pictures even exist of it. I tried looking recently on the hard drives at the photography place that I recently started working at. Anyway, it was a free, private trip for someone's birthday. It was my first time ever rafting. I was scared most of the time and didn't enjoy it. Up came Middle Keeney Rapid and only I was ejected. I thought I had broken my right arm. It was jerked out of its socket, come to find out. I couldn't swim. We all flipped later on down the river. I almost died in the Meat Grinder due to my inability to swim with an injured arm. I feel like our guide didn't do a good job. I still remember her name and I'm pretty sure she still works for the company we got our gear from.

  • @ronanrogers4127

    @ronanrogers4127

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@SalandFindles wow. That really would have been frightening. To be injured in the water is one of the worst possible outcomes. Glad you made it.

  • @SalandFindles

    @SalandFindles

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@ronanrogers4127 Me too. It traumatized me. I'll never get back on the river again.

  • @richardcarrier9536

    @richardcarrier9536

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@SalandFindles I went rafting when I was 20 - no issues. I went again at nearly age 47 and took my family. Not sure what happened between ages 20 and 47, but the second trip had me so scared, I was praying to Jesus Christ the entire time and really couldn't enjoy myself. No injuries, thankfully - but I kept thinking, "what do I do if I get tossed from this raft or get stuck under it?" So, I get how you feel. Glad the Lord was with you there - sounds like it could've been a really bad situation.

  • @godlikewr888
    @godlikewr888 Жыл бұрын

    It looks like I'm class 0....

  • @williamnewton5556
    @williamnewton555611 ай бұрын

    That was not a V lmao