Well we all know how much I love rafting. And after last season, it didn’t take me long to develop the whitewater addiction. And when you’re involved in the river scene, you quickly realize there are two different groups. There are rafters and there are kayakers. OR there are three groups, if you want to count the wanna-bes. And what makes the situation even funnier, is that it reminds me of the competition between snowboarders and skiers. Just like the ski industry, kayakers are always talking crap on rafters. “That stupid raft was in my way” or ”I could have surfed that wave, if it weren’t for the rafters”, vice versa. Sound familiar? Well lucky me, I am an equal-opportunity adventure seeker. I’m a skier, but I had no problem giving snowboarding a try this past season. So, I decided it was time to give kayaking a go.

Yep, that's me.

I had very similar challenges with kayaking as I did with snowboarding. With skiing, I don’t fall as often and with rafting or duckying, I don’t flip as often. With snowboarding, I need more equipment. I need more equipment with kayaking, too. Oh, and the learning curve. Just like snowboarding, I definitely didn’t pick up kayaking as easy. But here’s what makes both sports cool…they’re both a challenge. And you know me, I always like a good challenge.

At the beginning of the season, Max Young, the owner of Renaissance Adventure Guides contacted me. He saw that I was interested in duckying. So I did a trip with him on Clear Creek. And I had a hell of a time. Make sure you check out my blog about it. That same day he asked me if I would be interested in trying kayaking. I couldn’t help but hesitate a little. There’s something about flipping upside down in the water that freaks me out. But I decided I was going to suck it up and give it a try. So Max put me in a full day beginners kayaking lake lesson on Chatfield Reservoir.

In this lesson, I was taught the basics. I was taught what equipment you need to kayak and how to stay safe. I was also taught the anatomy of a kayak. Before, I couldn’t tell you which end was the front and which end was the back. Next, I was taught the correct way to paddle and how to come out of my boat. These are things I became very familiar with. I also became very familiar with the T-Rescue. When you’re learning how to roll, you do something called a T-Rescue. Somehow I was very good at this. In fact, one of the instructors told me I was the best T-Rescue person he’s ever seen.

Practicing my T-Rescue

Here’s what it is. When you’re learning to kayak, you obviously flip a lot. Well it takes a little bit of time to master your roll. Actually, it takes a lot of time. And in that process, you flip upside down a lot. There are two things you can do. You can either pull your grab loop and come completely out of your boat or you can do the T-Rescue. Personally, I like to stay in my boat as much as possible. So in that case, I do the T-Rescue. Here’s how it goes…when your kayak flips over, you pound on the side. That allows other kayakers to hear you and see that you are upside down. Then you start feeling the sides of your boat, waiting for another kayaker to bump you with their bow. But you have to be super patient. And this is where most people go wrong. You can’t panic and you have to be very trusting. Every time I flip, I immediately remind myself that I am ok and have plenty of time before I run out of breath. So I follow the steps, like pounding on my boat and just continue to feel the sides until I feel someone elses boat bump mine. Feeling the side of your boat allows you to feel the other person’s boat. Then, you’re able to grab their bow and flip yourself back up. We worked on the T-rescue drill a lot and I never panicked. The only time I came out of my boat was when it was part of the drill we were working on.

Working on my roll

Another thing we worked on was the brace. The brace is very important. Once you get your brace down, you don’t flip near as much. That’s because the brace keeps you upright. But there’s a technique behind it. And the only way you stay upright, is if it’s done right. I need to work on my brace. Next, was the roll. I worked a little bit on my roll during this section but was far from getting it down. Not to mention, I wasn’t very confident. There were several people in the class that were a lot more confident than I was, and ready to work on their roll. So I worked on other things, like the T-rescue and bracing. Not to mention, every Wednesday, Renaissance does something called Renaissance on the River. This is a cheap way of getting one-on-one time with the kayak instructors. It only costs $10, to pay for using their equipment. I was planning on taking advantage of that.

My session on the lake was awesome. I had such a great time. I learned a lot. Chatfield was an awesome place to learn the basics. If you want to try kayaking, this is definitely the way to do it. My next step…to take all I learned to moving water.

Class: Introduction to River Kayaking, Chatfield Reservoir

Time: Saturday, 9am-4pm

Price: $120

Guides: Marcus Rhoden & Christine Hill

Company: Renaissance Adventure Guides

(303) 988-2943

http://www.raguides.com