Whitewater weekend with Geneva Kayak Center

Alec leads the group onto Section 3 of the Wolf River.

We spent the past weekend at a staff retreat for Geneva Kayak instructors. We pitched our tents in a rustic site near Langlade, Wisconsin, and spent our days doing some swift water rescue training and some whitewater paddling on the beautiful Wolf River. 

Water levels were high, thanks to a combination of recent rain and snow melt. It was running at about 900 CFS, so many rocks lurked just beneath the surface. But at this level, it provided some nice waves, solid eddies and a lot of fun.

Aaron paddles through Gilmore's Mistake.

At this time of year, there's no question about dressing for the water temperature. It was essentially the same as the air temperature--about 40 degrees--and the wind made it feel cooler. But as long as we wore plenty of thermal layers and kept paddling, we stayed warm. 

Scott catches a wave.

The same could not be said of the campsite, where it was difficult to stake our tents in some places because the ground was frozen and strong winds threatened to blow them away. Still, we managed to enjoy a campfire most nights and mornings and practiced tying bowlines and setting up Z-drags. 

When it wasn't too windy, the campfire kept us warm. 

There's a huge value to staff retreats. In addition to the training, they provide opportunities to build camaraderie. 

Haris, Paul and Greg at the campsite.

Jeremy and Emily help prepare breakfast.

Ryan picks blueberries.

And for those of us who paddle sea kayaks more than whitewater boats, they provide an opportunity to have a steep learning curve once again. 

Sharon smiling--a look typical of all of us.

Kent Ford comes to Yorkville!

Kent Ford.

We just completed a three-day whitewater Instructor Development Workshop (IDW) with Kent Ford, one of the most respected instructor trainers in the country, who has competed and won titles in international whitewater slalom racing, coached the US Olympic kayak team, published books and produced videos about paddling technique and instruction, and continues to coach paddlers at every level.

Despite all his credentials, experiences and accolades, Kent is a remarkably laid-back, open-minded guy. (Once again, we're struck by the fact that most of the rock stars of the paddling world don't let their prominence go to their heads.)

The course was hosted by Geneva Kayak Center and taught at the new Yorkville whitewater park, where Geneva just opened its new paddle shop and instructional center. Kent, no stranger to whitewater teaching venues, was highly impressed by both the shop and the park. "It's pretty darn amazing," he told us. "It's the most teaching-friendly of the whitewater parks I've been to, but there's still plenty for a real strong intermediate or advanced paddler. It's like five miles of class two river features jammed into 200 yards of city park."

We had visited the park earlier with our kids, who did find plenty to do with their considerable whitewater skills.

This IDW was our opportunity to get some formal training on how to teach whitewater paddling, as well as some top-notch instruction and critique of our own skills.

We're still processing the experience, but some things are already clear to us:

• Coming from our sea kayak background, some aspects of whitewater technique are familiar and comfortable while others are foreign and awkward. Both the similarities and differences are valuable, and build our paddling skills.
• As we develop as coaches and paddlers, we realize that being knowledgeable and capable in various types of boats is essential to becoming graceful and skilled in any type of boat. Certainly, the coaches who impress us most with their technique tend to paddle more than one craft.
• Geneva Kayak Center is poised to transform paddling in the Chicago area by being located at this great venue and offering all sorts of training opportunities in canoe, whitewater kayak and sea kayak for students and instructors. They brought Kent Ford to Yorkville! We're grateful for the opportunities they've provided and look forward to the ones to come.

Whitewater kayak class is in session

John Karch explaining whitewater basics to a pool full of students.

   This is week nine of the first of two 10-week whitewater kayaking courses offered by the Chicago Whitewater Association in the West Cook YMCA swimming pool. After the winter and spring sessions, the club offers a series of beginner trips on increasingly challenging local rivers. It's a wonderful way to learn to paddle.
   This is our spawning ground. We started learning to paddle here eight years ago. We were awestruck by the skill and generosity of our instructors, who volunteered their Sunday evenings teaching us to paddle and roll and let us borrow their boats and gear.

A few months later, they were out on their first river trips.

Culminating in a trip to Wisconsin's Wolf and Peshtigo Rivers.

  This year, we are the lead instructors at the West Cook Y. (Full disclosure: We're substituting for our our whitewater mentor, John Karch, who isn't available every Sunday this year but whom we expect to take the course back from us when he can.) It only took us nine weeks to realize that we could post our handouts on our blog, saving paper and ink and making the material more widely available.
   So that's what we're doing here. Below you will find handouts on hypothermia, safe river kayaking, gear checklists and more.

Hypothermia - from the Wilderness Medical Associates Field Guide.

The American Canoe Association "Paddler's Checklist."

The ACA's Guidelines for river paddling.

   For those who want to assess how well their skills align with river classifications, the ACA offers these skill assessments:

  We just created a resource list for our students. We'll post it here soon.