Point where a person may get to or from the river.

Stands for 'Air Traffic Controller', a belaying device that uses friction.

A dificult one handed roll, the procedure is to 1. Open beer, 2. Drink one sip of the beer, 3. While holding beer in one hand and no paddle in the other flip upside down in the kayak while simultaneously rotating the beer so that they top is always up and no beer is spilled, 4. Place beer on the bottom of the upside down kayak, 5. Angle boat bottom so that beer slides to the other side of the boat, 6. Grab beer with opposite hand, 7. Roll kayak with free hand while simultaneously rotating the beer so that the top is always up and no beer is spilled, 8. Chug the rest of the beer. This used to be the ultimate old school flatwater amusement between rapids, spillage of beer is not tolerated, beginners should try with beer unopened. In choppy flatwater or when boat bottom is severly scarred from gnarly rapids, step 5 can be substituted with just passing the beer from hand to hand over the bottom of the kayak.

The 1st paddler down a unscouted rapid.

Picking a route through a drop while staying in your craft, usually done in an eddy or at the lip of a drop while paddling facing upstream, looking over your shoulder.

The act, or art, of keeping the bow of your kayak from diving underwater by “boofing” or launching off rocks/pour-overs with out diving too deep.

How well a boat breaks free of the water for aerial moves.

A stroke used to stabilize a kayak.

One person canoe, usually decked over for whitewater river running. The paddler kneels in the boat and uses a single bladed paddle.

A steel or alloy link developed for climbing/mountaineering to make quick connections with ropes and tapes. Widely used in river rescue situations.

To raise your head during a roll to get a breath. The roll then fails and all you see is the boaters wide open mouth at the surface, similar to what the fish of the same name looks like from above.

The point on the boat hull where it transitions from the bottom to the side. A kayak can be hard chined where this transition happens quickly and creates a sharp angle, or soft chined where the trasition is more gradual and rounded. Some boats are said to be muliti chined where the transition happens in several discrete angles.

Where part of a stream is compressed between two obstructions which causes the water to speed up.

Straightforward rapids with wide, clear channels which are evident without scouting. Occasional maneuvering may be required, but rocks and medium sized waves are easily missed by trained paddlers. Swimmers are seldom injured and group assistance, while helpful, is seldom needed. Rapids that are at the lower or upper end of this difficulty range are designated "Class II-" or "Class II+" respectively.

Intense, powerful but predictable rapids requiring precise boat handling in turbulent water. Depending on the character of the river, it may feature large, unavoidable waves and holes or constricted passages demanding fast maneuvers under pressure. A fast, reliable eddy turn may be needed to initiate maneuvers, scout rapids, or rest. Rapids may require "must make'' moves above dangerous hazards. Scouting may be necessary the first time down. Risk of injury to swimmers is moderate to high, and water conditions may make self-rescue difficult. Group assistance for rescue is often essential but requires practiced skills. A strong Eskimo roll is highly recommended. Rapids that are at the lower or upper end of this difficulty range are designated "Class IV-" or "Class IV+" respectively.

These runs have almost never been attempted and often exemplify the extremes of difficulty, unpredictability and danger. The consequences of errors are very severe and rescue may be impossible. For teams of experts only, at favorable water levels, after close personal inspection and taking all precautions. After a Class VI rapid has been run, it's rating may be changed to an appropriate Class V rating (V-, V, V+).

An intended broach, used to check your speed, or conduct a scout on a section or river, usually a steep creek, where eddy service is wanton.

Rallying with your homies for a before work run, that means running a local favorite as the sun comes up.

A slalom gate which is negotiated in the same direction as the flow of the river. Distinguished from an upstream gate by its green and white stripes.

A distinct river feature that is usually a pourover or ledge that that involves some airtime.

A latex or gore-tex jacket with rubber gasket closures around the neck, wrists and head and a tunnel at the waist to mate up with the tunnel of your sprayskirt.

An open-faced, braking draw stroke done at the bow. A very powerful turning stroke, most commonly used to turn boats in a hurry.

1. A paddler who typically stays in the eddy when everyone else is playing. 2. A website considered to be one the best paddling resources on the planet.

The existance of or lack of user friendly eddy's in a section of river.

Considered the intersection between water moving downstream and water in an eddy. Generally swirly, grabby and pushy water.

Extremely Low Flow, in reference to the volume of the water and rock mank one is negotiating. ELF boating is popular among creekers, those who wish to slow things down and don't mind a bit of boat bashing and reside in Colorado.

The degree to which kayak blades are set at an angle to each other. This varies from 70 to 90 degrees, depending on the discipline. Some sea paddles have no feathering at all.

First time a run has been bagged.

A rock just beneath the surface of the water that can deflect your boat from your intended route.

Extreme rapids that are considered big, intense, and difficult.

The degree of inclination of a riverbed, usually described as the number of feet the river drops per mile.

A roll performed using only the hands.

Word to describe boats that have a bad tendency to get caught in a hole's recirculation and sucked back in.

The shape of the bottom of the boat. Manufactured as a displacement or planing hull.

An area of major current changes which in turn create problems normally associated with rocks. Also, the formation of a backflow at the base of a ledge where the current reverses itself.

Rigid support to keep your spray skirt on

A one man kayak.

A measurement in miles of the distance between the put-in and take-out of a run.

The path a whitewater paddler chooses to take through the rapid or gates.

Man-made dam, definitely scout these features

How fast and easily can the boat’s bow change direction then move in that direction?

A squirt boat trick that involves disapearing under water and reappearing further down river.

A person new to the sport of kayaking.

The deformation of a kayak hull over time.

The equipment used to propel a kayak through the water.

When the bow or stern of your kayak dives underwater.

Entrapment of the boat/paddler on an immoveable object by the force of the water. Bow of the boat held vertically in a steep rapid or waterfall with the nose of the boat trapped.

This is a semi-submerged rock or ledge with a small amount of water going over it with a hole (can be a nasty hole) just below it. These are recognized as big humps or foam piles coming off of the rock in the water upstream. These are sometimes very hard to recognize before it is too late.

This is the place where you get in the river and start your run.

Mobile boat scouting, picking a route through a drop while running the drop.

How well does the boat shed water, and does the boat resurface evenly with consistency?

Describes the tendency of a hole to keep you. In other words the hole would be considered a keeper hole or sticky hole.

The right side of the river as it would appear to a paddler facing downstream.

The curve from bow to stern on the bottom of the boat. Comes in two styles; Kick and Continuous.

To inspect an unknown stretch of water on foot before attempting it.

The driver of the shuttle. Shuttle bunnies are highly regarded at treated with the utmost respect.

Short term for the Olympic discipline of whitewater slalom racing.

How well does the boat's ends slice through the water for vertical moves.

A garment worn by a paddler which attaches to the cockpit to keep water out of the kayak.

How far can you lean the boat without losing control? How does it handle lateral waves, eddy lines, side surfing and rock bumps?

The first boater to try a questionable rapid so that other may observe the water dynamics, as in tossing a stick in the river to see what the rapid does with it.

A stroke is the basic method of propelling a kayak through the water. All strokes involve placing the paddle blade in the water, moving it, and then removing the paddle from the water.

Anyone who has capsized and is floating or swimming down the river.

An emergency rope used to throw out to a swimmers in trouble. Also used in other rescue and gear recovery situations.

A slalom gate which must be negotiated against the flow of the river. Distinguished from a downstream gate by its red and white stripes.

Portaging a rapid while staying in your boat, usually requires the use of your hand along the river bottom or side stream rocks.

This typically occurs as a result of a swim in which multiple pieces of gear are strewn about the river.