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River Difficulty Classification
River Difficulty Classification allows you, the rafter, to understand which rapids and trips are suitable for your own level of skill. While a raft company can advise you, it’s your responsibility to pick a trip that will match your abilities and give you a thrilling but safe experience. These are the standard classifications used to judge river conditions:
Class I - Easy
- fast water with ripples or waves
- all dangers are obvious, negligible risk to swimmers, easy self-rescue
Class II - Novice
straightforward rapids with regular waves
easy to medium drop-offs including chutes, ledges, and falls
eddies and shear zones are easily negotiated
the best passage is evident without scouting
Class III - Intermediate
- rapids with moderate, irregular waves, breakers, rollers and back eddies
- upper limit for canoes without spray cover
- scouting in advance is advised for inexperienced parties
Class IV - Advanced
- high, irregular waves, breakers, powerful back eddies, whirlpools and sharp bends
- powerful but predictable rapids requiring precise handling in difficult water and suitable for experienced paddlers only
- moderate to high risk to swimmers, group rescue is often required
- advance scouting is required
- helmet, personal flotation devices and hull floatation aids mandatory
Class V - Expert
- extremely long and/or violent rapids, often containing large, unavoidable obstacles, holes, steep banks, and turbulent water
- very fast currents with powerful whirlpools and boiling back eddies
- rescue is often difficult even for experts
- advance scouting may be difficult even for experienced rafters
Class VI - Extreme
- upper limit of present-day skills and equipment and only for teams of experts, taking all safety precautions
- unexplored or uncharted rapids exist, where navigation may be classed as extremely difficult to impossible
- Luck may be an important part of a successful negotiation of this water.
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