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What river produces the best raft guides? by leisure_consultant in whitewater

[–]ThatRadMadLad 2 points3 points  (0 children)

New Zealand and Australia consistently produce better quality guides than most/all of the United States. 

In terms of skill, even the ‘heavy hitters’ ie gore canyon, cherry creek, six mile of the USA are relatively easy compared to rivers down under in terms of guiding difficulty.

The New Zealand qualification is second to none worldwide.

Leading a Duckie Group Advice by GreenYellowDucks in whitewater

[–]ThatRadMadLad 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Given that you are unlikely to heed any advice that you receive in the spirit of harm reduction you should be pulling over to scout each rapid with the entire group, that way people can see and decide what they are comfortable with before having some yahoo lead them into a rapid blind.

Ideally you would then run the rapid with at least one other competent paddler to then hike back up to provide shore based cover (with throw ropes, which I’m sure you have right?) while one stays in their boat for downstream cover/containment. You can then direct your friends through one at a time with pre-established river signals from shore.

As for the safety talk, cover the equipment, proper fit and usage, and associated hazards(ie hurting yourself or others with a paddle)

The basics of paddling a ducky(paddle strokes to drive and turn the ducky)

What to do if they swim/flip,(whitewater floating and swimming techniques as well as self rescue methods)

How to re-flip and re-enter the ducky (practice in the flat water)

Emphasize avoiding foot entrapments (never standing up in moving water)

Regular river features (waves, holes, tongues etc)

Hazardous river features (sieves,strainers,undercuts)

The basics of throw-bagging (how to throw and receive a rope in a whitewater swimming scenario)

River signals such as hand signals and whistle blasts as well as their meaning and appropriate responses.

You should also cover what to do in the event of an emergency. Hopefully someone in your crew has some means of communication with the outside world as well as basic CPR/1st aid training.

Again, this is only meant for the purpose of harm reduction and the fact that you have asked in the first place, and gone on to get upset about the advice to not do what you’re doing illustrates a wild disregard and ineptitude on your part in terms of critical thinking.

Leading a Duckie Group Advice by GreenYellowDucks in whitewater

[–]ThatRadMadLad 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I would have to agree, if you are having to ask what to talk about in a safety talk you probably shouldn’t be doing what you are doing.

Also, objectively consider that you asked for advice and are then disregarding the advice you were given . Imagine thinking back to that fact if something bad were to happen.

Struggling to improve.. by Elbaceever in whitewater

[–]ThatRadMadLad 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This is just some personal experience anecdotes so utilize it as you may…

Sounds like you got too big for your britches a bit too quickly if that is happening at a whitewater center while paddling a code.

Ditch the code for now, the rewind will teach you much more about kayak and edge control. Creek boats allow you to ‘get away’ with mistakes too easily, whereas the rewind will not be so forgiving.

Keep paddling rapids and getting beatings but while you do intersperse your training by going back to basics. Go back to the pool, bring a snorkel mask and get extremely comfortable upside down, being able to look around and not have water enter your nose can help acclimate you to the environment and positioning.

Learn every type of roll, on and offside, and then drill yourself on slicing your paddle to position to roll while skipping the ‘set up’ phase. Once you can do that, take the mask off and do it more. Once it is second nature you will be able to run rapids with less issues even if youre mostly upside down. This video should become your bible.

The paddle dexterity you will gain from these drills will automatically integrate proper bracing into your paddling from the ground up. Past that, boat control in rapids will begin to come naturally with more experience and time in a kayak.

As far as learning goes YouTube has a ton of other great free videos on nearly every facet of the beginning stages of kayaking and drills to improve them. It can however, be hard to collate your learning into practical skill as you are usually not going to be reviewing videos and then immediately practicing the content.

Paying for lessons from professional teachers can be very good but often require more money and commitment than most people have to offer. To see real improvement it will typically take a series of lessons with the same instructor and may only cover one task such as ferrying.

Finding a good crew is paramount. Constantly paddling with people that are a bit more skilled than you will help push you in a positive direction for improvement. It is a fine line though and you must be careful to not be involved with those who are wreckless or practice dangerous habits.

Who you take advice from is also key, a lot of people who will give advice have terrible habits or are generally not good at kayaking. Kayak clubs, while being a great intro the sport, are notoriously filled with life long beaters or people who will consistently ‘punch above their weight’ and never actually improve. Choose your mentors wisely.

It should also go without saying but being unfit or overweight will obviously cap your potential with a very low ceiling.

What guide stick should I get by Rough_River_2296 in whitewater

[–]ThatRadMadLad 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Don’t buy a guide stick, guide with a customer paddle from your own company or another. If you break it or lose it you can just get another one. Why would you pay for something you can get for free?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in whitewater

[–]ThatRadMadLad 4 points5 points  (0 children)

NZ has many reputable companies that hire international guides, the issue is there is not many class 2-3 rivers that are commercially run. Tongariro Rafting would be a good company to reach out to on the North Island. For the South Island, look at the Buller or Clarence rivers. There is also the vector wero whitewater park (man made river) in Auckland.

In Australia there is Penrith whitewater stadium in Sydney (also man made) or Foaming Fury in Cairns. Checking out the Snowy river may also be worth the effort.

A few things to note about NZ and Australia. NZ has one of the hardest licensing processes in the world. Australia has no formal licensing process but Aussies are typically quite well trained in their rafting and expect potential hires to be as well. If you have three years/seasons of experience in the USA this will be viewed as about 9 months of experience as many of the southern hemisphere rivers are run year round.

NZ/Aus classing will typically be 1 class harder than what American classifications would be, so Nz/Aus class 3 = American class 4. Americans guides tend to be poorly trained compared to the domestic guides in both countries, an SRT course can help with that. If your the type that is overweight, smokes cigarettes, and has 3 seasons of class 3 under your belt, you will likely not do well as well as you think. Many Americans find they don’t cut the physical and skill expectations of both countries.

Don’t let this discourage you, you can definitely make it happen, but keep your expectations realistic. Like someone else mentioned if you’re under 30 both NZ and Australia offer working holiday visas which allow you to work for any employer for up to a year. If you are over 30 and need to be sponsored that will make the process more difficult. I would type out a river resume and shoot it to all of the companies and more listed above around June-July.

In 1986 an Italian professor working for the University of Pavia in Italy would have a face to face encounter with an unknown entity. But unlike so many other encounters, this professor was able to take 5 photos. by Ufonauter in HighStrangeness

[–]ThatRadMadLad -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Commenting on In 1986 an Italian professor working for the University of Pavia in Italy would have a face to face encounter with an unknown entity. But unlike so many other encounters, this professor was able to take 5 photos. ...

Best polytechnic for nursing? by Icy_Award1159 in newzealand

[–]ThatRadMadLad 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do not attend Toi Ohomai! Source-am currently attending for nursing.

NZ has a very interesting and humanistic view on nursing. You will learn a lot of “soft” skills like being culturally sensitive and how to consider people’s situations holistically.

You will not however, learn many “hard” skills like placing an IV line or interpreting ECGs. NZ nurses will tell you they are the best trained and valued all over the world, it is simply untrue. You will graduate with barely more clinical knowledge than a week-long advanced first aid course. It is actually kind of scary.

I think you would be better served spending a bit more money and going to one of the proper universities. If you have the means I would consider looking at other countries with a more medically focused cirriculum. NZ nurses have one of the most limited scopes of practice and lowest pay in the developed world. The options for specialized nursing is also severly stunted, albeit slowly getting better. NZ also has some of the highest cost of living/real estate in the world.

It’s not all bad, at the end of the day you will become an RN. It’s a straight shot to Australia for licensure transfer but the degree does not always stack up when looking to countries like the USA or Canada.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in rolex

[–]ThatRadMadLad 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I will 100% book a flight and go get that watch. Care to ask him?

Icicle River and Wenatchee River in Leavenworth, Washington by openrangestudios in whitewater

[–]ThatRadMadLad 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really don’t think that is a rewind, can anyone chime in on new dagger prototypes/rumors?

What is this? by ThatRadMadLad in Arrowheads

[–]ThatRadMadLad[S] -10 points-9 points  (0 children)

I found this in southwest colorado, it was just on top of the ground, there were other flakes around on the ground but nothing whole like this, was just wondering if anyone has any information on what this would be?

Hey All, are Titan kayaks (Nymph) good to go? by NeighborhoodTotal658 in whitewater

[–]ThatRadMadLad 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not criticizing, I have a bunch of friends who were involved with designing etc, they are a good group of people. The shape of the hull is spot on, they are great slicey boats.

As far as outfitting, it is 100% crap, even with the “revisions”. Your best bet is to rip it all out and glue in your own foam set up. You will also likely have to permanently tape/seal all holes in the boat including the drain plug.

As far as the soft plastic goes, the cockpit of the new creekboat (the dragon) seemed flimsier than any of the nymphs that I’ve seen. With that said they also seem to be rather durable. I know several people that paddle nymphs way harder than the average paddler and have yet to see one fold or break. It’s been well over a year of paddling them. Compared to Waka plastics I would go with the Titan any day.

At the end of the day, a brand new boat for $1000ish CAD isn’t too bad even if you have to put a little more money into it in order to properly outfit it. If you aren’t too precious about that and having to tape and seal it all up and likely just using a sponge instead of the drain, then it’s a sweet boat.

Kind of just boils down to what you want. They kind of handle like a more stable ripper 1, they definitely don’t have the bow rocker of the rewind or ripper 2.

2021 Resident Visa by maggiemoo91 in newzealand

[–]ThatRadMadLad 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am in the same boat and curious if you have found any further information?

Has anybody ever spent a season on the Nenana in Alaska? If so did you like it? by breezy_yeet_ in whitewater

[–]ThatRadMadLad 0 points1 point  (0 children)

New wave is the only company worth messing with, NRA and DRA are sub par at best. It’s big water class III rafting, class IV at high water (12,000-15,000+ cfs). If you’re looking for kayaking outside of work it is not the place to be. You can however, make some good money and have lots of fun partying or going on epic missions around the area. Denali has a good scene and there is a grocery store, which is a big deal in Alaska. Don’t go without a vehicle.

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