Difficulty Level of Rapids

Difficulty Levels of Rapids

The Grand Canyon stretch of the Colorado River often uses a different rating system for rapids. The Class 1-10 system that is used in the Grand Canyon roughly parallels Classes I-V on the International Scale of River Difficulty (ISRD). In the Grand Canyon, Classes 1-2 equal ISRD Class I, Classes 3-4 equal ISRD Class II, Classes 5-6 equal ISRD Class III, Classes 7-8 equal ISRD Class IV and Classes 9-10 equal ISRD Class V.

Rapids are rated using the International Scale of River Difficulty (ISRD). This is an American system that is used to rate the technical difficulty levels of rapids or stretches of river on a scale of 1-6 in order to give rafters an idea of the skill level needed to navigate a specific waterway. The six categories in the International Scale of River Difficulty are referred to as “classes.” Many rivers are given a general classification, but contain sections with rapids both below and above that grade. Classes of specific waterways may change frequently due to shifts in weather patterns, water level fluctuations, geological disturbances, downed trees and more. 

Below is the American Whitewater Association’s summary of classes:

Class I Rapids – Easy

Fast moving water with riffles and small waves. Few obstructions, all obvious and easily missed with little training. Risk to swimmers is slight; self-rescue is easy.

Class II Rapids – Novice

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 upper end of this difficulty range are designated “Class II+”.

Class III Rapids – Intermediate Rapids with moderate, irregular waves which may be difficult to avoid and which can swamp an open canoe. Complex maneuvers in fast current and good boat control in tight passages or around ledges are often required; large waves or strainers may be present but are easily avoided. Strong eddies and powerful current effects can be found, particularly on large-volume rivers. scouting is advisable for inexperienced parties. Injuries while swimming are rare; self-rescue is usually easy but group assistance may be required to avoid long swims. Rapids that are at the lower or upper end of this difficulty range are designated “Class III-” or “Class III+” respectively.

Class IV Rapids – Advanced 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” 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.

Class V Rapids – Expert Extremely long, obstructed, or very violent rapids which expose a paddler to added risk. Drops may contain** large, unavoidable waves and holes or steep, congested chutes with complex, demanding routes. Rapids may continue for long distances between pools, demanding a high level of fitness. What eddies exist may be small, turbulent, or difficult to reach. At the high end of the scale, several of these factors may be combined. Scouting is recommended but may be difficult. Swims are dangerous, and rescue is often difficult even for experts. A very reliable eskimo roll, proper equipment, extensive experience, and practiced rescue skills are essential. Because of the large range of difficulty that exists beyond Class IV, Class 5 is an open-ended, multiple-level scale designated by class 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, etc… each of these levels is an order of magnitude more difficult than the last. Example: increasing difficulty from Class 5.0 to Class 5.1 is a similar order of magnitude as increasing from Class IV to Class 5.0. 

Class VI Rapids – Extreme and Exploratory Rapids These whitewater rafting 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 rapids has been run many times, its rating may be changed to an appropriate Class 5.x rating.

The Grand Canyon stretch of the Colorado River often uses a different rating system. The Class 1-10 system that is used in the Grand Canyon roughly parallels Classes I-V on the International Scale of River Difficulty (ISRD). In the Grand Canyon, Classes 1-2 equal ISRD Class I, Classes 3-4 equal ISRD Class II, Classes 5-6 equal ISRD Class III, Classes 7-8 equal ISRD Class IV and Classes 9-10 equal ISRD Class V.

Both the Grand Canyon’s Class 1-10 scale and the International Scale of River Difficulty are effective and invaluable in allowing a rafter to decide whether or not a particular course is within his or her own ability level. They’re useful, albeit subjective, as they’re based on expert’s opinions and subject to change without advance warning. In determining what course may be best for you, use sound judgement and don’t be afraid to ask. We’re here to help you with any and all questions you may have regarding your rafting trip. Contact us here at Advantage Grand Canyon for more information at 888-244-2224 or click below to search for your Grand Canyon rafting trip!

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What Type of Shoes Should I Bring Rafting

Whitewater Rafting Requires What Type of Shoes?

Baffled by boots and flustered by footwear? Look no further, our Advantage Grand Canyon Adventure Rafting team has your rafting answers! 

The selection of athletic-geared shoes has skyrocketed in recent years. As consumers, we’re overwhelmed with more choices than ever, making the selection process confusing and time consuming. We’ve got a few simple tips that will help you decide what kickers are best for your Grand Canyon romping.

First and foremost, if it isn’t comfortable and broken-in, don’t even think about bringing it along. The worst disservice you can do to yourself (and others whose ears are party to your grumbles) is wear a shiny new pair of shoes or hiking boots that will chafe at your toes and blister your heals. You’re better off bringing a holey pair of decade-old tennis shoes than attempting your trip with wearing new shoes. 

Expect whatever shoes you bring to get dirty and, potentially, to be destroyed by the end. You’re not hiking down a well-paved city sidewalk, folks. We’re out in the wilderness, hopping off the rafts, hiking among cactuses, wading through creeks, skipping over mud puddles…you get the idea. 

Bring shoes that will dry quickly so you won’t have to change your footgear multiple times a day. You can choose a waterproof boot, but bear in mind that you may step in water that’s deeper than your shoe is high. Water will seep in, your boot won’t dry, and the combo will make for considerable discomfort and perpetually pruney toes.

Make sure your footwear is lightweight – you will be carrying it and wet, dirty shoes get heavy. If you elect to wear sandals, they must have a heel strap or you’re certain to lose one sandal after the very first rapid. Close-toed sandals will prevent you from excruciating pain should you decide to vent your frustrations by kicking a rock. Also, check that your shoes have a nice, thick sole with a non-slip tread so you’re not slipping over wet rocks or falling on your raft mates in the boat.

 

 

Best Choices on Amazon (Save Some Dough!):

Get the best Hiking Shoe 

Best shoes for Trail Runners 

Best Hybrid Water Shoe 

Choices that are not ideal: -Heavy Hiking Boots
-Flip Flops with no toe protection
-Any brand new shoe or sandal that is not broken in

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The Number One Whitewater Rafting Destination in the United States

Whitewater Rafting Destination #1

And the award goes to, drum roll please…The Colorado River in Grand Canyon!

The Colorado River, which snakes a total of 1450 miles between America’s Southwest and northern Mexico has a particular stretch of river 280 miles long, known as the most ultimate whitewater rafting haven of the Americas. No whitewater rafting enthusiast can call river life complete until having rafted the mighty Colorado River through its ultimate region – the majestic Grand Canyon. This colossal river offers a little bit of everything for every type of person and personality. Adrenaline junkies and nature aficionados alike fall in love with the river’s splendid variation, which intermittently plunges them through massive, turbulent rapids and placidly floats them downstream over glass-like waters.

One thing is for certain. No matter who you are or what you look for in a rafting trip, you’re guaranteed to experience it all, including eons of colorful days-gone-by carved into the precipitous walls of the Grand Canyon gorge, when you float and battle your way down the omnipotent Colorado River. When you aren’t combating the powerful rapids, the calm stretches afford an exclusive view of the canyon. The journey also offers plenty of land adventure with loads of great hiking trails and beautiful beaches, and each rewarding day will culminate in a tranquil night spent sleeping on one of these sandy beaches under the stars.

Apart from its obvious otherworldly scenery, the Grand Canyon pulls ahead of all other US whitewater river systems due to its staggering variety of rapids classes. Rapids are rated using the International Scale of River Difficulty, which rates the technical difficulty levels of rapids on a scale of 1-6. Since the rapids in the Grand Canyon section of the Colorado River vary so greatly in terms of difficulty, rafting tours have been carefully crafted to suit the styles of every adventurer. First timers and relaxed rafters find excellent, laid-back tours that are fashioned along river sections containing easier-to-navigate, lower-class rapids. Thrill seekers experience heart-pounding adventures on whitewater rafting tours created just for them along sections of difficult, high-rated rapids.

Whitewater rafting is dramatically increasing in popularity as experts and addicts tout its spender and as newbies decide to have a first-time crack at it. As more and more people look for the best place to take a first stab at rafting or look for a more difficult challenge, rafting the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon becomes continually more popular. To find your perfect tour in the number 1 rated whitewater rafter destination in the United States, give us a shout and we’ll help point you in the right direction.

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Whitewater Rafting As A Scientifically Proven Therapy

The Science Is In On Whitewater Rafting

Most of us live our day-to-day lives in a concrete jungle, caught up in unrelenting hustle and bustle and plagued with endless life tasks that, upon completion, bring little solitude or sense of serenity. We live a life fraught with stress, worry and hurry, and we wonder why we find ourselves so grossly unhealthy, both physically and mentally.

But alas, there is a solution! Numerous scientific studies have been conducted and published confirming and praising the benefits of, you guessed it, whitewater rafting! These scientific studies support the restorative potentials of natural settings, and have found significant associations between whitewater rafting and improved mental and physical states of health. These benefits occur across all age groups and throughout all levels of rafting difficulty.

Since the beginning of time people have turned to nature for its inherent healing properties. We’re seeing trends back to nature once again as people begin to see the shortcomings of conventional treatment approaches. What is commonly missing from these conventional approaches is a focus on healthy lifestyle behaviors. Whitewater rafting, in a therapeutic sense, is often referred to as therapeutic recreation.

Several benefits associated with whitewater rafting include relaxation, appreciation of nature, enhanced kinship and better physical fitness¹. Most all rafters report a sense of peace and “living in the moment” on the trip. Navigating river rapids cause increased feelings of self-competence and self-confidence, and help to reenergize the mind and body in order to better deal with life’s problems. Navigating the river helps people put their lives and problems in perspective. Additionally, many participants who suffer from anxiety, insomnia and PTSD report a drastic drop in the need to take medications on and after the trip^2,3. Perhaps most importantly, people tend to experience a true sense of joy and oneness that is often lost in their everyday routines.

“The more you look at the rock, the bigger it becomes. The bigger it becomes, the harder it is to avoid. Keep your focus downstream and on the opportunities rather than on the obstacles. Boating is a lot like life. Focus on where you want to be rather than on where you don’t want to be. Recognize the rock in the river but don’t focus on it. Focus on the clean run and put all of your energy into accomplishing it.” – Anonymous

Nature is a sanctuary, and when combined with therapeutic recreation such as whitewater rafting, it can be a powerful therapy. It’s time to relax, recharge and restore on a whitewater rafting trip with Advantage Grand Canyon. You can’t argue it, the scientists say so!

 

1. Garg, R., Couture, R., Ogryzlo, T., & Schinke, R. (2010, August 1). Perceived Psychosocial Benefits Associated with Perceived Restorative Potential of Wilderness River-Rafting Trips. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20923066
2. Dustin, D., Bricker, N., Arave, J., Wall, W., & Wendt, G. (n.d.). The Promise of River Running as a Therapeutic Medium for Veterans Coping with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Retrieved 2011, from http://r4alliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Dustin_2439-9558-1-PB.pdf
3. Pearson, D., & Craig, T. (2014, October 21). The Great Outdoors? Exploring the Mental Health Benefits of Natural Environments. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4204431/

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The Colorado River: Mother Nature’s Brainchild

The Colorado River in Grand Canyon: Mother Nature’s Brainchild

Home to one of the world’s most famous stretches of whitewater rapids, running via a river that passes through multiple states, amidst a backdrop of golden brown sand and cliff rock, the Colorado River has become to be known as one of Mother Nature’s masterpieces, taking millions of years to create and constantly perfecting. Even today, the unique river system inside the Grand Canyon still manages to carve new terrain into the face of the canyon.

A Product of Mother Nature

The Colorado River is also referred to as the mighty Colorado River, because it is America’s most legendary whitewater passes through the floor of this awe-inspiring canyon. Geologists believe that the Grand Canyon is actually carved out by the might of the Colorado River and its many tributaries. Because of soil erosion, almost two billion years of the world’s geologic past has been unearthed, giving important clues as to how this region existed millions of years ago.

The unique geologic features of the Grand Canyon are a product of two opposing forces: the downward force of the Colorado River and the uplifting of the Colorado Plateau. As water passes along the surface of the river, the torrents erode layers upon layers of rock to reveal a variety of truly one-of-a-kind geologic formations that signify Paleozoic and Proterozoic strata. The erosion simply carved its way deeper and deeper into the valley floor.

Photo Credit: nps.gov

On the other hand, the Colorado Plateau has slowly risen to produce a very steep stream gradient that further facilitated the flow of the water from the Colorado River by increasing its speed. This was further compounded by the overabundance of water during the Ice Age. These forces of nature have combined to create the present landscape that is now the subject of almost five million tourists every year, but only 30,000 lucky rafters in the Grand Canyon annually.

A National Park

With its very unique geological features, the Grand Canyon River system is simply one of the best natural attractions in the whole world. With its vast array of both animal and plant life that can only be found in one of its five life zones – the Upper Sonoran, the Lower Sonoran, the Canadian, the Hudsonian, and the Transition – tourists and adventurers are given a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the immensity of its ecosystem.

The Colorado River

The Grand Canyon portion of the Colorado River boasts of a wide array of river sports and recreation activities that can include smooth water float trips, to kayaking and whitewater rafting. Private trips are able to launch all year around, however commercial raft trips in Grand Canyon which are regulated by the National park, launch between April and October annually.

Photo Credit: grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu

The Colorado River in Grand Canyon is home to Lava Falls, the canyon’s most fabled and largest river rapid. Rafters and paddlers alike will be tested by the whitewater maelstrom as they to maneuver their craft around Big Black Rock and make it past the famous hole, which boasts a fearsome reputation for making even the most experienced boatmen sweat. Commercial boatmen are true professionals and have a terrific success rate navigating Lava Falls. The Colorao river in Grand Canyon, unmatched in beauty and art by Mother Nature, continues to inspire people from all walks of life. Not only is it an inspiration for some, it is also an excellent source of unlimited adventure for the those who embrace the outdoors.

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The Ultimate Adventure Trip – Whitewater Rafting

Whitewater Rafting – The Excitement You Need!

Adventure sports can be enjoyed in a number of different settings including lakes, fields, mountains, cliffs, seas, and rivers, to name a few. One can find one of the most adventurous activities, full of both excitement and exhilaration while treading through the incredible force of the rapids experienced on a whitewater rafting trip.

Whitewater Rafting Is Adventurous

The world’s river systems are complete ecosystems that are teaming with life. Aquatic life as well as river mammals dot the scene blanketed with Mother Nature’s greeneries and floral accents. Enjoying the great outdoors navigating through some of the world’s best rivers is one sure way to experience all of this and more.

Although there are many whitewater rafting locations in Southwest America, the highest demand and lowest available trip options are found within the 300 mile stretch of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. With over 1000 commercial trips to choose from, and less than 30,000 ppl allowed to partake on this trip annually per National Park restrictions, finding a trip can be a daunting task. Advantage Grand Canyon is a free service, the only company focused solely on Grand Canyon raft trips, has excellent relationships with all 16 outfitters and is a great source to help coordinate 3-18 day family river rafting vacations.

Simply the Ultimate Adventure

River systems are classified into six distinct categories with Class I as excellent for beginners and Class VI for professionals, however the Grand Canyon has a I – X or 1 through 10 rating scale. Many ask themselves “Do I need experience to raft the grand canyon?” The answer is not at all. Your professional guides will be navigating your oar raft, paddle raft, dory boat, hybrid raft or motor raft down the river while you and your friends and family enjoy the sights and sounds of this ancient canyon.

Not only will your talented guides navigate you safely down the river, but they also attain outstanding culinary skills. You will enjoy hot meals daily prepared by your guides. The only think you will need to take care of is washing your own place and silverware. The rest handled by your talented river guides.

Are you ready for adventure? Call Advantage Grand Canyon and let us show you just how incredible and memorable at whitewater rafting really is.

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Arizona Whitewater Rafting Trips

Does The Thought Of Arizona Whitewater Rafting Trips Excite You?

Whenever we talk about Arizona whitewater rafting trips, you will always be thinking about a big rubber boat with several people all working together as they maneuver their craft against hitting any of the boulders that are even larger than a two-story house. But, did you know that there are also stretches of the river that are actually calmer than a serene placid lake in summer? This is the beauty of whitewater river and rapids systems the world over. You can never really know whether the next bend will be still smooth gliding on your river raft or you will be facing the thrill of a lifetime. And this is why it is always advisable to be guided by expert river rafting professionals such as our famed river skippers at Advantage Grand Canyon.

 

The Arizona Whitewater Rivers

Whenever you talk about Arizona, the first thing that comes to mind is the majestic Grand Canyon. People seem to be lost in the untouched beauty of the region that it has graced the pages of many geologic and photography magazines around the world.  There is such a certain touch of magic whenever the Grand Canyon is the buzz of the town.

However, the Colorado River of the Grand Canyon is not the only source of great whitewater rafting adventures in Arizona. The Black River, Christopher Creek, Eagle Creek, East Verde, Ellison Creek, Oak Creek, Paria River, Salome Creek, Tonto Creek, and the Virgin River are all Class IV to Class V rivers where only the bravest of extreme river rafters dare go.

Of course, there are other river systems in Arizona that are nourished by the mighty Colorado River which can be excellent for beginners and amateur river rafters. With a classification of I to III, these offer a certain degree of adventure for the brave.

Whitewater Rafting Trips to Enjoy Arizona

Since the granddaddy of these river systems is the Grand Canyon portion of the mighty Colorado, enjoying Arizona means enjoying the Grand Canyon.

Advantage Grand Canyon is one of the many outfitters in the Arizona area that offer a variety of whitewater river rafting trips. We provide especially designed full canyon trips or a combination of whitewater rafting and hiking expeditions to suit your very requirements. Either can be taken on a choice of motorized river raft which is generally faster and is thus highly recommended for those that do not have the luxury of time to really immerse themselves in the beauty of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon ecosystem.

Our team of professional river navigators and guides are experts in giving you the best whitewater river rafting trip you will ever have. Be it a full canyon course or just a section of the entire length of the Grand Canyon Colorado River system, we will be taking you to some of the most electrifying adventures you will ever have. Just give us a few days of your time and we shall show you the raw beauty of the Grand Canyon floor as seen from the almost 300-mile stretch of the Colorado.

We have been at the forefront of Arizona whitewater river rafting trips for a long time now. Let us make your dreams of a fun-filled whitewater rafting adventure a reality!

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