Ken Rasmussen said: I found myself in a dispute recently with a woman who insists that the best whitewater paddler she ever knew could not roll. I've been a whitewater paddler and was a slalom racer much of my life. I rarely roll, even in really big water. Same is true of many of the good whitewater paddlers I know. But it is really hard to imagine anyone getting that good without having worked his or her way up the skills ladder without rolling or knowing how to roll. Everyone else has already said what I would say about progressions, so I'll just add this: Could we have the name of this non-rolling superstar? That might put a quick end to the mystery. I did once have a student at Madawaska Kanu Centre who was a good paddler, a good raft guide, who knew whitewater well. He never rolled because he had this bizarre ability, and inclination, to be completely upside down in his kayak and still be able to get his head high enough to breathe. He would then proceed to "paddle swim" his way over to shore or to a rock where he would grab on and hip snap up. En route he looked like a demented turtle. But no one would call him a good paddler because it was so obvious that someday he was going to find a river where that would not work. The Madawaska River in the school area is quite narrow. Interesting discussion. Jim Tibensky *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Jul 22 2004 - 06:29:51 PDT
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