I too noticed that the biggest change I found was between class III and
class IV. Another big change I noticed was when I moved from the east coast
to the west coast. I had done a few big water runs in the east but they
seemed nothing like the one's in the west. To me, generally speaking, west
coast big water class III feels like a class IV; whereas their technical,
lower volume class IV feels like a class III. I've noticed in some of the
western whitewater books they make mention if the river is a big water run
which is exactly what I like to know. It would be nice if that could be a
staple in all whitewater books.

Courtney


I think that most difficulty ratings have grey areas, but for me the
clearest line was the one between class III and class IV. Suddenly I
found myself acutely aware of the differences between the two, it just
felt so clearly different. Now that I've run plenty of each, I find that
they seem to get closer, but still I find them to be rather clearly
distinquishable. Do we need a clearer distinction? Maybe... For me it's
more an indicator that is joined by a number of equally subjective
arguments and measurements like tiredness, confidence, risk, danger,
distance from the nearest help and so on.

Wilko

--
Wilko van den Bergh wilko(a t)dse(d o t)nl
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
---Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.---
http://wilko.webzone.ru/