riverman wrote:

The interesting thing about western ratings is that there is no numerical
classification for 'unrunnable'.

Ehm, having only run a few rivers west of the Appalachians, I think that
you might mistake Grand Canyon ratings for "western rivers" ratings,
Myron. The creeks and rivers I saw up close in Colorado were classified
I to VI, noting that my paddling buddy is from Colorado...


Class 10 often is described as "an
inexperienced boatman in a good quality boat has less than a 50-50 chance of
making it right-side up."

I know a rapid or two that fits this desciption... big grin


I like the 10-step breakdown, too, since it
clears up some of that vast grey area between Class III and Class IV on the
traditional grading scale.

Hmmm, that's one of the few level distinctions that I find very clear.
IMO a class III paddler will immediately know when they've hit a IV
rapid. For a class IV (and over) paddler, a line in a class III rapid
will not be anything to note.

(and it sounds a lot like Spinal Tap, too.)

:-)

--
Wilko van den Bergh
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.
http://wilko.webzone.ru/