On January 11, 2022 the Lower Columbia Canoe Club hosted a Take Out Talk with Sage Donnelly on the techniques Sage uses to break down scary rapids. Below we share a few key excerpts from the discussion. You can also access a recording of the majority of the talk HERE.

Break the Rapid Down into Three Sections: Top, Middle, and Bottom

Rather than looking at the rapid in its entirety, Sage likes to break down rapids into three sections. Make sure you see and understand the entrance move. What will be required at the top of the rapid to set yourself up for success? What about the middle section? Where do you need to be? And then finally, what is the run out or bottom of the rapid like? Does the rapid lead right into another rapid? Or is it more pool drop in nature? Do you need to be in any certain position toward the bottom of the rapid?

Analyze the Moves You’ll Need to Make

Working in discrete sections, analyze the moves you’ll need to make in the top, middle and bottom of the rapid. Too often paddlers focus on the crux move, but rarely is there just one move necessary to successfully run the rapid. Also understand where in any given section you could stop or slow things down if necessary. Once you run the top part, if the middle section looks different than expected, what are your options?

In addition to key moves, look for stopping places in each section. Where are the eddies and where can you slow things down or even get off the river if necessary?

Assess Your Abilities Relative to the Rapid

You see the necessary moves and you see places to slow things down. Can you make those moves or get to the eddy on river left if you need to? Have you done similar ferries in other rapids? What do you need to do to get in position for the boof? Honestly assess your abilities relative to the rapid. How high is the likelihood that you will make the necessary moves?

Understand the Consequences of Not Making the Move

Sometimes if you don’t make a key move it simply means your line won’t be stylish, other times the consequences of missing the move are more significant. Understanding the consequences of not making the move is an important step in evaluating your readiness for running the rapid. It’s also a necessary step in determining your willingness to take the risk. A bruised ego or long swim are one thing. A pinning or undercut cave are another.

Devise a Backup Plan

What are your options if your plan doesn’t work? If you have trouble in the top section, is there an eddy in the middle section that you could get to? Are there options for portaging or getting off the river? If you don’t get far enough left, is running center a viable option? Go into the rapid with a plan, and a plan B.

Safety Set in the Right Places

Safety is part of your back up plan. If something goes wrong, having the correct safety in place is important, and it will make running the rapid less stressful for you. And being less stressed actually gives you a higher chance of doing the rapid well, because you are going to be more relaxed. You’ll be thinking more about your paddling and less about what happens if something goes wrong, because you’ve already addressed what will happen if something goes wrong.

Feel it!

It isn’t enough to see the lines… you have to feel it too. Do you feel good about the plan? Somedays you are just off. Is this one of those days?

Study What the Water Does

This part is huge. There are so many little currents that could be in play in any given rapid. You don’t have to study every little current super hard. But if you see that the current is naturally going to the right in a certain section, acknowledge that and make a plan for how you’ll deal with that current. Maybe you want to go right there so you’ll use the current to your advantage. Or maybe you want to go left, in which case you now know you’ll need aggressive right to left momentum in that section.

Where do you see green water, slack water, or curlers? When the water pulses up which way does it push more? Are there any waves you can use? What about eddies? Where are they? Eddies are always part of your plan B program, but it is also just good to know where they are. You could get caught in slack water. Just acknowledge what the water is doing. Don’t dread it. Don’t fixate on it.

Just keep making little plan B’s. Have all the water features tucked away in the back of your mind in case you are a little bit off. It’s the river. It’s dynamic. You could easily be off your perfect line, so it is best to be aware of what river features you might encounter if you are.

Q: Do you plan where you will put your paddle? Do you pre-plan your strokes?

A: I do.

I plan key strokes. For example on my Untouchables line there was a left stroke and then a right stroke through those top two curlers. I don’t focus on every single stroke because then I think you start overthinking. It’s really easy to overthink rapids and that’s when you start having problems.

For a big rapid, I’d probably plan five key strokes. Then those are the ones I’m focused on. When I go it’s more like, “paddle paddle paddle ok this stroke, yes!, paddle paddle paddle that stroke, k cool!”

Q: What do you do when you have a bad swim and still have to regroup for the rest of the run?

A: It’s hard because it is all mental.

OK, you swam. Have your moment. Have your cry. Whatever you need to do. I give myself one or two minutes to be like, “oh my God, that was awful.” And then you have to flip that switch in your brain. I use breathing a lot. You can practice in class II. Say to yourself, “I’m taking in a deep breath, I’m letting all my thoughts out, and then I’m going and I’m doing this move.”

Practicing that technique really helps because then your body knows and your mind knows that when you take a deep breath and exhale, you are letting out all your thoughts. You have to train your brain. You have to make it so that your mind knows that when you exhale and clear your head, it stays clear.

I use this technique even when I just had a bad line. When I’m like, “That was terrifying; I don’t want to keep going.” And in reality after a bad swim you usually have a couple of options. You can almost always hike out. You can wait a bit before you keep going. You can breath and center yourself. The important thing is to acknowledge, ‘ok that happened,’ but don’t stress about why. It’s not the time. Don’t stress about what you could have done better. Acknowledge and reflect on all of that later when the run is over.

In the moment, your job is to clear your head to get yourself through the rest of the run. Turn off all those alarm bells. You have to tell yourself, ‘Ok no, we’re done, we’re done thinking. It’s go time. I’m finishing the run.’ Shut down all those anxious thoughts until you’re off the river, and then you can reflect on what happened and work on it.

Breaking Down Scary Rapids w Sage Donnelly