C-Forum

A FullGnarlz.com feature series that Wayne did another phenomenal job with. Over the next month, you get a first hand look at the trials and tribulations of a FullGnarlz Canoeist, as I bust into Class V+ steep Creeking.

Creek & Destroy - Episode 1: Intro

be sure to click the HD button and enjoy some non-stop Canoe action. Remember: the series is just getting started

Hats off to Wayne, the videographer and editor. This is a really well put together piece.

You are officially the Lady Gaga of open boating.

Great site Wayne, you are definitely pushing the limits.
You have come a long way in a short time with your video work.
You shoot it, you produce it, and distribute it on the new site.
And you do a some paddling along the way. Impressive !
Einar

The Hans Zimmer music in the intro/outro is a nice touch!

FullGnarlzOC wrote:bust into Class V+ steep Creeking.

I call BS, Class V would be just about believable, but I'm struggling with somone progressing onto sustained V+ or VI that quickly...

You run really Gnarly large steaming pile of dog doo, I get that and respect it, but I'd respect it more without the grade inflation.

I hear ya Krikkit, but isn't it all just class III until you mess up?

...it all just class III until you mess up?

I like that.

I don't know the particular difficulty of the rapids Tommy is running, but isn't anything above 5.0 considered V+? So if it's rated 5.2, then it's V+?

That's how it is on AW anyways

V+ does sound extreme but in this case go to American Whitewater and look up Otter Creek in West Virginia. It in fact is rated at IV-V (V+).

there's class V, and then there's real class V.

RodeoClown wrote:there's class V, and then there's real class V.

I've always taken american class V with a pinch of salt, and NZ class V as being "siphons on a stick".

• American Class V = European Class IV+
  European Class V = American Class V+
  NZ Class V = European Class V+

Also where did the 5.2 come from? I've only ever known grades defined by a roman numeral with a +/- modifier.

I'm guessing either rock climbing, or a rock climbing derived system for whitewater (one of which Corran was proposing for a while).

This really is a topic for a different thread, but I'll say it here anyway - the rating system for rapids is lousy. It is all relative, sometimes within that drainage, sometimes the region. We really need a system that addresses how much volume there is, how technical the moves are, and what the consequences are.

I think the 5.1 5.2 whatever.. is annoying to no end. I'm a former rock climber and overratting a pitch to pump the ego was rampant. Hated it.

AW went to a graded system to delineate between Class V and Class V

To my knowledge, it only goes from 5.0 to 5.3, 5.3 being a Class VI that has been run a few times.

The rating system is annoying, and could go for an update, but it is what it is