Whitewater Rafting: Rapid Classes Demystified

Class I Class II III, IV, V What does it all mean Rapid ratings don t seem simple, because they really aren t. The American system of whitewater rapid ratings is subjective (for example, a classV rapid on one river can be totally different from a classV on another) and leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Further complicating things, a rapid s rating DOES NOT vary by water level, even though waterlevel changes can have DRASTIC effects on the objective difficulty and hazards of a rapid. Well don t fret In just a little more than a single minute, we re going to show you a typical example of each rapid rating from West Virginia s New and Gauley Rivers, and explain why it s rated that way. (Just keep that whole waterlevel thing in mind though, okay )