Tune Up Your Roll: A Brief Guide to the Whitewater Kayak Roll

Struggling with your roll? Or maybe you know someone who is. Rolling is one of the most frustrating parts of learning to whitewater kayak. It is counter-intuitive, fickle, and difficult to visualize. It is also a practical skill and difficult to teach with words alone. Unfortunately, I have seen people who struggled with the roll enough that it chased them away from this rewarding sport. The following article is a brief synopsis to help you understand the roll.

The 3 Parts of the Roll

Glenwood Whitewater Park

There is much debate about whether the C-to-C or the Sweep roll is better. I tend to cast these discussions aside. Both rolls, really any sort of roll you can do, entails the same three basic parts: the set-up, the sweep and the snap. Let's take a closer look at each of these individually:

The Set-Up
The purpose of the set-up is to provide a familiar starting point to orient your body underwater and initiate the roll. It is also the most protected position, keeping you as safe as possible from shallow rocks and other hazards. To do the set-up, place your paddle out to the side perpendicular to your boat with the power (curved) face of the forward blade flat and facing up. Tuck your body forward and "kiss the deck". Once you are underwater in this position, reach your hands up to get your paddle out of the water. Now you can start the sweep.

The Sweep
The sweep is the motion of your body and paddle that gets you out from underneath the kayak from your set-up and out to the side so you can easily hip snap. The tricks to the sweep are to lead the motion with your head, and to keep your paddle of your forward hand (right hand if you are right handed) flat on the water and close to the surface. Get the thumb of your off-hand (your left hand again if you are right handed) on top of the bottom of your boat (get your "thumb under your butt" you will hear some people say").When your paddle is perpendicular to your kayak you will have the most leverage to perform the hip snap.

The Snap
The snap is what actually flips your boat from being upside down to rightside up. It is easiest when your body is out to the side of the boat, which is accomplished during the sweep. Here the C-to-C Roll and the Sweep Roll differ somewhat. For the C-to-C Roll you will sweep your paddle along the surface without engaging it until you are perpendicular to your boat. From there you pull directly downward and drive your nearest hip (your right hip if you are right handed) toward your paddle. For the sweep roll, you engage your paddle as soon as you start your sweep, snapping most gradually while you sweep along near the surface. you do NOT pull directly downward. If this sounds confusing, stick with the C-to-C for now, it is easier to break down when learning and take solace knowing that most people do a combination of both rolls anyway.

Now that you have hear the verbage which may or may not have been helpful depending on your learning style, check out this short video that helps provide a visualization of the movements that rolling a whitewater kayak entails:

COLORADO RIVER Grizzly Creek to Two Rivers

Grizzly Creek area at high water

Put-in	Grizzly Creek Rest Area
Takeout	Two Rivers Boat Ramp
Length	6 miles
Difficulty	< 2,000 cfs	II
	2,000-5,000 cfs	II+
	5,000-10,000 cfs	III
	> 10,000 cfs	III

Fun Factor:

Fear Factor:


     This fun section, known locally as “Grizzly,” is one of the best advanced-beginner runs around. During the summer you will find craft of all sorts on this section: rafts, kayaks, canoes, inner tubes, inflatable alligators. Busy holiday weekends such as Memorial Day or Fourth of July can seem like a floating party or circus complete sometimes with costumes, fireworks, and considerable alcohol ingestion.
     The boatramp at Grizzly Creek can be a busy place with commercial and private boaters converging and departing from the large eddy. On hot summer days, spectators line the banks where Grizzly Creek makes its last tumble into the Colorado River and wave ecstatically as you paddle by. Many of them can only imagine what it must be like to float on the Colorado River. Bear in mind that to many of them you are an exotic species.

MILE BY MILE
13.8 PUT-IN on river right at the Grizzly Creek Boatramp. Downstream, the river negotiates a series of easy riffles (II-/II) until it reaches the first major corner to the right after about a mile.

Just upstream of the put-in at 16,000 cfs in 2011

1.1 Rapid (II/II+). This drop features a small wave/hole in the middles and some large rocks on the left and left of center. Big waves form here at high water. A short, straight section follows, before the river bends left.

1.35 Maintenance Rapid (II+/III). One of the crux rapids of the run. At low water the line through Maintenance is straightforward: left of center splitting several rocks on the right and a steep pourover on the left. Above about 6,000 cfs, however, a big wave train forms that culminates in a large, crashing hole capable of flipping a poorly handled raft. Below Maintenance is a long, easy runout before a huge eddy river left.

2.1  “Refrigerator Rock”, a large rectangular shaped block left-of-center. This rock serves as a good flow gauge and goes under around 7,000 cfs. After the long Refrigerator Rock riffle, the river bends left away from I-70 to begin its journey around the small town of No Name.

2.45 The first rapid (II-/II+) of the No Name bend is a straightforward left-angling chute that forms fun rolling waves at most levels. Just downstream the river crosses under a zipline and passes through a small right-hand corner with some funny water at high flows. There is a boat ramp on right (private RIVER ACCESS only) and a campground. This is the Glenwood Canyon Resort and home of Rock Gardens Rafting. You can camp here for a fee. There are showers and other amenities up higher away from the river. An easy stretch of water follows.

3.3 No Name Eddy, also sometimes called Boxcar Eddy due to unsubstantiated rumors that a train once derailed here and deposited one of the boxcars in the deep water. Raft guides, always quick with tall tales, will also say this is the deepest spot on the Colorado River above the Grand Canyon. While I have never heard this officially confirmed, the water here is very deep. No Name Eddy is a possible RIVER ACCESS, but probably only for small boats like kayaks, canoes, and duckies due to the steep bank you have to ascend to get to the road. No Name Eddy is a nice mid-point to separate Grizzly into upper and lower halves. Both top and bottom can easily be done after school or work. Immediately downstream of Boxcar/No Name Eddy is a pair of islands and a fun riffle (II).

3.5 The river bends left below and starts around wind through Horseshoe Bend, Glenwood Canyon’s most pronounced oxbow. The enjoyable thing about Horseshoe Bend is that I-70 is channeled through a tunnel to cut off the oxbow, thus returning the river corridor a more natural and much quieter state. This section is a nice but short-lived reprieve from the engine breaks and motorcycle-brigades that plague the rest of the canyon. Horseshoe Bend is also home to some of the most challenging whitewater on the run.

3.9 Two short drops (II+/III-), which merge together at medium and high water, challenge novices to read currents and dodge several mid-channel rocks/holes.
A great eddy on the right and a picnic table mark the end of the harder stuff and makes for a great place to stretch the legs and get out of your boat.

4.3 After Horseshoe Bend the river bends left and returns to the interstate for one last tricky rapid (II+/III-). Watch for some rocks in mid-channel and some problematic currents. Big holes lurk here at high water. Below this point, the canyon starts to open and you paddle into Glenwood Springs proper. Though the river remains fast it should not exceed II-/II.

5.4 Cross under Grand Avenue Bridge (Highway 82) in the heart of Glenwood Springs. The Hot Springs Pool is up and on your right. Interestingly, before the riverbed was re-arranged in the 1880’s this used to be a huge island in the channel with part of the flow running directly through where the Hot Springs Pool now sits.

5.7 The river goes under a pedestrian bridge and the Roaring Fork River empties into the Colorado on the left. It is fun to paddle to where the two rivers collide and feel the difference in temperatures, more apparent in summer than spring when they are both cold.

6.0 TAKEOUT on the right at the Two Rivers Park Boat ramp.

GETTING THERE
The Grizzly Creek Rest Area is accessed from exit 121 off I-70 in Glenwood Canyon. There are several other river access points that can be used to customize the length of your trip.

The access at No Name Eddy is good for small boats and splits the run roughly in half. To get here, exit I-70 at the hamlet of No Name (exit 119) and turn west (downstream) at a four-way intersection. Follow this road all the way to a gate and a small dirt pull off. A short but steep dirt trail leads to the water.

The easier and more popular takeout is at Two Rivers Park in the town of Glenwood Springs. Leave I-70 at the Main Glenwood exit (exit 116) and turn west at a major intersection. Follow this road for .4 miles past several hotels and turn left onto Devereux Road (just before you cross under the gondola). Cross over the interstate and Two Rivers Park is on your left.

COLORADO RIVER Two Rivers to South Canyon

Put-in	Two Rivers Park
Takeout	South Canyon Boat Ramp
Length	6 miles
Difficulty	< 2,500 cfs	II+ (III-)
	2,000-5,000 cfs	II+ (III)
	5,000-10,000 cfs	III
	> 10,000 cfs	III+

Special Beta: Colorado big water with roadside access!

Fun Factor:
Fear Factor:

The section from Two Rivers Park at the confluence of the Colorado and Roaring Fork Rivers down to South Canyon below town is more urban, industrial, and quieter than the runs in Glenwood Canyon. Compared to the Grizzly section upstream, South Canyon generally has fewer, but slightly bigger rapids. As of the spring of 2008 it also has the Glenwood Spring Whitewater Park, a manmade wave that is best at highwater but offers play opportunities at every level. The 2009 U.S. Freestyle Kayak team trials were held here.

Immediately downstream of Two Rivers Park the river crosses under a tall bridge with dangerous but easily avoided columns. After another long, calm stretch alongside a railyard, the river bends left through an easy riffle (II-/II) Not far downstream the river splits around an island and drops through a lengthy rapid (II/II+). A couple of nice beaches and the private boat ramp belonging to Whitewater Rafting are just downstream on the left.

There are several warning signs regarding the whitewater park, informing boats to “scout/portage” on the right. In reality, for a properly managed boat, there shouldn’t be any reason to do either. Negotiating the whitewater park, in fact, is no more difficult than negotiating South Canyon Rapid not far downstream. The structure is just upstream of the large road bridge in West Glenwood near the West Glenwood on-ramp. If you are feeling uneasy about the whitewater park, give it a quick scout before starting the run. It is a fun place to hang out anyway, with grassy, tiered seating, a few benches, and some large rocks. The only downside is the lack of available parking.

The hole/wave itself has caused some problems for boats, particularly in its first year when people weren’t yet accustomed to running it. Right of center is the worst spot, where medium and high water brings the most powerful and trashy part of the wave. Make sure to stay far right to avoid the worst of it (II+/III-)

Below the whitewater park the river starts to leave Glenwood behind and enter South Canyon. You are now also entering the burn area of the 2002 Coal Seam Fire. The remains of the 1994 Storm King Fire, which killed 14 firefighters, are also visible. Now, years later, many of the signs of those two important days in Glenwood Springs’ history are starting to be erased. A few easy corners will take you past a wastewater treatment facility and to the top of a long, straight rapid just as you leave town. This rapid is best taken left of center at almost every level to avoid a couple of sleepers which turn into big holes at medium levels (II+/III). A couple of easier riffles come in quick succession below this rapid (II).

After a calm stretch the river bends right into “Upper South Canyon,” a wave train with some fun laterals and big rollers (II+). A fast, flat section greets boaters below this rapid and the black, iron bridge at South Canyon comes into view.

South Canyon is the crux rapid of the run. It is a large wave train with big laterals and crashing whitecaps. At higher water a bridge pylon river right can cause some problems for an off-line or swamped boat. A huge eddy on the left adjacent to the rapid and an even bigger one on the right at the bottom aid in cleaning up any carnage you might experience. These features help minimize any protracted hardships and keep the grading of the rapid to a manageable III-/III. One more straightforward rapid (II/II+) leads to the boat ramp on the right.

COLORADO RIVER South Canyon to New Castle

Put-in	South Canyon
Takeout	New Castle
Length	6 miles
Difficulty	< 2,500 cfs	II+
	2,500-5,000 cfs	III-
	5,000-10,000 cfs	III
	> 10,000 cfs	III+

Special Beta: Colorado big water with roadside access!

Fun Factor:
Fear Factor:

This novice/intermediate section of river is even less frequently paddled than Two Rivers to South Canyon above it. Despite this, however, it is a worthy run for the advanced beginner or intermediate paddler. Mellow water peppered with several stiffer corners define this run.

Below the boatramp at South Canyon you enter a long, calm stretch good for warming up. The canyon is tight here and you are still in the burned-out remnants of two major forest fires (the 2002 Coal Seam and the 1994 Storm King). After the calm straightaway the river bends right into a long, mellow riffle (II-/II) with some big rocks along the right bank. The river calms below this drop and bends left. A horizon line emerges in front of you marking a short, steep drop sometimes called Landslide (II+/III-) Mudslides after the Storm King Fire added rocks to the river here, making the rapid significantly harder. A chute on the right is obstructed by large crashing waves at high water and the left is steep and hard to see over. Several possible chutes exist as well as several holes that could munch an offline kayaker or tuber.

The action is short-lived and the river mellows below this point. A dangerous railroad bridge, however, just above the confluence of Canyon Creek is treacherous at highwater. The best way is not always obvious from above, but most boaters split the two pylons.

Surfing South Canyon circa 2004

Below the bridge Canyon Creek enters on the right (possible river access). Two mellow but interesting rapids follow, one with a surprising hole at low water that seems to draw inexperienced boaters like a magnet (II+). After this the river calms as it passes under the former site of a pipe bridge long used by local high school kids for jumping. A few years back the old pipe bridge fell into the river. The river bends right below here into a stout riffle we used to call “Jurassic Park” for its proximity to Dinosaur Hole (II/II+).

Said Dinosaur Hole is a short ways downstream next to a fenced-in Dinosaur Quarry. The quarry contains a stegosaurus but was fenced off due to the presence of low-grad radioactive material. The rapid is short but contains a monstrous hole in the center above ~10,000 cfs. Most boaters skirt the hole to the right where big waves form at high water (II/III). Tibbets Landing, a popular river access, is just downstream on the right.

Below Tibbets, the river becomes even more mellow. While much of this section is highly visible from I-70, this stretch is even less-frequently paddled. The river bends right below Tibbets and enters a long riffle with some basement rock ledges about midway down that form some ledgy waves at medium levels (II/II+). A long calm stretch follows.

After going underneath a bridge in New Castle, the river enters one last rapid immediately above the takeout. This tricky drop has some medium-sized hole in the main channel and some sneaky rocks to avoid (II+). The takeout is at a boat ramp just downstream.