Читать книгу Carolina Whitewater. A Paddler's Guide to the Western Carolinas онлайн

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6 LIMIT OF NAVIGABILITY—all previously mentioned difficulties increased to the limit. Only negotiable at favorable water levels. Cannot be attempted without risk of life.

It is important to know the difficulty rating of a particular river before setting out. The ratings used here are based on normal or ideal water heights. The ratings will vary somewhat as the water level in the stream fluctuates.

The authors have attempted to be as objective as possible in declaring whether or not a rapid is Class III or Class IV. Such a judgment will vary considerably from person to person according to his skill or experience.

Where a section has only one rapid of a higher difficulty than others it is listed II–III (IV), with the final number representing the one more difficult rapid as a Class IV.

For the past several years, whitewater cruising has witnessed the ever-expanding willingness and ability of top experts to tackle increasingly difficult rapids. There are individual drops, as well as extended stretches, being run that were thought doable only in some abstract sense as recently as five years ago. Welcome to the hardwater boating scene of the present! Many factors have played a part in bringing the sport to this juncture. There are four areas that stand out: