K A Y A K T E C H N I Q U E
THE TAO OF SLIDES TAO BERMAN
ON WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR MARGIN FOR ERROR IS AS THIN AS THE SHEET OF WATER BENEATH YOU
When Eric Link took the Twitch V film crew to British Columbia’s Lacy Falls he was smart to bring Tao Ber- man along. Few others would have run the sheet of wa- ter sliding down 300 feet of steep granite. Berman has held world records for both the highest waterfall drop and fastest vertical descent and is credited with more than 50 first descents. After carefully studying the few inches of water careening down the rock, Berman put his theories into increasingly high-speed practice before slamming upright into the pool below. Here he shares some slide-specific skills to help you get down your own Lacy Falls.
Read the slide
“Scout a slide even more carefully than you would a rapid. I walk the whole slide many times, predicting how each feature will affect my descent. You don’t always have enough water under you to take a stroke and cor- rect your position on a slide, so reading the features and planning your route in advance becomes even more important.”
Use the features
“Look for the diagonal waves, rocks, lips and flakes that can determine your route. Use these features to navi- gate, using them to keep on your intended line. For ex- ample, you can use diagonal waves to move from one side of the slide to another, but if you underestimate your speed you might blow right through them.”
Keep your boat straight
“Being anything less than straight when you hit a lip and take air is the best way to find yourself upside down. But with little water between your boat and the rock there may be not enough room to take an effective steering stroke. To change the angle of your boat you have to rudder by dragging your paddle on the rock and apply- ing downward force.”
Stay centered over your boat
“Make sure your body is aligned with your kayak and direction of travel so you can better absorb the harder impacts of hitting rock without getting thrown to one side. Keep your arms low, just above your deck, where they are strongest and ready to throw quick, and crucial, low braces.”
If you flip Witnesses estimated Berman
reached speeds of 65 kilometres per hour on the Lacy Falls slide.
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“Tuck forward as you flip to protect your face and most of your vital organs. There’s no reason to ever expose your face. Just plant your paddle on the rock and roll back up.”
JOCK BRADLEY
RAPID
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