White Water Rafting – The Basics
White Water Rafting is a sport that is just what it sounds like. Participants of the sport get in a large inflatable raft, capable of sustaining blows to rocks, and paddle. In the process of paddling they go down rivers or other bodies of water that have a harsh flow, creating disturbances of white splashes in the water. The ride is an exhilarating experience that brings people to the line of danger as they paddle for their lives.
Not every river and path is the same. Some rivers are certainly much more difficult to navigate than others. There are rivers that are more pleasant for beginners, and there are other rivers that are for those people that like to flirt with danger.
The rating of the difficulty of each river is graded from Class 1 rapids to Class 6 rapids. Class one rapids are considered to be just small disturbances in the water. A passenger of the raft may need to move the raft slightly to make the ride more pleasurable. Class 6 rapids are considered to be too dangerous to navigate in a reliable, safe manner. There will be rocks, waves, white water and falls in the path in a class 6 rapid.
The sport’s popularity has grown a lot since the mid-1970’s, when the sport really started to catch people’s attention. Though popularity grew in the 70’s and 80’s, the activity has been present for a long time. It was one of the first forms of transportation for people and food. In 1840’s the rubber river raft was invented by John Fremont to survey the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains.
Rafting has been included in the Olympics a few times in history, but has not been present at every Olympics through the years.
