To live an extreme experience with friends you don’t need to go to big amusement parks. With just a kayak, the power of the river and the desire to learn you can enjoy one of the star disciplines of our rivers.
If you are planning a getaway with friends you have hundreds of options to choose from. However, we warn you that signing up for whitewater kayaking courses is an experience that will not leave you indifferent. Even more so, if you are passionate about outdoor adventure sports and want to get started in a practice as demanded and practiced in our rivers as kayaking
For this reason, from RocRoi we offer specific courses for the practice of this specialty in rivers that adapt to your needs, schedule and level. And, above all, do not be afraid of the river. In our nautical base located in Llavorsí, we are prepared to teach you and offer you the right tools to go from never having climbed into a kayak in your life to being able to do all kinds of descents in the Noguera Pallaresa.
Thus, it is a continuous and adapted learning process that begins with a first contact with the open kayak. A previous step that consists of launching into the river in an inflatable kayak, more stable than the traditional ones and with which you can experience the sensations that the river transmits. There is no need to jump in first, because we also recommend you to introduce yourself in this discipline by practicing first in calm waters. This possibility is offered at La Torrasa Lake, located in the surroundings of the High Pyrenees Natural Park, at the base of RocRoi.
From there, the usual thing is to move on to the river kayaking training courses that we offer from our base. “River kayaking is a specialty that does require specific training to be able to do whitewater descents,” says Raimon Monterde, an expert and mountain guide at RocRoi.
River kayak baptism
To begin to master the rapids of the Noguera Pallaresa the first thing to do is the baptism. This is how the initiation phase of this activity is called, and it is done through immersion courses in which you can get into the water with a river kayak for the first time.
Here you will learn to move along the river, in a natural and wild environment, always under the guidance of an instructor to ensure your safety. The tests consist of practices of about two hours in simple stretches of about 2.5 km. “We explain the basics and fundamentals to navigate in a kayak and learn to overturn and unturn the boat, in an environment with lots of water and little difficulty,” says the instructor.
Learning to river kayak, phase by phase
Once you have passed the immersion courses, you have at your disposal 8-hour courses to be taken on different days depending on your needs. There are both four-day courses during the week and weekend courses that can be adapted to your level and knowledge. “In this phase it is advisable to do many hours in a row in a few days because this is when you are acquiring the basic knowledge that you need to internalize,” Monterde says.
First of all, the course will provide you with the initial learning focused on paddling forward and backward. You will also learn how to get in and out of the river current, how to interpret where it is best to go down the rapids, how to follow the line and how to face the decade descent of one of the rapids.
One of the last steps is the roll or skimming maneuver. Once you have fallen out of the kayak, you must learn to stand up to straighten up and regain your balance. This movement consists of recovering your position after a complete capsize by using the paddle or oar. This is one of the most important aspects of kayaking, but one of the most difficult to learn to do. From this moment on, you will be ready to perform all kinds of sessions in rapids of greater technical difficulty, always under the control and with the help of our instructors.
