Water Words: Comparing Rapids Ratings
Comparing Rapids Ratings
By Bob Brueckner
How close together are guidebooks when it comes to rating a rapid or a section of a river?
I compared the ratings for the Balcony Falls section of the James River in Virginia in five guidebooks and American Whitewater’s Internet guidebook. (I chose the Balcony Falls section because I happened to have access to six guidebooks.)
The most difficult rapid on this section is Balcony Falls, and it has ratings that range from Class 2+ to 4. Edward Gertler did not rate the rapid alone, but his rating of the section topped out at 2+. Guidebook author Monte Smith gave it a 3-.
Randy Carter wrote in his 1974 guidebook that “Balcony Falls is a very mean rapid easily run in low water after scouting.”
Carter rated the rapid as a Class 4.
When comparing ratings remember that paddlers like Carter were entering the unknown. They didn’t have guidebooks or river gauges. They were creating the foundation that we now take for granted.
I wanted to check with one more source — Virginia paddler Raymond Williams –to see how he rated the rapid:
“I would rate the Balcony Falls rapid at a 2+ or 3- at most levels that most paddlers run it. I haven’t been on it over 5 feet. It washes out at 5 feet, but I’ve heard it does get harder at higher levels.”
Even though the guidebook writers used different methods to determine difficulty, here’s how close the ratings are:
* Canoeing White Water River Guide by Randy Carter, eighth revised edition, 1974. Overall: 3-4 Rapid: 4
* Classic Virginia Rivers by Ed Grove, 1995. Overall: 2-3 Rapid: 3
* Southeastern Whitewater by Monte Smith, 1995. Overall: 2(3). Rapid: 3-
* Virginia Whitewater by Roger Corbett, 2000. Overall: 2-3 Rapid: 3
* Exploring Virginia’s Waterways by Edward Gertler, 2022. Overall: A to 2+ Rapid: Assume 2+ rating is for rapid
* American Whitewater internet guidebook, last updated by CJ Waasdorp, 2022. Link: https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/1949/main . Overall: 2+(3). Rapid: 3