Our Class IV Rowing School is designed as a follow-up course for our Class III Whitewater Rowing School. You should have training and experience rowing at a Class III level before taking this course.
We’ll run a variety of rivers in the Columbia Gorge near Hood River, Oregon. This is an opportunity to boat some wonderful rivers, improve your boating skills, and meet some new friends. Each evening we’ll review our day and have optional classroom sessions.
Rowing Training on Oregon’s Hood River
This course will include training to help boaters make the transition from Class III to Class IV boating. The course goals are:
- Understand “team boating” and apply it on the river
- Understand when to push and when to pull
- Develop better oar management through practice and feedback
- Familiarization with rescue techniques
Raft flipping practice in our Class IV Rowing School
You will need solid Class III experience to attend this course. We’ll be training on continuous whitewater rivers with cold water. This course is the perfect opportunity to practice whitewater skills under the watchful eye of our instructors.
Typical Itinerary
Every Class IV Rowing School is uniquely designed based on river conditions and the group’s ability level. The following is a sample itinerary.
Day 1 Introductions, team boating principles, and half day on the river
Day 2 Knots, oar managment, Scouting, and half day on the river
Day 3 Full day on the river, flip practice, and throw bag practice
Day 4 Big picture scene safety, half day on the river, and final topics
You are welcome to bring your own raft or cataraft or rent one of ours.
Is This Course for You?
The purpose of this course is to offer experienced whitewater boaters training that applies to Class IV rivers. Please note:
- This is not an introductory level course
- This course is intended for people who have taken our Class III Rowing School and have additional experience beyond our Class III Rowing School
- You need to have solid Class III experience and training to be successful in this course
- The weather can be cold and sometimes miserable during these courses
- We will be discussing boating in a classroom environment and applying our lessons on the water
- If your goal is classroom and on-river training that will help you move from Class III boating to Class IV boating, this course is for you
- If your goal is to simply be guided down rivers, this course is probably not for you
Our training courses are supported by River Drifters, a licensed and legal permit holder of the US Forest Service.