Paddling in the Winter

It’s that time of year again! The dreaded winter, when the rivers are all dormant and it’s cold. Really cold. But here’s the real question; How do you keep you skills up so you don’t forget how to kayak?

1. Go to your pool sessions!

Pool sessions can be really good for working on new techniques and keeping you paddle wet. One thing to make sure to do is to rinse off your gear! The fastest way for your gear to get broken down is by chemicals in pools, so make sure to dunk your gear in water or rinse it off!

2. Get on a Lake or Large, Flat River!

This is one thing I have been doing a lot of recently. I have been getting out on my local river and doing flatwater slalom sessions! It greatly improves your technique and keeps your paddle wet. If your a play boater, I like to get on the water and practice stern and bow stalls. They give you a great workout. Also try some tricks. Working on it in flatwater can help you get it down in on a feature!

3. Do a Local Run Near you Whenever you Can!

We all have work or school that we have, so it’s great to get on some whitewater and enjoy it. But only do a run you know very very well and make sure you have the correct gear, ie- Drysuit (or dry top and dry pants), pogies, neoprene base layers along with the other essentials.

The main thing to do during the winter is to keep paddling and to keep those skills you work so hard for during the rest of the year!

And keep safe too!

See you on the river,

Bryce Aaron