If the idea of careening down a rushing river appeals to you, maybe it's time to take it to the next level. Face level.
Kevin Yount of Asheville, N.C., is one of a growing number of adventure buffs who think the ideal way to take on a river is face-first, in the river - with no raft or kayak getting in the way of the rushing rapids, swirling whirlpools and sudden drops.
"It's exciting," says Yount, who enjoys many adrenaline sports including downhill skiing and mountain biking. "The things that don't seem exciting in a raft are exciting when you are down in it."
Riverboarding is a lot like the body boarding many people have tried on ocean waves, but it's done in whitewater and with a more buoyant board designed for whitewater use. Participants wear helmets, personal flotation devices, leg protection, fins, and a wetsuit appropriate for the water temperature.
Done in the right locations and with the appropriate gear, Yount says the sport can be as safe as other whitewater activities, and the fins add a level of maneuverability rafts lack.
"A raft is so wide, it can get stuck or slow down," says Dr. Jonathan Christenbury, who tried the sport with Yount in Western North Carolina. "But with river boarding,you just go right over. You feel like you are part of the river."
Yount has been riverboarding for seven years, and it has taken him all over the U.S. as well as to New Zealand, China and Costa Rica. He currently competes as a CORE team rider for Face Level Industries and conducts riverboarding trips as owner of Appalachian Riverboarding.
Clients include families (he says kids should be 10 or older), college groups and adventurers of all ages. Christenbury, 55, a Charlotte ophthalmologist, is an avid whitewater rafter who loved surfing and bodyboarding in his youth. He heard about riverboarding while visiting Aspen,but the river was too low to try. An Internet search led him to Yount.
He participated in downstream riverboarding, in which you use fins to maneuver down the river, as well as "surfing" on a hydraulic hole.To do this, participants find a calm pool, and then shoot over into a rapid, facing upstream. Though riders remain stationary on the wave, "it feels like you're going 50 miles per hour," Yount says.
The sport has already caught on in Europe, making up about aquarter of whitewater trips there, according to Yount. It is often called hydrospeed in Europe and sledging in New Zealand.
Riverboarding began in the late 1970s, when three Frenchraft guides decided, on a whim, to put their flotation devices in a sack and hold on while it pulled them down the river. They enjoyed it so much that they decided to try it on a board. In the mid-80s, bodyboarders on the West Coast started taking their boards down creeks and rivers. The popularity of the sport has continued growing as the Internet spreads the word and equipment improves.
Christenbury says he's glad to see that the equipment is improving, since he used motorcycle pads to protect his legs during his trip. "There needs to be specific padding for this sport," he says. "My knees and lower legs hit the rocks a few times." But going with a knowledgeable guide helped Christenbury follow the safest route.
When he isn't guiding others (www.kevinyount.com), Yount often rides shallow, riskier waters in an effort to collect first descents. He was the first riverboarder to descend several rivers, including the Jacob's Ladder rapid on the Payette River in Idaho and the lower section of Big Creekin North Carolina.
For new riverboarders, Yount finds what he calls "fluffy" rivers - those with higher water levels that reduce the chances of hitting rocks. When college student Jesse Rousseau signed up for a trip with her boyfriend, Yount took them to the Pigeon River in North Carolina, which is ideal for beginners.
Still, Rousseau was surprised at how scary the river was at face level. "Plus, it took a lot of arm control, and you have to move your feet in different directions," she says. "It's definitely harder than it looks."
She went down the wrong side of the river and hit three rapids without her board but, once she got the hang of it, she had a blast and is planning another trip this summer. "I'm not someone who takes a lot of risks," she says, "so to let go of that control was exhilarating."
