The Rapids

Running the Canyon is about the rapids.  Sure the beauty of the canyon is omnipresent and inspiring, but itís the white water that makes it so special.  And Grand Canyon rapids are impressive to say the least.

From Leeís Ferry to Diamond Creek the Colorado features 97 rated rapids and an additional 85 unrated riffles and rocks.

This list was compiled from three sources: 

• Belknapís Waterproof Grand Canyon River Guide, by Buzz Belknap and Loie Belknap Evans.  Westwater Books, Evergreen, Colorado: 1969, 1989.
• The Colorado River in Grand Canyon: A Guide, by Larry Stevens.  Red Lake Books, Flagstaff, Arizona:  1983.
• Two personal trips down the river, the first in June 1999 and the second in June 2004.

It should be noted that the river changes with every storm.  For example, Basalt Canyon Rapid, Number 49 on my list, is shown as a mere riffle, and in 1999 it was indeed a riffle.  But in 2004 the ìriffleî had turned into a genuine rapid with an enormous, boat flipping hole in the middle.  Our flotilla of five boats discovered this the hard way.  In the paddle boat we charged directly into the unseen hole.  As I was sitting in the back of the boat, I looked up and saw our two front men, Sober and Ian, completely surrounded by blue-green river.  Hitting the hole square on, however, we took a huge amount of water but shot through the hole without a problem.  The Fubar wasnít so lucky.  With Bob at the oars, he tried to straighten the boat but only succeeded in getting into the hole sideways.  Over he went.

As for the ratings.  For the most part I have found that Belknapís ratings better reflect my perception of the difficulty of the rapids.  Others find Stevens, whose ratings tend to be more severe, more accurate.  I know that Brian, who has made three trips down the river prefers Stevens and used it as the official guide for the boat captains.  Al, on the other hand, prefers Bellknap.  The choice is subjective just as the interpretation of a rapid's difficulty is subjective.  Roderick Nash's excellent book, The Big Drops:  Ten Legendary Rapids of the American West, contains both Crystal and Lava Falls.  As he eloquently points out, many regular rafters point to Crystal as the most difficult and dangerous rapid on the river.  Others believe that Lava Falls is.

Since this is my interpretation of the river, I tend to use Belknapís ratings.  As for the Crystal versus Lava Falls controversy, I'm in the Lava Falls is tougher camp.  You can cheat Crystal's dangerous hole - it's bigger than a 30' baloney boat - by steering to river right.  There is no way to cheat Lava Falls.  Left, right or center, it may only be a 13 foot drop but it presents 40 seconds of overwhelming fear. 

Damn I love that rapid!  In all the things I've done, climbing, backpacking, rafting, mountaineering or touring, nothing compares to the buzz you get from finishing that hundred yard stretch of white water.