Objective:

Obtain survey data from experienced BRVers to rank order 74 popular whitewater rivers by difficulty.

Rationale:

River difficulty rating systems are unreliable. Different paddlers and guidebook writers use different criteria for terms like "Class 3", "Class 4", "advanced", "expert", etc. When discussing prospective new rivers, experienced paddlers always know to ask a more incisive question: "Is it harder than the _________ ?" When complete, this river ranking survey will provide a definitive, consensus ordered list of whitewater challenges.

Instructions:

• If you have paddled 20 or more of these rivers, you are urged to complete and submit the survey.

• Rank order the rivers on the list you have paddled in terms of paddling difficulty -- i.e., skill required. Your #1 will be the hardest river on the list you have paddled.

• To the extent that "difficulty" and "danger" are different, rank the rivers based on difficulty, not "danger." Focus on paddling skill required, not on remoteness, endurance required, probability of cold conditions, roughness of swims, etc. We want a "pure" measure of difficulty. Folks can make their own judgments about "danger" factors.

• Unless otherwise noted, assume that the river is being paddled under good conditions at a moderate water level (e.g., 1' above minimum for average-sized rivers).

• Assume that the paddler will run all rapids on the river normally run by most BRVers. For example, most paddlers on the Maury will run Devil's Kitchen. Conversely, assume that paddlers will not run rapids that are normally carried by most boaters.

• If you have paddled lots of rivers, there will be cases where you just can't say which of two rivers is harder. Such "ties" are okay! For example, if you've paddled 30 rivers, you might be able to distinguish 10 to 20 categories.

• Please submit your data using the attached sheet. However, in formulating your rankings, you will find it easier to use a word processor to develop your ranked list or to lay out chits of paper (labeled with river names) on a table, and then arrange the chits by difficulty.

• If you have questions, call Ron Knipling. In particular, call if you're uncertain about the river section being rated. To cite one extreme example, we'll get screwy data if people confuse the Upper, Middle, and Lower Youghs. Likewise if the VA and WV North Rivers are confused.

• Mail to Ron Knipling or bring to September 21 BRV meeting. Deadline: Thursday, October 1.

Data Reduction:

• First, the data will be entered into a massive spreadsheet. Then, a paired-comparison method will be used whereby all the rivers are ordered according to their relative rankings; i.e., paddlers who have paddled both River A and River B rank A harder; those who have paddled both B and C rank B harder, etc.).

• We'll also derive intercorrelations among boaters to see how much different boaters agree or disagree over relative river difficulty.

• Results will be published in the November Voyageur.

BRV River Difficulty Ranking Survey Form (See instructions, other side.)

Name____________________________________________ Phone_________________ Boat type________