Class V/Class VI/Class 5.2/Class V++/Class VI- it doesn't matter - ratings are subjective. What matters is that it is badass, it is at the edge of what kayakers run and, most importantly, you would never run it. Also the boat is a Liquid Logic Jefe.
Of course Class VI is really an enigma. Class VI is technically unrunnable. Once he does it, it's no longer Class VI. It's like saying something is impossible, then someone does it. It's now possible. Badass YES! But now that it's been done its technically Class V+.
You are right. Once a run is completed the highest rating is Class V+. I don't care what some of the other commenters are arguing). Class VI is reserved for conditions so severe it is NOT runnable.
Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture
Grade VI does exist; waterfalls that have not been dropped fall into this category along with uncharted territory. A class VI status can change to a class V once routes have been proven. To be technical, there are also class 5, 5.1, 5.2, etc, to further help tighten up the broadness of class V, so to speak.
Class VI is very real. It is defined as unnavigable. It's class VI until someone runs it. Had all this been run? It is an older video and somebody popped the cherry 😂
For all the naysayers; What would happen if he missed a roll, his line of decent, or had to pull the plug and swim? There is a definite risk of injury or death i.e. Class VI. That's not even considering vertical pins body entrapment! If you're so inclined maybe you should do a decent then tell everyone what you think.
I hear you, bunch of wannabe cool couch potatoes and typical kayakers that have never run this sounding like fools below. This is a badass slide and run. Would love to see all the clowns below run it and then post video before they try to grade it. Most probably couldn't even make the hike in. Typical trolls, so cool on the internet, but not in reality.
what you describe has been the definition of Class V for as long as anyone remembers, and i've boated since 84.... Class VI is the definition of unrunnable, stout drop none the less
You're all crazy to think this is a big deal. This is a REALLY nice seal launch. Class 4+ at best. Check out Tao Berman's greatest hits, now that guy is NUTS. Quite possibly the most extreme white water kayaker alive.
Craaaazy! Any top kayakers here or people familiar with the drop - does that long run down the stepped slab involve about half of the time or more doing bottom scraping? I would think that's a completely other regime of balance control.
@triplestan666 Naw you're thinking of his beer slide on the Mastigouche river in Quebec. That's a first D? definitely be proud of that... not many more river cherries to pop any more.
Definitions vary between different governing bodies. I've learned it as class VI = unrunnable, and that's how it's almost always used in paddling circles. The guidebooks say that but it's rare to find a decent boater who uses that definition.
Late 1960's we had 9 classes of whitewater, I am not sure when they decided on the 5+ water, but I am sure that despite the lack of #'s 6-9 these levels exist. Try New Zealand where the rank is 9+.
rpeagram Or try going from Oregon to Idaho... an Oregon "class 5" is like an Idaho "class 3". And these are all "pacific NW" states where most of the rating system and most US play boating was invented back in the day. it's fricking confusing sometimes. Then you get into the differences in class ratings for different crafts. "Class 3" in a Kayak can be a "5+" in a Raft so it's all kinda arbitrary at some point. it's more about "can I personally run this". It's nice to be able to get an accurate feel for what you MIGHT get into before you drive 500 miles to get there, but really it;s down to the individual boater. For example I've seen guys like Jesse Coombs run things that were rated "Class 5" and make them look like a class 2 riffle. And I've run "cass 5+" things that I popped out of thinking "that was easier then the last class 4+" That's all down to the boater.
www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Wiki/safety:start According to this, there are only 6 grades with grade 6 being considered too dangerous to run. If a grade 6 is successfully run then it is usually downgraded to a grade 5. This is in line with what the BCU (and Wikipedia) say.
Theodore Roberts Yes, we all know that... Problem is it's still based off of what different people think about X rapid. Plus what was "Class 6: un-runable" 5 years ago has possibly been run today... It doesn't change that rapid to a class 5 for the average boater, (especially if you're talking Kayaks -vs- rafts/inflatables) it means someone charged it and lived half the time and while there might be "a line" it's usually razor thin and has serious consequences. Again, Come out to Oregon, hit the river and check out what is classed as a 5 (many MANY class 6 waterfalls here too that have now been run too but are far from now being simply "class 5") then head out to Idaho right next door and run oh say ANY of the class 5 sections of the Payette or the Lochsa... there's a BIG difference and a LOT of "discretion" in the rating system. Luckily Creekers have kind of come up with a more reasonable system as it applies to THOSE BOATS, not this generic idea that what is a Class 5 for a Kayak is the same for an 18' Gear Raft loaded to the gill. Good boaters are reading the river at ALL times and know what they/their boats can do regardless of a number. to me, after all these years, Rating Systems, be it Rapids or DH trails etc. are all about PLANNING so you don't get surprised/stuck/injured/killed by something you didn't see coming.
Theodore Roberts That is in today's whitewater universe, you are probably to young to know otherwise. Sometime ago they applied rafting grades to kayaking.
@chris082681 ya i get a little sandy in my lady parts with a lot of comments on youtube... i agree its not a class 6 but it had never been run till that day. you should get out there to cali and see that it is bigger than anything on the ottowa. he was goin 40mph when he hits the kicker... didn't Marr do dragons toungue while chugging a beer?
There's always a chance of survival. Class 6 just kinda says this run is pretty much a suicide attempt, if you live it's nothing short of a miracle, and you just might be a kayaking god if you can do it twice.
So this is a "Class 6" because of...the danger of the rocks? There isn't much water flow over those rocks. I didn't think that counted if it wasn't based on water alone...
You obviously have never been in a kayak. A legend was born in this video. That shit is dangerous as hell. I'd run VDrive on the Stikine before I dropped down Graceland.
class 6 is defined by American whitewater as 'Unrunnable" - Given that the drops have now been run, they are no longer class 6.... kuyakers these days are running much bigger.
@cagefighter2832 oh i don't no maybe the giant waterfalls into rock filled pools the hurtfullness of hitting a rock and giant waves and holes that you pop into.Maybe you should try it with out a skirt
Given the gradient and speed I don't think 30 guys with throwbags would do much good beyond putting a lot of rope in the water, a hazard to a swimmer in its own right. Even if the guy could exit the boat, orient himself, get his hands on the rope and hang onto it while getting epically thrashed (difficult) the would be rescuer would either release or end up in the water, no matter what shoes he has on. Think mass x velocity squared. Throwbag rescue at that speed is a very dodgy prospect.
I've always thought that class vi meant that even with perfect conditions and perfect line that there was still a good chance of death with little to know recue. This is bad ass, but seems like a heavy class v.
Walt Blackadar used to say it is only class 6 until someone runs. it. class 6 requires a big water flow. don't see that here paddled big muddy Cataract Canyon every year 70k ,80k over100k.... many times........ Mile Long Rapid & the Big Drops .. biggest wave trains in continental u.s. all class 5 when i blew out in the tail waves below #3
@PhilDesigns This is most definitely NOT a class 6. A class 4+ at best. I'm a pretty timid WW kayaker and I'd hit that. No sticky keeper holes, no strainers, no down time. You could mash your face and get some nasty scrapes but death is a mere slight possibility, definitely NOT probable. Also, when the defenition means "probable". It means, the best kayaker in the world is VERY likely to die. Check out Tao Berman's greatest hits. Even the stuff he hits is 5+ and 10 times as bad as this.
You're kidding right? tell me you're joking. 2 feet left or right could snap your back in those shallows, not to mention how hard it is to stay upright to protect your headgear. These could be lethal to most.
@triplestan666 Also, I'd say "more technical" than anything on the Ottawa... Come up here for high water to play on bus eater... man that's a ride you'll never forget!!! Everything up here is fluffy and harmless, but MASSIVE amounts of water!!! If you have time for it, apply to one of the 7 rafting companies and spend a summer. There's something different at just about every level, and almost ALWAYS eddy access to waves. It's all play though, no creeking.
Death isn't probable? That's why Allen Satcher lost his life on this same creek last month. But still Demshitz and Ben Brown ran this like it was nothing in episode three of Bomb Flow TV.
Class 6 = unrunnable. No exceptions! Its been dropped and it dose not look that hard or scary. Hell I'll met its been tubed??? Its class 5+ at best.. And yes I've boated some hair in my day.
That does not seem like kayaking... I think I'd describe that more as sliding down rocks... with a little bit of water on them. Those guys have balls of steel.
this is precisely what I imply when I refer to a rapid as class VII - so yes there is a class VII. Some of what I refer to as class VI+ may actually be class VII (likely never to be known as not likely to ever be attempted.)
not class 6, class 6 means its impossible (or highly improbable)... also , the worst thing that could happen is he scratches up his faces, death isnt very proabble
Class V/Class VI/Class 5.2/Class V++/Class VI- it doesn't matter - ratings are subjective. What matters is that it is badass, it is at the edge of what kayakers run and, most importantly, you would never run it. Also the boat is a Liquid Logic Jefe.
That was an insane run...guys are crazy
The amount of time you spend looking at a hole is equal to the time you'll spend getting beat down in it. (William Nealy, Kayaking Tales of Horror)
Of course Class VI is really an enigma. Class VI is technically unrunnable. Once he does it, it's no longer Class VI. It's like saying something is impossible, then someone does it. It's now possible. Badass YES! But now that it's been done its technically Class V+.
4 years late but you are technically wrong, it's unrunnable without serious risk of injury
shadowsneak12 technically class IV is just unrunnable. Since he ran it, it’s no longer unrunnable, just extremely hard to run.
Doesn't Class VI have to be run multiple times to be reclassified as 5.X?
@@SraTacoMal anybody can get lucky once 😅
You are right. Once a run is completed the highest rating is Class V+. I don't care what some of the other commenters are arguing). Class VI is reserved for conditions so severe it is NOT runnable.
John Grace and the boys from LVM!! Always loved these dudes!! Green Race forever!!!
Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture
FMaz some rapids like upper death are more luck than skill
Grade VI does exist; waterfalls that have not been dropped fall into this category along with uncharted territory. A class VI status can change to a class V once routes have been proven. To be technical, there are also class 5, 5.1, 5.2, etc, to further help tighten up the broadness of class V, so to speak.
Class VI is very real. It is defined as unnavigable. It's class VI until someone runs it. Had all this been run? It is an older video and somebody popped the cherry 😂
That first descent looked it would cause some serious, literal butthurt.
This is insane who in their right mind would enjoy doing this? You guys are nuts!!
The legend says that Class 8 is falling from the Niagara Falls. And level 12 is falling from an airplane (without parachutes). Good video.
Dang i feel pathetic watching this after rafting a class 4. WOW!
I literally bough my kayak from the guy that posted this video. He knows what he's talking about.
This reminds me of backwoods sierra, flowing into the park. Nice!
For all the naysayers; What would happen if he missed a roll, his line of decent, or had to pull the plug and swim? There is a definite risk of injury or death i.e. Class VI. That's not even considering vertical pins body entrapment! If you're so inclined maybe you should do a decent then tell everyone what you think.
Absolutely broooo.
I hear you, bunch of wannabe cool couch potatoes and typical kayakers that have never run this sounding like fools below. This is a badass slide and run. Would love to see all the clowns below run it and then post video before they try to grade it. Most probably couldn't even make the hike in. Typical trolls, so cool on the internet, but not in reality.
what you describe has been the definition of Class V for as long as anyone remembers, and i've boated since 84.... Class VI is the definition of unrunnable, stout drop none the less
You're all crazy to think this is a big deal. This is a REALLY nice seal launch. Class 4+ at best. Check out Tao Berman's greatest hits, now that guy is NUTS. Quite possibly the most extreme white water kayaker alive.
Craaaazy! Any top kayakers here or people familiar with the drop - does that long run down the stepped slab involve about half of the time or more doing bottom scraping? I would think that's a completely other regime of balance control.
Cool as hell. Belongs in WW vid Hall of Fame!
Pushing the limits in style!
This is SWEET!
Pretty cool. If it didn't have that 30 ft. drop and I didn't have to carry my kayaking and camping gear in or a torn ACL, I might consider doing this.
@triplestan666 Naw you're thinking of his beer slide on the Mastigouche river in Quebec. That's a first D? definitely be proud of that... not many more river cherries to pop any more.
I just ran this last weekend in my inner tube, in my cut of jeans eating a bag of Doritos
Course the CFS was 2
Definitions vary between different governing bodies. I've learned it as class VI = unrunnable, and that's how it's almost always used in paddling circles. The guidebooks say that but it's rare to find a decent boater who uses that definition.
one of cool dash's greatest achievments
Now that Sir is just Fun....Nice one.;)
Late 1960's we had 9 classes of whitewater, I am not sure when they decided on the 5+ water, but I am sure that despite the lack of #'s 6-9 these levels exist. Try New Zealand where the rank is 9+.
Try Africa Victoria Falls.... LOL 100+
rpeagram Or try going from Oregon to Idaho... an Oregon "class 5" is like an Idaho "class 3". And these are all "pacific NW" states where most of the rating system and most US play boating was invented back in the day. it's fricking confusing sometimes. Then you get into the differences in class ratings for different crafts. "Class 3" in a Kayak can be a "5+" in a Raft so it's all kinda arbitrary at some point. it's more about "can I personally run this". It's nice to be able to get an accurate feel for what you MIGHT get into before you drive 500 miles to get there, but really it;s down to the individual boater. For example I've seen guys like Jesse Coombs run things that were rated "Class 5" and make them look like a class 2 riffle. And I've run "cass 5+" things that I popped out of thinking "that was easier then the last class 4+" That's all down to the boater.
www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Wiki/safety:start According to this, there are only 6 grades with grade 6 being considered too dangerous to run. If a grade 6 is successfully run then it is usually downgraded to a grade 5. This is in line with what the BCU (and Wikipedia) say.
Theodore Roberts Yes, we all know that... Problem is it's still based off of what different people think about X rapid. Plus what was "Class 6: un-runable" 5 years ago has possibly been run today... It doesn't change that rapid to a class 5 for the average boater, (especially if you're talking Kayaks -vs- rafts/inflatables) it means someone charged it and lived half the time and while there might be "a line" it's usually razor thin and has serious consequences.
Again, Come out to Oregon, hit the river and check out what is classed as a 5 (many MANY class 6 waterfalls here too that have now been run too but are far from now being simply "class 5") then head out to Idaho right next door and run oh say ANY of the class 5 sections of the Payette or the Lochsa... there's a BIG difference and a LOT of "discretion" in the rating system.
Luckily Creekers have kind of come up with a more reasonable system as it applies to THOSE BOATS, not this generic idea that what is a Class 5 for a Kayak is the same for an 18' Gear Raft loaded to the gill.
Good boaters are reading the river at ALL times and know what they/their boats can do regardless of a number. to me, after all these years, Rating Systems, be it Rapids or DH trails etc. are all about PLANNING so you don't get surprised/stuck/injured/killed by something you didn't see coming.
Theodore Roberts That is in today's whitewater universe, you are probably to young to know otherwise. Sometime ago they applied rafting grades to kayaking.
Scale has been changed. It changed somewhere between 2009 and end of 2010.
@chris082681 ya i get a little sandy in my lady parts with a lot of comments on youtube... i agree its not a class 6 but it had never been run till that day. you should get out there to cali and see that it is bigger than anything on the ottowa. he was goin 40mph when he hits the kicker... didn't Marr do dragons toungue while chugging a beer?
There's always a chance of survival. Class 6 just kinda says this run is pretty much a suicide attempt, if you live it's nothing short of a miracle, and you just might be a kayaking god if you can do it twice.
How does the kayak float with such big balls in it?
@Piln class 6 means death is probable, just because someone runs it doesnt downgrade it to class 5, death looks pretty damn probable to me.
This looks like horsetail falls, either way. You guys are getting it.
OMFG. That was epic.
That was so sick!
Hell yea and I thought jumping out of a c17 into a combat zone was on the edge.
But that is, oh and thanks for your service
So this is a "Class 6" because of...the danger of the rocks? There isn't much water flow over those rocks.
I didn't think that counted if it wasn't based on water alone...
jmr1068204 Based on being drowned while simultaneously getting rag-dolled over numerous vertical rocky ledges at 30 mph.
You obviously have never been in a kayak. A legend was born in this video. That shit is dangerous as hell. I'd run VDrive on the Stikine before I dropped down Graceland.
Sean Baskett is VDrive harder that Site Zed
beautiful prof made video : )
How many spinal discs had the guys left after bumping down that chute?
Is that the grand canyon of the Tuolumne?
class 6 is defined by American whitewater as 'Unrunnable" - Given that the drops have now been run, they are no longer class 6.... kuyakers these days are running much bigger.
JonoMDK lol kinda true accept for the few fuckers who wrote the Colorado rivers and creeks Book
NICE!!!
What’s the world record. ?
@cagefighter2832 oh i don't no maybe the giant waterfalls into rock filled pools the hurtfullness of hitting a rock and giant waves and holes that you pop into.Maybe you should try it with out a skirt
Skills for when you gotta out run that Grizzly Bear in the back country.
Given the gradient and speed I don't think 30 guys with throwbags would do much good beyond putting a lot of rope in the water, a hazard to a swimmer in its own right. Even if the guy could exit the boat, orient himself, get his hands on the rope and hang onto it while getting epically thrashed (difficult) the would be rescuer would either release or end up in the water, no matter what shoes he has on. Think mass x velocity squared. Throwbag rescue at that speed is a very dodgy prospect.
I've always thought that class vi meant that even with perfect conditions and perfect line that there was still a good chance of death with little to know recue. This is bad ass, but seems like a heavy class v.
Even that last part? 😳 that 30 foot drop was pretty insane
Walt Blackadar used to say it is only class 6 until someone runs. it. class 6 requires a big water flow. don't see that here paddled big muddy Cataract Canyon every year 70k ,80k over100k.... many times........ Mile Long Rapid & the Big Drops .. biggest wave trains in continental u.s. all class 5 when i blew out in the tail waves below #3
very good, nice place!
this is fucking awesome. Where is this?
That's not a river... those are just wet rocks. That last drop was wild though.
that's an 8 second bull ride on water
😮
@PhilDesigns This is most definitely NOT a class 6. A class 4+ at best. I'm a pretty timid WW kayaker and I'd hit that. No sticky keeper holes, no strainers, no down time. You could mash your face and get some nasty scrapes but death is a mere slight possibility, definitely NOT probable. Also, when the defenition means "probable". It means, the best kayaker in the world is VERY likely to die. Check out Tao Berman's greatest hits. Even the stuff he hits is 5+ and 10 times as bad as this.
MEGA-BALLS....OF STEEL!!!
What boats were thoses
You're kidding right? tell me you're joking. 2 feet left or right could snap your back in those shallows, not to mention how hard it is to stay upright to protect your headgear. These could be lethal to most.
what kayak is that? dagger?
Put a vid of you running some stuff. Not enough vids from great kayakers like you.
It isn't class 6, but that is what got you to click on this video, that's the whole point.
Dylan Holt clickbait
I appreciate your honestly lol
SICK!!!
Very nice
He runs the last drop after the fall as if it were a classe 1 river... Sure I would need to roll !
dude that takes serious balls. theres barely any water in there, and its steep as fuck!
must've been at a higher level than this video. You'd have trouble drowning a cat in that much water.
It's John Grace
not class 6, the meaning of class 6 is that its unrunnable
Damn. I think that might break my ass! lol Badass!
@triplestan666 Also, I'd say "more technical" than anything on the Ottawa... Come up here for high water to play on bus eater... man that's a ride you'll never forget!!! Everything up here is fluffy and harmless, but MASSIVE amounts of water!!! If you have time for it, apply to one of the 7 rafting companies and spend a summer. There's something different at just about every level, and almost ALWAYS eddy access to waves.
It's all play though, no creeking.
too bad that's creek boating here out east.
that was off its chops!!!
that was the shit.
this is gnarley
hnmmmmm, that's a lot of water there.
AKA Lower Meadow.
Anyone who thinks these rapids are less than a VI knows nothing about whitewater.
BALLS!
It would be impossible to catch a rope from that river. Outside of a pin situation which is astronomically improbable a rope would be useless.
that not even a V
Death isn't probable? That's why Allen Satcher lost his life on this same creek last month. But still Demshitz and Ben Brown ran this like it was nothing in episode three of Bomb Flow TV.
Damn, I shit myself going on a class 2 river. Well I am a slalomist so I don't need to go on water this big!
class VI. I laugh
I laugh as well bit of a stunt all noise and no power rock slide.
Class 6 = unrunnable. No exceptions! Its been dropped and it dose not look that hard or scary. Hell I'll met its been tubed??? Its class 5+ at best.. And yes I've boated some hair in my day.
That does not seem like kayaking... I think I'd describe that more as sliding down rocks... with a little bit of water on them. Those guys have balls of steel.
this is precisely what I imply when I refer to a rapid as class VII - so yes there is a class VII. Some of what I refer to as class VI+ may actually be class VII (likely never to be known as not likely to ever be attempted.)
Way above my skill level....If you get a chance check out "FIRST LEGAL DESCENT OF NIAGARA GORGE.
There are no class 6 rapids,it stops at 5!
ok, then there should be a class 7 for no chance of survival
nice run, but if these are class 6 the lower Niagara river must be class 20...
There is class 6. It's above class 5. And how come you never see people wearing goggles when they kayak?
JAH Graceland.
not a class 6 because he just ran it, although it is probably a 5+
@cagefighter2832 brilliant
Lmao class 6 means unrunnible thats just a big.class 5 slide
ClashWithOctec no class VI means drops only occasionally run although rescue is often impossible
Id sure as hell say its a little more dangerous then just scratching your face.
Class 3 intermediate would be intense enough for me!!! Cannot imagine three classes higher
I agree
I was under the impression that grade 6 was unrunnable... but k.
Class 6 is risk of death
This is not Class VI
Not even class 6. This is unrunnable. It's like going over nigara falls in a barrel.
not class 6, class 6 means its impossible (or highly improbable)... also , the worst thing that could happen is he scratches up his faces, death isnt very proabble
nuts
no look it up
LVM!!!