Travellers Voice Magazine -- Rapid Transit: A Whitewater Highway in the Pemberton Valley

Refusing to be underestimated, the river performs with a true, ice-blue, arrogance. Rapid upon rapid ascends and assaults my cheek with a punishing slap. These continuous and quick breaking rapids are the snarling jaws of the river's contemptuous smirk. "White water commands respect" I think and within moments of turning the other cheek--it had definitely earned mine.

"Right back, left back," hollers Carsten Podehl, our Whistler River Adventures guide. "Forward hard!" These paddle commands govern us to navigate the clear waters of the Birkenhead, a roaring class III river positioned at the base of Mount Currie, 181 km northwest of Vancouver. The river snakes through old growth forest in the steep-walled alpine setting of the Pemberton Valley, until it outflows on the northwestern shore of Lillooet Lake.

Our groups converge on the bank of the Birkenhead for a briefing on safety, technical skills and daunting hazards. "There are three safe places to be in a river," suggests Carsten. "Hanging onto the raft, swimming to shore, and away from a log jam." A woman gestures to a gnarled trunk jutting from the riverbank, her throat tight with anxiety. "If I were to fall out of the raft, I would instinctively grab hold of that branch and pull myself to safety." Her reasoning is a common misconception and a potentially deadly choice. "This is why it's important to understand and identify the hazards," reiterates Carsten, "that kind of rational has serious consequences on a river."

These tricky obstacles can be surmounted once they're recognized. He continues to explain how one may become tangled in tree roots (strainers), sucked into a hole (swirling vortexes), or trapped under a log jam. An experienced guide will provide this information to clients, not to instill fear, but rather to teach them about the legitimate hazards of running a river.

The river classification system encompasses an understanding of paddling ability, water level and degree of difficulty. Class I (easy), class II(novice), class III (intermediate), class IV (difficult sections), class V (expert) and class VI (violent & unnavigable). The class III rating of the Birkenhead justifies its hefty and powerful rapids, although the intensity is short lived and there are sections where bursts of rapids streamline into stretches of calm. The thrill is a satisfying rush and confidence comes in the knowledge that the risk of injury, if tossed out of the raft, is moderately low. This is not to say that the Birkenhead doesn't pack a punch. Its unsuspecting waves will wallop you with the vengeance of a sharp backhand, if you don't respect it's potential.

We are the last of three rafts to launch, and I'm quite certain our group is less confident than the others. To ease the apprehension, Carsten delivers a continuous flow of white water schtick and river banter. "Don't worry. It'll be a smooth ride until we hit the waterfall!" His tongue-in-cheek humour keeps the mood light and entertaining. Concerns are quickly replaced with positive morale as we flawlessly maneuver our raft into swift eddies.

Positioned in the front of the raft, my initiation into white water occurs in a split second splash. Thwack! A wall of white water and agitated rapids boomerang off my body. I am completely drenched. No mercy. No grace. Only authority. It's as though I've been subjected to the concentrated jet from a fireman's hose. My cheeks ache- but not from the ambush of forbidding liquid figures storming my face- rather from laughing, squealing and whooping yelps, as if I were a cowboy breaking a wild horse. Adrenalin I discover, arrives on a wave; fast and inconspicuous.

My foot secure in the toe cup, affords me the leverage to lean over the side of the raft. In this position, I execute a deep sweeping stroke into a series of swirling rapids and standing waves. Though blinded momentarily, I ignore its moxie. Diligently, I attack rapids that brake abruptly--their crests tumbling down their slopes. "Com'on you guys--forward hard, dig-dig-dig!" barks Carsten. My white knuckles speak volumes. My fate could change before the rapid does. Our paddle techniques propel us across an alternative route of rapids, evading a perilous log jam and potential suction hole.

Expertise and experience notwithstanding, in a contest of wills between our fearless guide and the tempestuous rapids, the river is boss. Situated in the rear, Carsten labours with the river rather than against it, applying both mind and muscle. The secret of effective and safe river running hinges on specific criteria. Scouting a river is a must, (a technique applied when guides survey potential hazards and daily changes in a river). Reading rivers is serious work. Knowing water, currents, cause and effect principles, time, conditions and movement are essential tools. Whistler River Adventures guides are government certified, with no less than 100 hours of training on the river, all holding a typical length of guide service ranging between five and ten years.

Perpetual white crests ripple over each other in a hypnotic rhythm, drawing me into deep thought. Trading glances with the swollen face of the river, I am subjected to a curiosity about those who make their living in such watery nirvana. "It's a different challenge everyday. It's exciting and when my blood pressure rises, it's not from the stress of crunching numbers behind a desk all day--it's more real than That," confesses an avid river runner. I agree. The achievement of both serenity and success is rare in the 9-5 world, but it is definitely an abundant dividend of time spent on a river.

The water continues to churn three-metre high swells, pinballing our raft and skipping us like a stone. After a brief respite, the river persists in its furious pace as we plunge through frothing mania, exasperated but exhilarated. Our final triumph leaves behind a whimpering rapid, having been conquered and left to explode back onto itself in a chaos of foam. Our group now baptized in the holier-than-thou water, returns victorious, having earned our rite of passage among the would be river rats.

If you go:

Whistler River Adventures is located at the Whistler Village Gondola Base office, Whistler, B.C. (604) 932-3532 or 1 (888)-932-3532. Box 202, Whistler B.C. Canada. V0N 1B0. www.whistler-river-adv.com or email: raftnjet@whistler-river-adv.com

Operating from their Adventure Ranch Base in Pemberton, a 25-minute drive north of Whistler on Hwy. 99. From Vancouver, transportation is available from West Coast City and Nature Sightseeing Ltd. Free shuttle from the airport. For reservations and rates (604) 451-1600.