Risk Assessment: When Is It OK to Kayak a Waterfall? - Trip Jennings

Trip Jennings sees adventure as a give-and-take negotiation with nature, rather than an attempt to claim victory over the earth’s raw natural power. When the National Geographic kayaker and filmmaker went to kayak Brazil’s Rio Roosevelt Class V rapids, the locals were praying that he would decide not to paddle the river. But Jennings trusted his eye for risk-assessment and his talent gleaned from years of trial-and-error on smaller rapids and he successfully “survived” the river. He also shares a few tips on how to tell whether or not it’s prudent to paddle over a particular waterfall.