Secure railings and carefully crafted walkways remind the visitor that the torrent can be deadly to anyone who might lose their footing. For most of us, a visit to Great Falls has been an opportunity to witness from a distance the incredible power of water, and to secretly breath a sigh of relief upon our safe return to the dry river banks. For Colin, now 23, the falls are practice. He took my question in stride and carefully explained that the sport is quite safe. The practitioner must use good judgment is assessing personal skill level against the level of challenge presented by the whitewater.
Fear tends to result in self-limiting of risk.
Colin has learned the technical skills of boat control and honed these to a fine level. He has learned to read the water so as to know where the danger spots lie. Slaloming into Freestyle Whitewater competitors have a choice of competing in slalom or freestyle events. Slalom events involve passing through a series of numbered gates in both downstream and upstream directions. Freestyle events are an exhibition of complex maneuvers with the kayak in the midst of heavy whitewater.