Up the Creek…

By Corinna Callsen

Last Sunday I went white water rafting and instead of wildlife (which stayed in because of the weather), I followed the footprints of Kevin Costner and Brad Pitt around the Horseshoe Canyon. But let’s start at the beginning…

I made my way out of bed at 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday, just to realize it was pouring, cold, windy and definitely not a day I wanted to spend outside. Especially not in the dangerous proximity of water… damn cold water.

Two hours later, I found myself in even heavier rain in Canmore, trying to get into a wet suit, shoes and splash jacket, thinking about the hours to come.

Seven other people were loaded into a bus after meeting with our super tour guide Rogie, who promised sunshine and a fun trip. Something made me doubt his optimism. Maybe it was the fact that I was facing my first rafting trip on the Horseshoe Canyon with only a few layers of air-filled plastic between me, the ice-cold river and the pouring rain outside.

Thirty minutes and a relaxing bus ride later, I found myself listening to Rogie’s instructions on how to paddle without hitting your neighbour in the peek and how to react in case of an unplanned exit from the boat. He made it sound easy, showed tips and tricks on how to help a lost one and promised not to leave anyone in the river.

So far so dry. The river looked calm, the rain stopped and people seemed to understand what they were supposed to do. Remember my words.

Looking at the slow, calm river ahead of me, it didn’t seem too much of an adventure. Anyway I trusted Rogie, who could have done the tour with his eyes closed.

I have to admit we were an international boat, having a Japanese couple, three Brits, a Danish girl, a true Canadian and me, the German girl on the paddles. What I realized very soon was that rhythm is not taught or understood in the same way in every culture. However, it is important for rafting problem free.

After the first problem free encounter with lots of white water in and around the boat, our guide explained wildlife and film sets of "Legends of the Fall" and Costner’s new western. Then he prepared us for the big splash ahead.

The information that should have gone through to our international crew was: Four meter high waves. Stop. The boat will lift up. Stop. Lean to the inside. Stop. Do NOT stop paddling.

Moments later, Denmark and one third of Britain went overboard. Why? Because they stopped paddling. While the Danish girl made her way out of the rough water pretty quickly, the British guy had more than a pint. Whenever he decided to get some air, the next wave pushed him under water. He played that game for quite a while, but Rogie kept his promise-nobody was left behind in the river.

Personally, I had an awesome time. This was partly because I didn’t end up in the water, but also because rafting is a lot of fun and because the crew I went with was funny, helpful and professional. I would go again any time and I certainly recommend this trip to you, my fellow students.